Verdict Watch

Yes, I know, I’m way behind. I have three days worth of testimony ready to go, I just need to edit and do some research and then I’ll post them.

But I wanted to say something about the verdict watch!! And I really wanted to get everyone’s opinions:

What do you think the verdict will be?

How long do you think the jury will be out??

I am leaning towards guilty – First degree murder under the theory of Felony Murder (no premeditation), and I’m thinking the jury will be out until Thursday – only because I won’t be here Thursday – Paul has an appointment for a bone scan in Burlington.

And I do have one observation from the closing arguments. Ashton was talking about the chloroform levels in the trunk – and how the levels were “shockingly high”. And they were shockingly high even after George and Cindy aired the car out for hours and hours, and even after the car sat in the forensics bay, and Ashton speculated bout “Gee – how high would those levels have been as the car sat at Johnson’s Towing Yard?”

Which is a good questions. How high would they have been?

Because, if you remember correctly, George aid that there was active maggot activity in the trash bag. He spoke about the “crackling” sound the maggots made when the bag was lifted out of the trunk and Simon Birch said “There’s your smell…”

Which would mean that the flies – even in that chloroform saturated trunk – the one with the levels so high that even after being aired out for several days the levels were “shockingly high”– could complete their life cycles.

Which is impossible.

I’m not an entomologist – so I asked some of the fine folks in AFCA (the smartest people in the world) about this. And I got replies that assured me that fly’s are affected by chloroform, in fact entomologists use chloroform to kill insects.

Oh yeah.  We used special jars from Fisher Scientific, they had a
container of chloroform inside to snuff bugs. Like a tiny gas chamber,
with a cotton ball bed for them to lie down on and take their last tiny
breaths. Of course, it was 100% chloroform fumes in there. Yes, kids
could order chloroform by mail back then. And cyanide, there were
cyanide jars also, now that I think about it. Probably needed an adult
signature:

Parent’s signature if underage ——->  “Denny’s Mom”

Arty also sent me this link:

Chloroform can cause increase in water loss for insects, possibly by
removing a protective waxy layer

Arty’s Link – http://jeb.biologists.org/content/33/1/107.full.pdf

So – its a puzzlement. I think if Baez was a better lawyer, he would have questioned how the trunk could have been filled with chloroform, yet allow the insects to complete their life cycles – or at least asked the entomologists what they thought about that. I mean maybe ti’s nothing. Maybe there was in no way enough chloroform in the trunk to affect incects. But – if I’m speculating aobut it, I’d hate to think any of the jurors were. I don’t like juries that speculate and have unanswered questions.
And that’s why I am so far behind in posting testimony. I get lost in these tangents because I can’t let shit go and I have to research everything.