Treva Throneberry
Defending the Perceived Self
Treva’s trial began in November 2001 in
From the beginning the trial was a farce. Obviously lacking experience, Treva cross-examined witness after witness asking pointless questions and often lacking the basic knowledge to understand what some witnesses were saying in the first place. She also was unable to successfully counter Kinnie’s case. Nonetheless, her lack of legal knowledge did not deter her, although it visibly irked the judge and prosecution.
Conversely, Kinnie presented a strong case against the defendant and was able to prove over and over again that Treva and Brianna were one and the same and that she was a pathological liar, even if she denied it. He called her a “pampered child” who took advantage of the system for financial and educational gain. Moreover, he refuted that she was psychologically impaired in any way. Hollandsworth said that the prosecution had a “slam dunk case,” one that the jury had no problem believing.
The jury found Treva guilty of seven counts of fraud and perjury, and the judge sentenced her to three years and two months in the
Finally on June 18, 2003, after serving two years, Treva was released from prison. Even after her incarceration she maintains that she is 13 years younger than her original birth certificate states and claims she has the documentation to prove it. This time, she speaks the truth, at least concerning the documentation because the Washington Department of Licensing gave her an ID card with her name listed as Brianna Stewart and her birth date as December 22, 1981, which makes her 21 years old,
