Serial Killer Groupies

 

During Ford's trial, Redstall entered as part of the press, claiming she was making a documentary, so the sheriff's department asked to have her credentials checked.  It turned out that she'd already made one documentary, "Hover Me: The Making of Helicopter Girl," in which she had photographers in helicopters film her as she stood on her balcony at night in skimpy nightwear.  News photographers also found her and hovered overhead, causing her annoyed neighbors to force her to move.

While the San Bernardino sheriff's department barred Redstall from the prison, the judge allowed her to take photographs and bring in a camera.  She and Ford had worked out a series of hand signals, so he could assure her he received her notes. She took pictures so freely, in fact, that the court reprimanded her, and then decreased all media access. After closing arguments, she drove alongside the van in which Ford rode back to the prison, so that he could see her in her red convertible.  Once he was convicted, however, his own defense team asked that no one be allowed to visit him.

"I trust Wayne with my life," Redstall said in a press interview, stating that the two of them had grown completely "tuned in" to each other.  "He's got such a kindness to him, and such a conscience."

In fact, part of his defense drew on this notion, since he had turned himself in.  A defense psychiatrist even stated (erroneously) that this was unheard of for a serial killer.  The jury ignored the appeal and convicted Ford on all counts, recommending death.

Many people believe that Redstall, 34, is in this relationship strictly for publicity, because her career as an actress never really got off the ground. As for her documentary, which she will call either "Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer" or "A Killer with a Conscience," she may or may not have the financing to get it made. (The company she named told inquiring reporters it was not involved in the film project.) When the media glow finally fades, one can only wonder just how long Redstall will stick with her plan to make Ford "a star."

In another play for attention, she stated on August 19 that she's going to search for the missing head of Ford's first victim, not recovered when investigators brought in the corpse.  According to the San Bernardino Count Sun, she laughingly refers to it as "going headhunting."  While she claims she hopes to help a family get closure, she also wants "something exciting for my documentary."  Victim advocates are incensed at her tasteless stunt.  Nevertheless, with such tabloid headlines, someone will surely step forward and fulfill this groupie's fantasies.