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But it created new contradictions when compared with independent evidence, such as cell phone records: If Wilson's report was accurate, Mangum would have been on the phone with her escort agency and her father as the two women were dancing in the living room of the lacrosse house. Seligmann would have been on the phone with his girlfriend during the assault.

It wasn't just the content of the interview that was unusual. Police generally interview in pairs. This provides a witness if a dispute arises over what was said.

Wilson went without a colleague or tape recorder.

Wilson went alone to interview a rape complainant who had screamed when left alone with a man at Duke Hospital. Durham police guidelines suggest bringing a female rape counselor to follow-up interviews.

Wilson also created another problem for Nifong's case: He showed Mangum the lineup photographs from April 4, when she identified Evans, Seligmann, Finnerty and one other player as her assailants. That identification process violated Durham police guidelines because it showed pictures only of lacrosse players -- "a multiple choice test with no wrong answers," defense lawyers said.

Wilson did not mention the photographs in his report of the Dec. 21 interview; Nifong noted them in passing in a Jan. 8 letter to a defense lawyer. By showing Mangum the photos again, Wilson was open to charges that he had coached a witness and reinforced choices she made April 4. Since Wilson didn't make notes about showing the photos, it is unknown whether she identified the men charged, or different players.

As an investigator intimate with the case, Wilson should not have shown the photographs to Mangum; city and state guidelines say identification procedures should be conducted by officers unfamiliar with the case.

Nifong and Wilson apparently didn't tell Durham police about the interview beforehand. The next day, Nifong called Benjamin Himan, the Police Department's lead investigator on the case, and told him about the interview. Nifong informed Himan he was dropping the rape charges because Mangum was no longer 100 percent certain a penis had been put in her vagina.

This was an extraordinary decision. The indictments were based on grand jury testimony by Durham police officers, yet Nifong chose to dismiss the rape charge without consulting the police or asking them how her latest statement affected everything else she had told police.

After the phone call, Himan informed his boss and tried reaching Wilson, who had left on vacation. Himan discussed the interview with Wilson 11 days later, on Jan. 2.

"It was discussed that Inv. Wilson, myself and possibly Sgt. [Mark] Gottlieb should sit down and re-interview the victim regarding the information she had told Inv. Wilson," Himan noted.

They never did.

'Read her records'

The following week, Bill Cotter visited Nifong to discuss Mangum's history. A defense lawyer for Finnerty, Cotter had known Nifong for more than 20 years and was on good speaking terms with the prosecutor.

Cotter had heard Nifong was going to meet with Mangum, and he carried some of her records, which a judge had placed under seal. Unsealed records from UNC Healthcare in Nifong's files show she has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was taking Depakote and Seroquel, two anti-psychotic drugs.

"I encouraged him to read her records," Cotter said. "I wanted him to know the person he was betting his career on, the person he had staked this case on. I wanted him to ask her the hard questions, to cross-examine her."

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