Diane Downs Trial Day 6 - Defense Rests │ May 16, 1984 — Transcript

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1. 0:00On the sixth day of the defense's case
2. 0:02of Elizabeth Diane DS, a private expert
3. 0:04witness was called to testify about
4. 0:06blood found on the outside of D's car.
5. 0:09The defense claims the blood was dropped
6. 0:11from a sleeve of a bloody postal sweater
7. 0:13placed over Cheryl DS. While the
8. 0:15prosecution maintains Cheryl's blood was
9. 0:17splattered on the rock panel when she
10. 0:19was shot outside the car. Under
11. 0:21cross-examination, the expert witness
12. 0:23admitted he couldn't rule out that the
13. 0:25blood spatter didn't come from a gunshot
14. 0:27wound outside the car, and he couldn't
15. 0:29explain the direction of the blood,
16. 0:31consistent with the defense's scenario.
17. 0:33A parade of witnesses took the stand in
18. 0:35rebuttal after the defense rested.
19. 0:37Christiey's foster mother testified the
20. 0:399-year-old was never told her mother was
21. 0:41a suspect in the murder. In fact, the
22. 0:43woman said her daughter didn't believe
23. 0:45Christy at first when she said her
24. 0:47mother shot her. Doctors, nurses, and
25. 0:49the children's services division took
26. 0:51the stand again, repeating that the
27. 0:53children were never harassed during
28. 0:54questioning and that every effort was
29. 0:56made to help Danny and Christy. Today,
30. 0:58the defense was granted its wish to have
31. 1:00police reports turned over to the court.
32. 1:02Attorney Jim Jagger tried to show the
33. 1:04jury that law enforcement hadn't
34. 1:06followed up on all their leads and only
35. 1:08focused on his client. And circuit court
36. 1:10judge Greg Foot would not allow Down's
37. 1:12psychologist to testify in front of the
38. 1:14jury. A psychologist diagnosed DS as a
39. 1:16deviant sociopath. The judge wouldn't
40. 1:19allow the psychologist testimony, saying
41. 1:21that the jury might draw the conclusion
42. 1:23that DS lied on the stand or committed
43. 1:25the murder because of her illness. And
44. 1:28Bradley, Eyewitness News at the Lane
45. 1:29County Courthouse.