Beyond A Reasonable Doubt Page #6

previously entered

as People's Exhibit C.

This was taken from

the defendant's apartment.

Could that be the murder weapon?

Yes, the blade's length and width

are the same as the stab wound.

And when you examined this knife

did you find any traces of blood on it?

No, it had recently been cleaned

with a strong industrial-strength

cleaning solution.

And deformities on the handle indicate

that it had been boiled.

Plus striations on the blade indicate

the blade had

recently been reground.

I have no more questions.

Thank you, Dr. Romans.

- Your witness.

- So just to be clear,

what you're saying

is you don't know

if this is the actual

murder weapon or not.

No.

Thank you.

No further questions.

The dog bite on Mr. Nicholas's left calf

was consistent with a dog bite

from a dog of that size and breed.

Now you found a shoeprint at the scene.

What kind of shoe was that?

They belonged to a Montalvo sneaker.

Similar to the shoes

owned by the defendant

marked for evidence

as People's Exhibit D?

Yes.

Now is that a popular brand sneaker?

No, they're extremely rare.

In fact, there isn't a single store

in Shreveport that carries them.

And did you compare the defendant's

sneaker with the print at the scene?

Yes. They were a match

for both size and weight.

Now the mask,

the ski mask

that was found

at the defendant's apartment

marked as People's Exhibit E.

What can you tell me about this?

We found pepper spray

around the eyeholes

on the outside.

Someone had sprayed it.

It was consistent with the pepper

spray belonging to the victim.

Thank you.

I have no more questions, Your Honor.

Now you can't actually tell us

that the bite on my client's calf

- came from Mr. Tarlow's dog?

- No.

So it could have come from any dog

of similar size and breed,

- like the one owned by my client in fact?

- Yes, that's right.

The crime scene photos show

that there was considerable blood

spatter caused by the attack.

- Is that correct?

- Yes.

And yet when you examined

the defendant's clothing,

entered into evidence

as People's Exhibit E,

you found no traces of blood at all.

No, but the client had time...

Just a yes or no will be sufficient.

So in fact, would it be fair to say

that there is no direct

forensic evidence whatsoever

connecting my client to this crime?

Yes.

No further questions.

So sorry.

Yeah?

You'll excuse me for one minute.

- Sorry, honey.

- It's okay.

This better be good.

So what the hell kind

of emergency is this?

- We checked Nicholas's financials again.

- Yeah.

He bought a video camera at Wright's

Audio two days after the murder.

There's a point to this, right?

He also bought a black Reebok

jogging suit and a ski mask

at the sporting goods store.

He bought a dog

at the animal shelter.

All this within a day of buying

the video camera.

Something doesn't smell right.

So when he went on this shopping spree,

was he alone?

People at the sporting goods

store can't remember.

Salesclerk at Wright's Audio said he

might have been with someone.

The man at the animal shelter,

for sure

remembers he was with another man.

- Do you know who this man is?

- I'm pretty sure.

Well, if someone did a video,

then this man's got it.

You think we're being set up?

We can't have that, can we?

Now would you please tell the court what

you found on the defendant's pants?

On request of the DA's office,

we retested the defendant's clothing.

And what did you find on it?

We found small traces of blood

on the seams of his sweatpants.

We missed it the first time.

It happens.

You Honor, we were given no

prior notice of this testimony.

Judge, we only discovered

this evidence yesterday.

I'll allow it.

Don't worry, Counselor.

I'll give you time

to examine this evidence.

Did you do a DNA analysis

of the blood

that you found

on the defendant's pants?

- Yes I did.

- And what did that analysis show you?

The blood belonged to the victim.

I have no more questions,

Your Honor.

Excuse me.

Stop.

Oh sh*t.

Your Honor, the prosecution rests.

Are you ready to call

your first witness, Counselor?

Yes, Your Honor. The defense would

like to call Dr. Aaron Wakefield.

Go.

Stop stop.

Stop stop.

Stop!

Excuse me. Sorry.

Hi, I need to open

my safety deposit box.

My name's Corey Finley.

Here's my ID.

Certainly, Mr. Findley.

Oh, it's actually Finley.

No D.

Oh. That would explain why

I cannot find your record.

Probably, yeah.

You know, I have a cousin

named Findley.

- You do?

- With a D.

Second cousin really.

Or is it first cousin once removed?

I can never figure that out.

You see, she's married

to my first cousin.

Do you know how

that removed thing works?

No, I don't really...

you know, if we could possibly...

Here it is.

Corey Finley no D.

Do you have your key

with you, Mr. Finley no D?

Yes, I do. I have my key.

There it is.

- Oh, good.

- Okay.

Hey.

Okay.

It's right in here.

It's right here. It's right there.

Well, of course.

There it is.

Okay, here's my key.

Do you think that we

could speed this up?

- I'm in a bit of a rush.

- No.

Okay.

- Care for a private booth?

- No thank you.

Mr. Finley!

Oh!

Ow.

Excuse me.

Excuse me, stop.

Sorry.

And in your opinion, Dr. Wakefield,

could those wounds have been

caused by a knife other than the one

- belonging to the defendant?

- Absolutely.

Any blade of that

approximate length

or width could have

caused those wounds.

There are hundreds

of knives with blades that size.

Call your next witness, Mr. Spota.

I can't keep stalling.

Where is this surprise witness

you keep telling me about?

He'll be here any second.

You've been saying that

for the past four hours.

- He should have been here by now.

- Counselor?

Uh, Your Honor,

we're expecting the appearance

of a rebuttal witness.

Well, do you know where he is?

Uh...

no, Your Honor.

Your Honor, the defense requests

a continuance at this time

so we can examine the prosecution's

new forensic evidence.

Motion granted.

We'll meet back here at 9:00 AM

Monday morning.

Court adjourned.

Counselor, is the defense

ready to continue?

We are, Your Honor.

The defense calls CJ Nicholas.

Raise your right hand.

Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth,

the whole truth and nothing but the truth,

- so help you God?

- I do.

Be seated.

- Did you murder Doris Ruth Owens?

- I did not.

So why are you on trial here today?

'Cause I wanted to be.

What do you mean?

I deliberately implicated

myself in the crime.

- Why would you do such a thing?

- I was working on a story

about the DA's office planting

forensic evidence

in murder trials

in order to obtain guilty verdicts.

Your Honor, that is

an outrageous statement.

I felt the only way that I could uncover

evidence of corruption in the DA's office

was to implicate myself

in the crime,

to see if the DA would fabricate DNA

evidence which he now has done.

Silence.

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