Amethyst Purple Pt. 02

During her opening statement, A.D.A. Reeves had stepped from behind her podium and walked close to the Jury Box, presenting to each member of the jury as if confiding in each one separately. As she approached the end of her speech she turned and looked directly at the defendant's table.

"And finally, the evidence will show that the Defendant, Vincent Turner, is the one and only author of all this atrocious melee and that he did so intentionally and with full knowledge of his actions and their repercussions. He did so without conscience and without concern for the effect his actions would have on Ms. Reynolds, her family or the rest of the citizens of our fine peaceful city."

Then turning back toward the jury box, "At the end of this trial, I am confident that each and every one of you will return a verdict of Guilty on all charges. Thank you."

A.D.A. Reeves then returned to her seat, yielding the floor to the defense to present their opening statement.

Judge Baker addressed the Defense's table, "Does the Defense wish to present their opening statement at this time?"

Ted's lead Defense Co-Council, Martin Wynn, stood and answered Judge Baker before resuming his seat. "No, Your Honor, the Defense elects to wait until after the State closes before we present our argument. We're confident that the trial is unlikely to proceed any further than that."

"Very well." Then turning toward the Prosecution's table, "Ms. Reeves, after listening to your opening statement am I correct to assume that you expect extended testimonies from, at least, your first several witnesses?"

A.D.A. Reeves rose from her chair, "Yes, Your Honor, unfortunately that is correct."

"It's eleven O'clock now, I do hate to break this early for lunch because I anticipate a later than usual afternoon today but I don't want to have to interrupt your witness for lunch, do you think you can finish your first witness in an hour?"

"I believe so, Your Honor, that shouldn't be any problem."

"Excellent. I'd like to expedite these proceedings whenever possible. Fortunately, the popular chatter will be on the arraignment in Los Angeles yesterday, maybe we can avoid as much media attention as we can if we don't continue for an extended period of time. Go ahead and call your first witness."

"Yes, Your Honor, the State calls Corporal Tim Stapleton to the stand."

A uniformed Patrol Officer entered the courtroom and stepped into the witness stand adjoining the Judge's Bench.

A.D.A. Reeves stood in front of the witness stand and spoke to the officer, "Please lift your right hand and place your left on the Bible in front of you. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you give here to be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I do so affirm." Replied the Officer.

"Please state your name and occupation for the record."

"My name is Tim Stapleton, I am a Patrol Officer for Knoxville Police Department and hold the rank of Corporal."

"Thank you Corporal Stapleton, how long have you been so employed?"

Turning to look at the members of the Jury, Corporal Stapleton answered, "I've been a Police Officer with Knoxville Police Department for just over six years."

"Were you working last year on the night of September 18, 1993?"

"Yes, I was."

"Did you have occasion to be at the Riverside Landing Park at some point in your shift that night?"

"Yes, I did." Answered Corporal Stapleton.

"Please tell the court what, if anything, you observed or were made aware of at that time."

Turning again toward the jury, Corporal Stapleton began speaking. "While I was conducting my routine patrol I was dispatched to the Riverside Landing Park at around fifteen minutes before nine pm to investigate a suspicious scene and possible injury to an unknown subject. When I arrived I was met by three UT-K students who said they walked up the Greenway and came in to rest at a picnic table before walking back to the campus as they often did in the evening for exercise. They told me that they decided to walk out onto the boat dock before they began their walk back downriver and as they approached the dock they noticed what, and their words were: 'What looked like someone dragged a large paint brush or broom with a dark paint along the ground and out the dock to the edge on the far end.' The substance was very dark, black, under the parking lot lighting but when I lit it with my flashlight the edges of the pools and thin areas of the streaks appeared reddish brown. I called my Patrol Sergeant and recommended that the Division be notified and the Crime Scene Unit be dispatched. I directed the witnesses away from the material on the ground and back to my patrol car to take written statements from all three while I waited for the other Officers to arrive."

"Did you observe anyone else present in the park?"

"No, the three students were the only persons in the park other than myself until Detective Bradford and the Crime Scene Unit arrived around nine-twenty."

With a confused look, A.D.A. Reeves asked "I thought you issued a lookout on a light colored panel van in connection to this case? What prompted that?"

"The students told me that when they were about a hundred yards or so from the bridge they saw a light colored van with no windows on the side other than the driver's door cross in front of them coming out of the park and turn right on Riverside then disappear under the bridge and around the curve. They said they couldn't be sure of the color, it could've been white, beige or even light yellow and was dirty with mud on the side of the fenders."

Martin stood "Objection, Your Honor, Hearsay." knowing his objection wasn't going to stand but he felt he needed to shake the Prosecution's rhythm. Corporal Stapleton was proving to be a good witness and Martin felt the Jury was beginning to fall into his cadence so he wanted to nudge the procedure, to remind the court that A.D.A. Reeves and Corporal Stapleton weren't the only participants in this drama.

A.D.A. Reeves responded with "Your Honor, I'm not eliciting personal testimony regarding details about the van or occupant from this witness which would be third-party information, I'm merely seeking what his initial investigation at the scene revealed and justifying his issuance of the lookout for the suspect vehicle. I plan to pursue the identifying aspects later when I call the students to the stand."

"Very well, the objection is overruled. You may proceed." Judge Baker directed.

"Thank you, Your Honor. I have no more questions for this witness at this time." A.D.A. Reeves responded.

Judge Baker directed his attention toward the Defense table "Mr Wynn, do wish to question the witness?"

"Yes, thank you, Your Honor." Martin responded, standing with a pen and legal pad in his hand and moving to the podium in front of the witness stand and jury box.

"Good Morning, Cpl. Stapleton. I understand from your earlier testimony that you work night shift, correct?"

"Yes, Sir, I do."

"Did you work last night?"

"Yes, Sir, I did."

Martin nodded and looked down at his legal pad, lifting the top of the yellow pages to review some point of his hand-written notes on the second page "So you're here this morning without having been able to rest from your overnight shift?"

"Yes, Sir, that is correct."

"OK, then I'll be as quick as I can be so you can get home for some well-deserved rest."

"Thank you, Sir."

"You testified that you didn't observe anyone other than the three UT students at the park and there were no vehicles there other than yours while you were present, is that correct?"

"Yes, Sir, that is correct."

"Did anyone come or go while you were present?"

"No, Sir. Nobody."

"Did you collect any other evidence when you examined the stains on the dock?"

"No, Sir, I didn't collect any Evidence, once I identified the substance as possibly being blood I backed myself and the witnesses away from the obvious scene to an area immediately beside my patrol car to minimize any scene contamination until the Crime Scene Unit and Detective could take over."

"So nobody else entered the scene before the CSU arrived to investigate the scene?

"No."

"Did you rope off the scene with Crime Scene Tape?"

"No, I felt I could better maintain the scene integrity by ensuring no one entered the immediate area, including myself. I kept everyone in a small area to mitigate the impact we'd have on the scene since we had already been in that area. The area was pretty open with nowhere to tie scene tape and I didn't want to go walking around in the dark looking for places to tie tape to and possibly disturb potential evidence in the process. It was the best option I could think of at the time."

"So you never collected any evidence tying Mr. Turner to the scene, is that correct?" Martin asked.

"Again, I never collected any evidence, Detective Bradford and the CSU worked the scene and collected all the evidence. I don't know what evidence was collected."

"OK."

"Did your lookout result in finding the suspect van?"

"No, Sir."

"When was the van found?"

"I don't know, not before the end of my shift. It was a couple weeks later if memory serves but I don't know what the date or location was."

"I see. Do you often check the Greenway and the park on your routine patrol rounds?"

"Yes, I try to ride through a couple times each shift when I'm able."

"How often do you find people in the park at night?" Martin asked.

"Occasionally, not often. Technically the park is supposed to be closed at sundown but there isn't a gate so sometimes somebody is there when I ride through. Usually it's fishermen catfishing from the dock but other times it's students from the University."

"What do you do when you find someone there?"

"Honestly, it depends on the circumstance, I usually run their I.D. to make sure they don't have warrants active and make note of their vehicle. If they're doing something illegal I arrest them, if they aren't really causing a problem I may ask them to move somewhere else better lit. Fishermen, unless they're drinking I often let them stay and fish, I just check back on them periodically afterward."

"So you have a list of people and vehicles you've encountered in the park before, then?"

"Yes, I do." Cpl. Stapleton answered.

"Did the Detectives consult your list in their investigation?"

"Yes, I gave Detective Bradford a copy of my notes containing that information."

Martin turned back to the Defense table and picked up two identical thin stacks of paper that were stapled together. He handed one of the packets of about a dozen sheets to A.D.A. Reeves and the other to the Court Clerk. "I'd like to submit Defense Exhibit A, Your Honor."

A.D.A. Reeves quickly scanned at each page then nodded to the judge that she had no objection.

The clerk logged the exhibit in the Court Docket and placed a small self-adhesive label at the top of the front page indicating 'Defense Exhibit A' then handed the papers back to Martin.

Martin walked to the Witness Stand and handed the papers to Cpl. Stapleton "Do you recognize what's on these pages?"

Cpl. Stapleton looked at each page then answered "Yes, they look like copies of my notes, the ones I gave Detective Bradford."

"Are all the names and vehicle descriptions listed here from Riverside Landing Park?" Martin asked.

"No, Sir, they're from several different parks around Knoxville."

"Thank you, Corporal. Your Honor, I have no more questions for this witness."

Judge Baker looked at Corporal Stapleton "Very well, you're excused Corporal, thank you for staying over to help us out this morning."

Cpl. Stapleton stepped down from the witness stand and walked out of the courtroom.

Judge Baker addressed the courtroom, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we're going to stop here for lunch, please be back, ready to begin at one-thirty" he faced the jury "You are not to look at, listen to or read any news organ or discuss or divulge anything you have witnessed here this morning. You are not to discuss the case among yourselves. You should be back in the jury room ready to resume proceedings at one-thirty" then rapped his gavel once before standing to his feet to leave the courtroom.

"ALL RISE!" the Bailiff called as the judge walked out and everyone began milling around.

Martin and Ted began organizing papers on the table "He's good, thorough. has good reasoning and doesn't need someone holding his hand." Ted said, referring to Tim Stapleton.

"Yeah, fortunately for us he didn't run the investigation. Bradford is one of the old-timers, he's been doing the job long enough that he's bored with it. He doesn't follow through with all his leads and he takes shortcuts when he should be digging deeper. I'm sure he's probably the Prosecution's next witness."

St. Louis, MO

"Well, Jordan, where are we going for lunch today?"

"There's this little restaurant over by the interstate that stays pretty busy but that's because they're good, home style menu. I thought we might eat there today."

"That sounds good to me."

Eleanor's was a somewhat small diner with a gravel parking lot and inside was like a vacation to 1965. There was a bar with nearly a dozen round padded chrome rotating stools secured to the floor. There were, maybe, fifteen booths in the dining room and all the seating had matching red and white vinyl upholstery, the kind you regret sitting in if you happen to be wearing shorts. Marti had the impression that anything that couldn't get away had been chromed and some things that might have gotten away had been chased down and chromed anyway. However, she had to admit, the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables might have been the best she'd ever had the good fortune to consume.

"We've spent a day and a half with you introducing me to everybody in the company and I don't know anything about you other than your name. Tell me a little about my St. Louis bestie."

"Well, I don't think there's all that much to know about me, I'm just plain ol' Jordan Dunn, nothing special. I'm 27 years old, single, not much to look at and I've worked for World Wide Express for almost six years. My momma died from cancer when I was in middle school so my daddy raised me. I was the youngest of three sibs and my two older brothers made sure I was a tomboy growing up. By the time I was seventeen I could rebuild the transmission and tune the race car I drove on the dirt track every weekend. When we weren't working on one of the race cars, my brothers, cousins and I were racing motocross or we were hunting and fishing. Now I pretty much sit around at home and read or craft if I'm not working. I still go to the races a couple times a month. We have a nice big racing complex across the river that has everything from NASCAR class races and Stadium Trucks on a big oval track and an infield road course, an NHRA and ADRL drag strip and karts. There's also a motocross track and a dirt oval track not far from there, too and sometimes the big Unlimited Hydroplane boats come and run on the river. I suppose there's always something to race in this town somewhere."

"Not much to look at?! Girl, look at those cheekbones and I'd kill three kittens and a puppy to have your figure! Why do you hide it under those loose slacks and jackets? Don't you ever wear a skirt to work?"

"A skirt? I don't even own a skirt. I didn't have a dress after my momma died until I had to buy one for high school graduation. And I never wore it a second time."

"I'll bet Peter in Accounting would appreciate seeing you wear a skirt on occasion." Marti said with an exaggerated wink.

"What do you mean? Peter Durand couldn't care less what I wore to work. If he's ever even noticed I was anywhere on Earth." Jordan said with a crestfallen sigh.

"You're kidding, right?..."

Jordan just stared questioningly at Marti

"No, I guess you're serious... I thought you were just teasing him without mercy. You really don't see it, do you? Girl, he is irreconcilably, irretrievably head over heels in love with you. I was beginning to believe you were just being an evil bitch, ignoring him the way you are. I was going to ask what he did to make you hate him so bad, he's hot."

Jordan continued to stare uncomprehendingly at Marti, the color having drained from her face as she tried to reconcile what Marti was telling her.

"Nonononono, that can't be right, he, he - he doesn't even know who I am." Jordan stammered.

"Jordan, he's not the only one. I've been here a day and a half and I've see three men, quite handsome men at that, who would willingly give up their future if they knew you weren't going to be part of it. Maybe it's time we washed off some of the tomboy and introduced the world to the feminine Jordan. Can you move our itinerary for the rest of the day to tomorrow? We're going to be busy this afternoon and tomorrow morning you're going to burn down the building you'll be so hot."

Marti and Jordan spent the rest of the afternoon in St. Louis' shopping district buying Jordan three skirts with several coordinating, interchangeable blouses and six different dresses, ranging from three light sundresses, two business dresses and one little black dress that clung to her sleek hips and accentuated her C cup breasts. Of course with a new wardrobe they had to invest in new lingerie and accessories then a stop at a spa for manicures, pedicures, makeovers and a touch-up for their hair. Once they were finished they found themselves back at Marti's room at the Jameson Plaza.

Knoxville, TN

"ALL RISE."

And instantly the courtroom was performing its intended purpose once again with precise efficiency.

"The State calls Detective Sam Bradford." A.D.A. Reeves announced.

Once Detective Bradford had been administered the oath and seated in the Witness Stand A.D.A. Reeves continued.

"Please state your name and occupation for the record, Detective."

"My name is Sam Bradford and I'm a Detective for Knoxville PD."

"How long have you been employed by Knoxville PD?"

"Thirty-three years next month."

"Do you remember being dispatched to Riverside Landing Park on the evening of September 18 of last year?"

"Yes, I do."

"Tell us about that call, please, Detective Bradford."

"I got word that one of the young Patrol Officers had a suspicious scene and requested a Detective and CSU to respond. I called to get the particulars and to find out why they needed a detective. Cpl. Stapleton told me he found what appeared to be a large amount of blood and drag marks down the dock to the water and was afraid that someone had been thrown into the river. So I responded to the scene and met with the Corporal and the Crime Scene Unit. Cpl. Stapleton had obtained written statements from three witnesses on the scene so I collected those and after questioning them myself, I made appointments with the three for a more formal interview the following day at my office. I requested the Fire Department's Emergency Search and Rescue boat to search the banks downstream to try to find a victim and assisted the CSU in investigating and collecting evidence at the boat dock scene. We collected samples of the blood from five various locations along the dock and three more from a pool collected in a dirt and grass area just west of the boat ramp. We also collected two samples of blood from a drag mark connecting the pool in the grass with the drag marks on the dock. We found and recovered a pair of women's bikini underwear that were torn and had what appeared to be blood stains. We also recovered a torn wife-beater-"

"Objection, Your Honor, due to the nature of the event we're discussing that descriptive term is inflammatory to the jury. It's slang and not even a correct name for the item in question." Martin argued.