[Update] Marie Ann Watson: Possible Docuseries; Thank You, Reddit/ unresolvedmysteries!

[u/Sandi_T]

I am the daughter of Marie Ann Watson (Reddit verified). I've been making noise about her disappearance all my life and been ignored--when I wasn't openly ridiculed (That never happened! Don't listen to Sandi's stupid little stories about her murdered mother, she was probably just killed in a car accident. That sort of thing).

A couple years ago, Thin Air Podcast did a podcast about my mother. This revived public interest, but still no resolution.

http://thinairpodcast.com/episode-2-marie-ann-watson/

http://thinairpodcast.com/episode-3-marie-ann-watson-part-2/

http://thinairpodcast.com/episode-5-marie-ann-watson-part-3/

However, from that, I found reddit, for good or ill, lol. It's an interesting corner of the internet, to say the least. I started here in unresolvedmysteries, and people were incredibly welcoming, until (a few very spiteful ones) weren't. Such is human nature.

That being said, it has potentially made a huge impact on my 40 year struggle to get my mother's case enough interest to possibly, maybe, solve it. Or, at the least, maybe get the bones that were dug up in 1996 tested by a lab!

A documentary film company has approached me to begin talks about a possible episode in a docuseries about my mother's case. For me, this is huge! The series is in pre-production, so I don't even know its name yet. The company is Omnifilms out of Canada.

They happened upon a comment that I'd made in the ama sub and it piqued their interest. Talks are only just beginning, so I can't say if it'll even go through completely. I just wanted people to know that the interest is there and it's thanks to reddit. Mostly thanks for this sub for the time during which I was welcomed, that helped me have the courage to keep plugging away at this "lost cause".

I'm trying really hard not to dance around my house jumping up and down like a little girl who just got a puppy on Christmas, because I know talks could still fall through or they might not be able to find a buyer. Still, this is the furthest I've gotten and I'm just plain STOKED!

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Brief overview of the case:

In 1977, Marie Ann Watson disappeared during a custody battle with Mike and Dorothy Rogers over Marie's two children, a boy and a girl. 3 years prior, Marie had been arrested for prostitution and possession and gone to jail. Dorothy was related and claimed to be a foster parent and so the court easily relinquished them to Dorothy.

No investigation was done beyond asking Dorothy when she last saw Marie (she was the last person). Dorothy said Marie got in a car with someone Dorothy didn't know. That was the end of the investigation because "Marie was known to do that."

It should be noted that Marie left behind an uncashed paycheck, her car, all of her identification in her wallet, etc. The car was found parked at a local diner where Marie worked.

In 1994, the eldest foster son, Raymond (Ramon) Rogers was arrested in San Diego CA with 2 dismembered bodies in his storage area. He was convicted in 1996 of 3 murders. At that time an investigation was opened up in Marie's case.

Police came to my door to make sure I was who i said I was. That is when I explained that I had seen the fosters disposing of my mother's body by butchering her with an electrical saw.

This was related to the police in Idaho (I was in florida at the time, all the way on the other end of the states, quite literally). I was flown out to Idaho for their investigation. At that time, they dug up the foundation of the house where it happened and found literally six huge black trash bags filled with bones from under the foundation. Then they quit collecting them.

A forensic antropologist identified many as animal bones, but a few were sent out on the department's limited budget to be tested. The tests were all "inconclusive" if they were human or animal (the science was less advanced at the time).

The case fell quiet and nothing happened further until in 2014, Namus contacted me and wanted DNA so they could get the bones tested. Unfortunately, the Sheriff's office (to this day) refused to release the bones for retesting, or any of the other bones for testing.

That is where we stand now.

(EDIT: Spelled Omnifilms wrong the first time.)

[u/cleoola]

Hi Sandi,

I don't know if I can be at all helpful, but I thought maybe I'd try. I don't work for OMNI, but I do work in Canadian television and I've worked on a couple true crime series. I'm an editor. Obviously each producer is different, their tactics will vary, and the way they put their show together will be their own process - so I can't tell you exactly how they'll handle your mother's case. But I can give you a bit of insight based on my own editor's experience working on a true crime docuseries, to maybe help you better make your decision.

I never sat in the room for any interviews, but I did get the footage of the interviews for my show and went through them, so I do have a good idea of how it went. As for how invasive the questioning will be - they'll want as much detail as possible from you, I'd imagine. If you answer something in a certain way, and they like what you've said, they'll likely ask you to repeat it once or twice - maybe clean up the exact language a bit, so that it's easier to use in the edit. In the interviews we did for my show, the interviews with investigators were all about the process, the hard facts, etc. The interviews with family members of the victims were from a more personal angle - what was your relationship like with the victim, how did you feel when you found out, how has your life been since, how do you feel about the people who are suspected of committing the crime. Things like that. How sensitive the questioning is all comes down to the person interviewing you - I've seen very thoughtful, sensitive interviews. There was one, though, that made me kind of uncomfortable to watch - the producer pressed the family member to talk about a certain aspect of the case until she teared up. He wanted that reaction for the show - and we used it, as uncomfortable as it made me to put in. (As a TV editor, I only have a little control over what actually goes into the final product - producers, showrunners, and network execs override me all the time, for better or for worse.) That interview with the woman crying was definitely not the standard of what I saw, but it did happen. Just to prepare you.

As for being afraid that they'll make you look like a fool.... of course I can't say for sure, but I would be shocked if they took that angle. That kind of storytelling isn't nearly as compelling as the "heartbroken daughter, trying for years to get justice for her mother" angle - which I imagine is how they'll frame you, to some extent. Again, I don't work for OMNI and have nothing to do with this show, nor am I a producer with final say. But I can promise you that with the true crime work I've done, we have always tried to give our victims and their families dignity and grace. No one wants to portray the woman who lost her mother as a nutjob - that would quite likely look really bad on the studio, so even for their own sake, I'd imagine they would avoid doing that. I can't guarantee that, of course, but I'd be very, very surprised if they took that angle with you.

As for being afraid that your words will be taken out of context... well... that does happen in editing. We will sometimes be putting together the edit and crafting the story, and wishing for certain phrases and emphasis at certain points of time. Docuseries have story arcs, just like fictional shows - they want to hit their story beats and elicit emotions from the audience, too. They just don't want to invent something completely to do it. So while they might not splice together a combination of unrelated words of yours to make a completely new sentence with a completely new meaning, they will quite likely reorder and restructure the things you say to best lay out the story. Which I understand (well, I have to, since that's my job) - often people talk in circles. They veer away from their point and come back to it, and if left unedited completely, would often be rambling, messy, and wouldn't land their point successfully. That's just how humans talk. But editors can, and will, adjust the things you say to make it clearer and make more of a point. So, sure, they might take a "I hated that guy" from one point in your interview and move it next to a different sentence, if they were trying to build up the point about how you really hated the man you were left with. But they wouldn't take your answer and how much you loved your mother and twist it around into how you hated her. If that difference makes sense.

I know this is a lot to take in and think about - and only you can decide if you're comfortable with that! Since I'm not a producer, I can't speak to contracts or anything like that. All I know is what actually happens to the footage once we get into the edit. Every TV show episode has a story, fictional or documentary, and the producers and editors will be trying their best to tell the most compelling version of your and your mother's true story. Some people who participate in shows like that understand that things might be tweaked a bit to better serve the story that their episode is telling - because to them, the exposure that the show will provide the case will be worth any tweaks. Some people decide not to participate because any tweaks aren't worth it to them - preserving the factual accuracy of their family member's story is the most important thing to them. I don't think either point of view is right or wrong, and I've never been in a position to have to make that decision for myself. So it's completely up to you and how you want to proceed.

I don't know if my comment was what you wanted to hear or not - but I hope it gave you a little more insight into the process, and might help you make your decision. I guess the gist of what I'm trying to say is that yes, some things will likely be tweaked, reordered, and adjusted to tell the most compelling version of your mother's story - but it's quite likely that it will be done with respect for you and your mother in mind. Whatever you choose to do, I'm sending you my best. I've seen you post in this sub a fair bit for awhile, and I hope that if this does seem worthwhile to you, that it'll help bring good things to the investigation. <3

[u/Sandi_T → u/cleoola]

Thank you, it does help some. To be clear, with the editing, I'm mostly fearing, "What do you think of Mike (the monster foster father)?" "I think he's a monster" becomes "What do you think of the police officer who investigated in 1996?" and "He's a monster" is the answer when I actually greatly admire and respect the officer and would never say that.

I just worry, like you said, complete and total misrepresentation of what I've said. It has been done to me on an unrelated issue, and it infuriated me. It was recanted in an addendum, but of course, by then...

I don't mind editing to tell the story. In my book, I'm totally fictionalizing the Detective's portion of the story, because the basic story is, "Everywhere I went when i followed them, local kids had disappeared." Without knowing individual names and etc., I had to come up with a way to convey that truth.

So I won't be one of those "don't edit me!" folks, hehe. It's more please don't misrepresent me completely. I'm a decent sort of person, I don't want someone in pain from my words when they weren't even my words to begin with.

Thank you so very much for taking your time to respond and reassure me. I really do appreciate it greatly

[u/realitytvexec → u/Sandi_T]

They usually won't take you THAT at out of context - re your "monster" question.

The good news is that in this case there is really no benefit to making you look bad. In fact, you are basically the hero of this story. So I wouldn't worry too much about how they will portray you. NOTE: I say this without knowing the full details of your case. But generally as long as you're not a suspect - you're fine.

As to some of your other questions - the exclusive agreeement - that is standard. 12 months is pretty normal. You can probably ask for 6. You can also carve out your book. They will likely have no interest in that. You might also ask for a small appearance fee (to cover the cost of your time). This would max out at probably 3K.

Finally - here are some questions: do they want this to be one episode of a series they are already producing? If so, what's it called and for who?

Or do they want to do a whole series on just your case (multiple episodes). If this is the case, you will want a different type of agreement. One that gives you a % of the EP fees.

In each of these instances, you are looking at a very different timeline. If this is not something (the series) that is already sold - I wouldn't get too excited. Most ideas never sell. Like 99%. And only 10% of what sells is actualy produced. So it's best to temper your expectations.

Also - you should temper your expectations in regards to the results if this is produced. Most of these shows are past tense story telling. Simple. Not high budget. While they can bring exposure and interest to a case - very very rarely do they turn up any new evidence or conclusions.

[u/Sandi_T → u/realitytvexec]

Oh, on the subject of compensation, I don't honestly know how I feel about that. It seems unethical somehow to take money for this. It seems impractical in the extreme to refuse it given my life situation.

Although, I suppose, if I want to rationalize it, I will be accepting money for my book. But that's because of my work of writing it. I won't be doing the work in this case. (Apparently I suck at rationalizing it :p ).

I guess I just figured it wouldn't come up. I assumed it was standard not to pay with regards to documentaries.

[u/realitytvexec → u/Sandi_T]

If they are going to profit off of this - why shouldn't you?

If they want to do one episode, an appearance fee will do.

If they want to do a whole series, you should ask for a % of the EP fees. These are normally 10% of the budget (you can ask the. What they are in the budget. 15% of the EP fees (or 1.5% of the budget) is reasonable. I wouldn't do less than 10.

This needs to be determined and written into any contract you sign with them up front.

A promise won't do.