Chapter 4.38
Content warning: graphic violence picture
Siobhan
I rubbed my sweaty palms on my wool pants. Never would I have dreamed I'd be attending my own son's murder trial. I just had to pray the jury would see that my boy could never kill anyone.
The prosecution called their witnesses first.
Etoile Amari, August's ex-girlfriend, sashayed to the stand. I never liked that girl. There was something off about her that I couldn't put my finger on. I was happy when she broke it off with August.
Prosecutor Wright swore her in and got started.
I rubbed my sweaty palms on my wool pants. Never would I have dreamed I'd be attending my own son's murder trial. I just had to pray the jury would see that my boy could never kill anyone.
The prosecution called their witnesses first.
Etoile Amari, August's ex-girlfriend, sashayed to the stand. I never liked that girl. There was something off about her that I couldn't put my finger on. I was happy when she broke it off with August.
Prosecutor Wright swore her in and got started.
"Is it true you used to be August Day's girlfriend?"
"Yes."
"Tell us a bit about your relationship."
She arched an eyebrow. "What's to tell? He was like all boys. He liked to fuck me."
Oh, good Lord, I didn't have to hear that as a mother.
The prosecutor cleared his throat and went on with another question. "So, you dated for a few months and then you broke up with him. Why?"
"He...um...well, I could tell he liked someone else, so..."
"And that someone else was Briar Blackwell?"
"Yes."
"Even though she had a boyfriend at the time. Daniel Fortner was her boyfriend. Correct?"
She looked away. I could tell she didn't want to answer the question probably because it put August in a bad light. "Yes."
The prosecutor threw his hands behind his back and said, "Tell us about the day you broke up with him and exactly what happened."
She gave a sigh and said, "Well, we heard some yelling. Briar and Daniel were fighting and then August jumped in. Briar had to stop him or August would have punched Daniel. August was so upset, I could tell he really liked her."
"Would you call it obsessive?"
Theo stood up. "Objection, your honor. He's leading the witness."
"Overruled. I'll allow it," the judge shot back. "Answer the question, Miss Amari."
Knitting her eyebrows, Etoile didn't answer for a long time until finally, she said, "Yes."
Thankfully, Theo could cross-examine.
He walked up to the witness stand and asked, "Miss Amari, in all the time you've known August, has he ever shown any unstable behavior?"
"No."
"Did you see him show any violent tendencies? Did he hit you or anyone you know?"
"No, he didn't, except he punched a boxing bag all the time. He was always working out."
"In your opinion, is August Day the type to murder someone?"
"Objection!" the prosecutor shouted. "Speculation, your honor!"
"Overruled. I'd like to know her opinion since she was close to the defendant."
"August Day a killer? No, he could never kill someone like that. Daniel Fortner, on the other hand, was a true blue, cold hearted killer, and I must say, I'm glad he's dead."
"Objection!" the prosecutor said again. "Daniel Fortner is not on trial here."
"Sustained. Remove the part of her testimony about Mr. Fortner."
Next, the prosecution called Ethan Moon, one of August's best friends. I wondered why he'd be a witness for their side.
Scratching his head, the prosecutor asked Ethan, "So, tell us how long you've known August Day."
He shrugged. "I don't know...I'd say about nine months."
"You were close, were you not?"
"Yeah, we're close."
"And he confided in you from time to time."
"Uh huh."
"Tell us what he told you about what he did to Daniel Fortner--a secret you weren't to tell anyone."
"Yeah, uh...he beat the shit out of Daniel while in disguise."
That was news to me. I should have known he'd been fighting when August was sent to the hospital.
"And why weren't you to tell anyone about this?"
"Because if Daniel ever found out, it wouldn't go over very well for August. Daniel's a mean dude. He had hired thugs at his beck and call."
"And did Daniel Fortner find out that August was the one who beat him up?"
"Yeah. He had his thugs put August in the hospital."
So, now we get to the real reason August was beat up that night.
"Would you say this caused August to have a vendetta against Daniel Fortner at this point?"
"Objection! Leading the witness!"
"Sustained."
"Let me rephrase that. Did August Day tell you he was going to get back at Daniel at some point in time?"
"No. He knew better. He said it was a one time thing in response to Daniel hitting Briar. But he didn't know what he'd do if something bad happened to Briar."
"Like killing herself?"
"Objection! Speculation!"
"Sustained."
"I have no further questions, your honor."
Theo walked up to the stand. "Do you believe August Day wanted to kill Daniel Fortner?"
"Absolutely not."
"And why is that?"
"Because. If he'd wanted to kill Daniel, he would have the night he beat him up while in disguise. He didn't even beat Daniel up enough to hurt him that much. But August did tell me Daniel said something to him not knowing who he was."
"What was that?"
"That Daniel feared for his life. There was a big boss he owed money to, and he begged for his life. He thought August was a hired hit."
I gave Seth a worried look and he shook his head. My goodness! Why didn't August tell us all of this was going on? It's no wonder he was in so much trouble.
Next was the medical examiner's turn. Grisly pictures of Daniel Fortner's bloody body covered the far wall. I had to look down. There was no way my son would have been capable of doing that to anyone.
"Dr. Bigelow, how long have you been a forensic specialist?"
"Thirteen years."
"Did you examine the victim first hand?"
"Why, yes I did."
"Tell us your thoughts on how the murder was accomplished using only forensics."
"Of course. The murder weapon, a typical butcher's knife found in most kitchens, was used to create deep wounds in the victim's back. I do not believe Mr. Fortner even knew the perpetrator was there."
"He was caught off guard? How do you know this?"
"There didn't seem to be any struggle whatsoever. Usually, there'd be other bruises on the body from the victim either fighting back or hitting other objects, but there weren't any."
"How many lacerations from this knife were there?"
"27 deep wounds. The perpetrator must have been tall as well."
"Why is that, Dr. Bigelow?"
"Because of the angle of the slices and the way they came down. The perpetrator must have been at least as tall or taller than the victim himself."
"And how tall was the victim?"
"6 foot 3 inches."
"I see. According to our records here, August Day is 6 foot 5 inches. Does he fit this description?"
"Perfectly."
"I have no further questions. Thank you, Dr. Bigelow."
My stomach sunk at this damaging testimony. Someone as tall as August had to have killed him. There weren't many men as tall as my son.
Theo came to cross-examine. "Dr. Bigelow, I'm surprised you've been doing this for as long as 13 years and can give testimony as flawed as yours."
"I beg your pardon."
"Objection! Argumentative, your honor."
"Sustained. Where are you going with this, counselor?"
"Just this, your honor. How can she say she knows for a fact how tall the perpetrator was because of the angle of the wounds when most of them were made while he was on the floor? Answer me how you know where the initial wound took place."
"I..I can't tell which one was first but almost all of them hit him from above."
"And that could have been from someone shorter initially. If caught by surprise, Daniel Fortner might have lost his footing since the wounds were all in the area of the spinal chord and heart. Am I correct?"
She swallowed and blinked. "I guess so."
"So, your testimony about the height of the perpetrator is flawed since it could have been done by someone shorter. Then Daniel Fortner could have stumbled as the perpetrator kept hitting him from above as he is on the ground. Correct?"
"Well...I...uh..."
"Correct?" Theo raised his voice. Oh, he was so good at this.
Finally, the doctor said, quietly, "Yes."
"Answer me this, then, Dr. Bigelow. Would the perpetrator be covered in blood after such a scenario as this?"
"Yes. The whole scene was covered."
"Then how could August Day have not a drop of blood on his clothing, his shoes, his car, or anywhere else around him? Do you think it likely that we wouldn't find one single blood cell on him or anywhere near this things if he'd committed such a crime?"
"Um...it would be highly unlikely."
Theo pointed at the photograph of the scene. "Now, there was another blood stain on the ground. Was it from Daniel Fortner?"
"No."
"Who's blood was it?"
"From taking DNA samples, it was Beau Blackwell's."
"So, why do you think his blood is there?"
"The gun Daniel was holding had discharged, probably hurting Beau Blackwell."
"Could Beau Blackwell have taken the knife and defended himself?"
"I doubt this."
"Why?"
"The blood stain was pooled in one spot. We found drips leading out of the house but none near the victim. This was done by someone else."
Next update is on Friday, February 9th
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