Chapter 175 Section 24

"Looks straight and round," admitted Lieutenant Art Holland. The defense subpoenaed photographer John Rosenthal.He said that just two days earlier on Sunday afternoon, he had arrived at 1810 Seaside Street at around 2:30 at the invitation of the defense's lawyers.When I got there, I found out that they wanted him to photograph a dirty poker in the corner of the garage. Assistant Attorney General Freda Blake cross-questioned: "Are you sure how long it takes for something to collect dust if you put it in a garage?" "I don't know," replied John Rosenthal.

Of course, the photographer John Rosenthal will not be an expert in this area, in fact, it is difficult for the defendant to find such an expert.The Assistant Attorney General's question was really for the defense as a whole. "Do you know for sure how long it takes for a spider's web to form?" Freda Black continued. "have no idea." "Do you know for sure how long it takes for a bug in the garage to die?" "have no idea." John Rosenthal was the last witness for the defense. David Rudolph had promised the jury in his opening remarks that the defense would call several friends and acquaintances of the Petersons to prove that the couple loved each other deeply; Catherine suffers from frequent headaches and dizziness; some ex-Marines will be called to prove that Mike Peterson was once a resourceful, heroic and good commander.However, none of these witnesses appeared in court.

As with his opening remarks, David Rudolph's concluding remarks on behalf of the defense began with a recording of Attorney General Janemond Harding's opening remarks about the murder weapon, the poker. "This is the first of our ten doubts about this case," David Rudolph pressed the "stop" button on the tape recorder, and began to say, "the missing tool is not missing. Moreover, it was not used as a tool for committing crimes.” "Secondly, the defendant lacks a convincing motive for committing the crime. Common sense tells us that no man would murder his wife for no reason." David accused the prosecution of doing the opposite, convicting the charges first, and then looking for evidence . "Once it came up, they were going to accuse Mike Peterson of killing his wife for money, and that plan didn't work, and then there was another 'homosexual' incident... Could that be the motive for the killing? That would only make you Thinking: 'Oh my God! He's a gay guy and his computer is full of shitty porn pictures. It's disgusting!'

"Third doubt, Catherine and Mike Peterson are happily married and have never had a history of abuse and violence. Generally speaking, a man who abuses his wife does not start with murder... "Question four, the shock and grief that Mike Peterson showed after the incident was quite real, and all those present at the time thought so... "The fifth doubtful point is that Catherine Peterson's head trauma does not match murder... There is no skull fracture, plus no redness, swelling and congestion, plus no internal brain injury, which means there is no artificial blow. "The sixth doubt is that if a person is beaten to death, the murderer will not let the victim crawl around, get blood everywhere, and let him lie there for thirty or forty minutes until the last drop of blood is drained... no People do that.

"The seventh doubtful point is that the scene was seriously polluted and even changed, so it is difficult to judge which evidence the police collected from the scene is reliable and which is unreliable... "Number eight, many of the methods used by the prosecution's witnesses are unscientific." David Rudolph spends a lengthy attack on Duane DeVille's calculations of blood splatter patterns, and then says: " I don't need to say much, you can see for yourselves whether what he is doing is too evil, too far-fetched. "Doubt number nine, in the case of Liz Ratley . . . Dr. Larry Barnes concluded at the time that Mrs. Ratley died as a result of a fall down the stairs. . . . Dr. Barnes was merely an autopsy Officer, what does Mrs. Ratley have to do with him? What does this whole incident have to do with him? If he finds something suspicious, is he necessary to conceal it? Not just him, who were the investigators at the scene in 1985? I didn't see anything suspicious... So now, what kind of evidence does the prosecution have to prove that Mike Peterson is related to Mrs. Ratley's death? No. Nothing. The only thing that can be proved It's just: If you want to commit a crime, there is no reason to worry about it."

David Rudolph believes that it is ridiculous for the prosecution to force two irrelevant cases together, "Just because both bodies are under the stairs, so what? Then he becomes a Stair Killer? Serial Stair Killer? "Most of you older probably remember the assassination of President Kennedy and the long line of comparisons between Lincoln and Kennedy. Lincoln was elected President in 1846, Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946..." "I protest, Your Honor," Attorney General Janemond Harding interrupted David with a raised hand. "This matter has nothing to do with this case."

Judge Orlando Hudson told David Rudolph to skip this paragraph and move on to his next point. "The tenth doubtful point is that because of the pre-determined framework... from December 9th, they are not looking for and verifying 'all' evidence, they are only looking for and verifying the evidence they need. And once some evidence cannot Prove their theory, and they turn a blind eye and turn a deaf ear." "We implore you, after considering 'all' evidence relevant to this case, to return a verdict that fully reflects the facts and fairness - a verdict of 'not guilty'," the defendant's attorney concluded.

The prosecution was led by Assistant Attorney General Freda Black: "Loving couples say things like: 'I, Mike, accept you, Catherine, as my legal wife. Through thick and thin, I will grow old together. I will love you, comfort you, respect you, protect you. In happiness and pain , whether rich or poor, whether in health or disease, in my whole life, I will abandon everything and regard you as my only one.'