"Well, I have custody of Casey." He went on to explain that Brian Nellis was 34 and Casey was 12. He said Casey had come from Oklahoma "about two years ago" and that Snow had custody of the boy before Stiffler gained custody in California.
Diskin showed Stiffler the school documents. Stiffler said he believed the documents were valid and that he had received them from "the court." Diskin read Stiffler his Miranda rights.
AP/Wide World Photos
Twenty-nine-year-old Neil Rodreick, a.k.a. young teenager "Casey Price," without hat and makeup
AP/Wide World Photos
Lonnie Stiffler, who played grandpa to Rodreick
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Stiffler said he received the court documents from Riverside, California, "through the Internet." Diskin explained that he had contacted the court and that the court numbers did not remotely match any case it had. Diskin also told Stiffler that the Oklahoma attorney general's name was spelled incorrectly.
Stiffler then said he received the documents from "the U.S. Marshal's Attorney."
That doesn't make any sense, Diskin told him. "The U.S. Marshal's Attorney?" he asked.
"Mike Marshal," Stiffler said. "He sends me all this paperwork himself."
Diskin told Stiffler that he needed to be honest with him and explain who Casey really was.
Stiffler continued to suggest the paperwork was legitimate.
"It comes from the courts, it comes through the courts and stuff, I have read the paperwork and that's it."
Stiffler pointed out the judge's name, Richard Macy.
Diskin told him there was no judge by that name.
Stiffler said, "I don't know, this paperwork was given to me, sir."
"By who?"
"It was signed by Richard Macy."
Diskin explained again that such a judge does not exist.
"I thought it was legal because it was signed by the judge," Stiffler said.
"Where did you get the paperwork?" Diskin asked
"I got it from Mike Marshal, who is a U.S. Marshal."
Diskin had seen the name Mike Masters, U.S. Marshal, in the paperwork.
Oh, yes, Mike Masters, Stiffler said. Stiffler explained that Masters is both a U.S. Marshal and an attorney.
Diskin then asked Stiffler who had custody of Casey before he did.
Stiffler said Robert Snow had custody. Stiffler said Snow was his nephew. Stiffler said all the paperwork had been filed in the Riverside court.
Diskin explained that the court had never seen either man's name on any custody documents.
Stiffler grabbed a briefcase and began shuffling through documents. He explained the court would send him blank custody papers through e-mails to fill out. He would send them back, he said, and the court would return them signed.
Stiffler also said he obtained Casey's birth certificate from Mike Masters. Diskin showed Stiffler the birth certificate, which was shoddily made and short on information, and asked Stiffler if he thought it looked real.
"It's a copy of a birth certificate, I agree; it's not an official birth certificate," Stiffler said.
Diskin then asked if he knew how he could contact Mike Masters.
Stiffler said, "No, I do not, he doesn't get a hold of me directly. He talks to my grandson."
Stiffler was referring to Casey Price, whom Diskin was quickly coming to believe was not related to Stiffler at all.
In Casey's room, Sergeant Luis Huante was talking with Robert Snow, whom the police knew to be an unregistered sex offender. At the time, Snow was the only one of the four men police knew they'd be arresting that day.
After the confusing conversation with Stiffler, Diskin walked into the room with Huante and Snow. He read Snow his Miranda rights and began asking more questions.
"How old is Casey Price?" Diskin asked.
"Twelve years old."
Diskin asked who Casey's mother was.
Snow gave the name Linda Price. She was in Germany, Snow said. Snow said Linda Price gave guardianship to Stiffler so Casey could stay out of foster homes.
Diskin told Snow that Stiffler was not Casey's legal guardian.
"He has guardianship paperwork," Snow replied.
Diskin told him the paperwork was fraudulent and asked Snow if he had ever had guardianship of Casey, as Stiffler had suggested.
"I have been told that I have and I've also seen paperwork that looks just like that indicating that I supposedly had custody of him."
It was one of the more tortured answers Diskin or Huante had ever heard.
Diskin then changed the subject: "Why is Casey here?" he asked.
"He is avoiding a special group of people that he had encounters with whenever he was very, very young." Snow said. He went on to say that there was a "large group" of sexual predators that Casey was trying to stay away from.
Diskin reminded Snow that he was a convicted sex offender.
Snow said "the people" who gave him guardianship were aware of that and that he had been "clean" with "no problems at all."
"Up until now, apparently," Snow added.
Snow explained that Casey had also been enrolled in another school near Payson, 110 miles through rugged terrain to the east. There, Snow said, Casey was enrolled under the name Casey Rodreick. Casey, he said, had taken his mother's last name, Price, after his parents divorced.
"I'm only going on what I've been told," Snow said several times.
Wait, he was saying he turned custody over to Lonnie, yet never even knew he had custody. Diskin was having trouble not laughing at the absurdity of Snow's claims.
