John Putnam's Journal
March 16, 2005
(Man admits guilt in Lake LBJ boat death LLANO — More than a year after Laura Putnam drowned in the dark waters of Lake LBJ as a sleek speedboat sped away, the man accused of leaving her behind stood in court Friday, admitted his guilt and apologized to her family. "Mr. and Mrs. Putnam ... I want to give you my condolences," said a subdued Robert "Triple" Corrigan III, a 29-year-old real estate salesman who lives in San Antonio. He professed sorrow for their loss and pain and said they were in his prayers. Corrigan pleaded guilty to failure to stop and render aid and was given a six-month jail sentence, 10 years deferred adjudication and a $10,000 fine by District Judge Guilford Jones. By rolling the dice and entering the plea before the judge, Corrigan dodged a jury trial or a plea bargain with Llano County District Attorney Sam Oatman, avenues that could have resulted in a prison sentence of up to 10 years.....)
That was to be my victim impact statement had I been given the opportunity to give it. A lot of time has passed now. The original trial was set to go off in April of 2004. It was delayed and didn't happen until November of 2004. Corrigan surprised everyone and entered a guilty plea. So, none of the evidence was presented. Seems even more like he got away with it. I don't think he was counting on the judge sentencing him to some jail time though. County jail time, not prison. As a result I wasn't able to be there. We did get to sit in on some depositions in the civil matter. Corrigan was supposed to be there at 10am that morning. He showed up about a half hour late. He is so cheesy. He looked like a cross between a used car salesman and a manager of a low-grade topless bar. He sat there and pleaded the Fifth Amendment for about 45 minutes. Our civil attorney started off with some serious questions, then shifted gears and started asking him stuff like, "Do you make it a habit of getting drunk and running over people in a boat and killing them?" And, "Just how many people have you killed in your life?" That was probably the only time he had to sit there and face that type of ridicule in front of us. It was bittersweet. Then after Corrigan was deposed and left, the attorneys pushed the chair he was sitting in out in the hall stating they were disgusted by it and didn't want it in the room. ..... (edited) The Dawson's insurance company settled the civil matter. We never heard from them again. Not that we would want to but the bottom line remains, this group as a whole will never ever take one single ounce of responsibility for this. I think they still can't believe that this was even an issue. It is nice to move on though. I remember during the criminal investigation becoming very irritated by the not knowing part of it. The only thing I would think sometimes is that there will be a period of time down the road when this will all be over. Well, here it is. Finally. Audrey and I have a new baby and are hoping for another one soon. My only major concern in life regarding losing Laura is this. One day, my children that were born after the accident are going to come to me and ask what happened. They are going to ask me about her. The will have seen pictures of her and such throughout their very early lives. I am sure that when they are barely old enough to understand what happened that someone, probably my mother will tell them. They will go to Grandma's house and there will be pictures and so on. But eventually, as they grow older and become more mature, it will hit them and they will want to know the real story. They are going to want to know the real Laura and what she meant to their father. They are probably going to ask their mother why dad never talks about her to them. What am I going to say? I am able to talk to anyone about her at anytime, no problem. But, I lose it terribly at the thought of having to figure out how to pass her legacy on to my children who will have never known her. My problem is, I don't know how I am going to get it out. Just thinking about it brings me to tears. And I'm not talking little tears. It blows me away emotionally to look at my son and think that someday I'll have to tell him about her and what happened to her and our family. That is reality. I miss you little sister, and I hope to see you again some day. The future without you seems so sad, but I have to change that for the sake of my family's future. We'll move on. Spirit.
John can be contacted at johnputnam@deadlyroads.com
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