The Kidnapper's Wife

53. During

Elizabeth Marie Longoria

Part One of Recorded Interview

Date: January 10, 2017

Duration: 40 Minutes

Location: Frederick County Sheriff's Office

No. of Pages: 3

Conducted by Officer Brown

Officer Brown: Thank you for coming in Ms. Longoria.

Elizabeth Longoria: I have to admit Officer, I'm a little perplexed as to why you have called me down here. I'm not sure what I can contribute at this point. I have no idea where Connor is. If I did, I would have gone and found that sorry scoundrel a long time ago. 

Officer Brown: I appreciate that Ms. Longoria, however this interview is less about finding Connor and more about building a case against him, in the hopes that we will one day find him. 

Elizabeth Longoria: I still fail to understand how I can be of assistance. I didn't know what Connor was planning, I was just as floored as everyone else in this town. 

Officer Brown: Sometimes, we don't see things coming, but when we look back at the circumstances leading up to the event, we notice things we didn't before. Not signs, as I am quite certain no one could have predicted what Connor was planning, with the exception of Connor himself, but little details that can help point to who Connor really was. These details can be presented in court if necessary to help contribute to the overall persona of Connor Carter. 

Elizabeth Longoria: I guess that makes sense. But I really don't remember noticing anything amiss. I didn't spend a lot of time with Connor, at least not compared to Jade. Connor was around for family gatherings and weekly family events but....I just never noticed anything strange.

Officer Brown: Do you mind if I ask you a few questions to see if we can pull anything out of your memory? Sometimes thinking about something in a different way, or thinking back to specific details, can help you remember things you otherwise wouldn't have. 

Elizabeth Longoria: Go for it. I don't see how it could hurt.

Officer Brown: Great. So, correct me if I'm wrong but you have a young daughter right?

Elizabeth Longoria: Yes, Abigail, we call her Abby.

Officer Brown: And I want you to try to remember back to the first time Connor every met Abby. 

Elizabeth Longoria: Let's see. That must have been what, four years ago? So Abby would have been around...thirteen. Eighth grade. Oh! I remember now. The first time I met Connor, Jade brought him to one of Abby's soccer games. It was a Saturday morning. We watched Abby play, and then we all went out to lunch. That's always been our tradition, Abby has always been gifted at soccer. In fact, she is going to University of Maryland on a full soccer scholarship next year. I'm so proud of her. 

Elizabeth Longoria: But her soccer games have always been a central part of my family's life. My dad got her started with it, back when she was very young and we lived with my parents. I had Abby at twenty, I was two years into college, about to transfer from community college to a university, and Abby came out of nowhere. We stayed with my parents for the first 6 years of her life, while I got on my feet. Well I guess that's not technically true, I did marry her father, hence the name difference from my parents, but our relationship never even made it to her birth. So from the time she was born, we were at my parent's house.

Elizabeth Longoria: I never wanted to raise Abby in an apartment. Kids need room to play and explore. My parents live on a farm outside of Frederick. She absolutely loved it when we lived with them. It was hard for me, as a young twenty something living with my parents cramped my style to a certain degree. But I was saving to get us a house of our own, and working long hours starting my career when I finally finished school. My parents would watch her for me while I worked and they let us live with them rent free. 

Elizabeth Longoria: They were so supportive of me back then. Before Abby I was a wild child...scraping by with a C average in school while I lived with friends, partying and going crazy, a little more extreme than your typical liberated college student. But when Abby was born it changed my life. I suddenly had the motivation to focus and improve my grades, and my life prospects, because I knew I needed to do everything I could to give her the best life I was able to.  

Elizabeth Longoria: Sorry, I'm off topic. So anyway, my family always goes to Elizabeth's soccer games, every single one. We would make a day of it, bringing snacks, cheering her on, and then going to lunch together after her games. It was our Saturday ritual. And that's where Jade first brought Connor to meet us.

Officer Brown: And do you remember anything in particular about that meeting?

Elizabeth Longoria: Not really. Connor was great with Abby, he really went out of his way to include her, which I know from my own dating experience is not a given with every guy. And my parents loved him. Finally, their flawless daughter Jade was dating someone who lived up to her level of perfection. Jade was, as I'm sure you know, an 'accident' child. But I always felt throughout my childhood that they were secretly thankful to have one child who didn't screw absolutely everything up. They say the older child is the more responsible one, but that definitely wasn't true for Jade and I. Maybe it was because of our 7 year age difference, so that through most of my childhood I was an only child, but Jade has always been meticulous and obedient in everything she does. The girl didn't even drink until she was 21. Sorry Officer, maybe I shouldn't be telling you that. 

Officer Brown: Don't worry, I'm not here to prosecute your sister for underage drinking from ten years ago.

[laughing]

Elizabeth Longoria: Okay good. Sorry I know this doesn't really relate either, I talk too much.

Officer Brown: Absolutely not, learning more details can only help us to put the pieces of the life Connor assembled together. And you never know when something might turn out to be important that you don't think is. 

Elizabeth Longoria: Okay, I guess that makes sense. So, what was the question again?

Officer Brown: Did you notice anything in particular about Connor and Abby's first meeting.

Elizabeth Longoria: Oh right, well, not really as far as Connor goes. I liked him, my parents liked him. I guess that is the only thing I do remember about Abby specifically: she didn't like him at first.

Officer Brown: And why do you think that was?

Elizabeth Longoria: She told me after, when we were driving home, that she thought he was fake. That he was trying to hard. She said it was awkward. I told her he was just nervous to meet everyone and wanted everyone to like him because he liked Jade. She shrugged it off, and eventually, she grew to love him as much as the rest of us did.