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Victim's 911 Call Played During Braunstein Trial:<br>"I don't know if they're police...I don't trust anybody."
By
Jen Chung
Published May 2, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 2, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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The jury in the trial of Peter Braunstein listened to the terrified voice of his victim as the prosecution played the 911 tape made on November 1, 2005. Braunstein had masqueraded as a firefighter in order for his former co-worker to let him into her apartment on Halloween night, only for him to torture her for 13 hours. From the Daily News:
The woman had somehow kept her cool as Braunstein drugged, stripped and sexually abused her for nearly 13 hours. But she finally lost it while talking to police dispatcher Marian Grillo, who struggled to reassure the terrified victim - and to keep her from hanging up.
"I don't know. ... I don't trust anybody," the victim told the operator, after the cops arrived at her apartment door. "The guy who was here had a police badge. He had a fire uniform. He had everything. I'm so scared."
But Grillo assured her that these were not fake cops.
"I'm showing on my screen that they're there," the dispatcher said. "I'm staying on the phone until they identify themselves to me."
Grillo pleaded with the victim not to hang up the phone and asked to speak to her friend, Jeannia Robinette.
Robinette, who was supposed to meet her friend on Halloween night and attempted to enter the apartment when Braunstein was holding the victim captive, said that her friend's silence saved both of them: Apparently Braunstein had a gun to the victim's head when Robinette was knocking at the door. After Braunstein left, the victim used her teeth to unknot the cords around her wrists and called Robinette. Robinette testified, "I didn't even recognize her. It looked like she had been punched in the eye." A doctor said that the victim's face was bruised and burned, as well as her ankles, hands and elbows: "They were remarkable in their extent. The facial injuries were the most remarkable."
The Post has a transcript of the 911 call and also included evidence photos (pictured), including surveillance footage of Braunstein checking into a motel, the victim's hands, and the cord used to tied her. Braunstein was slumped in his chair, which his lawyers said because he was "out of it." Robinette, however, said, "He's sitting there slumped over, trying to look like he's lost his mind. But he clearly did not if he did this crime."
Tagged
crime
daily news
fire
gun
halloween
news
peter braunstein
photos
police
the post
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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