"Of course not. I wish we had more managers with his attitude. It is a shame that Mr. Hawkins died, but he had so many opportunities to stop this from escalating. I only wish he had taken one so none of us would be here."

  "Thank you Mr. Rondowsky, I have no more questions."

  Arnie stood to indicate they would ask nothing further of the witness. He walked over to Rick and whispered, "He would never agree anyone ever did anything wrong. I hope the jurors understand his lack of objectivity."

  Rick shrugged.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  He could tell all eyes in the courtroom locked on him–like every other time he testified. Wyatt Creft understood his reputation proceeded him into the courtroom, but it was why lawyers always forked over the money to pay his fee. The star-struck expressions he saw on the jurors' faces told him that every dollar he received was a value to whomever retained him. Like so many times before, his testimony would be the jet engine propelling the jury to award a huge hunk of cash.

  He had never met Emily Hawkins and barely offered her a nod when he sauntered up to the witness stand. She might reap the benefits of his testimony, but it was he who would make the jurors want to reach into B & D's pockets, and grab its money.

  The microphone blocked part of his vision to the jury box, so he pushed it aside. His training as a stage actor decades ago would allow his voice to carry to the back of the courtroom. No one would have difficulty hearing him speak, and he knew how to enunciate each syllable to project subtle innuendo, as well as, any needed subtext.

  Rick began with the preliminaries, but didn't rush, allowing Creft the opportunity to expand the cold entries on his resume. He gave Creft space to work in stories of meeting celebrities or of particularly gruesome autopsies, so the jurors would feel like insiders in a world they never got to experience.

  Creft told of his medical training and how a mentor during his internship pushed him into the field of pathology. Ultimately, he became the head of the coroner's office in Cleveland, but his work stretched to all parts of the world, as he consulted on many of the world's most infamous deaths.

  The jurors sat forward as Creft told them about examining the remains of the passengers killed when terrorists blew up their plane over Lockerbie, Scotland, and about his involvement in the murder of a Washington Post reporter in Saudi Arabia.

  He touched on his role in recent high profile killings where police officers utilized choke holds to detain black citizens, which caused their deaths. At this point, Creft knew not to give too much detail about these cases as the plan was to circle back when discussing Jerry Hawkins' death.

  Confident the jury anticipated the meat of his testimony, Creft leaned his long frame forward, awaiting Rick's transition away from his qualifications.

  "Did I request that you review the entire file of Jerry Hawkins' death before offering any opinion?" Rick asked as he pointed to seven file folders lined neatly next to his counsel table?"

  "You did ask and I did review the entire file."

  "How did your experience as a pathologist and coroner assist you in formulating your opinion?"

  "My experience has taught me how to review medical records and witness testimony to get a picture of how a person died. The fact that I conducted the autopsy on Mr. Hawkins gives me the unique perspective of being able to evaluate his injuries. With this information, it was rather simple to determine not only the cause of his death, but the circumstances giving rise to them. Piecing together what the witnesses said about what happened with the physical, objective trauma he suffered, I maintain a clear picture of what lead to his demise."

  "Did you also review the video of his detention?"

  "I did, but truth be told, it did not inform my opinion much. The quality of the video was rather poor and it was not a significant factor I utilized to determine what happened to Jerry Hawkins when he was killed."

  Rick paused for a moment. "Sir, you said, 'when he was killed.' Are those the words you want to use?"

  Creft smirked. "Absolutely. Jerry Hawkins did not just die that afternoon. It was an act of a group of people intentionally holding him down against his will which caused him to die. I am quite comfortable with the phrase, 'he was killed.'"

  Creft noticed the jurors not taking notes and leaning forward. They wanted to hear more.

  Rick moved ahead, "What did you do to determine how Jerry was killed?"

  First, I performed his autopsy. I will speak about that in a moment. I also reviewed all the deposition testimony to determine how Mr. Hawkins was subdued. It's clear the store employees tackled him. He then struggled to get free. The store manager, Mr. Askew, and the cart person tried to hold him down, but Mr. Hawkins continued to struggle. Two customers joined in and the four of them held him down. Mr. Hawkins was face down on the concrete with each of the four individuals restraining one limb. Mr. Hawkins could not move and Mr. Askew placed a knee on his right arm and his other knee immediately below his neck. This is borne out in the photographs I took at the autopsy."

  Arnie tapped the video remote to control the images on the screen and placed a blowup of bruising on Jerry's back.

  Pointing to the screen, Creft said, "This is a picture of the marks on Mr. Hawkins' back. They measured six inches in length, four inches wide. The bruises spread deep into the subcutaneous tissues."

  More pictures appeared for the jurors to view. He narrated, "There was also significant bruising on his arms, leg and the lower part of his torso."

  "What other findings did you make during your autopsy?"

  A close-up of a deep incision in the front of Jerry's neck with his skin pinned back appeared on the screen. Creft stated, "This image shows Mr. Hawkins' trachea, or his windpipe. It's severely damaged. It's effectively crushed."

  Emily, who was sitting quietly behind Arnie, gasped loud enough for the jurors to hear. She threw her hands over her mouth and lowered her head when she realized the jurors had turned their attention to her.

  To regain his momentum, Creft modulated his voice, and like a cat transfixed by a beam from a laser, the jurors turned back to him. "To impart such damage, Mr. Askew must have placed nearly his entire body weight centered on one spot just below Mr. Hawkins' neck–right on the location of the bruise we just reviewed."

  Rick moved a few steps closer to the witness, and asked, "Mr. Askew testified that Mr. Hawkins continued to struggle up to nearly the time the police officers arrived at the scene. What did your investigation reveal about this contention?"

  Creft tilted at his waist in the direction of the jurors and spoke with less volume than before. The jurors matched his lean to catch each word.

  "I will proffer two points in response to this contention and each is significant. First, Mr. Askew did not understand Mr. Hawkins' response to being denied oxygen. The manager suggested Mr. Askew continued to struggle so his group increased their restraint on him. This was not what was happening. Rather, when a person suffers from a lack of oxygen–is being suffocated–the body's natural response is to convulse. This is not, as Mr. Askew suggested, a fight, but a natural bodily response. The way to have gotten Mr. Hawkins to stop was to release the restraint. Instead, they tightened their hold on him, which caused his body to respond. It was a vicious cycle about which Mr. Askew apparently knew nothing. Had he been taught better, perhaps he and his group would have eased up."

  He had the jury where he wanted, begging to hear more. He would make them wait a little longer, so he pulled out a handkerchief and wiped off his round glasses. After inspecting them, he put them back on.

  "The second, and perhaps, more important point," he continued, "is Mr. Hawkins stopped breathing and died minutes before the police arrived. Despite this, Mr. Askew and the people assisting him maintained their holds, denying Mr. Hawkins any opportunity to breathe."

  Rick waited to let the answer sink in with the jurors. "How do you know this?"

  “It is clear from the autopsy. My examination of the blood saturation and the oxygen levels in Mr. Hawkins' tissues indicate he died at least three minutes before the police came. The witnesses testified they released their holds only upon the instructions of the police. It stands to reason they held their deadly restraints on a dead person for minutes before getting off him."

  Rick inched towards the jurors. "Dr. Creft, was how Mr. Askew detained Mr. Hawkins dangerous?"

  Creft's lips stretched into a scowl. "Absolutely. Anyone with any training knows that sticking a knee in the back of a person will deprive him of his ability to breathe. This is exactly what has happened with many of the police incidents where people they have held down ended up dying. I have testified in some of those cases and I don't want to address them directly, but it's a similar situation. The problem is police officers receive much more training on how to deal with unruly people and still they end up making huge mistakes. Here, you have a grocery store manager trying to forcibly detain someone against their will. He's untrained on how to do it. It's no surprise someone got killed."

  Rick took three steps and faced the jury box. Without looking at Creft he asked, "Final question sir: In your opinion, was there a reasonable way for Mr. Askew to detain Mr. Hawkins if he suspected him of stealing, without killing him?"

  Creft nodded his head. "Of course. Let's start with the opposite question. Was Mr. Askew's detention reasonable? I say 'no,' because he died and almost by definition if the man dies, in my opinion, it’s unreasonable. Conversely, there are many ways to detain a person. One simple way might be just to ask him to wait. What's the worst that could happen? He leaves? I submit that is a much more reasonable response than to kill a person while waiting for the police to arrive."

  "Thanks, doctor. That's all my questions."

  Crotec rose as Creft stared at him without worry or concern. Creft did this often enough he was confident of his ability to deflect any difficult inquiry and remind the jury that Jerry Hawkins didn't have to die.

  "Dr. Creft, can we agree Jerry Hawkins was stealing?"

  "I can't agree. I never investigated that issue–not my area."

  Crotec grimaced. "I understand, but you said you read every deposition. Morgan Askew clearly explained how he thought Jerry was stealing?"

  "He did."

  "You can't dispute his testimony."

  "I can't. I didn't witness what he did."

  Crotec stepped closer to the jury. "Next point–stores have the right to detain suspected shoplifters."

  "Again, I'm not a lawyer, but yes, that is my understanding."

  "They have the right to stop shoplifters until the police arrive, whether the person actually stole, so long as their suspicion is reasonable."

  "Also my understanding," Creft conceded.

  "So now we get into the manner of how the store detained Mr. Hawkins."

  "I guess we do."

  "You said the store could ask Mr. Hawkins to stop. Isn't this exactly what Mr. Askew did when he approached Mr. Hawkins inside the store?"

  "I guess."

  "Yet, Mr. Hawkins bolted from the store."

  "He certainly did not remain."

  "In the parking lot, when approached by the lot attendant, he sucker-punched him, didn't he?"

  "I guess, he was the aggressor, yes."

  Crotec edged closer to the witness. "When Mr. Askew again tried to detain him in the parking lot, Mr. Hawkins tried to fight his way out to escape."

  "I suppose you could say that."

  "So now there is a bloody cart attendant and a man trying to fight his way out of the parking lot, correct? Wasn't it reasonable, at this point, for the store people to take down Mr. Askew to prevent a further escalation?"

  Creft sucked in a gulp of air and pulled out his handkerchief, but this time to dab his brow. He knew he had strayed from the autopsy results in his direct examination and offered his thoughts on the manner of detention. Now, opposing counsel was pointing out the ways Jerry had exacerbated the situation. He wanted to get his testimony back to where it belonged.

  "I never condone the use of violence, especially if it leads to someone dying?"

  A smug smile stretched across Crotec's face, "Wouldn't it be fair to say that by throwing the first punch, it was Mr. Hawkins who started the cycle of violence that led to his death?"

  Knowing full well he couldn't just acquiesce, Creft said, "No, I can't agree with it. I would suggest the situation got out of control when four people sat on Mr. Hawkins waiting for the police."

  "Sir, didn't things start to get out of control when Mr. Hawkins stole from the store?"

  "No, stealing is expected, killing someone in the parking lot, that's out of control." The bass quality of Creft's voice was beginning to desert him as its timbre moved higher.

  "Will you agree, had Mr. Hawkins not stolen, he would still be alive."

  "Probably," Creft's voice was now higher and meeker.

  "If Mr. Hawkins didn't punch the lot attendant there wouldn't be any need to physically detain him to prevent injury to others."

  "Perhaps."

  Crotec turned to the judge. "That's it for this witness."

  Rick followed with a few questions so Creft could again discuss the manner of Jerry's death, but Creft had already inflicted significant damage. Crotec, without getting into how Jerry died, had punctured the doctor’s aura of invincibility.

  Despite a few head shakes from a couple of jurors, Creft left the stand still confident his testimony had impressed them.

  Rick collapsed back into his chair and whispered to Arnie. "What a wimp. Couldn't handle cross."

  Arnie nodded. "It's up to Emily to rescue her case."

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  No trial proceeds exactly as planned. Despite solid preparation, complete knowledge of the case, and an understanding of the applicable law, no lawyer can predict how the evidence will unfold. Too many variables collide to disrupt the best made plans. Lawyers could prepare witnesses for days, but withering cross-examination under the scrutiny of twelve jurors can waylay even the most confident witness. Other unforeseen influences, like an offhand remark by a judge, can fundamentally alter the perception of a jury.

  Rick understood the risks of trial; the wreckage of Creft's weak, parsimonious testimony on cross was smacking him in the face like an MMA punch. The world renowned pathologist had not delivered on what he promised. The jury might have been impressed with his qualifications, but the tailspin brought on by Crotec's questioning left them with no more margin for error. With one remaining witness, Rick sensed if Emily didn't hit it out of the park, the jury wouldn't slam B & D in the way he had hoped in his fantasies leading up to trial.

  Emily had impressed Rick from the day he first met her. Her smart, understated, and self-assured demeanor provided Rick sufficient confidence to save her for last. He avoided talking with her about how the jury might be responding to the case, because he wanted her to focus on what she had to say and not feel like she was the cleanup batter. The fear in her eyes as she approached the witness stand told him everything–she understood Creft had crapped the bed, and she was the only one left who could clean up the mess.

  Emily sported a long-sleeved, silk blouse and raised her eyes while adjusting her seat to catch the supporting gaze of the jurors.

  Rick waited a moment to allow her an opportunity to bond with the people who sat in judgment of her.

  Her voice was quiet, not meek, as she gave the basics–name, address and the fact she had been married to Jerry. Rick didn't want to ask long questions and liked when Emily talked freely to the jurors.

  "I was twenty-one when we got married. Maybe a little young, but we were in love and wanted to spend our lives together." She blushed and lowered her eyes. "The plan was to have three kids–maybe four, but despite trying, and trying, we hadn't had any yet. We remained hopeful." She raised her shoulders.

  "Tell the jurors what Jerry was like," Rick requested.

  The edges of her mouth curled up. "He was really sweet and smart. Funny most of the time. It was just easy to spend time together. We didn't spend a lot of time with other couples. We enjoyed hanging out with each other."

  "What did Jerry do in his spare time?"

  "He read books. All kinds of books. He was trying to write a book, but I guess it's never going to get finished. There were lots of things that interested him–something always grabbed his attention. He fixed everything around the house, and he kept our garden."

  "Was he working at the time he died?"

  Emily's head shook back and forth. She started to talk, but hesitated. A tear snuck out of the corner of her eye. "He wasn't working at that time. He worked as a waiter for a bit after we married. He was wonderful. I thought he could make a living doing that, but he wanted more. Constantly he talked about becoming a computer programmer. He started to take some courses and began to hunt for a job in that field. I know that's what he wanted to do long term." She glanced at the jury.

  "What do you do for work?"

  "I've taken a variety of jobs over the years–receptionist, delivery person, mail carrier–there were a bunch. That's the thing. The plan was for me to work for a little. Help us save money. But we both wanted me to stay at home and raise the kids. Jerry would be the one working full-time–making the money. It may be a little old-fashioned, but it's what we wanted. We did our best to get there."

  "Is that what Jerry wanted?"

  She dropped her gaze briefly and then raised it towards the ceiling. Her lips scrunched together. "Absolutely. He wanted what was best for us, for our family. Every day both of us worked towards our goals."

  Rick paused, ready to switch gears. He glanced at the jury allowing Emily a moment to recompose. "Emily, what happened the day Jerry went to B & D?"

  "It was a normal day for us. We ate lunch together. I remember he made some tuna salad while I watched t.v. We sat and ate it together. After we finished, we realized we needed some groceries and some other things for the house. I didn't really want to go, so he said he would. I wish. . . ." She didn't finish the sentence.

 

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