Chapter 67 Section VII

On May 4, 2000, the prosecution announced the end of the hearing. The defense's hearing took only one day because they had only one witness -- handwriting expert Mark Danbix.His testimony, on the whole, merely contradicted certain points made by the prosecution's witness, John Osborne, a handwriting expert.Mark believes that handwriting identification, strictly speaking, is not a science, because it has no definite basis, and its basic method is only comparative comparison, so no one can say with certainty that Xiantai or Kenny must be those ten books. The author of the note.As for John Osborne's proof that Irene Suleman's signature on documents such as the deed of assignment and power of attorney was not authentic, Mark did not comment.

The defendant's lawyer was about to stand up and tell the judge and jury that the hearing was over when Xiantai suddenly interjected that she was going to testify on the witness stand. "Only I can prove our innocence and innocence to the jury." The defendant requested a temporary adjournment so that they could talk to Xian Tai. The lawyers knew what Xiantai was going to say. She had written a manuscript of about 2,000 words in advance, and it was a new story.Said that she had known Irene Suleman for a long time. In 1997, Erin told her privately that she was running out of money and wanted to sell the apartment and hide somewhere to live in seclusion for the elderly and enjoy leisure. Tuo Xiantai looked for a buyer for her.For some reason, Erin didn't want the deal to be made public.Xiantai's friend and accountant Aaron Rousseau expressed interest in the Suleman Building, and asked Xiantai to come forward to help him investigate property rights and other information, and sent her to New York to secretly contact Erin.Aaron rented room 1B for Xiantai under the name of his friend Mani Gaylin, and Yilin often came to 1B to discuss related matters with Xiantai in the morning or evening when there was no one around.It was indeed Irene Suleman herself that the two notaries saw in Room 1B.After the transfer contract was completed, Yilin gave some things, including documents, keys, etc. to Xiantai, and then left with a huge sum of money to live in seclusion.No one harmed her, and no one knew her whereabouts.Stanley Paterson was sent by Aaron Rousseau to take over the Suleman Building.After Yilin Suleman disappeared, the police had no way to solve the case and framed Xiantai's mother and son. All the evidence was arranged by the police, and more than 100 witnesses were all false.

Defendants' lawyers and their clients discussed in a conference room for more than two hours.Xiantai was stubborn and turned a deaf ear to the advice of the lawyers, firmly believing that her story full of flaws could impress and convince the jury.Kenny was in a hurry. He begged his mother with tears and said: "They are right, Mom, if you testify in court, we will die. We will lose ugly, and my life will be completely ruined." The second Teenage hairy children still naively believe that they cannot be convicted without a dead body.But Xiantai was unmoved: "Honey, I know what to do."

Lawyers had to take another angle.Michael Hardy said to Xiantai earnestly: "You know, once you stand on the witness stand, you are fighting alone, and none of us can help you. Do you think you are confident in dealing with the prosecution's cross-examination issues? ?” Xiantai was silent. Hosse Munitz interjected: "It's a circumstantial trial, and they can ask you any questions. Have you ever wondered what would have happened if they had brought up the enslavement case ten years ago? Don't forget , there were only three whites on the jury, and the rest were all black and South American."

Michael continued, "Why don't we practice cross-examination. Each of us will ask you a question." Hosse was the first to ask.Xian Tai was dumbfounded after hearing his question, he murmured for a while, then turned to other lawyers and said, "How should I answer?" At 2:20 in the afternoon, when the defendant and his party returned to the court, Kenny had a smile on his face.Hosse Munitz stood up and said, "Your Honor, our client requests to speak a few words." "She has decided not to testify, has she?" Judge Jeanne Ouvile asked. "I'm not sure." Husse shrugged.

"Your Honor, I just thought... I wish I had the right to ask a question." Xian Tai began. "You can ask, but I don't necessarily have to answer." "This is an unjust case. I ask you to allow the live TV broadcast so that the whole country can know the truth." "A similar request has been made by your lawyer, but it has been denied." "Then I request to speak to the media." "You have to make a formal application through a lawyer." Xiantai still persisted in pestering her.Judge Ranna stopped her and said, "Thank you, Ms. Kemes, you can sit down now."

"NO! I'm not going to sit down. I'm going to testify. I'm the mother of this child. We were wronged. Put me on the stand!" "You can testify." "But I'm afraid. Afraid of you, afraid of the judicial system, afraid of gossip, afraid of the lies instilled in the public by the media." Xiantai's voice became louder and louder. "Sit down, please!" Judge Uvirre snapped. Xiantai has become hysterical.She turned to the packed gallery: "Is this a place of justice? We are not guilty, we are innocent. For God's sake, save us!" She sobbed, her voice choked.A bailiff came and pinned her to the seat.

"Ms. Kemes," Judge Jeanne Ouvile said sternly, "please control your emotions, or I will expel you from this court. You must abide by the rules of this court like everyone else here. So please listen, if there is another incident like this, you will be expelled from court and the case will continue in your absence." From May 8th to 12th, the closing remarks or concluding remarks of both sides lasted for a whole week.Michael Hardy, representing Xiantai, reiterated his "scapegoat" theory in his speech, accusing the police of not doing a thorough investigation and not tracking down other possible perpetrators, especially the employees of the Suleman Building and the Kobe Foundation.The Kobe Foundation was established by Erin Suleman in memory of her mother, with the purpose of saving and promoting the endangered art of hand needlework and embroidery.Erin Suleman donated the majority of her estate to the foundation in her will.Michael also re-examined the physical evidence collected by the police in the Lincoln sedan, room 1B and black bags from the perspective of the defendant, "nothing more than everyday items."As for guns, Michael said that in this country, there are a lot of people who carry guns, but you can't accuse them of being murderers because of that. "I believe that you will see more guns in Stanley Paterson's home." Michael Hardy finally reminded the jury members not to allow sympathy for Erin Suleman to influence the case. ruling.

Meyer Sage focused on questioning the credibility of certain witnesses.He mentioned again the metaphor of "building a room on the sand".Finally, he tactfully said a word to his client Kenny: "Please be fair to this young man who has no experience in the world. After all, in his life, it is difficult for him to make his own choices and decisions." Thanks to Xian Tai Regardless of the lawyers' repeated proposals, Kenny must be tried together with himself as a "joint defendant". Therefore, it is inconvenient for Meyer to criticize Xiantai too much in his speech, so as to strive for a better result for Kenny.

The two female generals of the prosecution, Anna Tonili and Connie Fernanda, used this last opportunity to revisit and review all the physical evidence and testimonies, telling the jury to trust their own eyes, their own hearts, Make your own verdict out of these mountains of ironclad evidence.Finally, Connie recounted the reorganization of the case by the police and the prosecution: "They choked her and suffocated her. They wrapped the body, stuffed it in the back of the Lincoln, and took it to a ghost They took her private key which was like a part of her body, ransacked her room and took her personal belongings which belonged to Irene Suleman when Xiantai and Kenny were arrested The thing on them is on them, and a few hours ago, someone saw Erin alive... Don't let the two defendants run away just because there is no body. Just because no one can find the bones of the victims, it shows the perpetrators. Sinister, cunning and cunning. To them, Irene Suleman was nothing more than a thing, a thorn in the side that must be removed, a stumbling block that must be removed. But to her friends, just before she disappeared One day, on the night of the Fourth of July, Irene Suleman was a living person."

On Monday, May 15, the 12 jurors walked through the dock into the deliberation room one by one, and the door closed behind them. After 40 minutes, the presiding jury sent the first note to the judge. The jury members needed a floor plan of the first floor of the Suleman Building to determine the 1A office suite of Erin Suleman and the 1B room that Kenny rented. relative location.Over the next few days, notes continued to be sent out.The jury also sought forged deeds, notebooks, and photographs taken by police inside the Suleman Building, among other items.In discussing the wiretapping charge, the two jurors asked the court to prove that Xian Tai and Kenny did have wiretapping devices and that the wiretapping tapes did exist, although certain passages were played in court.The jurors admitted that some of the requests were just out of curiosity, "I've been hearing about it, so I always wanted to see it." They also repeatedly asked Judge Jeanne Ouvile to explain the relevant legal provisions to them in detail, or ask the court to The clerk rereads a passage of testimony. The jury debated at length on whether Kenny was his mother's victim. "He is so young, life has just begun. He has a very domineering mother." But on the other hand, although not the mastermind, Kenny also bears the inescapable responsibility.A young juror pointed out: "I am the same age as him, and I sympathize with his situation. But he is not a child after all, and he should have the ability to distinguish right from wrong." Throughout the trial, Kenny's face was always It's an innocent expression.But when someone hit their nails, several jurors noticed that Kenny would stare at witnesses with hatred. "The look in his eyes told me he could have killed someone," said one juror. As for July 5, 1998, from 11:26 a.m. to 2:24 p.m., that is, the three-hour gap when Xiantai's mobile phone was turned off, the jury found it entirely possible that Xiantai and Kenny were in the room during this period. Kill Erin Suleman, clean up the scene, drive somewhere in New Jersey to dump the body, and return to Manhattan.They also believed that if Alan Seri Levira happened to come to the first floor at an inappropriate time that day, or was bumped into by Xiantai and Kenny, she might also be murdered.This point coincides with the conclusion drawn by Joseph Reznick of the New York Police Department task force during the handling of the case. The jury unanimously voted by show of hands before deliberations began on each of the crimes listed in the indictment.The crimes Xiantai is accused of include: 3 counts of homicide, 4 counts of illegal gun possession, 16 counts of forgery, 29 counts of wiretapping, robbery, theft, conspiracy, attempted illegal embezzlement of huge amounts of property, illegal There are 1 crime of possession of stolen goods and 1 crime of illegal possession of forged documents, totaling 58 items.Kenny was charged with crimes similar to those of Xiantai, but there were 17 counts of forgery and 2 counts of illegal possession of forged documents, totaling 60.Before every vote, someone always asks: "Who is this time?" If it is Xiantai, some jurors will raise their hands to show that she should be punished with a higher class and double punishment. On the afternoon of May 18, the jury finally made a verdict on a total of 118 charges against Xiantai and Kenny in the indictment. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, there were already crowds of people inside and outside the court. At 2:45, when the two Kaimes were taken to the dock, Kenny was still able to maintain his composure, while Xiantai was on the verge of collapse.Her head wobbled nervously from time to time, and her anxious but fierce eyes were like a terrified caged beast waiting to be slaughtered. She kept asking Jose Munitz beside her: "We Lost, eh?" "They're going to find us guilty, aren't they?" At 2:54, the bailiff opened the door of the deliberation room, and 12 jury members filed out.For a moment, all eyes in the court were on them.The crowd tried to guess the fate of the two defendants from the demeanor and expressions of the jurors. After they were seated in the jury box, the judge, Jeanne Ouvelle, took care of the chief juror, and the court clerk asked, "Madam chief judge, has the jury reached a verdict?" "yes." "Paragraph 1 of the indictment accuses the defendant Xiantai Kaimes of second-degree (intentional) homicide, is the verdict guilty or not guilty?" "guilty." "Paragraph 2 of the indictment accuses the defendant Xiantai Kaimes of robbery and murder, guilty or not guilty?" "guilty." "Paragraph 3 of the indictment accuses the defendant Xiantai Kaimes of theft and murder, is the verdict guilty or not guilty?" "guilty." "Waving?" "Forgery?" "Illegal possession of a gun?" "Illegal possession of stolen items?"... "Guilty." "Guilty." "Guilty." "Guilty."... In 20 minutes, the chief juror said 118 "guilty" in a row, Xiantai 58, and Kenny 60.Because police did not find Irene Suleman's body, it was impossible for prosecutors to charge both criminals with first-degree or premeditated murder. Xian Tai was completely paralyzed with fright.She closed her eyes and rested her head on Hosse Munitz's shoulder.When the bailiff came behind her, she couldn't stand up for a long time. When Kenny was taken away by the bailiff, he calmly said to Xiantai: "Mom, I love you. Don't worry, this matter is not over yet." He meant that they would appeal. On June 27, 2000, the two defendants in this case were punished for several crimes. Xiantai Kaimes was sentenced to 127 years and 8 months in prison, and Kenny Kaimes was sentenced to 130 years in prison. Before handing down the verdict, Judge Jeanne Uvire told the court: "During my many years as a judge, sentencing has always been difficult and even painful for me, regardless of the crime committed by the accused. duty. But today I will say that I am not in pain." In 2002, Xiantai and Kenny were extradited to Los Angeles, California, where they will stand trial for the murder of Dawe Kazidin.  The cases collected in this book have all caused a sensation in American society.Among them are classics of criminology, forensic science and criminal investigation, as well as the essence of court debates widely praised by people in the legal circle, as well as strange cases, unsolved cases and difficult cases that have lasted for several or even decades. This is neither a detective novel nor a horror movie. It has neither the twists and turns arranged by the author nor the perfection that the readers expect. Its attraction lies only in its truth.