The Day the Catskills Cried by Wayne E. Beyea

Author:Wayne E. Beyea [Beyea, Wayne E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780595623426
Publisher: iUniverse
Published: 2008-11-10T00:00:00+00:00

24

On November 11, 1979, two-years, five-months and 18 days after Trudy was taken from her home and buried alive, 9 examinations of the defendant by psychiatric specialists, 3 mental competency hearings in court and one suppression hearing, the jury took their seats in the court room and Judge Scheinman opened the trial of The People of the State of New York vs. Ronald Harrison Krom. A gaggle of reporters, members of the legal community, members of the victim’s family, members of the defendant’s family and curious members of the community filled the courtroom to capacity.

Authors Note: The following trial testimony is neither meant nor intended as a facsimile of the testimony or behavior exhibited by witnesses, judge, prosecutor, defense counsel or defendant in the matter of the People of the State of New York against Ronald Krom. However, the trial - as envisioned by the author – is a reasonable portrayal of the actions and testimony that took place, as related by witnesses who participated, jurors recollections of the proceedings, police reports and documentation provided by the Sullivan County District Attorney’s office. The names of some witnesses and participants have been changed to protect their identity.

Horn rimmed glasses perched on his nose and neatly dressed in a white shirt - open at the neck - and dark blue blazer, Ron Krom more resembled a scholarly choir boy, seated at the defendant’s table than a calculating, hardhearted, cold blooded killer. In fact, apart from the fact that Defense Counsel Silverstein wore a necktie, whereas Ron did not, anyone who did not know either defendant or counsel, might have mistakenly presumed that the scholarly looking young man with the open law book in front of him was the attorney and Silverstein the defendant. The identity of each would become perfectly clear when the handsome, dark-haired gentleman dressed in a dark suit and red necktie stood and advised the court that the Defense was ready to proceed. Having previously observed his client’s attempts to avoid answering questions directly and trying to display intellectual superiority while testifying during the Huntley hearing, Silverstein decided to keep Ron off the witness stand during trial - if at all possible.

At the prosecution table District Attorney Joseph Jaffe, attired in a dark power suit, his dark, curly hair freshly trimmed and combed to emphasize waviness and curl, looked especially handsome and confident. He flashed a warm smile in the direction of the jury, then to the Judge, and advised that the prosecution was ready. In fact, Joe was confident that his line-up of prosecution witness’s would present a wealth of testimony and evidence indicating that the defendant was guilty beyond any reasonable doubt. He was also confident that – barring any surprise - he could establish that the defendant acted alone in the planning and commission of the crimes with which he was charged. In his opening remarks, he portrayed the defendant as an intelligent young man harboring a strong dislike for the Resnick and Farber families for perceived slights.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.