That childbeating mother might have pulled a fast one on the public.Check this out:
Decoy Ploy In Videotape Beating Case?
Indiana Police Checking Whether Mother Turned In Different Child


MISHAWAKA, IND., SEPT. 27, 2002 (CBS News) - Could it be that the girl who was placed in foster care in Indiana isn't the same one who was seen on videotape being beaten in a department store parking lot?

Police in Mishawaka, Ind., are looking into that. A statement from a police investigator says some members of the public are concerned that police don't have the right child -- or the right mother, for that matter.

Meanwhile, both Toogood and her husband Johnny Toogood are facing new charges for reportedly lying to authorities, on in the father's case, theft related to home-repair scams.

Last weekend, Madelyne Gorman Toogood surrendered to police in the company of a girl she identified as her four-year-old daughter, Martha.

Because of the questions being raised about the child's identity, police are asking for footprint records that were taken after Toogood's daughter was born.

Toogood's attorney says it's "the craziest thing in the world" to suggest that police have the wrong woman and child.

Steven Rosen says, "That's the mother, and that's the daughter."


Toogood is facing a felony charge of battery to a child. She also is being sought on a warrant for false informing.

Authorities say the new charge alleges Toogood gave police, the court and probation officers false addresses that all turned out to be essentially post office boxes.

The false addresses were in Mishawaka and Elkhart, Indiana and Fort Worth, Texas.

Authorities say they are confident Toogood will turn herself in a second time. No details were released on when or where the surrender would occur, or about Toogood's whereabouts.

Meanwhile, her husband, John Toogood, is facing theft charges in Montana.

John Toogood is scheduled to be tried Jan. 6 on a theft charge in Kalispell, Montana.

Police in Indiana released John Toogood earlier this week, saying that fingerprint tests showed he was not a man who is wanted in Tennessee and Virginia on forgery, theft and flight charges.

His wife, Madelyne Toogood, has said they are Irish Travelers, a nomadic group that police say has been linked to fraudulent home repair.

In Whitefish, just north of Kalispell, detective Roger Bergstrom said a felony theft-by-deception warrant was issued for John Toogood in August 1999. Bergstrom said Toogood, whose real name is John Lark, was doing faulty home repair and duping residents, mainly elderly people.

Toogood charged an 83-year-old woman $3,000 to replace part of her cedar shakes roof, the detective said.

Toogood was arrested on the Montana warrant in Casper, Wyo., but promptly posted bail of $20,000 in cash and left. The bail was forfeited when he failed to show up in court, and part of the money was used to repay the Whitefish woman, Bergstrom said.

Police arrested Toogood in Fort Worth, Texas, for bail jumping, and he appeared in Flathead County Justice Court early this year on the theft-by-deception charge, Bergstrom said.

Toogood is scheduled for trial in Flathead County District Court on Jan. 6.

Madelyne Toogood has said she and her husband have been living in Mishawaka for about six months.

already confirmed. the prints match. they've got the right woman.

AaronForever said:

My bad then.I guess they also have the right child.Well it was a good story while it lasted.

4LOVE said:

yeah! a great late-breaking twist leading up to the police press conference today. unfortunately, this one seems to be over it was a really fun one too (aside from the child abuse thing)

c'mon...
who in the world actually has a name like TOOGOOD???
think there are any MAYBESO's around,
although i did get rousted by a cop, badge#666 named
(get this) McIllwrath.
a dirty cop, and no, the charges were bogus,I AM NOT A CROOK!!!