Defense witness says dominatrix confession coerced

DEDHAM, Mass. --A expert defense witness testified today that investigators used "high-end psychologically coercive tactics" to coax a Quincy dominatrix accused of manslaughter to allegedly confess to the crime.

Barbara Asher, 56, is on trial for the death of a New Hampshire man who allegedly died of a heart attack during a bondage session.

Dr. Richard Ofshe, a social psychologist who has studied police interrogation techniques, told the jury he believed that police coerced Asher using a combination of threats and false promises.

"Such tactics can lead a person who is upset, who is not thinking straight, to leap at what seems to be a life preserver and say `I did it,' " Ofshe testified. "It doesn't matter if you committed the crime or not."

Prosecutors said Ofshe's opinions were speculative and did not have a bearing on the current case.

Asher initially denied involvement in the death of her client, but police said she later confessed that she and her boyfriend dismembered the victim's body and dumped it behind a restaurant in Maine. The body has not been found.

At the start of this morning's proceedings, defense attorneys moved to dismiss the charges, saying there was insufficient evidence linking Asher to the July 2000 disappearance of Michael Lord, 53. A Norfolk Superior Court judge denied the motion, allowing the trial to proceed.

Both sides have completed their cases, and closing arguments are slated for tomorrow.

In an interview after the session, Ofshe said he would be "stunned" if Asher's confession proved true.