Pring-Wilson testifies, part 2

Today I got to see Alexander Pring-Wilson finish his testimony. Not surprisingy, there were numerous reporters present in the courtroom, as well as a camera crew from Channel 7.

Adrienne Lynch, the prosecutor, cross examined Pring-Wilson for over two hours. First, she made a big deal out of the fact that he said he was punched in the nose and that he covered his head with his hands while he was being beaten, yet he had no injuries to his nose, hands, or forearms. He claimed, however, that he had cuts on his nose and on his finger, but admitted that he accidentally cut his finger with his knife.

Then Lynch asked Pring-Wilson why he stabbed the person in front of him if he was so concerned about being pounded in the back of the head. "I did what I had to do to get out from that experience," he replied.

Lynch sarcastically asked Pring-Wilson if he remembered asking her to kneel down before him yesterday, referring to his exasperated request that she demonstrate how she thought he knelt when he was being attacked. The question was objected to, and the objection was sustained.

She also questioned him extensively about his testimony in the first trial, giving him a lengthy transcript from which to read and follow along, and focusing on his lies to police. Lynch also noted that Pring-Wilson's estimate of how many concussions he had previously suffered increased from 10 to 12 from the first trial to the second. He replied that he was "not really sure" of the exact number. Additionally, she asked if he had "accused" the state police chemist of moving his knife to make it look like he had hidden it. "I'm not sure if I accused him, but I'm pretty sure that's what happened," said Pring-Wilson. "There's no other way it could have gotten there...I'm perfectly willing to believe that it was an accident and not an act of malice."

Another point that Lynch raised was Pring-Wilson's choice to wear his jeans and button-down shirt from the night of the fight to the police station, but not his flip flops and yellow raincoat, which she argued were more "distinctive" and therefore more recognizable. "I would also argue that raincoats are commonly worn by people when it's raining," he retorted.

Next, Lynch got Pring-Wilson to admit that he had carried a knife since the age of 12 but decided not to bring the knife to the police station. He explained that he didn't bring the knife "for the same reason I think it's inappropriate to take it to airports."

After being asked about the forensic tests performed on his hands, Pring-Wilson replied that "Everything's so jumbled after going through this whole process twice." Lynch theorized that Pring-Wilson's left hand appeared dirtier than his right in a police photograph because Rodriguez knocked him to the ground after he stabbed Colono, and he broke his fall with his left hand while holding the knife in his right. "I don't ever recall falling with my knife in my hand," he replied.

Next, Lynch called attention to a piece of Pring-Wilson's testimony in the first trial when he describes how he felt after the fight and begins to say the word "hangover" but quickly changes it to "headache." He tried really hard to avoid the question, and then to read his complete response, but he was eventually forced to concede that he did, indeed, say that.

Later she picked on Pring-Wilson for walking home after calling the police and for calling a driveway an alley. She also asked him why he swore at Colono if he wasn't angry (all he said was that he wasn't angry before he heard Colono's insults; he very well could have been angry afterward) and asked him who was in the driver's seat of the car. Pring-Wilson responded that he didn't remember very well because "He came out of the car very quickly. He hit me...I fell to the ground."

Then, Lynch attacked Pring-Wilson for using a weapon on two unarmed men, repeatedly asking if either Rodriguez or Colono had a weapon, to which he replied that, no, he did not see any weapons on them. "They were kicking at me, and they were punching me, and there were two of them, and I was on the ground," Pring-Wilson shot back. Lynch suggested that no one kicked Pring-Wilson, but that instead his feet were cut up because he was wearing flip flops in the middle of a city, and he answered that "They were cut up because I was attacked by two men in the middle of that city." Next she raised the point that Pring-Wilson never called for help and that he says he was on his knees yet was still able to stab Colono four to five times, twice in the chest.

At 11:00 there was a break, after which Lynch completed her questions by showing the jury a picture of Pring-Wilson on the morning of April 12, in which he does not appear to have any serious injuries. Then Peter Parker, the defense attorney, did a re-direct that lasted about a half an hour. He had Pring-Wilson point out the pocket in his jeans where he always carried his knife and then showed the jury a picture where a cut on Pring-Wilson's nose is visible and a picture of his hands in which they appear to be the same color. Pring-Wilson also was able to read his complete response to the question where he almost said "hangover." Finally he described his state of mind during the attack: "I...saying afraid isn't quite right. I was more afraid than I've ever been in my whole life...It puts you in a horible place."

Throughout his testimony, Pring-Wilson remained calm, never becoming angry or losing his composure. He seemed well-prepared, making sure he had Lynch's questions right and remaining silent until she actually asked something in question form. He often answered questions by saying things like "you can see it there" or "that's what the records say, and I have no reason to doubt them" instead of saying yes or no. Lynch, on the other hand, was rather belligerent, repeating questions over and over and seeming to become angry at Pring-Wilson when he answered indirectly or attempted to elaborate. Both appeared confident and articulate - it's difficult to tell which way the jury will lean. Personally, I think Pring-Wilson did a great job and definitely placed a reasonable doubt on the prosecution's claims.

Pring-Wilson wasn't the only witness today - his girlfriend, Janice Olmstead, testified next, describing how his voice sounded normal when she talked to him before the fight but that he sounded "floaty, unconnected, just different" when he called her from the police station after the incident. She was followed by Edmundo Martinez, a close friend of Pring-Wilson's who testified about his "reputation for peacefulness." Last was Dr. Jeremy Schmahmann, a neurologist who described the symptoms of concussions - which do not necessarily include external injuries and are not detectable by most tests performed in doctors' offices - and gave the opinion that Pring-Wilson suffered a grade 2 concussion, the second most severe classification. He was excellent on cross examination, sticking firmly to his opinions. When Lynch hinted that it would be unwise to trust Pring-Wilson's description of his symptoms, he answered that "a physician in the emergency room who disbelieves his patient should not be a physician." He even called one of her questions "nonsense."

Wow, what a long post! Well, there are three more witnesses scheduled for tomorrow, and closings will take place then or Monday.

Pring-Wilson testifies!

Alexander Pring-Wilson testified in his own defense today, but, most unfortunately, I can't give a very good description of what he said because I was unable to be there! I had a big test smack in the middle of the day. Plus, thanks to the wonderful news media, I didn't even know he would be testifying. Clearly they knew he'd be testifying - there are video clips and pictures of Pring-Wilson from today, but there haven't been camera crews or a large media presence on most days of the trial. But how did they find out? And why on earth didn't they publicize it ahead of time?

From what I've read and watched online, Pring-Wilson was more subdued than at his first trial. His direct examination lasted 45 minutes, and his lawyer told him not to get down from the stand and act out the fight like he did last time.

The only good news is that he didn't finish his testimony, so I will get to see the end of the cross examination tomorrow. Closing arguments might be scheduled for Monday.

Sources:
TheBostonChannel.com
WHDH
Boston Globe
My Fox Boston

Prosecution rests in Pring-Wilson trial

Today the prosecution finished calling witnesses against Alexander Pring-Wilson. The first witness of the day was Harjeet Singh, the manager of Pizza Ring, the restaurant near which the fatal fight between Pring-Wilson and Michael Colono occurred. Next up were Colono's mother, girlfriend, and sister, who described his background and interests. Wanda Rivera, Colono's oldest sister, said that he was interested in "getting a career and furthering his education" and was a lifelong baseball fan. Cindy Guzman, Colono's girlfriend, was the only one of these three witnesses to be cross examined. She admitted that she told Colono the day before the fight that she wanted to break up with him - which may have put him in an angry mood and made him more likely to attack Pring-Wilson - and that Samuel Rodriguez told her he was in the driver's seat of the car - the opposite of what the prosecution claims. Finally, the prosecution called James Connolly, a captain with the state police, to the stand and played clips of Pring-Wilson's testimony in the first trial.

The defense called its first witness today. Jennifer Lipman - a doctor, certified forensic pathologist, consultant, and professional expert witness - gave her opinion on Colono's wounds. She said that two of his five stab wounds were medical incisions, meaning that Pring-Wilson stabbed him only three times. The wound on Colono's wrist, she testified, was the right location, shape, size, and orientation to be made during a "cut-down" - when medical personnel make a cut in a patient's skin to find a vein. Also, the wound was too neat and clean to have been inflicted during a fight, and was located in the wrong place to be a defensive wound. One of the two wounds to Colono's lower abdomen was also made by medical personnel, said Dr. Lipman. The cut was the perfect size and location for a diagnostic peritoneal lavage - a procedure that doctors perform to tell if a patient has internal bleeding. Prosecutor Adrienne Lynch began cross examining Dr. Lipman but will finish tomorrow morning.

I also managed to catch the second half of yesterday's proceedings; sorry for not posting about it! I was there for the testimony of Dr. Faryl Sandler, the medical examiner who examined Colono's body. She described his five wounds, said that the one that punctured his heart was the cause of death, and said that the one on his wrist was consistent with being a defensive wound. I thought Peter Parker, Pring-Wilson's defense lawyer, did a good job on cross examination. He cast doubt on the claim that the wrist wound and one of the abdomen wounds were made by Pring-Wilson and made it seem like the other wounds didn't require a huge amount of force to inflict if the knife was sharp, long, and moving at a high velocity, and if the victim was moving toward the knife. He also mentioned that Dr. Sandler was not a board-certified pathologist and made a big deal of the fact that Dr. Sandler did an internal examination of Colono's head even though there were no outward signs of head injuries - hinting that people (such as Pring-Wilson) commonly have brain injuries that don't necessarily cause external symptoms.

I wasn't there for yesterday morning's events, but the Crimson reports that John Soares, a chemist, finished his testimony, and the prosecution entered Colono's bloody clothing into evidence. Check out their article for the full story.

Entwistle trial delayed yet again

After testimony ended for the day in the Pring-Wilson trial, I stayed around the courthouse to catch Neil Entwistle's pretrial conference. Although Entwistle himself did not make an appearance, many reporters and members of the victims' family were present. Judge Diane Kottmyer reversed the ruling she made last week and agreed to delay the trial yet again! First the trial was going to be in last April, then October 1, then January 28, and now jury selection won't start until after March 10! A hearing is scheduled for December 21, by which time the prosecution must provide all relevant discovery, and a status conference is scheduled for February 1.

Also at today's hearing, defense attorney Elliot Weinstein expressed his outrage that the Boston Herald had published Entwistle's "suicide" letter. Calling the leak an intrusion into attorney-client privilege, Weinstein asked Judge Kottmyer to order an investigation into who gave the Herald a copy of the letter. However, she denied his motion.

Forensic scientists testify against Pring-Wilson

The prosecution continued to present its case today in the trial of Alexander Pring-Wilson. Paul Melaragni finished his testimony from yesterday. He said that he helped the police make a DVD of security camera footage of Pring-Wilson at the police station, and part of the footage was shown in court. Then, Eugene Hagan, a former chemist at the Mass. State Police Crime Lab, testified about how he examined evidence at the scene of the crime as well as at Pring-Wilson's apartment. Pring-Wilson's clothing and knife tested positive for blood, said Hagan, and the knife was hidden in what he described as a "crawl space" in Pring-Wilson's room. However, on cross examination Hagan admitted that he moved items around in the crawl space before taking pictures of the evidence. The next witness was George Behonick, a forensic toxicologist who examined Michael Colono's body and found that he had been drinking before the altercation with Pring-Wilson, but had not consumed any other drugs. Finally, John Soares, who examined evidence with Hagan, began his testimony today. He testified that Pring-Wilson's hands tested positive for blood, as did his raincoat and knife. Also, prosecutor Adrienne Lynch showed Colono's bloodstained clothing to the jury while Soares pointed out the stab marks in the clothes and described how he thinks they could have been inflicted. The trial will resume Monday.

Doctors, roommates testify in Pring-Wilson trial

I went to the Pring-Wilson trial this afternoon. I'm not sure what happened in the morning, but four witnesses took the stand in the afternoon. Kathleen Ahern, one of the EMTs who brought Pring-Wilson to the Cambridge Hospital after he was feeling ill at the police station, testified that he didn't seem too badly injured, had no trouble walking, and seemed alert. Dr. Richard Ma, who treated Pring-Wilson at the hospital on April 12 and 13, said that he performed fine on neurological tests, and that his only injuries were a cut on his foot and a cut on his head. On April 12, Pring-Wilson told Dr. Ma he was hungry, and he got him a sandwich from a party that was going on in one of the offices, and he had no trouble eating it. On the 13th, however, Pring-Wilson returned to the hospital, complaining of nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and a severe headache. A CAT scan was performed, which indicated he didn't have a concussion. On cross examination, defense lawyer Peter Parker brought up that Dr. Ma was just finishing his training at the time he examined Pring-Wilson, that his symptoms were consistent with a concussion, and that he had more injuries to his head, including a large bump near his left eye, than Dr. Ma had mentioned. The next two witnesses were Sarah and Zachary Daniels, who shared an apartment with Pring-Wilson before they got married. They both described how he went out on the night of April 11 after consuming a cocktail at home and then spoke to police officers at the apartment on the morning of the 12th. On cross examination, Sarah said that Pring-Wilson carried his knife all the time and used it for many things, including cutting apples and opening boxes. She also said that the message he left for Jennifer Hansen, with whom he had gone out on the night of the 11th/12th, did not reflect the way he normally speaks, making it seem more likely that he did indeed have a concussion when he called her. Finally, Paul Melaragni, who works for the Cambridge Police Department and specializes in voice recordings, started his testimony in the last few minutes. The message Pring-Wilson left for Hansen will probably be played for the jury when he continues tomorrow.

Neil's letter revealed

Remember when Neil Entwistle wrote that suicide letter last year? Well, the Boston Herald somehow got the full text of it. Neil actually wrote two letters: one to his parents and one to his lawyers, Elliot Weinstein and Stephanie Page. The one the Herald got is the one to the lawyers. Check it out at the link below:

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1044860#articleFull

6 more witnesses testify against Pring-Wilson

Six more witnesses testified for the prosecution in the Pring-Wilson trial yesterday. The first three - Donald Mahoney, Robert Leary, and James Greene, were police officers who responded to Pring-Wilson's 911 call. They described how he told them he was just a witness to a stabbing and then pointed them in the direction he believed the victim and perpetrators had gone. According to the officers, Pring-Wilson didn't seem drunk and didn't appear to have any serious injuries.

After a recess, three more witnesses took the stand. Ricardo and Elizabeth Rodriguez, the brother and sister-in-law of Sammy Rodriguez, described how they went to Beth Israel Hospital after hearing about the stabbing and then picked up the car and found Colono's jacket, with several knife holes, in the back seat. Finally, detective John Fulkerson described how he talked with Colono's famliy members at the hospital after the stabbing and interviewed Pring-Wilson at the police station the next morning.

Sorry for posting this so late! Court got out at 1:00 today, but I don't know what went on, because I wasn't there. Hopefully there'll be some news coverage!

Entwistle hearing today

Unbeknownst to me, there was a hearing in the Neil Entwistle case today. His defense lawyer, Elliot Weinstein, wanted the trial to be delayed even further, until March, to give him time to sort through 9000 pages of new evidence. The judge denied Weinstein's motion for now but might decide to delay the trial if the defense can present more reasons to do so.

I am quite upset at the court system and the news media that this hearing was not publicized in advance in any way whatsoever. Each day when I go to the Cambridge courthouse to observe the Pring-Wilson trial, I check the court docket, which (in theory) allows one to look up all past and upcoming court dates for any trial. The docket made no mention of a hearing for Entwistle today. Now I am not sure if the hearing that the docket said would be next Tuesday will even happen...

Anyway, to see a picture of Entwistle at today's hearing, go to the Boston Herald.

Rodriguez testifies against Pring-Wilson

Today at Alexander Pring-Wilson's trial, prosecution witness Samuel Rodriguez finished up his testimony, which he began Friday. Rodriguez was an eyewitness to the fight that resulted in the death of Michael Colono. He is also Colono's cousin. Rodriguez says Pring-Wilson opened the car door, challenged Colono to a fight, and stabbed him, and that he jumped in to defend his cousin. The defense contends that Rodriguez teamed up with Colono to attack Pring-Wilson and beat him to the ground.

Today's testimony began with the cross examination, as the direct had taken place on Friday. Defense attorney Peter Parker got Rodriguez to admit several inconsistencies: whether the car was on or off, whether Rodriguez was in the driver's seat (as the defense claims) or the passenger's seat (as he claims), and what exactly Colono called Pring-Wilson (initially an obscenity, but then Rodriguez changed it to "idiot"). Like Giselle Abreu, who was also in the car, Rodriguez admitted that he hadn't seen Pring-Wilson punch Colono or wield a knife until after he had been beaten to the ground. While trying to describe where he punched Pring-Wilson, Rodriguez began crying, which resulted in a 5-minute recess.

After the break, Parker brought up Rodriguez's past criminal convictions, all of which he admitted to. The list included the following:

• malicious destruction of property
• assault and battery
• possession of a firearm without a license and resisting arrest
• assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and malicious destruction of property (the prosecution got this one stricken from the record)
• assault and battery and assault with a dangerous weapon
• possession of a firearm and ammunition without a license
• carrying a concealed weapon without a license

Parker also brought up incidents when Rodriguez beat up his former girlfriend, threw bicycles at a car, threw a cup in his sister's eye,and pulled a knife out on his sister's husband. On re-direct, prosecutor Adrienne Lynch tried to get Rodriguez's violent incidents to look less bad, but in my opinion didn't do too well. Rodriguez did say that his ex-girlfriend wouldn't let him leave the house and that he apologized and called the police after he pushed her, but for the most part Lynch didn't get him to look much better.

After a brief re-cross, another witness began her testimony. Julianne Sitler described how she saw Rodriguez and Abreu parked in front of a store, yelling to passerby for directions to a hospital. She had some medical training and helped out until paramedics arrived. Her testimony helped the prosecution a little bit because it showed that Rodriguez and Abreu were trying to get help, not evade the police. However, she couldn't recall how many stab wounds Colono had, which is important in determining how viciously (or not) Pring-Wilson was stabbing him.

2nd day of Pring-Wilson trial

Today, during the second day of Alexander Pring-Wilson's retrial, prosecution witness Giselle Abreu gave her version of the fatal events of April 12, 2003. Abreu was the girlfriend of Michael Colono's cousin, Samuel Rodriguez. During direct examination, she described how she, Rodriguez, and Colono were waiting in their car for a pizza when she saw Pring-Wilson stumbling down the street, and Colono started to make fun of him. Abreu said that Pring-Wilson asked Colono "Did you say something?" and Colono replied "Yeah. Why, you want to do something about it?" Pring-Wilson replied "Yes" and opened the car door, instigating the fight. She then described how she and Rodriguez realized that Colono had been stabbed, frantically tried to get to a hospital, and eventually ended up calling 911.

Abreu admitted that Colono had been drinking before the altercation and that she lied to police at the hospital, telling them that she was driving by when she saw Colono fighting with Pring-Wilson.

On cross examination, defense attorney Peter Parker got Abreu to admit that she had a physical fight with Rodriguez on April 12, something that she had denied during direct examination. He also asked if she had sniffed cocaine that day, which she flatly denied, and questioned her timeline of the events - she says that she and Rodriguez left an apartment in Lynn at midnight, drove to Colono's house, which was 45 minutes away, and then went to Pizza Ring, which was only a few minutes away from Colono's house. Cell phone records show that Pring-Wilson walked by the car at 1:50 a.m. Were they waiting for the pizza for a whole hour, or were they just driving around looking for trouble? Maybe most importantly, Abreu admitted that she didn't see Pring-Wilson's knife, and Colono didn't shout that Pring-Wilson had a knife, until Rodriguez had pulled him to the ground. This admission makes it seem more likely that Pring-Wilson pulled out the knife because he had been knocked to the ground, and not vice versa.

One funny thing I noticed was that during direct, Abreu and prosecutor Adrienne Lynch used the names Michael and Sammy to refer to Colono and Rodriguez and referred to Pring-Wilson by his last name or merely as "the defendant." Parker's first question on cross was something to the effect of "You were afraid of calling the police because of what Rodriguez and Colono had done to Alex, right?" But after two questions the judge made him stop! There was a brief bench conference, and then Parker resumed questioning, using the names Michael and Sammy. If the defense has to call them by their first names, shouldn't the prosecution have to call the defendant Alex?

Opening statements, as well as the beginning of Abreu's testimony, took place yesterday. Tomorrow Rodriguez is expected to testify. Should be interesting to see how much of his criminal history the defense will be allowed to bring up.

Jury selected for Pring-Wilson

A jury has been selected in the trial of Alexander Pring-Wilson. As promised, I went to the trial, and the day was taken up by jury selection. Judge Christopher Muse called numerous potential jurors individually to the stand to question them, and each juror was either dismissed by the judge (usually because of a hardship that made it difficult for them to serve), dismissed by defense or prosecution lawyers, or selected to be on the jury. After the judge finished questioning the first batch of jurors (numbers 68 to somewhere in the 120s), the next batch came in (about 145 to 180) and was told the basics of the case, introduced to the defendant and the lawyers, and questioned as a group. Judge Muse asked the jurors several questions, including whether they knew anyone involved in the case, had any affiliation with Harvard, knew anyone who worked for law enforcement, had heard of the case, had any problems with alcohol, or had a hardship that made it excessively burdensome for them to serve. Then the same individual questioning process happened again until 16 jurors had been selected.

At the end of the day, the 16 jurors came back into the courtroom, sat in the jury box, and received instructions from the judge to ignore media reports about the trial, avoid talking to anyone about the trial, and avoid doing independent research. The day ended at about 4:30.

Several of Pring-Wilson's friends and family members were present, as well as a couple of reporters. I bet the courtroom will be much more crowded tomorrow - the jurors are scheduled to visit locations important to the trial and then return to the courthouse for opening statements and testimony from the first three witnesses. The trial is set to last until December 7th. On Mondays and Wednesdays, the proceedings will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on other days the trial will last from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Curt is coming back!

Awesome news for Red Sox fans: Curt Schilling will be back for another year!! See the Boston Herald for the full details. This makes me so happy, because he's my favorite player!

Pring-Wilson jury selection begins

According to the Harvard Crimson, jury selection began today in the retrial of Alexander Pring-Wilson. The Crimson reports that Pring-Wilson showed little emotion and that, surprisingly, there were few people in the courtroom.

I am planning to attend tomorrow's proceedings, so tomorrow night you'll hopefully have a firsthand account of what went on in the courtroom!

Pring-Wilson trial tomorrow

The retrial of Alexander Pring-Wilson, the Harvard grad student convicted in a high-profile murder case, is set to begin tomorrow. The defense will now be allowed to presnet more evidence to bolster Pring-Wilson's self-defense claims, including some of the following tidbits:

• Michael Colono, the alleged victim, threw money in the face of a restaurant cashier in 2001 and kicked the front door, shattering the glass
• In the same year, Colono verbally and physically assaulted passengers on a train and spit at the police officers who arrested him
• Samuel Rodriguez, Colono's cousin, repeatedly beat his girlfriend
• Rodriguez and his friends threw eggs at and then assaulted people in a passing car
• Rodriguez hit his sister in the eye with a plastic cup and then tried to stab his brother-in-law and smashed the windows of his car

According to the AP, the trial is expected to last 2-4 weeks, and Pring-Wilson is planning to testify in his own defense like he did at his first trial.

Peterson denied insurance money

After about two years, there's finally some new news about Scott Peterson. Remember how he wanted Laci's insurance money to use for his appeals? And how a judge denied it to him? Well, he appealed the decision, and (big surprise) the appeals court refused to give him the money too. See the full story at Court TV.