A white woman whose rape allegations against two black men were dismissed by a grand jury claims the video evidence that exonerated them was edited.
Amanda Zawieruszynski, 40, accused her neighbor John Marks, 41, of raping her on November 8 last year along with his friend, police officer Freddie Douglas, 43.
The mother of three claimed the couple forced her to have a threesome in the pool at Marks’ home in Manvel, outside Houston.
Marks and Douglas were arrested last December, but charges of aggravated rape and kidnapping were dismissed by a grand jury in May after footage from Marks’ home security system exonerated them.
The men accused her of racism. They said his claims were an attempt to invoke white privilege to put them behind bars.
But Zawieruszynski insisted her rape allegations were true and filed her own lawsuit on August 26 demanding more than $1 million in damages.
Amanda Zawieruszynski, 40, whose rape claim against two black men was dismissed by a grand jury is sticking to her story, claiming key evidence was tampered with.
John Marks and Freddie Douglas were arrested last December, but charges of aggravated rape and kidnapping were dismissed by a grand jury in May after footage from Marks’ home security system exonerated them.
She stuck to her story, despite footage suggesting the incident was nothing more than a consensual threesome.
But buried in legal documents is another surprising claim.
Amanda, in a document, says the images had been manipulated to make the men appear innocent.
“At some point, Douglas asked Marks if (Zawieruszynski) was okay, Marks responded don’t worry because he was going to delete the footage from his security camera,” he said.
The doctored footage claim was not further elaborated on in the lawsuit, and Zawieruszynski’s attorney, Thomas Cammack, said she had not seen the video.
“The alleged video images referenced by the defendants are not images that Amanda was aware of throughout the investigation,” he told DailyMail.com.
“Despite documented police reports referencing doctored video evidence, we are aware that the images were incorrectly presented to the grand jury as original, unretouched images.”
Cammack said he expected to access the full night and morning video, along with evidence from sealed police reports, during discovery.
“These images are something we look forward to reviewing and discussing in the discovery process as we fight in court for justice and truth, as reflected in Ms. Zawieruszynski’s lawsuit,” he said.
‘Ms Zawieruszynski was raped and had to undergo severe medical intervention due to the actions of these individuals. “We hope the truth prevails in court.”
Zawieruszynski insisted her rape allegations were true and filed her own lawsuit on August 26 demanding more than $1 million in damages.
However, Douglas’ lawyer Michael Kerensky told DailyMail.com that his claim that the images were doctored was “pure fantasy” and was being used to “justify false accusations.”
Kerensky said Zawieruszynski’s claim in his lawsuit that he heard Marks tell Douglas not to worry because he would delete the footage was “a lie, he never said that.”
“Marks never deleted any of the footage, and even if he did, the DA’s office obtains the complete, unedited source video from the Ring Doorbell company,” where all footage is backed up and cannot be modified by the client, he added. . .
Kerensky said the grand jury viewed the entire footage during its deliberations, which, by law, are closed to both sides.
Zawieruszynski also claimed in his lawsuit, without elaborating, that Marks and Douglas raped other women and planned to assault more.
“These acts are not an isolated incident nor is (Zawieruszynski) the only victim of the sexual assault and acts committed by the defendants,” the lawsuit states.
‘On information and belief, there are correspondences between the defendants as to whether they will ‘throw her out’ or not and Douglas asked Marks if he was going to ‘bleed her out’ in relation to another woman they had plans to rape together.’
Kerensky said the claim that Marks and Douglas raped and planned to rape other women was “a lie…she’s desperate and deluded.”
Cammack did not respond to questions from DailyMail.com asking for more information to support the allegation.
Freddie Douglas, 43, lost almost everything after being accused of raping his best friend’s white neighbor in a threesome on her birthday.
Both men were arrested by Manvel police and locked up until they could post heavy bail to be released, with Douglas’ mother posting hers.
Douglas was fired from his job as a detective, had to sell his family home in a “liquidation sale” to pay legal fees, and was shunned by friends and neighbors.
Both he and Marks are suing Manvel police and Zawieruszynski in separate lawsuits alleging civil rights violations, defamation and malicious prosecution.
They claimed that police pursued the case even after seeing the footage, and that the Brazoria County District Attorney’s Office couldn’t convince them to drop it, forcing them to empanel a grand jury to dismiss it.
“As Freddie Douglas moved through the small town of El Campo, stares and whispers followed him everywhere,” his lawsuit said.
‘The grocery store; Walmart; get gas; at the traffic lights. In a town like El Campo, if a police officer is arrested and summarily fired by the department, everyone assumes the defendant is guilty.
“Only Freddie Douglas’s closest friends and family supported him during this time. The result almost crushed Freddie Douglas’ spirit.
“His future seemed very dark.”
Marks and Zawieruszynski began a months-long sexual relationship as she had separated from her husband Michael earlier that year (pictured together before the marriage ended).
Zawieruszynski gave a harrowing account of what she said happened, which she said “disfigured” her and caused internal and external injuries that required “surgical intervention” and ongoing treatment.
“I felt like I was drowning in a sea of shame, fear and confusion,” she said in a statement obtained by DailyMail.com.
‘No one prepares you for the consequences of such a violation, especially when one of the perpetrators is a member of law enforcement who is supposed to protect you.
“They kept me captive. They force-fed me alcohol, forcibly removed my clothes, beat my body and raped me repeatedly throughout the night.’
Zawieruszynski, who said she was a single mother of three since breaking up with her husband Michael last year, claimed she was forced to flee her home with her family because Marks and Douglas harassed her.
Her lawsuit claimed that she “believed she would die that night” and that she was held captive and raped numerous times, each more violent than the last, which was laid out in graphic details, some too horrific to publish.
