hands. He was distraught and scared. He had to be tackled and tried to get away. He had a cut on his hand consistent with a knife that’s slick with blood, common in knife murders. His blood, hair, and skin cells are found on Fiona’s body. When the cops come, he asks immediately for a lawyer.”
Mary kept her eyes on the road. She wasn’t Pollyanna enough to think that race didn’t matter, but she wasn’t jumping to any conclusions. “You know that Philadelphia juries tend to be mostly African-American.”
“True, and blacks can be racists, too.”
Mary let it go.
“First Commonwealth witness is the arresting cop who testifies that Stall is five foot ten and right-handed, and that he asks for a lawyer, even before his interview.”
“Did they videotape the interview?”
“Such as it was, yes. The cop testifies about the knife wound found on Stall’s right hand, and he is right-handed. After the cop, the second witness is the coroner, who testifies that Fiona’s death occurred from a single stab wound through the heart, from a slight downward angle, as if from a taller person, probably right-handed.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Right. Also he testifies that the wound looks like it was made by a common kitchen knife, though the weapon was never recovered. He also says that the knife wound on Stall’s hand was made by the same knife, and here’s where he also says it’s common in knife murders for the killer to get cut. Gruesome.”
“Really.”
“Yep, and hold that thought. The third witness is a blood expert who says that the blood found on Stall’s shirt, hands, and under his nails was Fiona’s blood type, which is Type O. By the way, Stall’s type is A, so by process of deduction it’s not his.”
Mary switched to the fast lane, bypassing the traffic backing up at the Montgomery Drive exit.
“Blood expert also says that it’s Stall’s blood on Fiona’s shirt, presumably from the cut on his hand. Still day one, fourth witness is a DNA expert, who says he has a match on the blood on Stall’s shirt, and it is Fiona’s.”
“So they got her blood on him, and his blood on her.”
“Yep. Plus, DNA expert also testifies that they find Stall’s DNA on Fiona’s clothes, in the form of skin cells and hair.”
“Hair ID’s not that reliable.”
“It’s just icing. The cake? They find his saliva in her mouth, identified by DNA.”
Mary groaned. “No sexual assault though.”
“No.”
“Thank God. Did you see whether Brandt scored any points on cross?”
“No, I didn’t have time to read the trial transcripts.” Judy flipped to the next page of her pad. “Second day. Three witnesses testified that they saw Stall hurry up a back stair to the small conference room where she was killed, minutes before she was killed, and one saw him come back down again. They pick him out of a lineup, which appears to be properly conducted.”
“They’re not really eyewitnesses. They didn’t see the crime.”
“True, and still, even properly conducted eyewitness IDs are suspect. And also, keep in mind, that this one is cross-racial.”
“What does that matter?” Mary glanced over, intrigued.
“There’s cases that say that cross-racial IDs are especially unreliable. White people can’t tell black people apart, and black people can’t tell white people apart.”
“Bodes well for the City of Brotherly Love.”
Judy consulted her notes. “Final fact witness is the catering manager, Stall’s boss, who testifies that one of the kitchen knives went missing. Obvious implication, that’s the murder weapon, and he also testifies that Stall would have had access to it, all night.”
“Maybe they lost it or misplaced it.”
“Possible. Lastly, of course, both John and Jane Gardner take the stand and talk about how Fiona went missing that night. They were supposed to make a speech about the new offices’ dedication at nine o’clock, but she wasn’t around, so they went looking for her. They
Mary kept her eyes on the road. She wasn’t Pollyanna enough to think that race didn’t matter, but she wasn’t jumping to any conclusions. “You know that Philadelphia juries tend to be mostly African-American.”
“True, and blacks can be racists, too.”
Mary let it go.
“First Commonwealth witness is the arresting cop who testifies that Stall is five foot ten and right-handed, and that he asks for a lawyer, even before his interview.”
“Did they videotape the interview?”
“Such as it was, yes. The cop testifies about the knife wound found on Stall’s right hand, and he is right-handed. After the cop, the second witness is the coroner, who testifies that Fiona’s death occurred from a single stab wound through the heart, from a slight downward angle, as if from a taller person, probably right-handed.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Right. Also he testifies that the wound looks like it was made by a common kitchen knife, though the weapon was never recovered. He also says that the knife wound on Stall’s hand was made by the same knife, and here’s where he also says it’s common in knife murders for the killer to get cut. Gruesome.”
“Really.”
“Yep, and hold that thought. The third witness is a blood expert who says that the blood found on Stall’s shirt, hands, and under his nails was Fiona’s blood type, which is Type O. By the way, Stall’s type is A, so by process of deduction it’s not his.”
Mary switched to the fast lane, bypassing the traffic backing up at the Montgomery Drive exit.
“Blood expert also says that it’s Stall’s blood on Fiona’s shirt, presumably from the cut on his hand. Still day one, fourth witness is a DNA expert, who says he has a match on the blood on Stall’s shirt, and it is Fiona’s.”
“So they got her blood on him, and his blood on her.”
“Yep. Plus, DNA expert also testifies that they find Stall’s DNA on Fiona’s clothes, in the form of skin cells and hair.”
“Hair ID’s not that reliable.”
“It’s just icing. The cake? They find his saliva in her mouth, identified by DNA.”
Mary groaned. “No sexual assault though.”
“No.”
“Thank God. Did you see whether Brandt scored any points on cross?”
“No, I didn’t have time to read the trial transcripts.” Judy flipped to the next page of her pad. “Second day. Three witnesses testified that they saw Stall hurry up a back stair to the small conference room where she was killed, minutes before she was killed, and one saw him come back down again. They pick him out of a lineup, which appears to be properly conducted.”
“They’re not really eyewitnesses. They didn’t see the crime.”
“True, and still, even properly conducted eyewitness IDs are suspect. And also, keep in mind, that this one is cross-racial.”
“What does that matter?” Mary glanced over, intrigued.
“There’s cases that say that cross-racial IDs are especially unreliable. White people can’t tell black people apart, and black people can’t tell white people apart.”
“Bodes well for the City of Brotherly Love.”
Judy consulted her notes. “Final fact witness is the catering manager, Stall’s boss, who testifies that one of the kitchen knives went missing. Obvious implication, that’s the murder weapon, and he also testifies that Stall would have had access to it, all night.”
“Maybe they lost it or misplaced it.”
“Possible. Lastly, of course, both John and Jane Gardner take the stand and talk about how Fiona went missing that night. They were supposed to make a speech about the new offices’ dedication at nine o’clock, but she wasn’t around, so they went looking for her. They
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