Hannah Anderson, the abducted 16-year-old who was rescued after the man who kidnapped her killed her brother and mother had been killed in an FBI shootout, appeared on the "Today" show for an exclusive interview Thursday morning, the Huffington Post reported.
Anderson described both her ordeal as well as lingering questions pertaining to her relationship with the kidnapper.
James Lee Dimaggio, Anderson's abductor, had been a family friend, who kept in touch with Anderson, mostly through text messaging, leading up to the killings of her family members, and then her abduction.
Authorities called Anderson a "victim in every sense of the word," but she has been hounded by critics who believe she may know more about DiMaggio's crimes than she has revealed thus far.
"You are who you are and you shouldn't let people change that. You have your own opinion on yourself and other people's opinions shouldn't matter," she said on "Today."
Search warrants issued last week indicate that DiMaggio and Anderson were texting with each other to the tune of 13 phone calls on the same day her mother and brother were killed. Also letters were exchanged between them. DiMaggio had been seen as almost an uncle figure to the young kids, but his feelings for Hannah grew over time.
"The phone calls weren't phone calls, they were texts because he was picking me up from cheer camp ... The letters were from like a year ago when me and my mom were not getting along very well ... They weren't anything bad, they were just to help me get through tough times," Anderson said.
DiMaggio reportedly killed Anderson's mother Christina, and 8-year-old Ethan, and their bodies were found after he set fire to his home on August 4.
Andrew Spanswick, a spokesman for DiMaggio's family, also announced that the family is seeking a paternity test to determine if DiMaggio fathered the Anderson children, adding that is was strange Anderson''s grandmother was the sole beneficiary of his $112,000 life insurance policy,
He concluded that the money, he contends, had long been intended for the 16-year-old.
Hannah Anderson will bury her mother Christina and brother Ethan this weekend.
© 2023 Lawyer Herald All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Get the Most Popular Lawyerherald Stories in a Weekly Newsletter
Join the Discussion
