People vs. Karen Part 1

Antonia Cereijido  00:00

This is Imperfect Paradise. I'm your host, Antonia Cereijido. Every week we'll be bringing you a series about dreamers and schemers, hidden worlds and fascinating people. It's a show about the gap between our ideal version of California and the messy reality we live in. This week- People versus Karen.

Sadie Martinez  00:28

The Katies of the world, it stops here. It's not [clapping] going on anymore.

Antonia Cereijido  00:39

Today's story is about the "Karen phenomenon" you might remember from 2020. A series of viral videos in which white women falsely accused people of color of crimes. And normally everyone fixates on the accuser, the Karen, not necessarily the people she accused. But this story is kind of the opposite of that. In this story, we're talking about what it's like to be on the other end of a Karen accusation. The couple at the heart of this story, Sadie and Eddie Martinez, were determined to bring their accuser to justice. Can the same criminal justice system that Karens take advantage of be used to hold Karens accountable?

Eddie Martinez  01:20

I just want the public to know what she did was wrong.

Kinyatta Reynolds  01:25

Will they actually get her for this or will she get off?

Stephanie  01:28

Like I think that moms were legitimately afraid that their children were gonna be kidnapped at any moment.

Jessie Daniels  01:35

It's incredibly rare for white women to be held accountable in these kinds of situations.

Antonia Cereijido  01:42

LAist correspondent Emily Guerin tells the story. [music out]

Emily Guerin  01:52

Sadie Martinez first saw the photo that upended her life on December 14th, 2020. [music in] She was sitting in her bedroom when her daughter walked in and showed it to her on her phone. It was a grainy screenshot taken from surveillance video at the Michael's craft store in Petaluma, California. Petaluma is a small city between San Francisco and wine country where Sadie and her husband live and have raised five kids. This photo showed a man and a woman standing at the cash register. The woman's hair is up in a bun, and the man looks to have short hair, and he's wearing a hoodie with a design on the back that's kind of hard to make out. The Petaluma Police Department had sent it out, because they were trying to figure out if this couple had tried to kidnap two children from Michael's the week before. What had happened was the children's mother had filed a police report. And now the police were trying to track the couple down. And Sadie's daughter was like, Mom, this looks like you and Dad. [music out]

Emily Guerin  02:52

So your daughter was the first person who suggested it could be you?

Sadie Martinez  02:56

Yes, because her friends were telling her. And I looked and I said, Huh. And I thought to myself, When was this? And then I asked her that and she goes, Monday. Where? Michael's? So that's funny. We were at Michael's that day, but we didn't even have any interaction with anybody. There was no incident. There was no nothing. So that can't be us.

Emily Guerin  03:18

But she was curious. So she logged on to Facebook. And it turned out that the mother who filed the police report had also made an Instagram story, describing what she said happened at Michael's that day.

Katie Sorensen  03:29

So here we go. Um, on Monday of this week, my children... [duck under]

Sadie Martinez  03:35

Everybody was sharing the story discussing it. Can it be real? What's going on here?

Emily Guerin  03:38

The video is more than 20 minutes long and filmed selfie-style. In it, a 28 year old white woman named Katie Sorensen describes how six days earlier, a man and a woman had followed her and her children around the Michael's craft store as she shopped for spray paint.

Katie Sorensen  03:54

On Monday of this week, my children were the targets of attempted kidnap, um, which is such a weird thing to even vocalize. Um...

Emily Guerin  04:04

Katie had posted the video to her Instagram account, which is called "motherhood essentials." At the time, she was kind of a wannabe mom- influencer, selling supplements and dispensing advice on "mindful mothering." She later deleted the video and made her account private, but I was able to watch the whole thing on this YouTube channel called The Dad Challenge Podcast. Anyway, in the video, Katie describes the attempted kidnappers this way.

Katie Sorensen  04:29

I definitely felt the heebie-jeebies. I didn't feel good, but I thought I was judging a book by its cover. Um, they were not like, kind. That sounds bad, but they weren't, um, they weren't clean cut individuals.

Emily Guerin  04:47

At the time, Katie had about 3000 Instagram followers, but her video spread quickly and not just in Petaluma. According to the local paper, the Press Democrat, her video got over 4 million views. [music in] Pretty soon, worried parents began calling the Petaluma Police Department. And soon the local TV station KTVU picked it up.

Katie Sorensen  05:11

My children were the targets of attempted kidnap.

KTVU Newscaster  05:16

That's Katie Sorensen sounding a startling warning on Instagram about strangers trying to grab her kids.

Katie Sorensen  05:22

I saw these people. They didn't look necessarily clean cut. Um, I felt uncomfortable around them.

Emily Guerin  05:30

Katie's video and the surveillance photo that the police had sent out were everywhere.

Kinyatta Reynolds  05:37

And I'm like looking at this picture, and I'm like, I know those people. Like they look familiar.

Emily Guerin  05:45

Kinyatta Reynolds is one of Sadie Martinez's, good friends. She lives in Petaluma. She's Black and has three children. When she saw the surveillance photo...

Kinyatta Reynolds  05:54

I zoomed in and I was like, that looks like Sadie. So I text her, and I was like, Um, I'm pretty sure that's you. And she was like, Yeah, my kids said the same thing. And I'm like, Yeah, pretty sure that's you, because I'm pretty sure Eddie's wearing the Black Lives Matter sweatshirt. And she's like, Yeah, he was. And I was like, Well, that's you.

Emily Guerin  06:09

It was surreal. Sadie had no memory of encountering this woman, Katie, at Michael's. And now, Katie was accusing Sadie and her husband Eddie of trying to kidnap her children. And the police were saying she was a person of interest, which was shocking to Sadie. She told me they were just everyday people. He drives for UPS, and she does bookkeeping and makes balloon displays for parties and graduations. At this point, Sadie sat Eddie down, and she had him watch Katie's video.

Eddie Martinez  06:39

[birds chirping] Every 30 seconds or so I'm, I'm wanting to yell and, and scream and be like, you know, What the F are you talking about, lady? I mean uh, I, I, I just couldn't believe what was coming out of someone's mouth.

Emily Guerin  06:55

[music in] It is deeply unsettling to be accused of a thing you have not done. But it was also, Sadie and Eddie felt, something that white people do to people of color all the time in America. And recently, more and more of them have been caught on tape.

Newscaster 1  07:12

The woman in the video, Amy Cooper, is seen calling the NYPD to say an African American man is threatening her.

Newscaster 2  07:19

Barbecue Becky's 911 calls have finally been released nearly four months after she made headlines...

Newscaster 3  07:24

He was using chalk to write "Black Lives Matter" when a couple walking by said that he was doing something illegal.

Emily Guerin  07:33

Sadie and Eddie Martinez could have quietly worked to clear their name and then try to put this all behind them. But that's not Sadie's style. Instead, she's fighting to bring her accuser, Katie, to justice. And justice for Sadie isn't Katie being canceled. She wants Katie to face real, legal consequences. And more than that, she wants white people to stop falsely accusing people of color of crimes.

Sadie Martinez  07:59

Am I shocked? No. But will we stand for it? Hell no. [clapping] So today I stand in front of everybody in a fight to prosecute Katie. That's why I'm here. [clapping]

Emily Guerin  08:14

[music in] From LAist Studios, this is Imperfect Paradise: People Versus "Karen," Part One. Racism, internet conspiracies, and stranger danger collide in a Michael's craft store. I'm Emily Guerin. [music out]

Emily Guerin  08:50

This is Imperfect Paradise. I'm Emily Guerin. [birds chirping] I met Sadie and Eddie Martinez in a quiet public park in Petaluma. We sat on a bench squinting into the winter sun until Eddie stood up to block it for us. They're in their late 40s, both wearing fleece hoodies, hers white, his black. Sadie had makeup on and her long wavy hair up in a ponytail.

Emily Guerin  09:14

Can I just have you both Introduce yourself so I have that on here? So just tell me your name, where you're from, however you want to be identified for the story.

Sadie Martinez  09:22

I am Sadie Martinez. Proud Latin Irish raised descent.

Emily Guerin  09:28

And you?

Eddie Martinez  09:28

Yeah, um, Eddie Martinez, born and raised San Francisco. Met my wife when we were young, ended up getting together, 22 years now. Five kids.

Sadie Martinez  09:38

I'm married to Norm from Cheers over here. [laughs]

Eddie Martinez  09:41

We've moved away from where we grew up for the simple fact that we didn't want our kids being raised as we did. You're always striving to raise your kids a little bit better than you did. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work.

Emily Guerin  09:54

Before this all happened, Sadie and Eddie considered themselves lucky.

Sadie Martinez  09:58

We have strong ties to the community. I mean 15 years at UPS, 15 years at the same elementary school. I know all the teachers and principals and everybody in this town.

Emily Guerin  10:08

Sadie's friends told me that she's the kind of person who does something about things that bother her. When her kids were younger, they could never take the bus home from school because it left five minutes before classes got out. So she lobbied the local transit authority to adjust the schedule.

Sadie Martinez  10:24

And they changed the whole bus system in the town. It was a big deal.

Emily Guerin  10:28

Still, she told me she was more mom than activist.

Sadie Martinez  10:32

I take pride in the fact that I know a lot of kids in this town. And um, I'm the mom that gets the phone call when somebody doesn't have a ride. Had phone calls at all hours of the night and not just for my own children. So this hurt.

Emily Guerin  10:47

Being a mom is pretty core to Sadie's identity. So Katie Sorensen's kidnapping accusation cut really deep. What also stuck out was when Katie described Sadie and Eddie on Instagram as not "kind" or "clean cut individuals." Sadie felt like that was racially coded language.

Sadie Martinez  11:06

Just the description alone was- and everything was based off of our looks.

Emily Guerin  11:13

Sadie told me she was totally exhausted that day. Her daughter had just had surgery, and she had been taking care of her all week.

Sadie Martinez  11:20

I looked like I rolled out of bed because I don't know, I had been wiping somebody's ass all week. I don't know if I'm supposed to say that.

Emily Guerin  11:26

Sadie and Eddie told me they feel like they stand out in Petaluma. The town is 68% white, 21% Latino, 4% Asian and just 1% Black. And the town has a history of discrimination. 100 years ago, Petaluma was a sundown town, an all-white place that used violence, intimidation, or racist laws to stay that way. But what Petaluma is most known for is actually something horrible that happened 30 years ago. [music in] In 1993, a 12 year old girl named Polly Klaas was kidnapped by a stranger from her home in Petaluma. It happened during a sleepover party and her mom was asleep in the room next door. Polly's body was found two months later. It was in a field near the 101 freeway.

Newscaster 4  12:14

The search for one 12 year old girl in one small town has come to represent a whole nation's fears about random crime.

Emily Guerin  12:26

Polly's murder happened during an era of panic about rising crime rates in America. The man who murdered her had a long criminal record and he was out on parole when he kidnapped her. Polly's story was everywhere, from the cover of People Magazine to ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. Her sister was invited to the White House by President Clinton, and her funeral was broadcast live. [music out] Joan Baez sang Amazing Grace.

Newscaster 4  12:55

[Joan Baez sings: Amazing grace, how sweet the sound...] In the crowded church in Petaluma last night, they were praying not just for Polly Klaas, they were praying for a nation.

Emily Guerin  13:14

Polly Klaas, a white girl with dark eyes and a serious smile, became one of the faces of the "tough on crime" movement. Her murder and that of another white teenager was used as a justification for passing California's three strikes law. It's since been reformed, but originally, the law required a life sentence for any crime, even stealing gum or diapers, if the defendant had two prior convictions for a violent or serious crime. For people in Petaluma, Polly's murder was one of those "I remember exactly where I was" kind of moments. It was senseless. It was scary, and it was all anybody talked about for a long time. Liz Carrasco grew up in Petaluma, and she still lives there now with two kids of her own. She's white, and she was about the same age as Polly was when Polly disappeared.

Liz Carrasco  14:02

I wrote a poem about it, like I can remember like the first line of the poem that I wrote.

Emily Guerin  14:07

What was the first line?

Liz Carrasco  14:08

It was um, Polly Klaas became America's child, but all I knew was her bright smile.

Emily Guerin  14:16

Because of this history, lots of people in the community told me that a sort of hyper-awareness about child kidnapping is part of the culture in Petaluma. Even Sadie said so.

Sadie Martinez  14:26

It's a small town and this is where Polly Klaas was kidnapped, so you don't cry kidnapping in Petaluma without it circulating quick.

Emily Guerin  14:35

And it's probably part of why so many people in town reposted Katie Sorensen's Instagram video about the alleged kidnapping attempt, including Liz Carrasco.

Liz Carrasco  14:44

As a mom, I just think I felt- initially I felt that fear of like, you know, how do I keep my kids safe? If you follow personality types, I'm an ENFP and that comes- The title is Campaigner, so I, I felt like Okay, well, I want to make sure that other people are aware of what's going on.

Emily Guerin  15:05

Joanna Paun has lived in Petaluma for 17 years. She's a school counselor, board president of the Petaluma City Schools, and a Black mother of four kids. She also saw Katie's video, but she had a totally different reaction.

Joanna Paun  15:19

So it kept popping up on my Facebook feed, and people were re- sharing uh, Katie's story like, Oh my gosh, this happened locally. And the first time I saw it, I was like, This don't sound right. It just didn't seem real.

Emily Guerin  15:34

She just felt like Katie's reaction didn't make sense.

Joanna Paun  15:37

I mean, essentially, she was so calm on- like when she was talking about it. Like I have four kids, and if I thought anyone even was thinking about kidnapping my kids, I would have been a wreck.

Emily Guerin  15:49

Joanna had gotten to know Sadie around the time of the Black Lives Matter protests earlier in 2020. And when she realized it was her friend Sadie being accused, she definitely knew it wasn't real. So they started texting.

Joanna Paun  16:01

So she sent me a message on December 16th. And she was like, Oh, my gosh, my kids are saying that that's me and Eddie. It just seemed so ridiculous and so unbelievable. And then our texts just go on, like going back and forth between like disbelief and anger and like laughter and it just felt very surreal.

Emily Guerin  16:23

Joanna and Sadie knew it was BS. But the police were taking Katie's accusation of a kidnapping attempt seriously. After releasing the Michael's surveillance photo on December 14th, the police were quickly able to ID Sadie and Eddie.

Eddie Martinez  16:37

I start taking it seriously when we got a call from the police.

Emily Guerin  16:46

That's after a break. You're listening to Imperfect Paradise.

Emily Guerin  16:56

I'm Emily Guerin, and this is Imperfect Paradise: People Versus Karen. By the time Eddie and Sadie spoke to the Petaluma Police Department on December 15th, the police had already spoken to Katie Sorensen three times about her attempted kidnapping accusation. The police, by the way, declined multiple requests for interviews, but they did release a lot of documents, as well as official transcripts and audio of Katie's conversations with them. So based on all that, here's what the police knew by the time Sadie and Eddie were called in for questioning. On the morning of December 7th, 2020, not long after leaving the Michael's, Katie Sorensen called the police from her car. You can hear her two young kids yelling in the backseat.

Dispatcher 1  17:44

Are you reporting an emergency?

Katie Sorensen  17:48

Um, I suppose so. Yes.

Dispatcher 1  17:49

What are you reporting?

Katie Sorensen  17:50

Um, I was just at the Michael's here in Petaluma and a couple tried to kidnap my children.

Dispatcher 1  17:57

Tell me exactly what happened.

Katie Sorensen  17:58

Um, we pulled into Michael's, were getting out of the car, and a couple was parked in front of us. They followed us into the store, followed us throughout the store, um, followed us through checkout, were on the phone right behind us. I heard them making comments about my children's hair color and eyes. I thought it was...

Emily Guerin  18:22

Katie tells the dispatcher there may have been a third person involved, the driver of a white van that was in the parking lot. [Katie: ... person that was in the white van.] She describes him as being a white male with sandy blond hair and glasses. [Katie: ...longer white blond hair...]

Emily Guerin  18:37

The dispatcher stops her to get some basic information down: name, phone number, etc.

Dispatcher 1  18:42

Okay, very good. Let me get your name and phone number. Okay, so let's go back to what happened at Michael's while you're driving. So they followed you around the store, making comments about your children's appearance, and then what happened?

Katie Sorensen  18:53

And then when we were walking out to the car, I could hear them close behind me, and I thought that was odd because...

Emily Guerin  19:00

Katie says she thinks the couple didn't actually buy anything at Michael's. They put whatever they were carrying down and followed her out of the store. [Katie: ...put their items down and...] At this point, she called her husband and used their code word, [Katie: ...we have a code word...] the thing they say when they're in danger, but they don't want anyone to know. Katie walks to the car and starts buckling her one year old daughter into her car seat. Her four year old son is still in the stroller. She sees the couple again.

Katie Sorensen  19:25

They came over to my car, walked in a circle around my car, which made no sense because their car was further away. And then as I was buckling my daughter in, they started walking in circles around my son's stroller, which was right next to me. There's no reason why they should have been next to me. And so I was too scared to say something to them. So I called to someone that was standing behind them and said, Excuse me, ma'am. Could you help me? And she came over and they ran away and got in their car and...

Emily Guerin  19:52

Katie gets transferred to a different police dispatcher, who asks her to describe the suspicious couple.

Dispatcher 2  19:58

Was there anything else that you remember about them?

Katie Sorensen  20:03

Yes. Um, the gentleman- I'm sorry, my daughter's crying. The gentleman was- [Dispatcher 2: I have little ones, don't worry. (laughs)] Ok. Ok. Uh, he was, uh, maybe Hispanic. Um, he was wearing a black hoodie that said Black Lives Matter. And he had like one of those ski mask type things. The woman had uh, reddish hair. It was kind of like a dye. It wasn't- it didn't look like natural red hair. Kinda dyed. [Dispatcher 2: Like a box dye?] Yeah. Yeah. Um, and she [Dispatcher 2: Was she white?] had her- Yeah, she was white. [Dispatcher 2: Okay...]

Emily Guerin  20:39

Katie identifies Sadie as white. I should note here that Sadie is mixed race and has lighter skin. The dispatcher tells Katie to come down to the station and speak to a police officer. She parks and an officer named Brendan McGovern interviews her through the car window. This is the audio from his body worn camera.

Brendan McGovern  20:57

If you were presented photos of any of these people, would you be able to recognize them? [Katie: Yes.] Okay...

Emily Guerin  21:05

Katie tells officer McGovern more or less the same thing she told the dispatcher, that she believed this white woman and this maybe Hispanic man in a Black Lives Matter hoodie were trying to kidnap her children. Except this time, she adds a new detail about their appearance.

Katie Sorensen  21:20

Um, I mean this in a nice- they were just kind of rough looking. Like I don't know how, if that-

Brendan McGovern  21:25

That's fine. Yeah. Um...

Emily Guerin  21:27

After she tells him the story, Officer McGovern seems genuinely stumped.

Brendan McGovern  21:32

Uh, and then I guess, are, are you or your husband, I mean, like important people, for some reason, is there something that they would be like, We're gonna take your kids and hold them to ransom? Or-

Katie Sorensen  21:44

I might be biased, but my kids are very good looking. [laughing] I don't know. [laughs]

Brendan McGovern  21:48

Huh, that's bizarre.

Emily Guerin  21:49

"I might be biased, but my kids are very good looking," Katie says, laughing. Officer McGovern asks her again, "Are you sure they weren't like recruiters for a modeling agency?" Katie responds, "I think they were just trying to take them."

Brendan McGovern  22:03

Obviously, the, the suspicious behavior is super weird. The fact that they circled your car, circled the stroller, is bizarre. I mean, we can, I don't necessarily know if it meets the criteria of like attempted kidnapping. Um, but...

Katie Sorensen  22:16

I don't care to press charg- I'm not trying- I just want to make people aware so [Officer McGovern: Yeah.] it doesn't happen to someone else is all.

Brendan McGovern  22:23

Yeah. Clearly and that's why we have like three people circling the shopping centers over there as to like, what the heck's going on?

Emily Guerin  22:28

Katie says she does not want to press charges. She just wants to make people aware. So it doesn't happen to someone else. Throughout this conversation, Katie seems relaxed. She jokes about listening to true crime podcasts. Towards the end, her kids start crying, and Officer McGovern lets her go.

Brendan McGovern  22:45

I'll let you guys get out of here. All right. Well, have a, have a better day. Um, we'll look for these people, okay? [Katie: Okay, thank you so much.] Not a problem. Yeah.

Emily Guerin  22:55

So the police searched Michael's and the parking lot. They couldn't find anyone involved or enough evidence to say that a crime had occurred. They determined it was just suspicious behavior. So they dropped it. That could have been the end of the story. But almost a week later, on the afternoon of December 13th, Katie uploaded her video to Instagram, sharing her accusation with the world.

Katie Sorensen  23:18

So here we go.

Emily Guerin  23:21

Katy has shoulder length blond hair and big blue eyes. She's wearing a grey beanie, a black leather jacket and a tiny gold pendant. She's sitting in the driver's seat of her car. And I don't know if this was deliberate or not, but by filming it in the car, she gave the impression that the attempted kidnapping had literally just happened. In this video, Katie said something that she hadn't told the police initially. She said that the couple hadn't just circled her stroller, but that the man had actually tried to grab it.

Katie Sorensen  23:51

First they had taken two steps forward towards the stroller, then two steps back, then two steps forward, than two steps back. It made no sense. It was obvious what they were doing. Um, and that last time he reaches for the stroller.

Emily Guerin  24:03

"He reaches for the stroller." I know this might seem small, but it was actually a really big deal. As Katie's video was going viral on December 14th, multiple officers at the Petaluma Police Department heard about it. A lot of people in Petaluma who had seen it were also calling the police station, freaking out because they'd heard there were kidnappers on the loose. When the police began looking into it, they immediately noticed that Katie's story seemed pretty different from the initial statement she had given them. Officer McGovern tried calling Katie to talk to her about her video, but she didn't answer. So he and a detective named Corie Joerger drove up to Katie's house in Sonoma, a 20 minute drive from Petaluma.

Brendan McGovern  24:46

I'm recording now.

Emily Guerin  24:47

This audio is from Officer McGovern's body worn camera. I also watched the video.

Brendan McGovern  24:51

Think she's gonna let us in?

Emily Guerin  24:54

The officers walk through Katie's back gate and up to the door. Katie comes out and invites them to sit at a picnic table on the back porch. They tell her they're here because what she said on Instagram is different than what she initially told police.

Brendan McGovern  25:07

I was shown the video this morning after uh, various friends of mine also sent it to me. Um, and the post to Instagram mentioned a couple of different things and specifically, uh, the, the lunging and reaching for your, your stroller was not mentioned to me that day. Um, which is, is an element that makes up the kidnapping. Um...

Emily Guerin  25:27

Detective Joerger says they watched surveillance video from Michael's and that it contradicts her story. Katie's suspicious couple was actually inside the store before her. They didn't follow her in. Katie struggles to explain the discrepancies. As she talks, she rocks back and forth, bouncing her autistic son.

Katie Sorensen  25:46

When you're in a situation like that and you're on high alert, [Joerger: Absolutely.] you hear, you think you're hearing things, you think you know what's happening. So I'm not like trying to stick to my story or whatever like that.

Corie Joerger  25:47

No, I'm just like, if these people are out here doing what you're saying they're doing, we, that, that's something for us to address. Right?

Katie Sorensen  26:00

Yeah.

Corie Joerger  26:01

Our next step is going forward with this, is one, prosecuting them. Right?

Katie Sorensen  26:07

Yeah.

Corie Joerger  26:07

And two, making sure this doesn't happen again. At the same time, we need to make sure that, that these people are in fact, the people that you saw. [Katie: Yeah.] And they're doing what you were saying that they did, because nobody wants to accuse somebody falsely. Right?

Katie Sorensen  26:21

Exactly.

Corie Joerger  26:22

Katie takes a look at a photograph that Detective Joerger has placed on the table. It's from the Michael's surveillance video, and it's of a couple standing at a cash register. This is the photo that Sadie would later see. The detective tells Katie that it's important to be sure that these are the right people because they're about to blast this photo out to the entire community to try to identify the couple. Katie looks at the photo and says, "I'm 100% sure that's them." Detective Joerger tells Katie there's a lot of eyeballs watching. She asks if Katie's positive the couple tried to grab her stroller. "Yes," Katie says confidently, over her son's crying.

Katie Sorensen  26:59

That part without a shadow of a doubt, that is what was happening. There is no, there is absolutely no rhyme or reason to someone taking steps forward and reaching. That is without a shadow of doubt.

Emily Guerin  27:10

The tape cuts off, but she says, "That is without a shadow of doubt." Later she adds, "I will testify that is what happened." But as the conversation continues, Katie seems less certain about parts of her story. The white van for example, maybe it had nothing to do with the couple after all.

Katie Sorensen  27:29

It very well could have just been coincidental that someone was in a van right behind me.

Emily Guerin  27:33

And maybe she wasn't actually followed inside. Towards the end, Katie brings up her Instagram story. She tells the police she's been avoiding looking at her phone, and she's turned off comments on her video, because it's too much for her.

Katie Sorensen  27:47

I would like, I don't know if you guys have insight into this because I don't know how to handle this social media thing. I don't want to misrepresent what has happened. I do think it's important for parents to be aware but I don't, like it makes me a little uneasy that you guys are getting blown up about this. I mean, I think it's important, but I also, I don't want to, I guess I'm feeling doubt that I misremember the story. And I don't want to misrepresent what happened and make it a bigger- I don't know.

Emily Guerin  28:17

Towards the end of the conversation, Detective Joerger asks Katie if she's willing to go forward with the prosecution, and she nods. "All right. So what we're gonna do is we're gonna work on finding these people," Detective Joerger says.

Corie Joerger  28:31

Thank you very much.

Katie Sorensen  28:31

Thank you.

Brendan McGovern  28:32

So yeah. Have a good evening.

Emily Guerin  28:34

Later that day, the police sent out their news release. Sadie's daughter walked into her mom's bedroom to show her a photo on her phone, and Sadie got a Facebook message from the police. The next day, December 15th, Sadie, Eddie and their lawyer found themselves in a Zoom room with Police Lieutenant Ed Crosby. They told him their side of the story. They said they had gone to Michael's on December 7th, because they needed a couple of very important items. [music out]

Sadie Martinez  29:13

If you're of Latin descent, you know that most Latin people celebrate Christmas at midnight on the 24th, and you put baby Jesus under the tree.

Emily Guerin  29:21

Normally, they went to her mom's place for Christmas, but this was 2020, so they were celebrating at home. And that meant they needed to make their own nativity set. Her 18 year old daughter was upset they didn't have a baby Jesus. So Sadie said:

Sadie Martinez  29:35

I'll go to Michael's and get you a baby Jesus and make you your little nativity set. And so that's what led us to Michael's that morning.

Emily Guerin  29:43

Eddie had the day off from his job at UPS for his birthday. So they went to the store together. He wandered around while Sadie picked out her baby Jesus.

Sadie Martinez  29:52

We stood in line, we paid, we walked out. We started walking to the car. It was about 10:30 in the morning, and he said, Oh, I want Chinese food. And so we started walking towards the Chinese restaurant across the way, and as we were walking, I looked at my phone and noticed the time and said, Um, it's 10:30. It's too early for Chinese food. They're not open. And so we just literally turned around and walked back to the car, got in the car and left. That was all that happened.

Emily Guerin  30:19

This said they don't remember seeing Katie. They said they definitely did not try to grab her stroller. After interviewing Sadie and Eddie, Lieutenant Crosby called Katie. I read the transcript of this call, but I couldn't get a copy of the audio. Crosby wanted to know why she hadn't immediately reported that the couple had tried to grab her stroller. Katie had no real explanation. "Honestly, I'm not a psychologist," she said. "I don't know how the mind works." She said the purpose of her Instagram video was simply to make people aware. She says she wasn't trying to report a crime or to get attention. "But you did report a crime," Lieutenant Crosby says, "a very serious one. Attempted kidnapping." This seems to surprise Katie. She seems to realize as the conversation goes on, that there's not really evidence to back up her version of events. So she tells Lieutenant Crosby she doesn't want to press charges against the Martinezes. But when the Lieutenant gives Katie an opportunity to amend or retract her account of what happened at Michael's, she doesn't. She maintains what happened, quote, "felt real, and that is why I shared it." "I can appreciate your feelings," Lieutenant Crosby says, "but we're trying to get to matters of fact." [music in] Towards the end of the call, Katie's husband, David asks for a word with Lieutenant Crosby. He asks the Lieutenant to speak to Sadie and Eddie on his behalf. Quote, "I would appreciate it if there's any way you can encourage the other couple to let this go," David asks. And then he requests that whatever the police department does next, if they could refrain from incriminating his wife. Lieutenant Crosby replies, "We will be fair as possible to all parties concerned." And then the two men hang up the phone. [music out] Later that day, this story took a really unexpected turn.

Sadie Martinez  32:16

At that point, they asked if we wanted them to investigate her.

Emily Guerin  32:22

They asked you that?

Sadie Martinez  32:22

Oh, they did. And we said yes.

Emily Guerin  32:26

The police were closing their investigation into the attempted kidnapping and opening a new one into whether Katie Sorensen had falsely reported a crime.

Antonia Cereijido  32:39

That's LAist correspondent Emily Guerin. On the next episode of Imperfect Paradise, Sadie Martinez begins her quest to hold Katie Sorensen accountable.

Sadie Martinez  32:50

I have the ability to speak up. I have the ability to stand up here and fight back for people who can't.

Antonia Cereijido  32:56

And Emily's research into Katie leads her to a dark corner of the internet.

Stephanie  33:01

There was a lot of misinformation on social media at the time, that had led a lot of women to start to believe that child sex trafficking was a way bigger issue than statistically we know it is.

Corie Joerger  33:21

This episode of Imperfect Paradise was written and recorded by Emily Guerin. I'm the show's host, Antonia Cereijido. Catherine Mailhouse is the Executive Producer of the show. Shana Naomi Krochmal is our Vice President of Podcasts. Rebecca Katz is our intern and the producer of the series. Jens Campbell is our Production Coordinator. The editor is Sarah Kate Kramer. Fact checking by Caitlin Antonios. Mixing by E. Scott Kelly. Theme music by E. Scott Kelly. Imperfect Paradise is a production of LAist Studios. This podcast is powered by listeners like you. Support the show by donating now at LAist.com/join. This podcast is supported by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.