Head Shot by Burl Barer

Author:Burl Barer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Published: 2012-02-22T05:00:00+00:00

Thirteen

April 19, 1985

Court reconvened at 9:30 A.M.

“With total predictability, there was media coverage in the newspapers, radio, and television,” began Judge Stone in his welcome address to the jury. “Anybody here have any trouble following the court instructions? I assume that whatever you know about this case, you got right here in the courtroom. Anybody disagree? Let’s proceed. Call your next witness, Mr. Hultman.”

Detective Price took the stand, and essentially provided continuation of Officer Meeks’s testimony regarding the investigation of Damon Wells’s disappearance. Hultman had Price testify that both Chris St. Pierre and Paul St. Pierre provided voluntary statements to the police.

Murdach, on cross-examination, pursued the circumstances surrounding Paul St. Pierre’s statement. “Are you aware,” he asked Price, “that he requested that interview with you even though there had been a court order—”

“I will object to this!” Hultman was on his feet.

“—for him to not speak to anyone without counsel present?”

“I will sustain the objection,” said the judge, “and I admonish the jurors to disregard the last question.”

Detective Price was thanked and excused. Roy Kissler took the stand and told of his adventures with Paul St. Pierre at the cabin. David Murdach questioned why—despite Andrew Webbs’s recent recantation and acceptance of full responsibility for slashing Damon Wells’s throat—Kissler continued attributing confessional statements to Paul St. Pierre?

“What they didn’t seem to understand,” Kissler later commented, “was that I could only tell them what I remember hearing directly from Paul St. Pierre. It doesn’t matter what Andrew Webb may have said, or what he confessed to or didn’t confess to. That doesn’t matter as far as what I actually heard from Paul St. Pierre. Paul told me that he, Paul St. Pierre, chased down Damon Wells, cut his throat, and all that. Now, maybe Paul was bragging. Maybe he wished he had done something like that. That wouldn’t be out of the question at all, but I had to testify as to what I remember Paul saying to me that day, not something that made his lawyer feel better, or the prosecution, either.”

“Have you ever,” Murdach asked Kissler, “made a statement to anyone that you would like to get back at Paul St. Pierre?”

“I haven’t any reason to get back at him,” Kissler said. “What I was thinking at that point was for protection for myself and my family.” This response, however, did not answer Murdach’s question. Paul St. Pierre’s attorney asked it again. “The question is: have you ever made a statement that you wanted to get back at Paul St. Pierre?”

“The first few days after this incident happened, because I had nothing but his word to go on, and by the other things he said to me—”

“You are asked,” interrupted Murdach forcefully, “have you ever made a statement that you wanted to get back at Paul St. Pierre?”

“Yes,” came Kissler’s honest reply, “I have.”

Carl Hultman returned for further direct examination, requesting clarification from Kissler. “Mr. Murdach asked you if you made the statement about you wanting to get back at Paul St.

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