Cameron & Sarah*

Cameron Brown met Sarah Key sometime in the latter part of November of 1995. Cameron had been surfing with some friends in Huntington Beach that day, and afterwards they went to a local bar. Sarah was also at the same bar at the time. One way or another—I have heard several accounts with somewhat divergent details—Cameron ended up with Sarah that evening. And testimony at the trial indicated that they became sexually active together right from the start of their relationship. And this wasn’t just a “one night stand,” Cameron and Sarah became boyfriend and girlfriend.

Sarah is originally from England, from a suburb of London. She had been a flight attendant for an airline that is based in the U.K., and in the course of her work had traveled to southern California. And she liked the area so much that she decided to move there. The problem was, for white Europeans, emigration and/or permanent resident visas to the U.S. are very difficult to obtain (except under some very special circumstances, none of which applied to Sarah). So she came over on a tourist visa, which she had long overstayed by the time that Cameron met her. In late 1995, Sarah Key was an “undocumented” alien living in the U.S. illegally—which is not a terribly unusual situation in southern California (except for Sarah’s country of origin). And Cameron was not aware that she was illegal.

We believe that this is significant because we believe that Sarah was actively looking for a way that she could remain in the United States and become a legal resident. And it appears that what Sarah was looking for was not so much to have an “anchor baby” (i.e., to give birth to a child on U.S. territory who, by virtue of the courts’ current interpretation of the 14^th Amendment, would automatically be an American citizen), but rather to somehow snare an American husband. And the way that it appears that she was going about this was by trying to become impregnated by an American citizen who was morally responsible enough to be inclined to marry her.

Before proceeding, I would like to say that it is not my intent to “bash” or otherwise disparage and/or malign Sarah here. She has suffered an unspeakable loss that no mother should ever have to suffer. I suspect that it is possible that the prosecutor might even be exploiting this situation to present her as a witness whose testimony is above reproach. Nonetheless, while it is my belief that Sarah might not exactly be a moral exemplar, she nevertheless generally wishes to be morally upstanding. But she certainly has her failings—as do we all. Unfortunately for her, this case seems to have unavoidably brought out some of these failings—as well as those of Cameron—right to the forefront.

From all appearances, Sarah was looking for someone who would “step up to the plate” and “do the right thing” should he discover that he had impregnated her. As this would potentially be someone with whom she would spend the rest of her life, it had to be someone who would make a responsible husband and father. And I think that she believed she had found that person in Cameron Brown.

Cameron Brown is someone who is good-natured, and is kind, considerate, giving and selfless by nature. In the trial, Prosecutor Craig Hum mendaciously characterized him as a cruel, inconsiderate, self-centered monster who was indeed inhumanly mean—which is just about as opposite from the real Cameron as one can be. And Sarah would certainly not have stayed with Cameron for even a minute if he were really the sort of person as Prosecutor Hum falsely described him to be.

Apparently after a few weeks, Sarah decided that Cameron was the right man for a potential husband. But on the other hand, Cameron would also never engage in unprotected sex, and he always used a condom. Yet nevertheless Sarah somehow became pregnant, and we now know that it was indeed by Cameron. Sarah now claims that on the night of  December 9^th of 1995, the condom broke, and that Cameron knows it. But Cameron denies that a condom ever broke. Seeing as that day (a Saturday) is 264 days before Lauren’s birth date of August 29^th, 1996, it is a very plausible date for Lauren’s conception.

Cameron says that there was never any instance where a condom broke, but he does remember one night, around that time (though he doesn’t remember the exact date), when Sarah opened the condom wrapper. And why he remembers it is because it seemed that Sarah bit hard into the wrapper while she was opening it, and it seemed that she was biting the middle of the wrapper rather than the end of it. But, as the condom appeared to be undamaged, Cameron just went ahead and used it.

Just a few days before Christmas, Sarah told Cameron that she had become pregnant and that he was the father. What appears to be extremely curious here is that Sarah would have known at such an early stage of the pregnancy. If the date of Lauren’s conception were actually December 9^th, 1995—and given her birth date of August 29^th, 1996 we can be virtually certain that it was—then in order for Sarah to have determined within such a short period of time (less than two weeks) that she had become pregnant, she must have almost certainly been monitoring the situation. And this in turn suggests that she was indeed actively trying to become pregnant. And if so, she would almost certainly have wanted to know as early as possible if she had succeeded.

In any event, the news of this took Cameron somewhat by surprise, because he had always used a condom. And there was never any instance where he had become aware that a condom had failed. But nevertheless, condoms have been known to fail, and if Sarah was telling him that he was the sole candidate, then that was that. Though he was doubtless a bit apprehensive about it, he nevertheless accepted the responsibility, and was prepared to do what was needed to be done.

In the meanwhile, Sarah had some relatives up in the Seattle area, and went to be with them for the Christmas holidays. After she returned, Cameron went one night to visit her unannounced so as to surprise her. Instead, the surprise was upon him: he found Sarah in a car in the parking lot of her apartment complex, in the passionate embrace of a former boyfriend. He left, and from that point on, for him the trust was broken. Moreover, as he had used “protection” in every single instance, he began to question whether the child that Sarah was carrying was really his after all.

Sarah, on the other hand, tried to patch things up. She tried very hard to convince Cameron that what he saw really didn’t mean anything, that she was in fact “his girl,” and that the that baby she was carrying could not possibly be anyone else’s but his. And Cameron was not inclined to be intransigent about it—it just wasn’t in his character to be unmovably hard-nosed—but in order to restore his trust, his doubts would have to be effectively dispelled. And for that to happen, he would also have to be absolutely certain that Sarah’s child was his as well.

Cameron did resume his relationship with Sarah after this and they continued “going out” together. And certainly in no small measure: In February of ’96, Cameron took Sarah on a trip to Colorado to introduce her to his parents. While there, they also went skiing and snowboarding in the mountains. But in the meanwhile, he had also been taking steps to answer the question that still remained unsettled in his mind. And that of course was whether the child that Sarah was carrying was really his. Sarah insisted that it was, but if it was, and she seriously intended to commit herself to him and to no one else, then what had she been doing with the former boyfriend?

Cameron had gone to see a counselor about the problem, and was told that the best way to have the question definitively answered would be by having a paternity test performed on the unborn baby. The technology was certainly available, and moreover Cameron was willing to shoulder the cost of it—which would not be insubstantial. But the ultimate choice of whether to have it administered would be Sarah’s. And she could not be compelled to submit to it if she did not wish to. The next step was for Cameron to return with Sarah to see the counselor, and see if she would agree to have the paternity test performed.

Sarah did indeed come to see the counselor with Cameron, and the matter of the paternity test was discussed. I don’t know how amenable Sarah was to having the test performed, and whether she expressed any reluctance about it or not. But in the end she did agree to have the paternity test performed. Nevertheless, the counselor was also obliged to discuss other options with them. Among those options was abortion—but this was never considered as a serious option, neither by Sarah nor by Cameron. Instead they would return together after the results of the paternity test became available, and would discuss with the counselor what the next step would be.

In spite of what they agreed to at the meeting with the counselor, Sarah ultimately declined to have the paternity test performed. For Cameron, this was a “deal-breaker.” There was no sense in having any more sessions with the counselor as there was nothing new to discuss. Cameron had made it clear to Sarah that, in order for him to move forward in the relationship, he would have to be absolutely certain that the child was his. And what else could her refusal to have the test performed be other than an indication that it was probably not? Given that he had made his position on the matter clear to her, in his mind, Sarah was now in essence giving up on the relationship by refusing to have the paternity test performed.

But, as invariably happens in relationships, Sarah saw things quite differently. Sarah expected Cameron to take her at her word. In her view, he was being totally unreasonable by insisting that she should have a paternity test performed. And she felt that it was Cameron who was terminating the relationship. As a result, she felt abandoned by Cameron, and I believe that she has never been able to get over this sense of abandonment. Because Sarah has harbored an animus against Cameron ever since their breakup—an animus that has become so exacerbated by Lauren’s tragic death that the extent of it cannot be adequately expressed.

Sarah gave birth to Lauren on the 29^th of August in 1996. By then, she and Cameron had pretty much gone their separate ways. Sarah never even made any effort to inform Cameron of Lauren’s birth, and he was completely oblivious to what was going on with her. But she did file for child support against Cameron—just after she had obtained legal permanent resident status in the U.S. And she had gotten married in the meanwhile to Greg Marer, and was now known as “Sarah Key-Marer.”

Cameron, on the other hand, challenged the child support order, simply because he believed that he had substantive reason to doubt whether Lauren was actually his. And he had the right to demand that a paternity test be performed before the order could be enforced, which, he exercised. And thus the paternity test was finally performed—and it confirmed that Cameron was indeed Lauren’s biological father. Accordingly, Cameron filed for visitation with Lauren, as was also his right. Because if Lauren was indeed his child, he desired the best for her, and that she might know who her father was, and that he loved her.

 But Sarah opposed any visitation. As far as she was concerned, it was just fine and dandy that Cameron should be compelled to pay child support, but should not be allowed to have any contact whatsoever with his own biological daughter. But the courts tend to take a different position on such matters.

First of all, since Cameron had asked for a paternity test even before Lauren was born, and Sarah had refused to have it performed, he was not liable for any back child support previous to when paternity was finally established. Secondly, with regard to visitation, the issue would be decided on what would be in the best interests of the child. Since Cameron was an upstanding citizen with a steady job and income, and with a stable home life, and he was Lauren’s true biological father—and given that he expressed his love for her—there was no reason for the court to deny visitation. Nevertheless, this did not at all sit well with Sarah.

The court ordered visitation, and Cameron began seeing Lauren in October of 1999, not quite two months after her third birthday. But Sarah still harbored a lot of bitterness against him, and the fact that she was being forced to allow Cameron to see Lauren against her (Sarah’s) wishes did not help matters.

At one point, sometime in early 2000, Sarah informed Cameron that her husband Greg Marer had expressed an interest in adopting Lauren. In order for this to happen, Cameron would first have to relinquish his parental rights with regard to Lauren. By doing so, he would no longer be obliged to pay child support for her—but then he would also have no right to see her. This would essentially be tantamount to Cameron abandoning Lauren. This was completely unacceptable to Cameron. He loved his daughter, and there was absolutely no way that he was going to give her up or abandon her.

On November 8^th of 2000, the day after the memorable 2000 election, Cameron had Lauren for visitation. He picked her up at her pre-school in Huntington Beach at about noon, and for some reason she was somewhat agitated over something. He decided to take her to a playground to calm her down, and brought her to Abalone Cove Shoreline Park in Rancho Palos Verdes. There are many hiking trails in the park, along with a small playground right adjacent to the beach. Somehow Cameron and Lauren finally ended up on top of Inspiration Point, which is where the fateful accident happened and set all of these things into motion.

* This page reflects generally my opinion on the issues discussed here. Where matters of fact are concerned, I would also like to state that my recollection of some of these facts and/or events may not be completely perfect. It is also possible that, either because of faulty memory or also because of imperfect knowledge of some of these matters in the first place, there may also be some slight inaccuracies that I am currently unable to adequately resolve. But, to the best of my knowledge, the major fundamental points covered here are essentially correct.