GUILTY NC - Laura Ackerson, 27, Kinston, 13 July 2011 #5

[borndem]

Defense lawyer is barking up the wrong tree. He wants to argue anti-social personality disorder with a custody evaluator ... wrong argument in the wrong context.

Yep, you're right, otto. And he got....nowhere, nada, nuttin' honey! The old square-peg-in-a-round-hole prob. Tsk-tsk. Doesn't hurt to try, I guess, but she and Hizzoner were having nothing to do with it.

 

[borndem]

Listening to that list of drug abuse by Grant, I'm stunned that the psychologist recommended joint custody.

He didn't need a mentor (or whatever the term); he needed an intervention, or a rubber room, or an arrest warrant with his name on it. A ticking time bomb. Tick-tick-ka-blooey.

 

[otto]

Yep, you're right, otto. And he got....nowhere, nada, nuttin' honey! The old square-peg-in-a-round-hole prob. Tsk-tsk. Doesn't hurt to try, I guess, but she and Hizzoner were having nothing to do with it.

Although in the custody assessment she recognized that Grant had deep psychological problems, wouldn't it be better if the defense called an expert that specializes in personality disorder? Is there someone like that on the witness list, and was this setting the stage for elaborating on the point that Amanda was a pawn that numbly followed orders from a man whom she knew to be dangerous?

 

[borndem]

This trial is so much about Grant. I just don't know how this jury will view Amanda. At least there is the acid dumping picture. But as bumbling as this DT is and as focused as Boz is I am still worried that the jury could possibly believe Amanda was abused by Grant.

I'm fairly sure she was abused by him, but it didn't keep her away from him. She said she didn't want to be a 40-y/o single parent. He'd been working on her mind for a while, I'll bet. Master manipulator, as we know & have heard many times. <smh>

 

[borndem]

I see what this is all about. It's in the context of stating that Amanda is just like Laura, that Amanda was an abused spouse and that she had no choice about helping commit murder.

Not excusing her in any way at all, please know, but she may have finally and truly achieved the role of Stepford wife. Again, this doesn't excuse her for a nano-second. She had many, many opportunities to report him or leave him, or both. And she needs to pay the piper. :jail:

 

[otto]

He didn't need a mentor (or whatever the term); he needed an intervention, or a rubber room, or an arrest warrant with his name on it. A ticking time bomb. Tick-tick-ka-blooey.

My impression was that Laura needed someone to help in the way that a family would help to support a single parent, and Grant was a mentally disturbed time bomb with suicidal tendencies and serious substance abuse issues waiting for an opportunity to act on delusions of grandeur. I'm stunned that the psychologist's recommendation was for joint custody with 2-2-3 shared parenting such that the children (which were apparently not all that settled) would bounce from home to home on a regular basis. I'm not a psychologist, but I think that is one of the worst recommendations that she could have made under the circumstances. I think that everyone would have benefited far more from a structured, stable home environment where the children could feel a sense of having a normal home.

In the end, she did admit that after spending 20 hours with each parent, she did not anticipate the possibility of murder ... a real shame that she did not understand the extreme seriousness of the situation and the danger that Laura was in. Instead, she claimed that Laura experienced anxiety and that she needed help to moderate that feeling. The psychologist should have tried to better understand Laura's anxiety about interactions with Grant.

 

[otto]

Not excusing her in any way at all, please know, but she may have finally and truly achieved the role of Stepford wife. Again, this doesn't excuse her for a nano-second. She had many, many opportunities to report him or leave him, or both. And she needs to pay the piper. :jail:

The Stepford Wife perspective is interesting. Grant wanted an obedient woman to do traditional housewife duties, but at the same time, he expected women to support him in a very comfortable lifestyle. He wanted to play the role of Mr Rich who could hang out, get stoned, sing while his housewife mothered him.

A 40 year old woman that gets into that situation is not doing so naively. She played some part in the stepford wife movie , so she was well aware of the fact that brainwashing is the theme. Knowing that, it's difficult for me to believe that she didn't realize that Grant wanted a brainwashed wife. I think Amanda viewed Laura as the brainwashed wife and that Amanda saw herself as the clued in non-brainwashed wife that could get away with murder. In fact, I suspect that she did everything she could to try to unsettle Laura's sense of self and self-esteem.

 

[borndem]

I like this Judge!

Wake County has been lucky & blessed to have this man as a Superior Court Judge (he is Senior Resident) for a number of years. We'll not see the likes of him again, I feel sure, in our lifetimes.

 

[carynative]

Dr. Ginger Calloway. She was the Psychologist that testified in GH's trial. She is AWESOME. Thing is, she was hired for the custody battle and interviewed Laura and Grant... not Amanda. She is the one that termed GH as a psychopath I do belief.

I do NOT like her. Yes, she is the one that determined Grant had "illogical, disturbed thinking" and other psychological problems and at the same time recommended JOINT custody....which would have continued to put Laura in harms' way each and every time she had to exchange kids with him not to mention interact and deal with him. WHY would a professional recommend that? terrible and what we need to change with the system. Thank god my divorce was in Canada and the professional there that identified my ex-husband/kids' Dad with the same traits gave me SOLE custody so I wouldn't have to deal with him jointly on a continual basis.

 

[borndem]

Gahhh I missed his joke an only heard the laughter.

WhatDidHeSay?

Gaskins asked Calloway had she seen the movie, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Calloway shook her head & said, "No."

Judge Stephens said (trying to get this verbatim, but may not be), "We're still trying to find someone who has seen this movie."

The whole courtroom just ho-ho'ed for a good while. Judge Stephens looked down, shook his head, & gave a little smile. Classic Stephens! They should put that one on TV tonight, IMO!

 

[Skittles]

OT: For the locals, Abaroa trial delayed until March 17th because no juror summonses were sent out!!!!

 

[SurfieTX]

The Stepford Wife perspective is interesting. Grant wanted an obedient woman to do traditional housewife duties, but at the same time, he expected women to support him in a very comfortable lifestyle. He wanted to play the role of Mr Rich who could hang out, get stoned, sing while his housewife mothered him.

A 40 year old woman that gets into that situation is not doing so naively. She played some part in the stepford wife movie , so she was well aware of the fact that brainwashing is the theme. Knowing that, it's difficult for me to believe that she didn't realize that Grant wanted a brainwashed wife. I think Amanda viewed Laura as the brainwashed wife and that Amanda saw herself as the clued in non-brainwashed wife that could get away with murder. In fact, I suspect that she did everything she could to try to unsettle Laura's sense of self and self-esteem.

Very interesting comment, and I agree because look at Sha. She is a STRONG independent woman and even told Grant to his face that if he hurt her mother, he was going to have to deal with her. Sha didn't get that demeanor out of the blue, IMVHO. Certainly her father with whom she lived could have instilled that strength in her, but I'd place my bets on Amanda being her role model in that regard. This whole case is like opening up a DSMV. Everything is so weirdly dysfunctional and not to some degree.

 

[Boodles]

Gaskins asked Calloway had she seen the movie, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Calloway shook her head & said, "No."

Judge Stephens said (trying to get this verbatim, but may not be), "We're still trying to find someone who has seen this movie."

The whole courtroom just ho-ho'ed for a good while. Judge Stephens looked down, shook his head, & gave a little smile. Classic Stephens! They should put that one on TV tonight, IMO!

Yeah, even Ginger Calloway laughed. I was shocked by that - who knew she had a sense of humor. (I think the FBI handwriting analyst from Quantico might be Ginger Calloway's daughter ).

What a god-awful recommendation by Calloway. We haven't seen the Laura parts, but still... And she wasn't worried for Laura, just for the children. How inept can you get? Glad I don't have kids who were subjected to her whims. carynative, I don't like her, either. Too cold for me, these were humans she was dealing with.

 

[borndem]

Well, that was a pretty brutal image and statement to leave in the jurors' minds over the weekend - "We were able to determine that the cut was made on wet bone." OMG

<Shiver> - Yes, Surfie -- she had just explained that "wet bone" is bone that is perimortem (at, or near, the time of death). Hmmm, so it appears that our two (one convicted, one alleged) killers went to work right away with their plans to dismember her and hide the remains....

I thought Dr. Ross was very impressive -- explaining the terms that she has prolly had to explain hundreds of times, and explaining them simply and in an easy-to-understand way. Forensic anthropology -- fascinating profession, IMO. I can't imagine how they can get the science down to figuring out what type of blade was used on those bones -- down to how many teeth per inch. My oh my.

 

[Patchouliluvr]

I hope more info regarding the stab wound to neck area is expounded. I don't remember too much from other trial about it.

 

[Marilou]

Although in the custody assessment she recognized that Grant had deep psychological problems, wouldn't it be better if the defense called an expert that specializes in personality disorder? Is there someone like that on the witness list, and was this setting the stage for elaborating on the point that Amanda was a pawn that numbly followed orders from a man whom she knew to be dangerous?

I've wondered the same thing, Otto. Thought her team might try to present experts on abused wives, etc. to try to explain/justify her participation & her not contacting LE or running when she had the chance. I can't see her taking the stand (but I'd love to see her testify) to try to address these issues. I am thinking the last witness will be the lead detective? Am disappointed that we didn't hear anymore about the PI that AH supposedly hired.

 

[otto]

I do NOT like her. Yes, she is the one that determined Grant had "illogical, disturbed thinking" and other psychological problems and at the same time recommended JOINT custody....which would have continued to put Laura in harms' way each and every time she had to exchange kids with him not to mention interact and deal with him. WHY would a professional recommend that? terrible and what we need to change with the system. Thank god my divorce was in Canada and the professional there that identified my ex-husband/kids' Dad with the same traits gave me SOLE custody so I wouldn't have to deal with him jointly on a continual basis.

Hearing the custody report details today was simply sad. The psychologist described Grant as "good looking" and that he loved to talk about himself. She made him sound charming. I heard something about Laura meeting men online. So what. That's what some people do. I didn't hear her say anything about Laura that got my attention other than that she had a lot of anxiety that was directly related to her interactions with the man that would eventually murder her. That this anxiety was perceived as her problem reveals that the psychologist did not actually take what Laura said about Grant seriously.

I suppose that I'm taking the position that if there was a professional involved in this situation whose responsibility it was to truly understand the relationship between Grant and Laura, it was the psychologist. That she failed to comprehend that situation does not speak well of that psychologist. The joint custody recommendation was nothing short of a serious error in judgement.

 

[Patchouliluvr]

Hearing the custody report details today was simply sad. The psychologist described Grant as "good looking" and that he loved to talk about himself. She made him sound charming. I heard something about Laura meeting men online. So what. That's what some people do. I didn't hear her say anything about Laura that got my attention other than that she had a lot of anxiety that was directly related to her interactions with the man that would eventually murder her. That this anxiety was perceived as her problem reveals that the psychologist did not actually take what Laura said about Grant seriously.

I suppose that I'm taking the position that if there was a professional involved in this situation whose responsibility it was to truly understand the relationship between Grant and Laura, it was the psychologist. That she failed to comprehend that situation does not speak well of that psychologist. The joint custody recommendation was nothing short of a serious error in judgement.

1000% agree. It was biased Makes me sad and mad

 

[otto]

I've wondered the same thing, Otto. Thought her team might try to present experts on abused wives, etc. to try to explain/justify her participation & her not contacting LE or running when she had the chance. I can't see her taking the stand (but I'd love to see her testify) to try to address these issues. I am thinking the last witness will be the lead detective? Am disappointed that we didn't hear anymore about the PI that AH supposedly hired.

I would be surprised if she testifies. I think the defense theory is "battered women syndrome". If she can hold her own on the stand, then no one will believe that she couldn't hold her own with Grant. If she can't hold her own on the stand, it can be perceived as a guilty conscience.

If she got on the stand a was able to genuinely describe the psychological experience of what it is to be a battered woman, gave reasonable answers for everything she did, and demonstrated sincere remorse, it might help her case. I would expect a prosecution witness to be ready to dissect her claims if she does testify. I would also expect the prosecution to round up someone that knew her as a strong, capable woman at any time after she met Grant.

 

[borndem]

The Stepford Wife perspective is interesting. Grant wanted an obedient woman to do traditional housewife duties, but at the same time, he expected women to support him in a very comfortable lifestyle. He wanted to play the role of Mr Rich who could hang out, get stoned, sing while his housewife mothered him.

A 40 year old woman that gets into that situation is not doing so naively. She played some part in the stepford wife movie , so she was well aware of the fact that brainwashing is the theme. Knowing that, it's difficult for me to believe that she didn't realize that Grant wanted a brainwashed wife. I think Amanda viewed Laura as the brainwashed wife and that Amanda saw herself as the clued in non-brainwashed wife that could get away with murder. In fact, I suspect that she did everything she could to try to unsettle Laura's sense of self and self-esteem.

Good post, otto -- I agree with all of it. Sadly.