Doc: The Rape of the Town of Lovell (31 page)

other."

As she took her seat in the witness box, it wasn't lost on her that she'd been subpoenaed by Story and not by the state. She knew the defense scenario by heart: the Mormons had plotted to destroy the kindly town doctor because he refused to convert; as Relief Society president, she'd brainwashed her daughters and then solicited and coached the other witnesses; she was a cheap gossipy laundry-woman who was just trying to beat the good doctor out of his bill.

A few days before the hearings began, she and Dean had paid their $2,125 medical account and another $213 for Meg and Danny, to spike one line of questioning. And she'd resigned as Relief Society president to spike another. As to the part about coaching the witnesses, it was just plain false and she could prove it by a dozen witnesses; from the beginning, she'd gone out of her way to avoid hearing their stories. She took no pleasure from hearing sexual details, least of all when rape was involved. She still didn't know exactly what Story had done to her own daughters except that it involved a "tube." Nor did she want to know, now or ever.

Under questioning, she insisted on telling the story her way, not just in bits and pieces. She started with Minda's first complaints four years back. Several times the defense attorney demanded that she stick to the point, but she thought she knew the point better than anyone in the courtroom and plowed the furrow straight. He questioned her for forty-five minutes and ended up on the subject of the bill:

Q
(By
Charles Kepler
) Over the period of years, you've had a substantial bill with Dr. Story, have you not?

A Yes, I have. But he's been paid well.

Q And when was he paid?

A You know when he was paid, Mr. Kepler.

Q I know when he was paid. The Board does not know when he was paid. You tell them, would you, please?

A Excuse me. He was paid last week. . . .

Q He's carried you for an extended period of time for a substantial sum of money and was paid in full last week?

A That's right.

On cross-examination, Kathy Karpan gave her a chance to unburden herself. "I can tell all of you in here today," Arden said, "that I know where Christ walked when he carried that cross, because I have fellow members of the church . . . that are saying, 'Crucify her. Crucify her!' And I've been there. I know what it is."

Q Are you satisfied that you've had an opportunity to tell your story?

A I don't think this Medical Board would know the story if they had a whole week to listen. But I feel that it's important that they do know it. I feel that Khrushchev said many years ago that he didn't have to worry about nuclear war in the United States because we are decaying from within. And I believe that's happening. . . . We have been accused of being an LDS community, but that's not true. Our hospital board is not run by LDS. Our school board is not run by LDS. Our town is not run by LDS. It's run by other organizations.

Q I've got one last question for you, Mrs. McArthur. All things considered, would you do this again?

A I would do it again if I lose every penny I had in this world.

She was standing on the courthouse steps wondering if anyone had believed her when Kathy Karpan tiptoed up and gave her a bear hug. "Oh, Arden," she said, "you're beautiful. You're
beautiful\
If you could've seen the look on Story's face . . ."

44

THE RECORD

BEFORE THE WYOMING STATE BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS In the Matter of the License of JOHN H. STORY, M.D.

(Excerpts)

TESTIMONY OF DOUGLAS E. WRUNG, M.D.

Q (By
Charles Kepler
) Have you formed an opinion on Dr. Story's qualification as a physician?

A I think he's a good, solid physician. I think he's competent and ethical from what I've observed. I think he's well read, particularly in orthopedic surgery, hand surgery. He is very introspective. He's not particularly pushy, but . . . he's usually pretty tactful. . . .

Q Have you had an opportunity to form an opinion as to his techniques in giving pelvic examinations?

A I would say it's standard from what I'm used to, at least what I've observed. . . .

Q Would you have any kind of feeling as to how much time he spent on a given pelvic exam . . . ?

A Maybe three to five minutes.

Q Is that an abnormally long, abnormally short, or normal period of time?

A I would say that's average time.

TESTIMONY OF MARILYN STORY

Q (By
Loretta Kepler) How
did you meet Dr. Story? Where? In Denver?

A No. I met him in Wheaton, Illinois. I was visiting or living with a cousin and my husband was going to school there and living in that same house and I met him there. . . .

Q Has the doctor asked you to cancel any bills?

A Oh, many. Yes.

Q It has been testified that the doctor offered to cancel Scott Brinkerhoffs bill. Does that surprise you? Is that untypical of Dr. Story?

A In that particular situation, he—he's the kind of person who says that if someone thinks they don't owe him anything, he doesn't want anything. ... At times maybe I feel like he's too easy on people, but I'm very used to it. . . .

Q What do you recall about one of the last visits of Minda Brinkerhoff? Anything?

A Yes. ... I do recall very specifically that she was in the room for a long time talking with Doctor because you would hear her laughing a lot and talking a lot.

Q How could you hear her?

A Because she was loud, laughed loud, talked loud.

Q Could you hear what she was saying?

A No, we didn't try.

Q Did you interrupt any of her examinations?

A I don't recall specifically interrupting hers. I was very ready to, that day.

Q Why was that?

A Because it was taking so long. She was in there a long time and he was getting behind. . . .

Q What sort of husband is Dr. Story?

A A very good husband. Very affectionate. Very thoughtful. He's a gentleman. He's very respectful of me and our daughters. He treats them all—he treats us all very kindly and with a lot of consideration.

Q Have you ever suspected him of having an affair with another woman?

A Absolutely not.

Q Why not?

A I just know him. It's never entered my mind. Besides, he's always home if he isn't at the hospital. I always know where he

is. . . .

Q Have you had an opportunity to observe your husband's behavior toward other women?

A Yes. . . . Very considerate, very respectful, very gentlemanly. He always opens car doors, helps them on with their coats. Every woman. Very kind. . . .

Q Is he protective?

A ... He tries to protect me from anything that would be upsetting. ... He never comes home with things like that. . . .

Q What sort of man do you think your husband is?

A Well, he's a procrastinator, but he's conservative, concerned, conscientious. He's protective. He's levelheaded. His moods never change. He's always happy, same always. He's affectionate. He's a very private person. He doesn't talk a lot. He's difficult to understand sometimes. I don't know. . . .

TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH BkOWN

Q (By
Charles Kepler
) Did [the McArthurs] relate to you that they had talked to their church people?

A ... Minda had stated that she had gone to the bishop and that she had—he told her that perhaps she should get another doctor. And then she went to President Abraham of the Lovell . . . Stake, I guess it is, and he stated that he didn't quite understand how this could be. And he said would she get up on the desk and show him. And she said she did. . . .

Q What was your report ... to your board?

A Basically that the witness was paradoxical in her behavior, her mother was contradictory in her statements but held to the fact that they wanted to go to the State Board of Medical Examiners. And since this was an occasion in the doctor's office, we had no— no other complaint in the hospital whatsoever. We had never had an off-color remark from Dr. Story's surgery or any part of the hospital. We've never had any of—my best-looking girls go to him and swear by him. . . .

Barbara Shumway, personnel director at the North Big Horn Hospital and the Storys' companion on their trip to Jamaica, testified that she'd sat in on the hospital meeting with Arden McArthur and Minda Brinkerhoff as a witness for her boss, Joe Brown. She described Minda's behavior: "Well, she was talking very fast. She cried. She would laugh. She would contradict herself on something that she just said before."

Verda Croft, a Mormon and director of nursing at the hospital, testified that Dr. Story was "picky," "professional," "very ethical," and never flirted. "We don't even dare tell a shady joke. . . . It's just not his personality. It's just not his character. He's very reserved. We just respect him that way. He just does not care for shady jokes or that kind of talk."

Jane Keil, a registered nurse for almost forty years, described Dr. Story as "very efficient," "very modest," and poor at communication.

Kay Holm, a pastor's daughter, wife of a Lovell High School teacher and active member of Story's church, reiterated most of her deposition testimony about his excellent character and Lovell's taste for gossip. "It's a little scary to us to have an innocent person attacked by a certain group, and then it snowballs and it happens over and over again." She described Lovell as "sort of like a Peyton Place, only worse."

Rural mail carrier Peggy Rasmussen testified that she hadn't thought twice about letting her daughter go to work for Dr. Story, because the charges against him were "totally ludicrous." She said that Minda Brinkerhoff had "a very bad mental problem, and I think her mother pushed it." Mrs. Rasmussen testified that her colleague Aletha Durtsche could talk herself into believing whatever she wanted to believe and "can't keep a secret."

After the last defense witness was excused, Dr. Story took the stand in his own behalf; his earlier appearance had been as a hostile witness for the state. This time Charles Kepler did the questioning, and the general content was a blanket denial of every charge or insinuation, sometimes reinforced by office records and charts.

Q Do you ever say routinely, "I'm going to dilate you"?

A
Not routinely. I've heard that term more in the last three days than the rest of my life put together. . . .

Q At any time, at any place, have you ever exposed your penis in [Meg] Anderson's presence?

A
No.

Q ... Insert your penis into her vagina?

A
No. . . .

Q Have you ever had your penis out at any time under any conditions or place where Mrs. Brinkerhoff was present?

A Or any examination, no.

Q Did you ever insert your penis into her vagina at that examination or any other place or time?

A No.

Q What could she have seen that might look like a penis ... ?

A Well, actually, I haven't made a real effort to figure it out. . . . Maybe I should have. Other people have. I don't know. People wondered if I have taken my glove with me and had it on the table while I was examining her abdomen. But I don't really—I guess maybe I should strain my mind to figure some weird explanation out. ...

Q Do you think this is a Mormon conspiracy against you?

A No. I have never said that. I've never thought it. I have put it a little bit differently—a small group of Mormons. And if anything, it's them using the church, not the church using them. . . . This is—they just have to be a small little clique of people.

It was 6:30
p.m
. and dark outside when Kepler finished with the direct examination. Judge Raper announced that the final day of the hearings would begin the next morning at eight. It was already the longest such inquiry in Wyoming history.

In the morning, Kathy Karpan announced that the state had no immediate questions for Dr. Story and didn't intend to put on a rebuttal case. The members of the Board took over the interrogation. Most of their questions were medical and technical:

Q
(By
Harold D. Thomason, M.D.)
. . . And the electric table can be tipped up and down?

A Yes.

Q Forward and back and raise and lower itself?

A Yes. Right.

Q
(By
Thomas V. Toft
, M.D.) Do you have any anatomic abnormalities of your genitalia?

A No, I don't think so. . . .

Q Do you ever find that doing pelvic examinations arouses you sexually?

A I don't think so. I'm interested in the anatomy, pathology, the finding, the recording, the knowledge I gain from it. . . .

Q
(By
David Vick, D.O.) Do
you see patients at night or on weekends without the benefit of a nurse or secretary in your office?