Identity (16 page)
Authors: K. J. Cazel
Victoria sat at her office desk. The setting sun peered through her window. She looked at her list of character witnesses. She wondered if these would be sufficient to sway the jury that Sarah was not capable of killing Rodney. The final name on the list was Aswan Sahib, the cab driver that took Sarah to Lake Forest home. Her investigators were unable to locate him. He had flown the coop. She kept tapping her pencil on the circled name, shaking her head. Any time someone goes missing means they probably have something to hide and his immigrations status would certainly qualify. She drew a line through his name, the action that eliminated this witness. Her investigator did obtain the dispatcher's records indicating when Sarah arrived at the house. She pressed the playback button and listened to the 911 call that Sarah made. Hopefully, between these two pieces of evidence the jury will see that Sarah did not have sufficient time between the infliction of the deadly wounds to the time she called 911. She had her assistant prepare an illustration board of this timeline. Experience had taught her that visual aids were more effective with jurors.
She opened the 'Closing Remarks' file on her laptop. She stared at the computer. She felt that Sarah was innocent, but feared that jurors could be easily persuaded as many wealthy people get a pass. This could be the time to show the public that money can't buy freedom.
Victoria looked up as her assistant came through the closed door.
“Ms. Lynn, there's a Giovanni Marino, here to see you.”
“Would you tell him I am busy and will be available for an appointment next week.”
Her assistant closed the door. In less that a minute she again opened the as Giovanni Marino barged through.
“Scuz me Ms. Lynn. Giovanni Marino, Chief Inspector of Polizia di Stato. I believe I have evidence that may help Ms. Williams.”
The two sat there reviewing the evidence that Marino brought from Italy. Each paper showed how Interpol followed Naldo Rizzo and documented his movements in the human trafficking case. But, the real documents that interested Victoria was the time line that showed Naldo Rizzo in Lake Forest. Victoria felt relief. She had more 'reasonable doubt’ to present to the jury. Finally, Giovanni handed Victoria the DVD.
“You might wish to use. I warn you that this is very disturbing.”
Victoria placed the DVD into the laptop as Giovanni sat in silence. As the DVD played, he could see that Victoria had a difficult time digesting what her eyes were viewing. When the DVD finished playing, she looked up with tears in her eyes and swallowed hard before commenting.
“Well, that certainly wasn't what I was expecting.” Victoria commented to Giovanni but thought, 'The death of Rodney Williams wasn't a loss.'
The crowd outside the courthouse represented all the major new organizations along with the usual protesters. Each displayed a hunger to see how the defense was going to defend the rich woman who murdered her husband.
Inside the courtroom, the news reporters sat in their usual corner of the gallery watching as the friends of Sarah entered the courtroom. As they came in they watched their faces, sensing that the outlook for Sarah was not good.
Just before 10:00 a.m., the prosecutor entered with his entourage of junior prosecutors. As they took their seats on the right hand side of the courtroom, the new reports commented among themselves as to the confidence their faces expressed. Victoria Lane and Sarah came in next. All eyes were on them until the jurors came in. When they entered, everyone took their eyes off Sarah and watched as the jurors sat down and blankly stared across the courtroom. At last the bailiff announced that the court was in order as Judge Altgeld entered the room.
Victoria started by presenting Exhibit E, the 911 call. Then she presented Exhibit F, the dispatcher record for the cab that took Sarah to Lake Forest. She took her time as she explained on the illustration board the timeline. Next she called the various witnesses from the various primary care doctor and nurses who administered to Sarah during her rehabilitation. She also called in Sarah's psychiatrist, Dr. Kalish. Each told about the gentleness of Sarah and the fact that she didn't express any ill will toward her late husband. When each witness finished, Sarah gave each a weak smile. Victoria watched the jury. They still didn't seem convinced that Sarah wasn't a cold-blooded killer.
Victoria knew she would have to call Giovanni Marino. Since he wasn't on the initial witness list, she knew she was going to receive objections from the defense. She proceeded,
“Your honor, we'd like to call Giovanni Marino.”
As soon as the words were out, the prosecution objected.
Judge Altgeld asked both the attorneys to approach the bench.
“Ms. Altgeld, would you like to explain to the court why this witness is now being presented?”
“Your honor, Mr. Marino arrived yesterday from Italy with this information. I believe that it would be in the best interest of justice to have Mr. Marino testify.”
The prosecution looked back at the gallery where Marino was sitting. He saw if a fiftyish grey-haired man who look tired. He knew he could nullify the timeline that was presented. What could this weary Italian add to the defense case? The prosecutor turned to the judge. “We have no objection, but retain the right to cross-examine.”
The judge's gavel came down. “You may call your witness Ms. Lynn.”
Giovanni was called to the witness stand and sworn in.
“Mr. Marino, could you please tell us where you work?”
“Certainly. I am Chief Inspector of Polizia di Stato, Rome, Italy and work with Interpol on Human Trafficking.”
“Mr. Marino, can you tell us your relationship to this case.”
“Si, I mean Yes. We, I mean Interpol and the Italian Police have been following Naldo Rizzo for that past 18 months regarding his involvement in human trafficking. Our last report from Interpol placed him in the area of the Williams home in Lake Forest.”
“Your honor, at this time I would like to enter into evidence Exhibit G, the Interpol report on the date of Mr. Williams' murder.”
The prosecution approached the desk and scanned the document and did not object to the admission of the document. The prosecution could see that he probably made a mistake allowing this witness.
Victoria continued. “Mr. Marino, would you read for the jury to hear the report on the date of Mr. Williams murder.”
“Yes.” He looked down and read, “Naldo Rizzo, the suspect, rented a car from Advantage Rental Agency at O'Hare International Airport. He drove for approximately 20 minutes. He stopped at Carter’s Pharmacy where he bought a package of latex gloves, a package of cigarettes and a High 5 Energy Bar. He then returned to the rental car and drove to Lake Forest, Illinois. He parked the car in the 1200 block of Forest Drive. He disembarked from the car. Rizzo then walked to the main driveway at 850 Forest Drive, Williams’ home, at approximately 1:23 p.m. At approximately 2:17 p.m. a red Benz-SLR drove up the
driveway. At 2:42 p.m. Rizzo walked down the driveway from the Williams’ home carrying a plastic bag. He returned to his rental and stayed there until 7:00 p.m. He then drove back to O'Hare area were he took a room at the Starlight Hotel. He returned his rental car at 5:17 a.m. Rizzo boarded Italia Airlines flight to Rome at 7:47 a.m.”
“Mr. Marino, what led you to come to the United States with this information?”
“When Mr. Rizzo disembarked from his flight, Interpol and I greeted him. His carry on and briefcase were inspected. Inside his briefcase was $250,000 in cash, several jewelry cases and a DVD. Inside several of the jewelry cases were tags which identified the owner as Sarah Robinson Williams of Lake Forest, Illinois.”
Victoria turned and took a quick look at the gallery and could see that the news reporters were recording the facts. She looked at Sarah. She saw a faint smile starting on her lips. She turned to the jurors. The jurors who were taking notes were recording what they had heard.
“Mr. Marino, could you tell us what was on the DVD?”
“There were many things on the DVD.”
“Like what?”
“There were many pictures, a slide show and one movie.”
“Your honor, at this time I'd like to enter Exhibit H, the DVD.”
The prosecutor knitted his brow wondering what could be on a slide show, which could possible, further destroy his case against Sarah Williams. “I have no objection.”
“Your honor, we have set the DVD to start at the slide show for the jury to see.”
The bailiff wheeled a DVD player into the courtroom. He took the DVD and slipped into the DVD player. He pressed the 'Play' button.
The first slide showed Rodney as a young man with his arm around another young man. The caption read, “Rodney and Michael.” Several other slides played forward showing the two young men drinking and partying together, each showing a progression in their ages. The next several slides showed the young men at the university with their arms around each other. Some showed that they were vacationing together. One caption read, “My Lover & Me.” At last the final slide of the slide show came up with Michael Rizzo sitting at his desk at Robinson—Williams. The caption under this slide read, “You Betrayed Me.”
Before Victoria could say anything, the prosecutor stood up and objected. “Your honor, this was only a part of the DVD. It has been taken out of contact. The prosecution request that the entire DVD be played.”
“Does the defense have any objection?”
Although Victoria didn’t smile, she knew she got the prosecution to play the entire CD. “No your honor. But, I caution the court that the remainder of the DVD may be offensive, especially to younger viewers.”
The judge address the bailiff, “Please remove anyone from the courtroom who may be under the age of 18.”
No one was removed.
“All right bailiff, please go to the beginning of the DVD.”
If you were close enough you could hear the DVD whirl to the beginning. The DVD started to automatic play. Obscene pictures of young men flashed across the screen followed by obscene pictures of women, some of them in bondage. Then, a picture of a young dead woman appeared on the screen. It was obvious that the black and white picture was taken many years ago. More recent pictures of several dead women with red hair followed this picture.
There were gasps by those in the gallery. The prosecution knew this damaged Rodney Williams’ reputation, but it didn't prove Sarah innocent. Tom turned to Steve and whispered. “I guess we know who these women are.”
The player continued and reached the movie. The thin woman in the movie was being tormenter. The tormentor responded,
“He's not going to help you. I've paid for you to do what I want. Right now you are going to pay for that bitch.” The action continued, and the tormentor again commented, “You should have been dead.”
Jenny was sitting on the right side of Tom. She placed her left hand on Tom's knees and her nails dug in as she watched the movie. Tears were running down her face. Tom turned to his sister and whisper, “Yes, its Ginny.”
Finally, the DVD stopped. There was complete silence in the courtroom. Everyone was digesting what he or she had witnessed.
The judged address the attorneys, “Does the defense have any other question of the witness?”
“Yes.” She turned to Mr. Marino, “What was the relationship between Naldo Rizzo and Michael Rizzo.”
“They were brothers.”
“Thank you. I have no further questions.
“Would the prosecution like to cross?”
“No, you honor.”
The prosecution made closing remarks. He tried to imply that the timeline had left plenty of time from earlier in the day to commit the murder.
Victoria closing became easier after the DVD. It was easy for the jury to see that there was reasonable doubt that someone else had the time and ability to commit the crime.
“Fine.” The judge addressed the jury with the final instructions. The jury then left the room. The news reporters fled the courtroom. Victoria turned to Sarah, “You are a very lucky woman.”
Everyone had left the courtroom. The press tried to get comments from both the prosecution and the defense. No one was talking.
When the reached the lobby, a woman came up to Victoria and whispered in her ear. “The jury is already back.”
Victoria new she had won Sarah's freedom, at least her physical freedom.
***
“Ms. Robinson, are you sure?”
Sarah turned and looked at Tom, Carol, Steve and Ginny. The neighbors had also gathered to watch the event. Everyone was wearing hard hats.
She looked back at her home. “Yes.”
The man handed her a cord with a button, “Just press it.”
“Good-by.” She pressed the button and her home imploded.
