Chapter 16 Chapter Sixteen

Early in the morning when the trial of Ashley Paterson began, David went to see Ashley in the holding cell.She was almost hysterical. "I can't finish this. I can't! Tell them to leave me alone." "Ashley, everything's going to be okay. We're going to face them, and we're going to win." "You don't know...you don't know what it's like. I feel like I'm in some hell." "We're going to get you out of it. That's the first step." She is shaking. "I'm afraid they're going to...they're going to do horrible things to me."

"I'm not going to let them get away with it," David said firmly. "I want you to trust me. Just remember, you're not responsible for what happened. You did nothing wrong. They're waiting for us." She took a deep breath. "Okay. I'll be fine. I'll be fine. I'll be fine." ※※※ Dr. Steven Paterson sat in the gallery.Outside the courthouse, his only answer to reporters' barrage of questions was: "My daughter is innocent." A few rows down are Jess and Emily Queller, here for moral support. On the prosecutor's bench were Mitch Branen and two assistants: Susan Freeman and Alina Tucker.

Sandra and Ashley sat in the dock, with David in the middle.The two women met last week. "David, you only need to look at Ashley to know she's innocent." "Sandra, you only need to look at the evidence she left on the victims to know that she killed them. But killing them and being guilty are two different things. Now all I have to do is convince the jury at this point." Judge Williams entered the courtroom and made his way to the bench.The court clerk announced: "All rise. The court is now in session. Your Honour, Tessa Williams, presides." Judge Williams said, "You can sit down. The case is People of California v. Ashley Paterson. Let's get started." Judge Williams looked at Bryant. "Would the prosecutor be willing to make an opening statement?"

Mitch Bly can get to his feet. "Yes, Your Honor." He turned to the jury and walked toward them. "Good morning. As you all know, ladies and gentlemen, the accused is being tried for three bloody murders. The killer appears in many guises," he nodded in Ashley's direction . "Her disguise was that of an innocent, vulnerable young woman. But this prosecutor will prove to you beyond a doubt that the defendant knowingly and knowingly murdered and castrated three innocent men." "She used an alias for each case, hoping not to get caught. She knew exactly what she was doing. We're talking murders here that were planned, cold-blooded. As the trial progressed, Bit by bit, I'm going to untangle for you all the clues that connect this case to the accused sitting there. Thank you, everyone."

He returned to his seat. Judge Williams looked at David. "Is the defense going to make an opening statement?" "Yes, Your Honor." David stood up and faced the jury.He took a deep breath. "Ladies and gentlemen, during the course of this trial, I will demonstrate to you that Ashley Paterson was not responsible for what happened. She had no motive for, nor Didn't know they existed. My client was a victim. She was a victim of multiple personality disorder, which I will explain to you during the course of this case." He glanced at Judge Williams and said firmly: "Multiple Personality Disorder is a proven medical fact. It means that there are other personalities, or alter egos, that dominate their hosts and control them." behavior. Multiple personality disorder has a long history. Benjamin Rush—a physician and signer of the Declaration of Independence—discussed the case history of multiple personality disorder in one of his lectures. In Numerous incidents of multiple personality disorder and individuals dominated by alter egos have been reported in the nineteenth and this century."

Blaine was listening to David, and a sarcastic smile appeared on his face. "We're going to prove to you that it was an alter ego in control who committed the murders that Ashley Paterson had absolutely no reason to do. No reason at all. She's not ashamed of what happened Things were out of my control so I am not responsible for what happened. In this case I will have some reputable doctors to explain in detail about the multiple personality disorder. Luckily it is cured .” He stared into the faces of the jurors. "Ashley Paterson had no control over what she did, so, in the name of legal justice, we ask that Ashley Paterson is not found guilty, she was not responsible for those crimes."

David sat back in his seat. Judge Williams looked at Bryant. "Is the prosecutor ready to proceed?" Blaine stood up. "Yes, Your Honor." He gave his assistant a smile, and walked to the jury.Blaine stood there for a while, belching loudly on purpose.The jurors stared at him in amazement. Bligh looked at them for a moment, as if confused, before his face returned to normal. "Oh, I see. You guys were waiting for me to say 'sorry.' Um, I didn't because I didn't hiccup. Mine did Pete." David stood up, furious. "No. Your Honor, this is the most unreasonable..."

"The objection is valid." But this has done damage. Blaine gave David a condescending smile, then turned to the jury. "Well, I guess there hasn't been a defense like this since the Salem witch trials three hundred years ago." He turned to Ashley. "I didn't. No, sir. The devil made me." David stood up again. "No. He..." "invalid objection." David sat back heavily in his seat. Blaine moved closer to the jury box. "I assured everyone that I will prove that the accused killed and castrated three men willfully and in cold blood: Dennis Tibble, Richard Melton and Magistrate Blake. Three men! No matter what the defense attorneys say ’” he turned and pointed at Ashley again, “there’s only one defendant sitting there, and she’s the one who committed the murder. What did Mr. Singer just call it? Multiple Personality Disorder? Well, I’ll Invite some eminent doctors here, who, under oath, will tell you that there is no such thing! But first, let us hear the testimony of some experts who will link the accused to the murders Together."

Bryan turned to Judge Williams. "I would like to call my first witness, Agent Vincent Jordan." A short, bald man stood up and walked toward the witness stand. "Please say your full name and spell the letters for the record," the clerk said. "Agent Vincent Jordan, Jordan." Blaine waited until he had taken his oath and sat down. "You work for the FBI in Washington, DC?" "Yes, sir." "So what do you do for the FBI, Agent Jordan?" "I'm in charge of the fingerprint department." "How long have you been doing that job?"

"fifteen years." "Fifteen years. In all those years, have you ever come across the same set of fingerprints from different people?" "Never, sir." "How many sets of fingerprints are currently in the FBI file?" "According to the latest statistics, there are more than 250 million, but we receive more than 35,000 fingerprint cards every day." "None of them match the other?" "No, sir." "How do you confirm a fingerprint?" "For identification purposes, we use seven different patterns of fingerprints. Fingerprints are unique, they are formed before birth and remain unchanged throughout a person's life. Barring accidents or deliberate damage, there are no two patterns it's the same."

"Agent Jordan, have you received the fingerprints found at the crime scene of the three victims? The defendant is accused of killing these three victims." "Yes, sir. We have it." "And you also received fingerprints from defendant Ashley Paterson?" "Yes, sir." "Did you examine these prints yourself?" "yes." "Then what is your conclusion?" "The fingerprints left at the murder scene were identical to those taken from Ashley Paterson." There was a loud hum in the courtroom. "Order! Order!" Bryant could wait until the courtroom quieted down. "Are they the same? Is there any doubt in your mind, Agent Jordan? Could there be any mistake?" "No, sir? All the prints are clear and easily recognizable." "Just to make it clearer... are we talking about the fingerprints left at the murder scene of Dennis Tibble, Richard Melton and Sheriff Blake?" "Yes, sir." "Then the fingerprints of the accused, Ashley Paterson, were found at all the murder scenes?" "That's right." "Then tell me, what is the probability of making a mistake?" "zero." "Thank you, Agent Jordan." Blynon turned to David Singer. "Go ahead and ask." David sat where he was for a while, then stood up and walked over to the witness stand. "Agent Jordan, when you examine the fingerprints, do you ever notice that some have been wiped deliberately or damaged in some way so that the criminal could cover up the crime?" "Yes, but we can usually fix them with some sophisticated laser technology." "Did you have to do that with Ashley Paterson's fingerprints?" "No, sir." "why?" "Well, as I said...all the fingerprints are clear." David glanced at the jury. "You mean, then, that the accused made no attempt to erase or disguise her fingerprints?" "right." "Thank you. No further questions." He turned to the jury. "Ashley Paterson made no attempt to conceal her fingerprints because she was innocent and..." Judge Williams snapped, "Enough, lawyer! You'll have an opportunity to plead your case later." David returned to his seat.Bryant turns to Agent Jordan. "You can go." The FBI agent stepped down. "I would like to call my next witness, Stanley Clark," Branen said. A young man with long hair was ushered into the courtroom.He walked to the witness stand.There was silence in the courtroom as he took his oath and took his seat. Branen said, "What's your occupation, Mr. Clark?" "I work at the National Biotechnology Laboratory. I study DNA." "To us simple-minded non-scientists, is this more commonly known as DNA?" "Yes, sir." "How long have you been working at the National Biotechnology Laboratory?" "Seven years." "what's your position?" "I'm a person in charge." "So, in those seven years, I suppose you've had a lot of experience testing DNA?" "Of course. I do it every day." Blaine glanced at the jury. "I'm sure we all know the importance of DNA," he pointed to the audience. "Would you say there might be several people in this court who have the same DNA?" "Never, sir. If we took a DNA profile and tested its frequency on our collected database, there might be one in 500 billion unrelated Caucasians with the same DNA profile." .” Blaine looked rather surprised. "One in fifty billion. Mr. Clark, how did you get DNA from the crime scene?" "Many ways. We can find DNA in saliva or semen or vaginal secretions, as well as blood, hair strands, teeth, bone marrow, and so on." "And you can match DNA from any of these things to a specific person?" "right." "Did you personally compare the DNA evidence left at the murder scenes of Dennis Tibble, Richard Melton and Sam Black?" "yes." "Did you later receive strands of hair from defendant Ashley Paterson?" "yes." "When you compared the DNA evidence taken from the various murder scenes with the strands of the defendant's hair, what was your conclusion?" "They are the same." This time the audience reaction was noisier. Judge Williams thumped her gavel. "Order! Be quiet, or I will clear the venue." Bryant could wait until the room was quiet. "Mr. Clark, are you saying that the DNA taken from each of the three murder scenes was identical to that of the accused?" Blennon emphasized that word. "Yes, sir." Blaine glanced across the table to where Ashley was sitting, then turned back to the witness. "What about contamination? We're all aware that there was such a radiation criminal trial that the DNA was considered contaminated. Could the physical evidence in this case have been manipulated so that it's no longer conclusive or... ..." "No, sir. DNA evidence in these homicides was handled with care and sealed." "Then there is no doubt about it. The defendant killed the three..." David stood up. "No, Your Honor. The defense is leading witnesses, and . . . " "The objection is valid." David sat down. "Thank you, Mr. Clark," Blake said, turning to David. "No more questions." "It's your turn to ask, Mr Singer," Judge Williams said. "no problem." The jurors stared at David. Blaine was surprised. "No question?" He turned to the witness. "You can go down now." Blaine looked at the jurors and said, "I'm amazed that the defense didn't challenge the evidence, because it proves beyond a doubt that the defendant killed and castrated three men, and..." David stood up. "Your Honor……" "The objection is valid. You are overstepping the line, Mr. Brannan!" "I'm sorry, Your Honor. No more questions." Ashley looked at David, terrified. He whispered, "Don't worry. It'll be our turn in a minute." ※※※ There were more prosecution witnesses in the afternoon, and their testimony was devastating. "Did the building janitor send you to Dennis Tibble's apartment, Detective Letterman?" "yes." "Can you tell us what you found there?" "The whole thing is a mess. There's blood everywhere." "What about the victim?" "He was stabbed to death and castrated." Blaine glanced at the jury, a look of horror on his face. "Stabbed and castrated. Did you find any evidence at the crime scene?" "Oh yes. The victim had sex before his death. We found some vaginal discharge and fingerprints." "Why don't you arrest someone immediately?" "The fingerprints we found couldn't match what we had on file. We're waiting for someone who matches what we have." "But when you finally got Ashley Paterson's fingerprints and her DNA, did everything match?" "Of course it is. Everything fits." ※※※ Dr. Steven Paterson attended the trial every day.He sat in the public gallery next to the dock.Whenever he entered or left the courtroom, he was mobbed by reporters. "How do you think the trial is going, Dr. Paterson?" "It went well." "What do you think is going to happen?" "My daughter will be found innocent." ※※※ One evening, when David and Sandra returned to their hotel, there was a message waiting for them, "Please call Mr. Kong at your bank." David and Sandra looked at each other. "Is it time for another payment?" Sandra asked. "Yeah. Time flies when you're having fun," he said dryly.David thought hard for a while. "The trial will be over soon, dear. We have enough money left in our bank account to pay them this month's payment." Sandra looked at him worriedly. "David, if we don't pay off the payment in full...are we going to lose every dollar we've invested?" "Yes. Don't worry, though. Good things come around." However, he thought of Helen Woodman. ※※※ Brian Hill was on the witness stand after being sworn in.Mitch Bly could give him a friendly smile. "Can you tell us what you do, Mr. Hill?" "Yes, sir. I'm a guard at the de Young Museum in San Francisco." "That must be an interesting job." "Yes, I'm a frustrated painter, if you like art." "How many years have you worked there?" "Four years." "Are many of the same people visiting the museum? That is, do people come over and over again?" "Oh, yes. Some people do." "So I guess, after a while, they'll get to know you, or at least they'll grow up?" "right." "And as far as I know, painters are allowed to copy certain paintings in museums?" "Oh, yes. We have many painters." "Have you ever met each of them, Mr. Hill?" "Yes, we... After a while, we seem to have become friends." "Have you ever met a man named Richard Melton?" Brian sighed. "Yes. He's very talented." "So talented, in fact, that you asked him to teach you how to draw?" "right." David stood up. "That's fascinating, Your Honor, but I don't see how it's relevant to this case. If Mr. Branen..." "It is relevant, Your Honor, I am confirming that Mr. Hill was able to identify the victim by sight and name and tell us who the victim was connected to." "The objection is invalid, you can continue to ask questions." "Did he teach you to draw, then?" "Yes, he taught, when he had time." "Did you ever see Mr. Melton with some young lady when he was in the museum?" "Well, not at first. Then he met someone he seemed interested in, and I saw him with her a lot." "What's her name?" "Alette Peters." Blaine looked puzzled. "Alette Peters? Are you sure you got the name right?" "Yes, sir. He introduced her that way." "Now, you don't happen to see her in this court, do you, Mr. Hill?" "I can see you, sir." He pointed to Ashley. "That's her sitting there." Bryan said, "But that's not Aliette Peters. That's the defendant, Ashley Paterson." David stood up. "Your Honor, as we have said, Aliette Peters was part of this trial. She was one of the alter egos who controlled Ashley Paterson, and..." "You're so ahead of your time, Mr. Singer. Please keep asking, Mr. Branen." "Then, Mr. Hill, are you sure that the defendant, here named Ashley Paterson, is the Alice Peters known to Richard Melton?" "right." "There is no doubt that it is the same woman?" Brian hesitated. "Uh... yes, it's the same woman." "And the day Melton was killed, you saw her with Richard?" "Yes, sir." "Thank you." Brian turned to David, "Go ahead and ask." David stood up and walked slowly to the witness stand. "Mr. Hill, I think it must be a big responsibility to be a guard in a place where art worth billions of dollars is on display." "Yes, sir. That's right." "Then to be a good guard, you have to be on your toes at all times." "right." "You have to be aware of what's going on at all times." "certainly." "Dare you say you are a trained guard, Mr. Hill?" "Yes, I dare." "I ask because I noticed that you hesitated when Mr Branham asked you if you had any doubts that Ashley Paterson was the woman with Richard Melton. Are you not sure?" There is a brief pause. "Well, she looks very much like the same woman, but in one way she doesn't seem the same." "In what direction, Mr. Hill?" "Alette Peters is more Italian, and she has an Italian accent ... and she appears to be younger than the accused." "Exactly, Mr. Hill. The man you met in San Francisco was an alter ego of Ashley Paterson. She was born in Rome, she was eight years younger..." Blaine stood up angrily. "be opposed to." David turned to Judge Williams. "Your Honor, I am..." "Attorneys for both sides, please?" David and Blynn walked up to Judge Williams. "I don't want to tell you again, Mr. Singer. The defense will have an opportunity when the prosecution rests. Wait until then to plead your case." ※※※ Bernice Jenkins took the witness stand. "Can you tell us your occupation, Miss Jenkins?" "I'm a waitress." "where do you work?" "The diner at the de Young Museum." "What is your relationship with Richard Melton?" "we are good friends." "Can you elaborate on that?" "Well, we had a romantic relationship once and then it seemed to cool off. Those things happen a lot." "I believe so. Then what happened?" "And then we became kind of like brother and sister. I mean, I...I told him all my problems and he told me all his problems." "Has he ever spoken to you about the defendant?" "Well, yes, but she calls herself by a different name." "Then what is the name?" "Alette Peters." "But did he know her name was actually Ashley Paterson?" "No. He thought her name was Aliette Peters." "You mean she cheated on him?" Davy jumped to his feet, furious. "be opposed to." "The objection is valid. You stop leading witnesses, Mr. Brannan." "I'm sorry, Your Honor." Blaine turned back to the witness stand. "He told you about this Aliette Peters, but have you ever seen the two of them together?" "Yes, I did. One day he took her into a restaurant and introduced us." "So you're talking about the accused, Ashley Paterson?" "Yeah. Only she calls herself Aliette Peters." ※※※ Gary King took the witness stand. Bryant asked, "Are you Richard Melton's roommate?" "yes." "Are you guys friends too? Did you go out socializing with him?" "Of course. We go out and date people a lot." "Is there any young lady who Mr. Melton is particularly interested in?" "some." "Do you know her name?" "She called herself Aliette Peters." "Can you see her in this court?" "Yeah. She's just sitting there." "For the record, are you referring to defendant Ashley Paterson?" "right." "When you came home the night of the murder, you found Richard Melton's body in the flat?" "I did find out." "What's the condition of the body?" "Bloody." "The body was castrated?" There was a tremor. "Yes. God, it's horrible." Bly can look over at the jury, to see their reaction.The reaction was exactly what he had hoped for. "What did you do next, Mr. King?" "I called the police." "Thank you." Blynon turned to David. "Go ahead and ask." David stood up and walked over to Gary King. "Tell us about Richard Melton. What kind of man is he?" "He's amazing." "Does he argue? Does he like to get into fights?" "Richard? No. Quite the opposite. He's very calm and laid-back." "But he likes to associate with women who are vulgar and a little vulgar?" Gary was looking at him strangely. "Not at all. Richard likes elegant, demure women." "Did he have many fights with Alette? Did she yell at him a lot?" Gary was puzzled. "You got it wrong. They never yell at each other. They feel good together." "Did you ever see anything that would lead you to believe that Aliette Peters would do something to hurt him..." "Objection. He is leading witnesses." "The objection is valid." "No problem," David said. When David sat down, he said to Ashley, "Don't worry. Their testimony is in our favor." In fact, his own feeling is not as confident as he said. ※※※ David and Sandra were dining in the Wyndham's "San Francisco" restaurant when the head waiter approached David and said, "I have an emergency call from you, Mr. Singer." "Thank you," David said to Sandra, "I'll be right back." He followed the foreman to the phone. "I'm David Singer." "David, this is Jess. Go to your room and call me back. Damn it, the sky is falling!"