![]() The 1990 case that sparked a national conversation about repressed memory is now being retold in a new four-part Showtime documentary series. Decades later, the daughter, now an adult, reported a vivid memory: She had watched her own father kill her friend. The true-crime author’s book “Once Upon a Time: A True Story of Memory, Murder and the Law” examined a controversial case when a daughter’s playmate went missing. The author’s next project is about Charles Starkweather. MacLean prepares to be interviewed for “Buried,” the docuseries based on his book that’s showing this month on Showtime. Read this article with more photos on SFGATE website > The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office takes tips at 80, and the Foster City Police Department has an anonymous hotline at 65. If you know anything that may aid law enforcement in closing Susan’s case, there are several tip lines. Franklin was the last named suspect in the murder. In 1970, a 56-year-old San Jose man was arrested on suspicion of the murder, but eventually the charge was dropped and he instead faced unrelated child molestation charges, then only a misdemeanor. Only one other person of interest has ever been identified in connection with the case. “But that fits 10 million Americans,” a police spokesperson bemoaned. They said he was middle aged with dark hair greying on the sides. A few days later, more Foster City Elementary students reported unsettling behavior from a man in a blue station wagon who seemed to be casing the school. Frightened, she ran home and told her mother. When he opened the car door, the girl saw a rifle sitting in the front seat. ![]() He claimed to have “toys” in the car and wanted to drive her home. One 9-year-old girl came forward and told police a week before the man had flagged her down and said he knew her parents. Left mostly unaddressed, though, is the last, lingering question for its most often forgotten victim: Susan Nason.Īlthough some members of Franklin’s family still maintain George was her murderer - he was exonerated on appeal in 1995 - there are as few clues today as there were when she disappeared in 1969.Īt the time, the San Mateo Times reported there were multiple sightings of a suspicious man in a blue sedan circling near the school. Although “Buried” takes a small stumble in the final hour trying to belatedly give airtime to both sides, it’s a devastating portrait of how the cycle of abuse devours everything in its path. Not a single person is untouched by violence. It all made for a very strange and salacious tabloid brew, and Eileen became a regular on TV talk shows, many clips of which are shown on “Buried.” Eileen and one of her sisters accused their father of sexually assaulting them throughout their childhood, and even George’s own lawyer admits on “Buried” that George had a history of dubious - if not legally actionable - sexual activity. ![]() As the trial unfolded, the Franklin family’s worst secrets became matters of public discussion and sometimes ridicule. Today, recovered memory is considered something of a pseudoscience, and the case is held up as its prime example of a miscarriage of justice.īut that is only half the story. ![]() Nonetheless, George Franklin was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. She also had repeated inconsistencies in her remembrances, and there was no physical evidence or witness testimony to link the former Foster City firefighter to the crime. (As an aside for locals, it’s also fascinating to see so much footage of Bay Area suburbs in the 1960s.)Ī story in the San Mateo Times from December 1969 discusses details from the Susan Nason crime scene.San Mateo Times/Screenshot The four episodes utilize trial clips and police interviews to show the battle between Eileen Franklin-Lipsker and her father, George Franklin. The Bay Area case that rocked the region and set the “recovered memory” precedent across the nation is the subject of Showtime’s new docuseries “Buried,” which premieres on Oct. Then, 20 years on, a woman came forward with an astonishing claim: She had recovered repressed memories of watching her father kill Susan. From there, she disappeared, kicking off a massive Bay Area search that tragically ended in the discovery of her body near Crystal Springs Reservoir a few months later. After an ordinary day at Foster City Elementary School, Susan walked to a friend’s house to drop off a pair of forgotten gym shoes. Susan Nason was a few days short of her 10th birthday when she went missing on Sept. BY Katie Dowd, SFGATE – Posted October 10, 2021
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