J=Prosecutor Greg Jacobs' questions M=Marc Klaas' response

J-How did your daughter get her name Polly Hannah?

M-Polly sat in a baby carrier on our dining room table for three days as we contemplated the perfect name. Finally, my mother suggested naming her Hannah to honor her maternal grandmother whose European name was similar to Hannah. From there we chose Polly and all agreed this was the perfect name.

J-How long were you married to Eve?

M-Seven years.

J-What kind of access did you have to Polly after your divorce?

M-Our marriage was a failure, but our divorce was very successful. We put Polly's needs above our own. Eve was wonderful about giving me access to Polly. I saw her every week and talked to her on the phone almost every night. We took vacations together and Polly spent most holidays with my family.

J-Did you visit Polly's school?

M-Yes, often. In fact, I volunteered at Polly's school at least once a week. I would assist the teacher and spend time with my daughter and the other children in her class.

J-Did that include a school in Sebastopol?

M-Yes.

J-Was that Peggy Dunn's class?

M-Yes, (beaming), this is me surrounded by Polly's classmates, and this one is of Polly decorating a T-shirt; Polly is putting the finishing touches on her T-shirt that said "Number One Dad" -- for me.

J-Tell me about Polly's activities.

M-She wanted to play with the boys. She didn't want to be left behind, so I taught her to swim. We spent a summer doing that and I didn't think the lessons went that well because her progress was slow. But the next year when she jumped in the pool, she immediately swam laps with beautiful style. She was interested in baseball, and so we were working on throwing, catching and hitting the ball.

J-Tell me about her personality at the time of her death.

M-She was outgoing, expressive and enjoyed the stage. She was funny and would give her last dollar to the homeless. She aslo had fears. She liked music, took piano lessons for about 6 years. She played the clarinet for about a year and I believe she was the best clarinet player in her junior high school band.

J-You said she had fears?

M-She was afraid of the dark, afraid to be alone, afraid a man would come and take her in the night. She would come and stay with Violet and I. We bought a 2 bedroom condo so she would have her own room. She liked that idea, but it was a big room and she was all by herself and her fears took over. I bought her a night-light, which wasn't enough. So I would leave her door open, leave a light on and stay in her room until I was sure she was asleep. I told her it would be all right and that I would always be there to protect her.

J-Who were the public figures she admired?

M-Winona Ryder who helped us so much, and Hillary Clinton were her role models.

J-You had a business at the time of Polly's abduction?

M-Yes, I owned the Hertz car rental franchise at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Prior to that I worked as a bell captain and concierge at the Stanford Court Hotel. I was slightly concerned about the franchise as it had not done well in the past. However, I took it over and made it successful almost immediately. This pleased me very much. My business was good, and my family life was good. After years of feeling each other out Polly and Violet were very close. They did many things together. I was spending a lot of time with my daughter and hoping she would chose to come and live with us, and I remember thinking, "What's going to happen to wreck this?"

J-How long have you known Violet?

M-We've been together 12 years now.

J-When was the last time you saw Polly?

M-The week before the kidnappng. Violet and I picked up Polly and her sister Annie at their home on 4th Street in Petaluma and went out to a children's entertainment center. We played miniature golf, raced in mini formula-one cars and went out to dinner. We probably spent 6 or 7 hours together.

J-Did you often take Annie with you?

M-Not often, Polly was my daughter, but Annie was always welcom. We always enjoyed Annie's company and she enjoyed our company. Annie adored Polly.

J-Did you have other contact with Polly the week before her abduction?

M-Yes, several phone calls, about 10 to 20 minutes each. Often times we would just shoot the breeze and talk about nothing much at all.

J-Did you talk with Polly on October 1?

M-Yes, I checked my phone records and I called at 6:22 p.m. Polly was excited about a slumber party her mother was letting her have because she had cleaned up her room. Eve was going to Monterey to visit and would drop Polly off with us on Saturday for the weekend. Being in Polly's company made people feel good. She had an aura that rubbed off on people.

J-You remember those things?

M-That's all I've got sir. I remember the last thing I said to Polly and I'm really glad I said it. We always ended our conversations the same way. "Polly, I love you." And she said to me, "Daddy, I love you, too."

J-How did you hear about Polly's abduction?

M-My nightmare began the way most people's nightmares end. It was 11:39 p.m. and I was asleep. I had to get up early for work the next morning and I was awakened from slumber by a scream. Violet was on the phone with Eve's husband Alan. She said "tell Marc" and she pushed the phone away. I think she felt that letting go of the telephone would make the bad news disappear. Alan told me that Polly had been kidnapped and he didn't have a lot of details, but I should call Eve. So, I called Eve and she said a man came in and tied up Polly's friends and took Polly.

J-You didn't go to Petaluma right away?

M-No, sir. Alan said the police didn't want a distraught father trampling evidence. So, I called the Petaluma Police Department who confirmed the kidnapping and I called the FBI. Violet and I stayed at our home in Sausalito, awake for what would be the first of several nights. We kept all the lights on in hopes that they would bring Polly home. We heard an announcement at 6 a.m. the next morning on KCBS that Polly had been kidnapped. And, it began to sink in. Then I began one of the most difficult tasks of my life ... calling my family, one by one, and listening to my mother scream, listening to my sisters cry, listening to our world fall apart.

J-And you waited for word of your daughter?

M-Yes sir, for 65 days.

J-What were you thinking during those 65 days?

M-Fear for my daughter ... "fear" doesn't even come close. We never gave up hope.

J-Did you take steps to find Polly?

M-Petaluma Police were overworked and understaffed, so we opened a volunteer center and searched for Polly. The volunteers searched over 3,000 sq. miles by air and between 500 to 1,000 sq. miles by ground grid search.

J-What happened to your business during this time?

M-After about a week, Violet reminded me we had a business, so I called another franchisee and arranged for her to cover for me. Once, I returned for two hours to train my sister, but I've since given up the business.

J-How has this affected your health?

M-I've lost 30 pounds and I take sleep aides to this day. I can't sleep without them.

J-Have you had counseling?

M-I've been in constant therapy, one hour per week. I never did it before, but I can't live without it now.

J-How did you learn Polly had been killed?

M-I believe it was Saturday night. I was called over to the Petaluma PD and Captain Pat Parks was there, Agent Mark Marshon from the FBI was there. Eve was there silently weeping. Everybody was crying, the polie were crying and the FBI was crying. Every one was invested in bringing Polly home alive. And they told me she was dead. I was in denial. I asked for my parents and called in my family. There must have been 12 people there, and there was this collective groan unlike anything anyone should have to experience. I went home in my father's car. Two hours later the news sank in for me. I went berserk, absolutely crazy. I had to be held down by several male members of my family.

J-What did you feel?

M-Anger. To this day a lot of anger.

J-Yes, actions determined this should not happen to another child or their family. I decided with my family that Polly's death would not be meaningless. We would try to spare other children her fate. Some $300,000 had been contributed to help find Polly, and we felt a sense of urgency, felt we had three months before the world would forget what happened.

J-You have nightmares about this?

M-I have nightmares about this case, as do many people. I only visit Polly in my dreams. The first two visits were very unnerving. I woke in a cold sweat and I lost it. Now I'm comfortable in dreams. I had a dream where I was in a motel room with a man. He was sitting on the bed and I was sitting on the floor. Someone came to visit the man, and Polly walked into the room. She sat down across from me and I said, "I love you Polly," and she said, "I love you Daddy". And then she said, "I have to go now Daddy. Good bye Daddy."

J-What reminds you of Polly?

M-Waking up in the morning. Anything, everything, you can't predict what or when. I was driving to this trial one morning when I heard about a fatal accident on the highway near Gilroy. I remembered when Polly and I were driving to Carmel on highway 101 near Gilroy during a driving rainstorm and saw a near accident that could have been very serious. it snaps you right to it. Every time I see a 12 year old girl I'm reminded of Polly.

10:30 a.m. Jacobs called Eugene Reed, Polly's maternal grandfather.

J-Eve is your only child and Polly was your first grandchild.

E-Yes. Yes, Annie was the second.

J-Tell me about your background.

E-I was born in Vienna, Austria. I was a first year medical student in 1938 when the Nazi's took over Austria. Because I am a Jew, I was immediately expelled from medical school.

J-Did you suffer at the hands of the Nazi's?

E-Yes, often. Then we fled to London, and half of my family perished at the hands of the Nazis. Then we, my wife and I, we weren't married at the time survived the air raids in London. There were many close calls. We moved to teh U.S. where I joined the army and went back to Europe as an intelligence officer for the final stages of WW2.

J-Were you present when Polly was born?

E-Yes, we were visiting from New Mexico and saw Polly in the hospital one day after she was born.

J-How often did you see Polly?

E-Eve and Marc brought Polly down to Carmel where she divided her time us and her other grandparents.

J-Tell me about Eve.

E-She is extremely well educated, a very lovely person. I don't quite know what you mean. She was extraordinarily fond of Polly.

J-What activities did you share with Polly?

E-We picniced on the beach, walked in the forest, played music together, I play the violin and she played the piano. We did homework. We had great times, and all that is left is a memorial bench.

J-Tell me about Polly.

E-Absolutely extraordinary. She was lovely, beautiful. She had a sunny disposition, liked jokes, was very good at imitating foreign accents.

J-Including your accent?

E-Yes, including mine. She liked movies, theatre, school plays. She was a fine student.

J-She liked to joke?

E-Yes, every time she came she had a couple of jokes prepared for me.

J-When was the last time you saw Polly?

E-She visited with us on Mothers'Day, May 1993, I believe those were the last photo's we took of her. We talked once a week on the phone, to hear how she was doing in school. We were very close. Yes, and my wife too, ablsoutely.

J-(Introduces 5 photographs of Polly and Annie at the Reed home, May 1993.)

E-Polly and Annie were very close. Annie was extremely well taken care of by Polly, as if she were her child.

J-How did you learn of Polly's kidnapping?

E-Our nightmare started Saturday morning October 2. A police car turned into the driveway and I thought they were collecting for some fund raiser. Then they dropped this bombshell.

J-Did you do anything immediately?

E-We rushed up to Petaluma and found our daughter in shock, too numb to cry. The house was full of police, FBI, friends and neighbors. I tried to comfort Eve, and my wife did too. The next days were really traumatic. The police told us that live rescues happen within 3 days and the probability decreases rapidly thereafter. We waited and hoped, the phone in Eve's home was manned day and night waiting for word from Polly or her abductor. There were many hoaxes that went on over the 9 weeks. Girls alled pretending to be Polly. A man called claiming to have her. An imposter.

J-How was Eve during this time?

E-Her pain was too great for tears. A numbness. She kept clutching her younger daughter.

J-What was the effect on you?

E-Just the worst time in our lives, and we've had many. Now we've lost a very precious grandchild.

J-How did you learn of Polly's death?

E-We had just returned home from Petaluma and got a call from Eve's husband that Polly's body had been found.

J-What was your reaction?

E-Really awful. It couldn't have been worse.

J-So this really affected you?

E-It really has. We survived the holocaust and the blitzkrieg in London, the end of World War 2, and now in our old age, this devastating act, the death of our beloved grandchild.