The Easter Murders (Jo Crowder Detective Series) by Richard Zappa

Author:Richard Zappa [Zappa, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Drama
Publisher: AIA Publishing
Published: 2021-05-06T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

When she arrived at work Tuesday morning at eight, she found a subpoena on her desk: State of Louisiana v. Miguel Diaz, Criminal Action No. P-6792. Subpoena compelling your appearance in the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the date and time indicated below.

How could this be? She was no longer on the case. Gardner would be testifying about the evidence uncovered during the searches, the results of the forensic tests, and the circumstances showing probable cause to arrest Diaz. A further review of the document, however, indicated that she had been subpoenaed by defense counsel.

But why?

She’d soon find out.

~

Crowder showed up at eleven to a crowded courtroom and took a seat in a back row. Beat reporters from every major newspaper and local television station in the state filled the front rows. National cable news networks had live feeds outside the courthouse for the press conference that Hellman had promised following the hearing.

Crowder eyed the prosecution team assembled at their table—Hellman, her brother and Gardner; two paralegals sat in chairs behind them with boxes full of court filings and exhibits stacked three high.

Across the room, Schulman sat with his client who had his hands folded on the table, staring ahead at court personnel—the clerk, court stenographer, and bailiff.

Why Schulman wanted her at the hearing remained a mystery. He hadn’t requested that she be sequestered outside the courtroom until called to testify—a customary practice in most criminal proceedings. She figured that he wanted her to hear the state’s evidence. But how could her testimony possibly help Diaz?

Her gaze moved back and forth between Schulman and her brother. The chatter among the news people and the spectators was focused on the evidence that might be introduced at the preliminary hearing. The state’s burden was to show probable cause to believe that Miguel Diaz abducted and murdered three pregnant teenagers. If the state’s evidence was deemed sufficient by the judge, the case would proceed to a jury trial.

When the bailiff announced, “All rise,” Judge Allen entered the courtroom and moved quickly to his chair behind the bench. Predictably, Hellman delegated the task of introducing the state’s evidence to Tom Crowder, who showed why he’d never lost a murder trial by methodically moving through Gardner’s testimony and establishing the relevant facts—the discovery of the victims’ bodies, the evidence collected at the crime scenes and the evidence seized during the searches.

Schulman surprised everyone in the courtroom by waiving cross examination of Gardner. Nor did he question the forensic analyst who tested the hair evidence, or the medical examiner who testified about the cause and manner of the victims’ deaths. When the prosecution’s case was completed, the judge announced a brief recess after which the defense would have the opportunity to introduce evidence and testimony.

~

Schulman, like most defense counsel, routinely cross examined the state’s witnesses at a preliminary hearing—looking for inconsistencies, casting doubt on the chain of custody of incriminating evidence and disputing the accuracy of important tests. And

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