Trial and Error

THE WRONG MAN: Lost in the Woods

In 2006, Court TV (now TruTV) conducted its own investigation of the Dennis Dechaine case aired as Wrong Man: Lost in the Woods. As part of the investigation, Court TV investigators interviewed Sheriff’s Deputy Dan Reed, who said on camera that Dennis Dechaine told him that he had urinated in a driveway of a house matching the description of the home from which the murder victim was abducted. Reed’s statement to Court TV was not consistent with his testimony at the trial, in which he stated that Dechaine said that he had urinated in the woods, with no mention of any house. Reed also said on camera that there were small hand prints on the back of Dechaine’s shirt. Actually, the prints were made by an adult-sized hand and most likely resulted from Dechaine slapping at insects.