To answer a couple of Q's, or maybe not to answer but to respond, I am not going to name names - that was not my purpose. There as a birthdqay party for Nancy at Java Jive in 2008 for anyone to attend - guest book, decorations, photos, balloons, coloring pages for the children. Donnie Harrison stopped by, press covered it, several of the friends were there, people from wS. One person said she was going to send the materials from the party to the Rentz family. She was questioned several times in the weeks following the get-together, always saying she was going to send the materials, but she never did. I am not going to post a link as it has nothing to do with the trial, but the reason I brought it up was to let others who were involved know the outcome.
As far as the questions about my impressions of court yesterday - it just turned very personal and emotional for me. I thought the arguments by the defense were very well done, although I could barely hear Trenkle at times. Had I not seen some of the blackout testimony and some of the suppressed evidence and testimony I may have been convinced when the defense concluded.
Chief Bazemore in one of her early press conferences after Nancy's body was found said that this was a case of the worst kind of domestic violence. Indeed it was. However, there is no "good" kind of domestic violence. All the haranguing about the CPD and disparagements about the friends' involvement, and the other distractions about the case does not change the fact that Nancy knew she was in some kind of danger, although she certainly did not and could not, see the depth of that danger. There are all kinds of abuse - most of it is not physically evident and most of it takes place behind closed doors, out of the purview of the public eye. Nancy, by nature a very social person, was screaming out for help by telling her family, friends and even new acquaintances about her situation. She did feel trapped. She was trapped not only financially, but emotionally, by social convention, and other ways. She was a butterfly whose wings were pinned.
Don't talk to me about BMw's, and pedicures, and other lifestyle trappings. They mean nothing. Stuff. That's all. And stuff is nothing compared with a life. I have to make this all personal to me. I was a mother with two little girls, moved from the north to the RTP area. I got an "allowance" much less than Nancy's. But we had expensive cars, lived in a house larger and nicer than the Coopers, expensive furniture, oriental rugs, children in preschool and then private school. I cried every day. when the abuse escalated into physical violence I finally got the courage to leave. I was sick to my soul from the abuse. I went to Interact. I divorced him. Alimony. Child support. Until he decided to stop paying.
My ex said I was not abused because he hadn't shot me, he hadn't broken any of my bones, and my face wasn't mashed black and blue.
So don't talk to me about "stuff". Life has not been easy. Not all the scars healed. Not all my children's scars healed.
The prosecutions' closing was very powerful. It hit me viscerally. I cried. Old feelings welled up inside and merged with the sadness I felt for the family's and friends' loss, and with the anger that this horrible tragic violence had occured and ended the life of this lovely young mother who had such love for her children, and such potential.
There was a lot of sadness in the courtroom, a lot of crying and tears. A lot of hearts broken forever.
I'm afraid for a more factual description you will have to rely on someone else.
BDI. A guilty verdict would be just.
JMHO
