A Utah man accused of kidnapping an 11-year-old relative from her Orem home and raping a California woman earlier this summer said personal setbacks led to his alleged crime spree.
Frederick Laird, 38, granted an interview last week from the Marin County Jail in San Rafael, Calif., where he is being held. He denied the charges associated with the rape, but he offered his condolences to the victim."If I did what they allege I did to the victim, then that's who I apologize to," he said. "For any woman to have to go through that experience is horrific."
In court on Monday, Laird was charged with three new crimes - two counts of felony rape and another felony sexual offense - bringing to 11 the number of charges he faces in California in connection with the rape of the Tiburon, Calif., woman.
He could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.
He was expected to enter a plea Thursday. Marin County prosecutors said Laird will face court proceedings there before returning to Utah to face kidnapping charges.
Laird allegedly kidnapped his second cousin, Chelsea Lund, and held her captive for five days before releasing her on a freeway exit near St. George on June 30.
He was arrested July 16 in Orange County after a statewide manhunt.
Laird - a parolee who had served more than 13 years in a Colorado prison on convictions for escape, attempted escape and auto theft - said he was fired from his insurance job when his boss found out he was a convict.
Then he lost his apartment after conflicts with his roommates and was on the verge of having his car repossessed. It was then he decided to move to California. He had been living with his grandmother in Murray at the time of the alleged kidnapping.
Police said Laird raped the Tiburon woman in her apartment July 13 after responding to an ad for a roommate. Police say he threatened the woman with a knife, punched her, bound her with duct tape and raped her.
He then allegedly took her credit cards and fled in her car.
He was arrested several days later in Laguna Beach after a woman who saw his picture on television called police.
Laird said he had been in Mexico the day before the arrest. "Why I came back, only the professionals could tell you," he said.
For Laird, who spent his earlier prison sentence reading textbooks on human behavior, the arrest is the end of the line.
"Life is over. All the hopes and aspirations I might have had are gone," he said.
Laird fears for his safety if he is sent back to prison, he but is more concerned about his alleged victim. He is being held in a special security lockdown in the Marin County Jail 23 hours a day.
He said he doesn't blame society for his problems.
"I don't think society's been unfair," he said. "I think upbringing probably has a lot to do with it."