This anonymous comment on behalf of Mary needs to be read by more citizens of our community

Anonymous said...

When you first meet the charming man, that lives behind the haunted soul (Christopher Pratt), you are taken aback by his kindness and generosity.

His smooth way of making everything in your life alright ... that is until you're sucked into his world of darkness. Then the shock of there being "NO WAY OUT" is a daily fact that you must live with. Chris would chuckle and say "It's because of your own stupidity ... or ignorance." Or maybe that ... "You're being so dramatic." He has such a solid way of turning everything around on his abuser.

If and when you ever get away from his claws ... you walk away believing that you are FREE ... only to soon realize that his grip is still on you every second, of every minute, of every day.

There will be NO justice for Mary, or his current girlfriend, or his ex-wife, or his children, or this town, not even our society in a whole ... until he is put behind bars where he belongs.

This is speaking from a person who probably knows him better than anyone, for I am still haunted.

The comment that anonymous wrote about: "Why would anyone protect this guy if they knew he killed her?"

My comment is: "Awh duh, probably because they fear him?" Obviously this person has never been abused, or in Chris clutches.

Here's another question ... Why is it when you see him downtown, or at a football game, or at the town's grocery store, that everyone smiles at him? Is it because they are all his best friends? "AWH Duh! It's because the townspeople FEAR him."

The comments about him being a sociopath, (see below)I can tell you from persnal experience the one's that Chris possess':

Glibness/Superficial Charm: (OH YES! He drips charm.)

Manipulative and Conning: (You will never know you're being manipulated from Chris, until it is WAY TOO LATE!" He is a professional manipulator.)

Grandiose Sense of Self: (Chris believes he's WAY above everyone else, and he chuckles often over how smart he is compared to everyone else. Because you see? No one knows what game he is playing with them next, and he loves that control.)

Pathological Lying (He would lie about what brand toothpaste he uses.)

Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt (He's good at crying and "pretending he's upset" Don't let him fool you.)

Shallow Emotions (No, Chris is very good at Emotions, he'll make you believe anything. By the time he's done with you, you'll think he's the most caring, sincere man in the world ... oh wait a minute, I almost forgot ... that's another one of his games.)

Incapacity for Love (Yes)

Need for Stimulation (Yes, in every sense of the word.)

Callousness/Lack of Empathy (When he's abusing you ... yes)

Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature (If you talk to Chris for any length of time, you soon realize that there is something that just isn't right about him. Especially his alluding sexual comments.)

Early Behavior Problems/Juvenile Delinquency (yes, but that's kept all within the family).

Irresponsibility/Unreliability (yes, I could go on about this one, but then I wouldn't be very anonymous)

Promiscuous Sexual (Yes)

(Behavior/InfidelityLack of Realistic Life Plan/Parasitic LifestyleCriminal or Entrepreneurial Versatility (Yes, yes, yes)

Contemptuous of those who seek to understand them (No one will truly understand him ... because he lives in a world that is not normal/or natural to the average human. He has created his own world, his own rules, and his own timeframe. It's Chris' world, and there is no understanding it.)

Does not perceive that anything is wrong with them. (No, not to mention everything is "everyone elses fault" He never does anything wrong, and he always has a crazy reason why he did what he did, and you better just deal with it.)

Authoritarian (Like I said, "You better just deal with it!")

Secretive (Again ... I would no longer be anonymous.

Paranoid (LOL!!!!!!!!! Totally)Only rarely in difficulty with the law, but seeks out situations where their tyrannical behavior will be tolerated, condoned, or admired (Does he have a record?)

Conventional appearance (yup.)

Goal of enslavement of their victim(s)(I hope you are never one of his vicims to find this one out)

Exercises despotic control over every aspect of the victim's life. (Every single last aspect. Remember ... you don't realize he's doing it, until his claws are already in you.)

Has an emotional need to justify their crimes and therefore needs their victim's affirmation, respect, gratitude and love.(Another reason why he is so good at crying, and showing his emotions. By the time he's done manipulating you ... you're feeling sorry for him.")

Ultimate goal is the creation of a willing victim.(Look out, you better darn well be careful. Why is his current girlfriend with him again? Is it because she loves him, or because she "can't" leave him? Who knows, maybe she's still at the "he's wonderful" stage. Chris can't keep this up for too long though, before long you start seeing his true colors; so to say. But then will she be able to get away from him? Only one girl has ... but he's probably still destroying her life too.)

Incapable of real human attachment to another (yes, as already stated.)

Unable to feel remorse or guilt. (Never, ever, ever would he feel guilty. If he was showing you guilt ... it would be part of his game.)

Extreme narcissism and grandiose. (Yes ... just listen to his lies. I "heard" he was an Eagle Scout ... what a laugh!")

May state readily that their goal is to rule the world. (actually, I've never heard this from him, but who knows? Maybe that's part of "his" world he lives in.")

To the person who wrote:
"It is hard to believe someone you love and care for is guilty of even having the slightest knowledge of such a horrific crime. We love him, but we want justice for Mary too."
I understand what you are writing, everyone in this world has someone who loves them. I just hope for your own mental health, that you are open to what is most likely the truth in this case.

My biggest prayer, is that Hallacy is taking this "long" amount of time, STUDYING CHRIS. His ways, his ethics, his deviousness. So that when Mr. Hallacy finally decides it's time to go forward in this (and God I hope it's soon), that he will WIN THIS CASE! PLEASE MR. HALLACY! PLEASE FIND JUSTICE FOR MARY,FOR MR. AND MRS. MARSHALL & FAMILY, FOR HIS EX-WIFE AND KIDS, FOR JIM CARLIN, AND FOR THIS TOWN.
From,
Still Haunted.

www.MaryDeniseLands.com - A new web site totally dedicated to the disappearance of Mary Lands

September 29, 2006- Justinian Investigative Services has created a new web site totally focused on Mary's disappearance. It is in the process of being developed, however many pages of www.MaryDeniseLands.com are ready for viewing.

Maybe this is part of the answer to our question, Where is Mary?

Many people have asked about Chris Pratt, Mary's former boy-friend? Where is he, what is he doing to help the case, why doesn't he participate in helping the family and law enforcement solve the case, and many other questions? One person posted a comment about why Chris would be at a flea market selling Mary's clothing, family pictures, and other intimate items that most people would cherish from a relationship that ended in such tragedy. I can only provide my opinion. Those who know Chris might be able to connect the dots.

A Sociopath
Here is a list of ways to identify a sociopath. This list is from "Profile of a Sociopath". Is is an excellent list of sociopathic indicators.

Glibness/Superficial Charm
Manipulative and Conning
Grandiose Sense of Self
Pathological Lying
Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt
Shallow Emotions
Incapacity for Love
Need for Stimulation
Callousness/Lack of Empathy
Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature
Early Behavior Problems/Juvenile Delinquency
Irresponsibility/Unreliability
Promiscuous Sexual Behavior/Infidelity
Lack of Realistic Life Plan/Parasitic Lifestyle
Criminal or Entrepreneurial Versatility
Contemptuous of those who seek to understand them
Does not perceive that anything is wrong with them
Authoritarian
Secretive
Paranoid
Only rarely in difficulty with the law, but seeks out situations where their tyrannical behavior will be tolerated, condoned, or admired
Conventional appearance
Goal of enslavement of their victim(s)
Exercises despotic control over every aspect of the victim's life
Has an emotional need to justify their crimes and therefore needs their victim's affirmation (respect, gratitude and love)
Ultimate goal is the creation of a willing victim
Incapable of real human attachment to another
Unable to feel remorse or guilt
Extreme narcissism and grandiose
May state readily that their goal is to rule the world

Here is more input and personal anecdotes from others to help you know if someone is a sociopath:

First, you'll know a sociopath from the description/list posted above here. Also, as another poster wrote, get a book on Sociopaths and it will help you beyond belief. Even a book or article on controlling personalities or borderline personalities will help you. Once you can identify the pattern you will begin to "see the light." Sociopaths are charming at first and may seem charming and normal to everyone around them. But they have an almost scary need for control. They will isolate you from friends and family and you will be tangled in your web before you know it.
The key characteristics of a sociopath include: (1) having no conscience, (2) inability to treat others as human beings, with feelings and rights and (3) inability to learn from experience, from life. One result of this last is gross immaturity, though it may be hidden unless one knows the person well. A sociopath behaves as if he/she were the only person in the whole world and as if everyone else just existed for their benefit and had no existence in their own right. (4) Sociopaths treat other people as toys and hanker after the power to control and hurt their 'nearest and dearest'. (5) Many are monumentally self-important: they may pretend to be millionaires when in reality they are sliding towards financial disaster. (6) Habitual dishonesty.
He will charm his way into your life and heart, then take complete advantage of you - your emotions, your finances, your intellect. He will make you think you are the crazy one. Your friends will see right through him. He will isolate you from your friends and possibly your family. He cannot hold a job and will probably commit crimes - theft, fraud, forgery, and spend time in jail or prison. He will abuse drugs or alcohol. He may abuse you.
My mother is a sociopath, and from all accounts, has been since she was a very young child. She's caused non-stop turmoil in our family, through three generations, and is a charming and frightening menace. I'm the only one to have gotten any counseling on the issue, and the only child so far not to be controlled by mental problems resulting from our upbringing. As such, I'm the 'parent' as far as anybody in our family is concerned, and the dumping ground for complaints about her shocking awful hurtful behavior. I can recognize she never had any kind of 'close' relationship with her father, but it pales in comparison to the way she treated and treats my siblings and myself. Her bad choices in male companionship have contributed to our family grief, but clearly aren't her fault.
The book "The Sociopath Next Door" saved me thousands of dollars in therapy!
It is very difficult to recognize a sociopath but in a nutshell, a sociopath is a parasite. There is no help because a sociopath does not want to be helped. A socipath will attract you with his charm and bring you to his side, then he will toy with you, lie and show no remorse. Sometimes there will be a fake smile in his face while he engages in his malicious ways. When confronted, he will deny any responsibility, then back away from you and blame you for whatever wrong he did. What is worse, everybody will believe him because he is able to gain sympathy in a cunning and calculating way.
My nephew is a sociopath. Growing up he would torture my cat, throwing lighted matches into her bed while she was resting. He would break and hide my mother's belongings and lie about it. One day, she caught him hiding the broken pieces of a porcelain figurine with the other missing objects. He lied to his parents accusing her of hitting him. He came to live with me when he started college. For six months I worked hard trying to make him feel at home. I helped him with his college work, and to get a job. For months I was lied and manipulated. I defended him when his boss accused him of lacking respect and attendance. I believed him when I accused of starting fights, drinking and smoking pot in campus. I even offered to pay for a week's vacation once the semester was over to celebrate his good grades, or at least the good grades he made me believe on. At last I found out he had quit college, had no job and had spent the vacation money. He just turned twenty years old. When I told him that he needed to keep a job and/or study if he wanted to stay with me he moved in with his current girlfriend and told everybody, including my family, that I had thrown him out of my house. Unfortunately they believe him. When I confronted him about his lies he smiled and said nothing.
I'm a little concerned that some people may be labeling everyone who has treated them badly as a 'sociopath'. Here are some examples of sociopathic behavior: 1. A member of the family develops a nose bleed. The sociopath's first reaction: 'How dare you bleed on my carpet?' 2. Husband faints in wife's presence. Her sociopathic reaction as she steps over his body: 'Hell! That means I'll have to collect the kids from school today'. 3. Mother makes singularly vile false allegations, such as rape, against her own son and calls the police. When the police point out there's no evidence to support her accusation, she says, 'But I feel just oh-so-violated', as if that constituted evidence. 4. Teenage daughter is diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia. When the psychiatrist orders inpatient treatment at a mental hospital with a special unit for teenagers, the sociopathic mother tries to prevent her going to hospital. When the father takes their daughter to the mental hospital, the mother threatens to abduct her! She tries to phone her daughter in hospital daily and subjects her to emotional blackmail.
A number of mind-controlling cult leaders may exhibit many of the behavioral characteristics of a sociopath -- an outstanding ability to charm and seduce followers. Since they appear apparently normal, they are not easily recognizable as deviant or disturbed. Although only a trained professional can make a diagnosis of whether or not someone is a sociopath, it is important to be able to recognize the personality type in order to avoid further abuse. These traits also apply to a one-on-one cults relationship. ... Glibness/Superficial Charm ... Manipulative and Conning ... Grandiose Sense of Self ... Pathological Lying ... Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt ... Shallow Emotions ... Incapacity for Love ... Need for Stimulation ... Callousness/Lack of Empathy ... Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature ... Early Behavior Problems/Juvenile Delinquency ... Irresponsibility/Unreliability ... Promiscuous Sexual Behavior/Infidelity ... Lack of Realistic Life Plan/Parasitic Lifestyle ... Criminal or Entrepreneurial Versatility

A sociopath does not have to be a person that is constantly in and out of jail, failing in being able to keep a job, nor constantly being broke. Sociopath's can be wealthy, have a great history in the work place and have never had any run in with the police. What they do have is the ability to manipulate each situation to where nothing is their fault. They are quick to give praise to someone, but use that as another way to draw them further under their control. They truly have no capacity to believe that anything they have ever done is wrong - even when caught in a bold faced lie.
They don't preplan their "sociopathness" and how it will effect what they want - sociopath's are naturally that way. They are the way they are - to everyone in their lives - from when they were a child, throughout their entire lives. They do not have the ability to change the way they are. They may "mellow" as they age, but their need to have control over others, the need to be impulsive, their feelings that, even in lying, they never do anything wrong, and their ability to charm everyone they think they need to charm, does not leave them as they age.
It's also very hard for someone involved with a sociopath to be able to see what they know is happening, even after catching the sociopath in the lies and manipulation. It's incredibly hard to decide to leave a sociopath, as well as stay away from that sociopath.

This article was from Profile of a Sociopath

The Marshall Historic Home Tour, Protest Walk for Mary helped gain more support for her family

Update, September 13, 2006- Our protest Walk for Mary throughout the weekend during Marshall’s Historic Home Tour was a huge success. Many visitors stopped and spoke with Mary’s parent’s, Clifford & Anita Marshall. We all discussed the bungled investigation and numerous people offered to write letters to members of law enforcement about their poor handling of the case. As visitors and members of the community got off tour buses we handed out flyers and information about Mary’s disappearance. Hundreds of people honked their horns and waved as they drove around the Brooks Fountain Circle in support of our efforts to answer the question, When will we have justice for Mary?
The family, friends and supporters of Mary Denise Lands will continue to promote public awareness about the case. We will again walk at the Criminal Justice Center in Battle Creek in the near future and have a strong presence in Marshall during the upcoming Scarecrow Festival.
Come out and support us.

"Annual Night-Out Against Crime" Protest Walk for Mary a huge Success

Update, September 6, 2006-
The “Annual Night-Out Against Crime” protest walk for Mary was a great success. The family, friends and supporters of Mary Denise Lands again carried signs in front of the Marshall Police Department and the Brooks Fountain Circle. The activities conducted by the police department were not crowded and most of the traffic on the Fountain were from the members of the police and fire department, and others in law enforcement. The children who did attend appeared to have a great time. The low turnout was probably attributable to the fact that the event had to be rescheduled from the original date in August. When the event was concluded the last person to leave the Fountain was Chief Mike Olson who rode off on the Marshall Police Department's new Harley-Davidson motorcycle that he drove to the event earlier in the evening. We will soon post photographs of the event and participants.
Once again, members of the community stopped and spoke with Cliff & Anita Marshall and offered their support about Mary’s disappearance. As on other protest walks, people honked their horns and waved as they drove around the Fountain Circle.The family continues to ask that the Marshall Police Department turn over the investigation of their daughter’s disappearance and murder to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The family and friends will continue protest walks during the Historic Home Tour, the Scarecrow Festival and other events in Marshall to promote public awareness for Mary’s case.

Happy Birthday Mary, your spirit will always be with us

Update, Letter to the Editor- Battle Creek Enquirer- Mary's Birthday -
On September 3, 2006 she would have been 42 years of age,
For over two years I have worked on behalf of the parent’s of Mary Denise Lands on the circumstances of their daughter’s disappearance in March 2004. I am privileged to know these good people and feel like a member of their family.
Anita Marshall, Mary’s mother, said many months ago, “We never had a manual to follow about what to do or not do when your daughter turns up missing.”
The family has provided law enforcement with hundreds of documents, videos, and the bomber jacket that Mary wore on the night of her disappearance. The latter was recovered at a flea market as it was being sold along with many of Mary’s other personal belongings.
The problem today is that the Marshall Police Department lacks the ability to solve this case. Marshall, Michigan is a wonderful and lovely place to live and work, but evil things can and do occur in the best of places. Something very evil occurred on March 12, 2004 and that evil lingers to this date.
We reiterate our request that the FBI take primary jurisdiction of the investigation. Chief Olson’s latest claim is that two officers are now working the case 3 days a week. Nothing can be solved on that timetable especially if you take into account interruptions for vacation, training, lunch, and other daily priorities. Today we doubt that Mary’s case even receives 12 hours a week.
It is easy for people to criticize our efforts, but if this was the wife, daughter or loved one of a local politician or police official the case would have been solved long ago.

Jim Carlin
Justinian Investigative Services