By Melanie Fonder
News-Chronicle
Of all the inconsistencies
John Maloney's defense attorneys have raised about Tracy Hellenbrand's
testimony and statements to investigators, one of the most glaring was
her knowledge about one telephone call.
The call was placed from Madison Avenue
Hair Designers, 413 S. Madison St., to Sandy Maloney's residence the morning
of the murder.
During an interview in May 1998, Hellenbrand
told investigators more about the phone call than they thought she should
have known. Special agents told Hellenbrand John Maloney made a phone call
to his wife's residence on Feb. 10, 1998.
"I don't recall hearing him say he talked
to her that day, that Tuesday morning," Hellenbrand told investigators.
The agents asked Hellenbrand why she thought
the call was placed in the morning. She said she guessed it was placed
at 9 a.m. because investigators had once asked Maloney about the hair salon
and the location of his attorney's office.
The agents told Hellenbrand they never
told her the call was made from Madison Avenue Hair Designers - or that
it was made at 9 a.m. They had never asked John Maloney about it, either.
Hellenbrand said she knew that because
they had just told her. Todd Hellenbrand, Tracy's brother, was in the room,
and the agents asked him if he had heard them say anything about the time
or place of the phone call. Todd told his sister they had not given her
any details.
Tracy changed her story and said she knew
the information because John Maloney had Sandra Maloney's phone toll records.
At the end of the interview, she admitted her statement about the toll
records was not true.
But who exactly made the phone call - and
how Hellenbrand knew specific details about the time and location of the
call - were not revealed during the trial. |