Allan Krebs helped Benda look for the stolen items. He stated, “The whole family had combed his property looking for these articles,” including Rex. Of course, they did not find anything.
Eventually the local authorities arrested Rex. He felt bad about the break-in and told Arnold Benda, “It was a stupid thing to do, and I won’t do it again.” It was his first official run-in with the law.
It would not be his last.
Less than two weeks later, on March 3, 1981, at 6:25 P.M. , Rex was rushed to Bonner General Hospital emergency room by Allan Krebs. His father informed the nurse that Rex had fallen off the back of his truck. Dr. Fred Marienau examined Rex. Allan seemed annoyed at having to be at the hospital. He was also uncooperative with the nursing staff when he checked Rex in. According to the medical report, Allan refusedto give Connie’s name or contact information. He also claimed to have lost his insurance card.
Dr. Marienau performed a cursory observation of fifteen-year-oldRex. He noted that the teenager had an abrasion on his left shoulder, swelling and a laceration on his right cheek, a small amount of blood from his left ear, and several contusionson his body.
Dr. Marienau again asked Allan Krebs what happened to his son. Allan claimed that Rex fell off his pickup truck “while the truck was stopped and we were tossing out garbage.” Krebs contended that Rex hit his head on the concrete when he fell.
According to Dr. Marienau, the various marks, lacerations, and bruises seemed to indicate something unusual. The capperfor him was the blood from Rex’s left ear. He stated, “It usually signifies that the ear has suffered some kind of blow. You could make blood come from the ear by hitting it very hard on the outside and rupturing some blood vessels in there.” The doctor assumed something untoward had happenedto the teenage boy.
According to his notes, Dr. Marienau wrote “Verbal Advice.”The elderly doctor did not recall specifically what, if anything, he said to Allan Krebs, but he knew “Verbal Advice”on a patient’s chart indicated he had spoken to the parent about possible child abuse.
In a possible abuse situation, Dr. Marienau also made it a policy to ask the child how he or she obtained their markings. In this instance Rex, while in the presence of his father, reiteratedeverything his father said.
Exactly as his father had said it.
When Dr. Marienau asked Allan Krebs to leave the examiningroom, he again asked Rex how he got the cuts and bloody ear. Rex changed his story. He told the doctor, “I think—I think I fell in PE today. I think I hit it with a board. I think—I must have fallen in PE there too.”
Dr. Marienau ordered X rays for Rex to make sure nothingwas broken. The results were negative. Instead of following up further on what seemed like an abuse case, Dr. Marienau sent Rex home. He concluded that Rex had suffered a “Head trauma.” He suggested “rest and observationat home.” He did not file a child abuse report with the Child Protective Services Agency.
During 1981 fifteen-year-old Rex decided to escape his father’sclutches one more time. He headed for the nearby train tracks, hoping to hop a train and get the hell out of Sandpoint. He waited around for hours, but no train appeared. Soon he became less excited about running away and more interested in causing some destruction. Rex spotted a loose metal rail in the area and grabbed it. As he did, he spotted a train repair car coming up the tracks by itself. There was a repairman on board on his way to fix one of the beaten-up trains. Rex dragged the metal rail across the train tracks.
As the repair car came down the tracks, Rex leaped over a small hill of rocks and watched the events unfold. In a case of the world’s largest penny-flattening experiment gone awry, the train car ran over the rail and catapulted off the tracks, accompaniedby a screeching symphony of scraping metal and crushed rocks. The
Eventually the local authorities arrested Rex. He felt bad about the break-in and told Arnold Benda, “It was a stupid thing to do, and I won’t do it again.” It was his first official run-in with the law.
It would not be his last.
Less than two weeks later, on March 3, 1981, at 6:25 P.M. , Rex was rushed to Bonner General Hospital emergency room by Allan Krebs. His father informed the nurse that Rex had fallen off the back of his truck. Dr. Fred Marienau examined Rex. Allan seemed annoyed at having to be at the hospital. He was also uncooperative with the nursing staff when he checked Rex in. According to the medical report, Allan refusedto give Connie’s name or contact information. He also claimed to have lost his insurance card.
Dr. Marienau performed a cursory observation of fifteen-year-oldRex. He noted that the teenager had an abrasion on his left shoulder, swelling and a laceration on his right cheek, a small amount of blood from his left ear, and several contusionson his body.
Dr. Marienau again asked Allan Krebs what happened to his son. Allan claimed that Rex fell off his pickup truck “while the truck was stopped and we were tossing out garbage.” Krebs contended that Rex hit his head on the concrete when he fell.
According to Dr. Marienau, the various marks, lacerations, and bruises seemed to indicate something unusual. The capperfor him was the blood from Rex’s left ear. He stated, “It usually signifies that the ear has suffered some kind of blow. You could make blood come from the ear by hitting it very hard on the outside and rupturing some blood vessels in there.” The doctor assumed something untoward had happenedto the teenage boy.
According to his notes, Dr. Marienau wrote “Verbal Advice.”The elderly doctor did not recall specifically what, if anything, he said to Allan Krebs, but he knew “Verbal Advice”on a patient’s chart indicated he had spoken to the parent about possible child abuse.
In a possible abuse situation, Dr. Marienau also made it a policy to ask the child how he or she obtained their markings. In this instance Rex, while in the presence of his father, reiteratedeverything his father said.
Exactly as his father had said it.
When Dr. Marienau asked Allan Krebs to leave the examiningroom, he again asked Rex how he got the cuts and bloody ear. Rex changed his story. He told the doctor, “I think—I think I fell in PE today. I think I hit it with a board. I think—I must have fallen in PE there too.”
Dr. Marienau ordered X rays for Rex to make sure nothingwas broken. The results were negative. Instead of following up further on what seemed like an abuse case, Dr. Marienau sent Rex home. He concluded that Rex had suffered a “Head trauma.” He suggested “rest and observationat home.” He did not file a child abuse report with the Child Protective Services Agency.
During 1981 fifteen-year-old Rex decided to escape his father’sclutches one more time. He headed for the nearby train tracks, hoping to hop a train and get the hell out of Sandpoint. He waited around for hours, but no train appeared. Soon he became less excited about running away and more interested in causing some destruction. Rex spotted a loose metal rail in the area and grabbed it. As he did, he spotted a train repair car coming up the tracks by itself. There was a repairman on board on his way to fix one of the beaten-up trains. Rex dragged the metal rail across the train tracks.
As the repair car came down the tracks, Rex leaped over a small hill of rocks and watched the events unfold. In a case of the world’s largest penny-flattening experiment gone awry, the train car ran over the rail and catapulted off the tracks, accompaniedby a screeching symphony of scraping metal and crushed rocks. The
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