[Prodigal Daughter]

Too many people want to build their careers, but have no interest in getting to the truth. That's why all of these aggressive tactics are seen and why so many innocent people are getting prosecuted at kangaroo trials.

[Prodigal Daughter]

Back to the Crowes: Nobody has been charged with a crime, but after the police ignore the neighborhood witnesses descriptions of the transient, and after they questioned the weeping father and told him to stop crying and "be a man": At 7 p.m., Steve and Cheryl Crowe were told by Detective Mark Wrisley that their two surviving children were being taken to the Polinsky Children's Center, the county's shelter for abused and neglected children in Kearny Mesa.

With an in-home killing on their hands, police believed it was important to place the two surviving children in the shelter, detectives said later.

But Steve Crowe exploded.

He bellowed that nobody was taking his kids away and demanded that they be brought to him. Several officers rushed in from adjoining offices to quiet him. Crowe recalled being told, "We were going to let you say goodbye to them, but you have lost that privilege."

After prolonged pleadings, the officers allowed Cheryl to meet briefly with Shannon and Michael.

The sobbing children begged their mother not to let the officers take them away. But she told them to be strong, to trust the police because "they are here to help us."

When Cheryl Crowe returned to her husband, he told her that an officer acknowledged that they were not under arrest and were free to leave. The Crowes headed downstairs about 8:30 p.m.

When they reached the main exit, however, the Crowes say, they were suddenly surrounded by police officers with guns drawn. Officers told the Crowes to go back upstairs. The couple said they complied.

Escondido police deny this incident took place.

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"Escondido" Spanish for "hidden".