Friends Portray Letourneau As Confused, Frustrated Teacher In Child-Rape Case May Have Stopped Taking Medication For Psychological Disorder
In 31 days of freedom, Mary Kay Letourneau became confused and frustrated, stopped taking the medication she was given for a psychological disorder and shopped impulsively.
That is how unidentified friends, neighbors and other associates portrayed the 36-year-old former teacher in a Seattle Post-Intelligencer article published Tuesday.
Letourneau, who pleaded guilty in August to two counts of second-degree child rape for having sex with a 14-year-old boy who fathered her 9-month-old daughter, was ordered Friday to begin serving seven years and five months in prison. The sentence, suspended last fall, was reinstated after city police caught her violating a court order that she have no contact with the boy.
Letourneau emerged from jail Jan. 2 with an optimistic outlook and a willingness to meet the terms of her suspended sentence, confidants told the P-I.
Disguised as a punk rocker wrapped in chains, she walked past news reporters undetected to move into a home in the Seward Park neighborhood.
She drove herself to three psychotherapy appointments a week in Bellevue, checked in by phone and made the required visits to meet with a community corrections officer.
She talked of looking forward to seeing the baby. Friends said they took photographs of the boy and their baby, Audrey, and gave her the film.
She also began talking about seeking a naturopathic alternative to medication that she was taking to ease the mood swings from bipolar disorder, and grew increasingly insecure about her appearance.
Friends said she asked a dermatologist about a chemical peel to remove facial acne scars, planned to have plastic surgery to remove deep wrinkles in her brow, and wore baggy sweat pants and T-shirts layered under a sweat shirt because she thought she was too thin.
On Jan. 13, Letourneau had an old pager reactivated with a new number, then later had another pager activated, which police said allowed her and the boy to reach each other at will.
She began returning home late at night, telling friends the darkness provided a sense of protection and anonymity.
Starting Jan. 20, department store receipts show, Letourneau used a debit card to buy more than $1,000 worth of young men’s clothes, men’s shoes, a tie, underwear, socks, baby clothes, toys and casual wear for herself. She returned some of the items when friends convinced her she was spending too much.
One shopping trip ended when she was recognized and walked out of the Nordstrom store in Bellevue Square, a clerk said.
On Jan. 28, the boy was suspended from middle school for smoking.
The next day, Letourneau spoke by telephone with her eldest son, 13, who lives in Alaska with her estranged husband and their other three children. Friends said her son called after his father became concerned because the youngster had become distraught.
On Jan. 30, Letourneau celebrated her 36th birthday at lunch with friends who gave her a new 35mm camera. A waitress recalled that she passed around baby pictures.
She was arrested at 3 a.m. Feb. 3 upon being found with the teen-ager in her car after they bought some groceries and went to see the movie “Wag the Dog.”