His first witness was the 911 operator who answered Spencer's phone call. Scott led her through a series of questions designed to recreate the phone call between her and Spencer by asking questions like, 'What was the defendants tone when she was describing her husband laying on the floor with blood seeping out of him.' She answered that Spencer seemed eerily calm and wasn't panicking, giving her details to the position of the body and the type of gun used and such. Then he submitted into evidence People's 'exhibit A' the tape of the phone call between Spencer and the operator. I'd listened to it a few times prior to the trial of course, but it still didn't change the fact that to others she seemed cold but I could hear the helplessness in Spencer's voice. No matter what others thought, I could hear the pain. The questioning went smoothly without any objections from me. When it was my turn to address her she visibly tensed. Was I that intimidating?
"Goodmorning Ms. Reevis, how are you today?" I ask her with a smile, trying to take away some of my intimidation factor I guess.
"I'm doing good." She nods and smiles right back. She was a pretty woman, in her early twenties. Probably doing this job as a way to pay for college. But she wasn't an essential part of the case so I didn't break out the Davies charm, not yet anyways.
"You testified that you received the defendants 911 call at exactly 4:49pm, correct?" I ask.
"Yes." She nods.
"And about how long into the call did you dispatch an ambulance and police officers to the Dennison residence?"
"Well, when we receive a call an ambulance is automatically dispatched to the residence once the person asks for one, so within a few seconds." She says.
"And what about the police?"
"Maybe a minute into the call." She says and I nod.
"So if my client placed the called at let's say 4:49pm, then the police wouldn't have received notice of the incident until 4:50pm, correct?"
"Right." She nods, a bit confused at my questioning.
"No further questions Your Honor. I say and take my seat.
"Counselor," Judge says addressing Scott.
"The state has no further questions for this witness your honor."
"You may step down, young lady." The judge tells her and she does.
Next Scott called the blood splatter expert to the stand. He explained what the different patterns and such meant. How the positioning of the body and other clues helped determine the succession of the gunshots. With this testimony, Scott entered into evidence the crime scene photos of Aiden's lifeless body laying in the foyer as well as all the blood on the walls. When it was my turn to question him I only had one question, "Did the positioning of the body and blood splatter tell you who committed the crime?"
"No." He shook his head and laughed along with some of the court room patrons.
"No further questions." I say and take my seat. I glance over at Spencer who shot me a smile.
After the blood splatter experts testimony Scott called in succession two neighbors who testified that they heard the gunshots but saw nothing, after that we recessed for lunch.
"You think he will call that cop to the stand today?" Jackson asks me as he takes a bite of his sandwich.
"Not sure." I shrug. I bite my sandwich and say, "I hope so." With a mouth full.
–
After lunch everyone waited in the courtroom for Judge Matthenson to return.
"You're doing amazing." Spencer leans over and whispers to me. "And you look good doing it." She adds and my head snaps in her direction. What the-
"All rise." The bailiff says as Judge Matthenson returns to the courtroom. I keep my eyes glued to Spencer who is looking straight ahead with a smirk on her face.
"You may sit." The judge says.
First up for Scott, was the coroner who told the court about the approximate time of death and cause of death. Which was consistent with what the blood splatter expert had attested to. He entered into evidence 'exhibit E' a copy of the coroners report that stated the same thing he'd just testified to, two weeks ago when he examined the body. When it was my turn to question him I asked him if he was sure about the time of death and he answered that he was sure. I then asked if he could tell from the bullet wounds if the same weapon was used on all three. He gave me a quizzical look before answering with a no. I ended my questioning there and Scott called the neighbor who testified to witnessing a blonde running from the scene. He then asked the woman what she did once she saw the blonde running, the woman stated that she left the window and went back into the kitchen.
"So, because you went back into the kitchen you're not sure what happened after that right?" He asks and the woman nods. "So the blonde woman could have re-entered the house then?"
"Objection." I stand and stay. "Leading the witness."
"Sustained."
"Let me rephrase the question." Scott says with a smile. "Because you left the window, you're not sure what happened outside the Dennison residence after that, correct?"
"Right." The woman answers.
"No further questions." He says and takes a seat.
"Hello, Mrs. Mayfield." I greet the woman with a friendly smile, which she returns. "You testified that you saw a blonde woman running from the residence, did you happen to see this woman's face?" I ask and she shakes her head.
"I couldn't make it out clearly." She says.
"So, all you were able to tell was that; it was a woman and that the woman was blonde?" I ask.
"Yes." She answers.
"So it could have been anyone running from that house..."
"I suppose so." She answers.
"You're a smart woman Mrs. Mayfield, can I ask you a fairly simple question?" I ask and she smiles and nods.
"Sure."
"Does it make sense to you that a person who'd just committed a crime would run away from the scene only to return a few minutes later and call the police?" I ask her a question I know won't be getting answered.
"Objection." Scott stands. "Speculation."
"Sustained." Judge Matthenson says.
"Thank you." I say addressing the woman." No further questions, Your Honor." I say and take a seat. All you need is a seed of doubt and the tree will bloom.
After the neighbors testimony Scott called the first responder on the scene to the stand. Here was my time to poke major holes in his case.
"Ms. James, how did you know about the incident at the Dennison residence if you were already out answering a previous call?" He asks her and she sits up before answering.
"Well, I was getting in my vehicle heading back to the station when I heard the call go out over the scanner for all available officers in the area to proceed to that address." She answers in a confident tone. One I can't wait to diminish.
"You were the first person on the scene correct?" He asks her.
"Yes." She nods.
"And upon entering the residence, what did you find?"
"The defendant." She says pointing at Spencer. "Kneeling over the victim's body with the gun at her side and blood all over her clothes and hands." She testifies and I can hear Spencer's breathing pick up next to me. I lower my hand under the table and place it on her knee. She immediately calms herself.
"When you saw this, what did you do?"
"I immediately removed her from the home, placed her in handcuffs and into my squad car, and waited outside the residence for backup to arrive."
"Did Mrs. Dennison say anything while in your custody prior to backup arriving. She just kept repeating she didn't hear it, she didn't hear it." Amanda finishes. That wasn't in the police report, I think to myself as Scott walks over to the table and grabs a file off of it.
Wait, she immediately arrested Spencer? That's odd. I say to myself and write down a note.
"Your Honor, I'd like to submit 'exhibit c' into evidence. A copy of the police report from one Amanda James." He says and hands the report to the judge. "No further questions. I throw a smile in Jackson's direction before standing up and approaching the witness stand. I'd only discussed my questioning of this witness with him. And since, as a defense attorney I'm not obligated to turn over any evidence I acquire.
Scott is going to be totally caught off guard.