Lawyer:
"Was that the same nose you broke as a child?"
Witness: "I only have one, you know."
Lawyer:"Now,
Mrs. Johnson, how was your first marriage terminated?"
Witness: "By death."
Lawyer: "And by whose death was it terminated?"
Lawyer:
"What is your date of birth?"
Witness: "July 15th."
Lawyer: "What year?"
Witness: "Every year."
Lawyer:
"Can you describe what the person who attacked you looked like?"
Witness: "No. He was wearing a mask."
Lawyer: "What was he wearing under the mask?"
Witness: "Er...his face."
Lawyer:
"This myasthenia gravis -- does it affect your memory at all?"
Witness: "Yes."
Lawyer: "And in what ways does it affect your memory?"
Witness: "I forget."
Lawyer: "You forget. Can you give us an example of
something that you've forgotten?"
Lawyer:
"How old is your son, the one living with you?"
Witness: "Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember
which."
Lawyer: "How long has he lived with you?"
Witness: "Forty-five years."
Lawyer: "What
was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke that morning?"
Witness: "He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'"
Lawyer: "And why did that upset you?"
Witness: "My name is Susan."
Lawyer:
"Did you blow your horn or anything?"
Witness: "After the accident?"
Lawyer: "Before the accident."
Witness: "Sure, I played for ten years. I even went
to school for it."
Lawyer: "Doctor,
before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?"
Witness: "No."
Lawyer: "Did you check for blood pressure?"
Witness: "No."
Lawyer: "Did you check for breathing?"
Witness: "No."
Lawyer: "So, then it is possible that the patient
was alive when you began the autopsy?"
Witness: "No."
Lawyer: "How can you be so sure, Doctor?"
Witness: "Because his brain was sitting on my desk
in a jar."
Lawyer: "But could the patient have still been alive
nevertheless?"
Witness: "Yes, it is possible that he could have been
alive and practicing law somewhere."
Lawyer:
"What happened then?"
Witness: "He told me, he says, 'I have to kill you
because you can identify me.'"
Lawyer: "Did he kill you?"
Witness: "No."
Lawyer:
"Now sir, I'm sure you are an intelligent and honest man--"
Witness: "Thank you. If I weren't under oath, I'd
return the compliment."
Lawyer:
"You were there until the time you left, is that true?"
Lawyer:
"So you were gone until you returned?"
Lawyer:
"The youngest son, the 20 year old, how old is he?"
Lawyer:
"Were you alone or by yourself?"
Lawyer:
"How long have you been a French Canadian?"
Witness:
"He was about medium height and had a beard."
Lawyer: "Was this a male or a female?"
Lawyer:
"I show you Exhibit 3 and ask you if you recognize that picture."
Witness: "That's me."
Lawyer: "Were you present when that picture was taken?"
Lawyer:
"Do you know how far pregnant you are now?"
Witness: "I'll be three months on November 8."
Lawyer: "Apparently, then, the date of conception
was August 8?"
Witness: "Yes."
Lawyer: "What were you doing at that time?"
Lawyer:
"She had three children, right?"
Witness: "Yes."
Lawyer: "How many were boys?"
Witness: "None."
Lawyer: "Were there girls?"
Lawyer:
"You don't know what it was, and you didn't know what it looked like,
but can you describe it?"
Lawyer:
"You say that the stairs went down to the basement?"
Witness: "Yes."
Lawyer: "And these stairs, did they go up also?"
Lawyer:
"Have you lived in this town all your life?"
Witness: "Not yet."
Lawyer:
"What is your brother-in-law's name?"
Witness: "Borofkin."
Lawyer: "What's his first name?"
Witness: "I can't remember."
Lawyer: "He's been your brother-in-law for years,
and you can't remember his first name?"
Witness: "No. I tell you, I'm too excited." (rising
and pointing to his brother-in-law) "Nathan, for heaven's sake, tell
them your first name!"
Lawyer:
"Doctor, did you say he was shot in the woods?"
Witness: "No, I said he was shot in the lumbar region."
Lawyer: "Are
you married?"
Witness: "No, I'm divorced."
Lawyer: "And what did your husband do before you divorced
him?"
Witness: "A lot of things I didn't know about."
Lawyer: "And
who is this person you are speaking of?"
Witness: "My ex-widow said it.
Lawyer:
"How did you happen to go to Dr. Cherney?"
Witness: "Well, a gal down the road had had several
of her children by Dr. Cherney and said he was really good."
Lawyer:
"Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?"
Witness: "All my autopsies have been performed on
dead people."
Lawyer:
"Were you acquainted with the deceased?"
Witness: "Yes sir."
Lawyer: "Before or after he died?"
Lawyer:
"Mrs. Jones, is your appearance this morning pursuant to a deposition
notice which I sent to your attorney?"
Witness: "No. This is how I dress when I go to work."
Lawyer:
"Did he pick the dog up by the ears?"
Witness: "No."
Lawyer: "What was he doing with the dog's ears?"
Witness: "Picking them up in the air."
Lawyer: "Where was the dog at this time?"
Witness: "Attached to the ears."
Lawyer:
"When he went, had you gone and had she, if she wanted to and were
able, for the time being excluding all the restraints on her not to go,
gone also, would he have brought you, meaning you and she, with him to the
station?"
Other Lawyer: "Objection. That question should be
taken out and shot."
Lawyer:
"And lastly, Gary, all your responses must be oral. Ok? What school
do you go to?"
Witness: "Oral."
Lawyer: "How old are you?"
Witness: "Oral."
Lawyer:
"What is your relationship with the plaintiff?"
Witness: "She is my daughter."
Lawyer: "Was she your daughter on February 13, 1979?"
Lawyer: "Now,
you have investigated other murders, have you not, where there was a victim?"
Lawyer:
"Now, doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, in
most cases he just passes quietly away and doesn't know anything about it
until the next morning?"
Lawyer:
"And what did he do then?"
Witness: "He came home, and next morning he was dead."
Lawyer: "So when he woke up the next morning he was
dead?"
Lawyer: "Did
you tell your lawyer that your husband had offered you indignities?"
Witness: "He didn't offer me nothing. He just said
I could have the furniture."
Lawyer:
"Could you see him from where you were standing?"
Witness: "I could see his head."
Lawyer: "And where was his head?"
Witness: "Just above his shoulders."
Lawyer:
"Any suggestions as to what prevented this from being a murder trial
instead of an attempted murder trial?"
Witness: "The victim lived."
