then i saw the sister, and then i was really confused. and birdie jo speaks on her own behalf. i m just trying not to wind up dead somewhere. [ male announcer ] it s easy to see what subaru owners care about. that s why we created the share the love event. get a great deal on a new subaru and 250 dollars goes to your choice of five charities. with your help, we can reach 20 million dollars
they did apologize to me personally. it was apologies under the auspice of if we apologize to you, will you not press charges? it was like they never stepped aside from the con artist approach to life to see that they could do things right. for all the things they didn t do right, they were never short on people trying to help them. i can say she doesn t like being in trouble. i ll put it that way. eddie battitori represented birdie jo during her first case in galena. i found her very endearing, very charming and very likable. there was also what i thought a little bit of a sadness to her. i couldn t put my finger on it. he decided to take the second case for free. she really needed help. she seemed pretty alarmed about the situation and the accusation, so i just told her i d help her out. michael goodrich, the same county attorney who had dismissed previous charges against birdie jo and her sister
that was, of course, more than a dozen years ago and birdie jo did reunite with her twin sister becky in san jose, where she was again caught impersonating a boy. the two women ran from our camera rather than talk to us there. and in 2003, birdie was convicted in tulsa, oklahoma, for writing bad checks. finally, to galena, where this time birdie and her sister got in trouble with the law. birdie, for the impersonation, and sister becky for helping her enroll in middle school. once the true story was out, the good pastor jones confronted a choice. condemn or forgive? again. i don t think she ll do it again. i think she could do it again, she certainly has the capability, but i think in life that we have to make a series of choices. and i think that she s making a choice to change her life. not the first time to believe
specifically the angel food ministries, a nonprofit organization that provides food for those who are struggling financially. and the next morning, when associate pastor randy depriest showed up for work, he noticed something was missing. i thought somebody was playing a joke on me. i walked in my office and i asked the secretary, i said, okay, what s going on? she says, i don t know, what do you mean? i said, the safe is gone. about six weeks prior to the burglary, becky jo came to me and said that birdie jo was planning to steal the safe here at the church. a lot of times she would indicate things of that nature build up confidence from us in her. then when the safe was stolen, i knew pretty much exactly where we needed to go look. the twins seemed to have crossed the line and it turns out they left a trail of evidence. they were even questioned on the night of the burglary for suspicious behavior. after they opened the safe,
i m alex witt. more news later for you right here on msnbc. see you then at the bottom of the next hour. the assembly of god church in galena, kansas, was shocked by the revelation. 13-year-old chris gomez was really birdie jo hoaks, a 33-year-old woman with children of her own and big sister becky was really birdie jo s twin. galena was just the latest town in a nationwide trail of deceit, and it fell for the sisters ruse hook, line and sinker. as con artists, they were good. though others saw a potential for a different kind of good. becky and birdie jo were bright and charming. they were hardly bonnie and clyde on some violent crime spree. they were really just moochers living off the kindness of strangers. those who knew them said what they needed was love, affection, attention. and the church community in galena was determined to provide