A white woman whose rape allegations against two black men were thrown out by a grand jury claims the video evidence that exonerated them was edited.
Amanda Zawieruszynski, 40, accused her neighbor John Marks, 41, of raping her on November 8 last year along with his friend, policeman Freddie Douglas, 43.
The mother-of-three claimed the pair forced her to have a threesome in the pool at Marks’ house in in Manvel, just outside Houston.
Marks and Douglas were arrested last December, but the aggravated rape and kidnapping charges were dismissed by a grand jury in May after footage from Marks’ home security system exonerated them.
The men accused her of racism. They said her claims were an attempt to invoke white privilege to put them behind bars.
But Zawieruszynski insisted her rape claims were true, and filed her own lawsuit on August 26 demanding more than $1 million in damages.
Amanda Zawieruszynski, 40, whose rape claim against two black men was thrown out by a grand jury is sticking to her story, claiming key evidence was tampered with
John Marks and Freddie Douglas were arrested last December but the aggravated rape and kidnapping charges were dismissed by a grand jury in May after footage from Marks’ home security system exonerated them
She stuck to her story, despite footage that suggested the incident was nothing more than a consensual threesome.
But buried in legal documents is another astonishing claim.
Zawieruszynski, in her complaint, claimed the footage was tampered with to make the men look innocent.
‘At some point Douglas asked Marks if [Zawieruszynski] was alright, Marks replied don’t worry about it because he was going to delete the footage from his security camera,’ it claimed.
The claim of doctored footage wasn’t elaborated on in the lawsuit, and Zawieruszynski’s lawyer Thomas Cammack said she hadn’t seen the video.
‘The alleged video footage referenced by the defendants is not footage that Amanda was privy to throughout the investigation,’ he told DailyMail.com.
‘Despite documented police reports referencing tampered video evidence, we are aware that the footage was inaccurately presented to the grand jury as original, undoctored footage.’
Cammack said he hoped to access the full video of the night and morning, along with evidence from sealed police reports, during discovery.
‘This footage is something we look forward to reviewing and discussing in discovery as we fight in court for justice and the truth, as reflected in Ms Zawieruszynski’s lawsuit,’ he said.
‘Ms Zawieruszynski was raped and has had to undergo severe medical intervention because of these individual’s actions. We are looking forward to seeing the truth prevail in the court of law.’
Zawieruszynski insisted her rape claims were true, and filed her own lawsuit on August 26 demanding more than $1 million in damages
However, Douglas’ lawyer Michael Kerensky told DailyMail.com her claim the footage was altered was ‘pure fantasy’ and was being used to ‘justify the false allegations’.
Kerensky said Zawieruszynski’s claim in her lawsuit that she heard Marks tell Douglas not to worry as he would delete the footage was ‘a lie, he never said that’.
‘Marks never deleted any of the footage, and even if he did, the district attorney’s office obtain the full, unedited source video from the Ring doorbell company’ where all footage is backed up and can’t be altered by the customer, he added.
Kerensky said the grand jury viewed the full footage during their deliberations, which are – by law – closed to both parties.
Zawieruszynski also claimed in her lawsuit, without providing more details, that Marks and Douglas raped other women and planned to assault more.
‘These acts are not an isolated incident nor is [Zawieruszynski] the only victim of the sexual assault and acts committed by defendants,’ the lawsuit claimed.
‘Upon information and belief, correspondences exist between the defendants of whether or not they will “turn her out” and Douglas asked Marks if her was going to “bleed her” related to another woman they had plans to rape together.’
Kerensky said the claim that Marks and Douglas raped and planned to rape other women was ‘a lie… she is desperate, and she is deluded’.
Cammack did not respond to questions from DailyMail.com asking for more information to back up the allegation.
Freddie Douglas, 43, lost almost everything after he was accused of raping his best friend’s white neighbor in a threesome on his birthday
Both men were arrested by Manvel police and locked up until they were able to stump up hefty bonds to be released, with Douglas’ mother paying his.
Douglas was fired from his job as a detective, had to sell his family home in a ‘fire sale’ to pay legal fees, and was shunned by friends and neighbors.
Both he and Marks are suing Manvel police and Zawieruszynski in separate claims alleging civil right violations, defamation and malicious prosecution.
They claimed police pursued the case even after seeing the footage, and the Brazoria County District Attorney’s Office couldn’t convince them to drop it, forcing them to empanel the grand jury to get it dismissed.
‘As Freddie Douglas moved around the small town of El Campo, the stares and whispers followed him everywhere,’ his lawsuit read.
‘The grocery store; Walmart; getting gas; at stop lights. In a town like El Campo, if a police officer is arrested and fired summarily by the department, everyone assumes that the accused is guilty.
‘Only Freddie Douglas’ closest friends and family supported him during this time. The result nearly crushed Freddie Douglas’ spirit.
‘His future looked very dark.’
Marks and Zawieruszynski began a months-long sexual relationship as she had separated from her husband Michael earlier that year (pictured together before the marriage ended)
Zawieruszynski gave a harrowing account of what she claimed happened, which she said ‘disfigured’ her and caused internal and external injuries that required ‘surgical intervention’ and ongoing treatment.
‘I felt like I was drowning in a sea of shame, fear, and confusion,’ she said in a statement obtained by DailyMail.com.
‘No one prepares you for the aftermath of such a violation, especially when one of the perpetrators is a member of law enforcement who is supposed to protect you.
‘I was held captive. I was force-fed alcohol, my clothing was forcibly removed, my body was battered, and I was raped repeatedly throughout the night.’
Zawieruszynski, who said she was a single mother-of-three since breaking up with her husband Michael last year, claimed she was forced to flee her home with her family because Marks and Douglas harassed her.
Her lawsuit claimed she ‘believed she would die that night’ and was held captive and raped numerous times, each more violent than the last, which it laid out in graphic detail – some too horrifying to publish.