Here is the link to the entire hearing from Aug. 16, 2013
http://media.wral.com:1935/vod/_def...-08-16_11649-576x324-15-768.mp4/playlist.m3u8
GUILTY NC - Laura Ackerson, 27, Kinston, 13 July 2011 #3
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Here is the link to the entire hearing from Aug. 16, 2013
http://media.wral.com:1935/vod/_def...-08-16_11649-576x324-15-768.mp4/playlist.m3u8
I'm reading on another link that on August 16th GH is requesting that he wants both AH & KB to testify in his trial. Judge Stephens said he will make a decision once the trial is underway.
So I am guessing that one or both could still be ordered to testify. :moo:
I believe 8/26 is the date this trial started.
Jury Selection started August 26th and Opening Statements were August 29th. You are correct that it was on August 16th that GH requested the testimony of AH and KB and the judge is going to rule during the trial apparently.
Thanks for the link, I didn't watch this one. :blushing:
AnonymousD
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I'm confused.
Why wouldn't the state want the evidence put in about the violent song GH recorded about Laura?
Day 2, the defense begins to ask the question to AH's daughter about the song & the state objects? It is sustained & she isn't allowed to answer.
Why wouldn't the state want the evidence put in about the violent song GH recorded about Laura?
Day 2, the defense begins to ask the question to AH's daughter about the song & the state objects? It is sustained & she isn't allowed to answer.
^^^ This.^^^
http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/12838537/#/vid12838537
At ~46:30 min. mark, Def. counsel asked whether Laura claimed Grant was violent;
Amanda's dau. said, something to the effect Laura & Grant both claimed violence from the other.
At ~47:00, Def. counsel asked her whether Grant wrote a song about Laura's lying about Grant,
accusing him of violence.
St objected; Judge sustained.
I have not seen or head the song lyrics.
Even if Grant wrote a song w. lyrics 'Laura Ackerson lied and said I belted her'
that's not probative of Laura's lying or Grant's violence or anything else.
JMO. :seeya:
SurfieTX
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carynative
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AH must have gotten some money when her 41 y.o. Husband (of only 2 yrs) NS died "in his home" according to the obituary. In the obit, it just says he is survived "by his wife" (no name listed!) and then lists all his kids and relatives by name. Then she ran off to the VI and started this art store, there must be some $ she has. Sha testified she received lots of jewelry from NS including a Rolex. He must have had some $. I sure wonder what cause of death was listed as in his case. Could we have a female mike Peterson here...she got away with murder once...why not do it again??
SurfieTX
Thank you very much for your post #28 link to article quoting "Broomstick Rider" song lyrics. Interesting.
IMO, the lyrics sounds like alcohol or drug fueled hyperbole by a man resentful of exGF (exW?),
custody issues, court involvement, attorney fees, and psych evals, just like so many other men in that situation.
Do ppl think those lyrics tend to prove anything (like his alleged violence or her alleged lies),
so the judge should have overruled the objection?
This tends to show he is a bad songwriter :facepalm: IMO, but that's not an element in this case.
SurfieTX
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I think it generally goes toward his state of mind, that he was tossing it around in his head and actually writing about it. Do I think that makes him a murderer? No, not by itself.
Which made me think of this case that recently surfaced in the news..
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/355607#ixzz2eJyp1llD
I just watched Dau. Sha's testimony. http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/12838536/#/vid12838536
http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/12838537/#/vid12838537
On direct exam she listed various pieces of jewelry, antique furniture, etc., that late husband NS left to Amanda. No $ figure given. I think it is in last 30 min. the second link.
When asked about the few months leading to July 2011, she said Amanda was pawning 'everything' or 'lots of things.' Also described Amanda's situation as 'circling the drain.'
Then on cross, when def. atty asked - you said your mother said financially, she was circling the drain, Sha replied that was her phrasing, not her mother's. But he did not ask or challenge about Amanda pawning.
From the pawning and CraigsList-ing, and announcement re moving in w. Grant's parents in Kinston, it seems Grant & Amanda as a couple were not on firm financial ground.
Did Amanda have $$$ (jewelry, bank a/c, etc.) she didn't want to use for their joint, day in-day out living expenses, so she maintained her secret assets and later after her arrest decided to use them to pay atty for self? Possible but personally, I'm not betting on it.
It's also possible that after inheriting from late husband and before meeting Grant, that Amanda had burned through it all, whether $10,000 or $100,000, or $1,000,000.
Can anyone here check ct filings to see Amanda's atty status?
SurfieTX
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In the earlier threads, there was a link to the county tax assessor's office where NS's 5 land lots were all in Amanda's name after his death (I presume he willed them to her upon his death). Just on the tax assessor value alone, it amounted to close to a half a million.
That said, based on Sha's testimony, I believe she burned through that money pretty quickly. They went to the VI and set up a business there (and who knows how successful that was?). Then, on New Years eve (of all times to catch a flight), she and Sha fly into NYC, rent an apartment, furnish it and live there. Then Grant moved back to NC. Amanda then flew down there, and per Sha's testimony, immediately went out and rented that 3 bedroom apartment and furnished it (noting the black leather furniture..not cheap). THEN at some point, she flies back to NYC and she and Sha hire the movers to pack up the UHaul so they can drive back to NC, rent the storage unit, and drop off most of the NYC stuff (the halltree, the stuff from the business, etc.).
What I don't get is what did she see in Grant? Potential? She did not seem to be attracted to poor men, but what do I know? He saw a sugar momma (much to the chagrin of his Broomstick Rider song). I firmly believe they were "circling the drain" financially at that point. They were both getting desperate, it seems.
SurfieTX
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Another thing that was floating around in my head just a minute ago was COD. Men and women kill people differently as a rule, especially a woman and someone close to them. I would think that if it were Amanda who killed Laura, there would have been blunt force trauma to the skull or some stab wounds or even gunshot wounds. I think if it were Grant, he would have strangled her. Women usually do not strangle. They aren't strong enough, and that stands especially true for Amanda given her weight at the time of her arrest plus just having given birth. I'm sure Laura fought for her life knowing her boys were there with her in the apartment. That is, IF they killed her in the apartment. They could have just subdued her there.
SurfieTX
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FWIW, they also had the benefit of the full moon on the 14th and 15th.
http://blog.beliefnet.com/astrologicalmusings/2011/07/capricorn-full-moon-july-14-15-2011.html
http://blog.beliefnet.com/astrologicalmusings/2011/07/capricorn-full-moon-july-14-15-2011.html
SurfieTX
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And another thing, I watched the diver's testimony and he clearly stated there was no neck attached to the head; therefore, the hyoid bone would be absent (that's the usual tell-tale sign of strangulation if the hyoid is broken). I think Grant strangled her right when she came into the apartment.
BBM & S...BM
ETA:
After backtracking to jrb0124 post #470 on the first thread,
I found the list of real properties that Amanda owned in 2001 and
the values stated by the Burnet County TX assessor.
I'm seeing 5 properties there, (rounded) $255,000, and $5M, $7m, $7M, AND $8M, totaling $282,000 in 2001.
My point below, made in long drawn out way, was that there may have been mortgages or liens against them,
so that in 2001 the value of what Amanda's properties received in probate may have been substantially less than that
assessed value or fair market value of the properties.
Of course, as jrb 0124 pointed out -- that list covers only property in Burnet Co. records showing Amanda as owner.
Conceivably she may have (now or in the past) 1, 5, 10, or 100 properties in places other than Burnet Co.
========================================================================
Inheritance
Did anyone here post link to $ listed in probate ct filings of Amanda's late husband? If so I missed it. If not ...
Just speaking in generalities here, since I do not recall specifics in old thread and do not know
how officials in that state assess land value for real estate taxes there. To make this easy, let's say, that state law law requires the county assessor statement to show fair market value and
that's what the other older post referred to; there were 5 lots w FMV of $100,000 ea, so $500,000. Okay?
But were there encumbrances on the properties-- liens, mortgages, etc?
If so, it's possible the value of what Amanda received was a fraction of that.
Possible that each lot had a lien against it securing a $90,000 loan.
If so, Amanda w/h/rcvd 5 lots worth about $10,000 ea, or $50,000 in R/E.
Possible the loan amt's were higher or lower than the FMV. Just speculation on my part (Oh, now I'm a land speculator!)
It's also poss. that the $100,000/lot was an assessment figure used based on the state law's formula
of say 33% of FMV, which is the formula in some states. If so, those properties could have been worth $1,500,000, which Amanda w/h/recvd.
But they might have been subject to liens or mortgages.
Does anybody recall which year the assessor's website showed ~$100,000/lot? Does the tax roll there show Amanda as current owner?
If someone can post link to probate ct filings w. $ figures distributed from NS's estate to Amanda (and other legatees?),
then it would clear this up. :fence:-- about the estate value & inheritance (not on the fence about Grant or Amanda).
SurfieTX
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Go to page 1 on this thread and look at the person who constructed the timeline (I think it is number 2). That person dug up a TON of things. I don't think he or she has a lot of posts to wade through either.
S...BM
Surfie - Thanks for your 33 post above.
It made me realize how much $$$ Amanda could have burned up by moving around and
even more by setting up a business.
Was her bus. in the VI open long enough to be a resounding success and money maker? Or did it just chew up her $?
S...BM more from SurfieTX post 33.
What did she see in him?
Was it like Meg Ryan in a romantic comedy?
Two Yankees newly arrived in the Virgin Islands.
He's a singer/performer/artist.
She runs a art supply store (gallery?)
He stops to pick up some acrylics; she goes to the club to hear him play; later they meet for an innocent guitar lesson.
Were they in the shipboard-romance frame of mind?
First it's a wild fling?
Then they both thought they found soulmates?
(Aside from his having that pesky Sig/Other w. his 2 sons)
No, I don't see it that way.
Was Grant scouting for a mate w substantial income or assets, preferably both?
And was Amanda focused on the same?
Maybe they both thought the VI was a good place to snag a well-heeled lover or spouse.
I believe each received the false impression that the other had far more $ than they actually did and
each deliberately gave the false impression to the other of having more $ than they actually did.
JM :twocents:.
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