pavlinac's trial began on january 24, 1991. during the trial, she recanted her confession, claiming that she had lied to police in an attempt to escape her relationship with sosnovske, whom she said was physically abusive to her throughout their ten-year relationship. "i started a lie, and it snowballed on me," she testified in court. in the midst of pavlinac's trial, a graffito was found inside a rest stop bathroom in livingston, montana, which read: