I finally got around to watching one of Grant's jailhouse interviews (with the orange-shirt Amanda woman). I agree with the poster yesterday who said she thinks their original plan was to roll up Laura in the rug and carry her down. Because in the interview, Grant says, you know, I just couldn't carry her down 3 flights of stairs by myself (explaining why they had to use the coolers). The way he said it, made me think he had tried it. That would explain why they didn't have the saw, plastic sheeting, coolers, etc., etc., ready before Laura got there. Their original plan didn't require any of that. Also, it makes sense that they wouldn't have planned out the dismemberment as their first choice, seeing as how messy it must have been and great risk for leaving evidence in the apartment. I would think people planning murders would first try to do the thing which would be the least messiest in order to leave the least evidence.
I don't know if it was because of this that the jury thought no pre-meditation on Amanda's part (maybe they couldn't figure out that they had to change plans, maybe they think the whole murder was not pre-meditated by anyone).
Or like someone yesterday said, it could be that they just didn't think there was evidence of Amanda pre-planning it, like there was with Grant.
I would think that they would have been able to get at Amanda pre-planning it with Grant, through circumstantial evidence.
1. Amanda was with him and participated in the murder in, we definately know, the middle and the end. Can't you circumstantially get to the point that she would have been with him in the beginning too? IDK.
2. Amanda lied during her testimony, even the jury agrees with that. She lied. Why would she lie if she hadn't planned it beforehand? Meaning, she wanted Laura to die. If she was not aware of the plan, and Grant killed her, she did not call 911 or do anything like that, instead she participated. Why? Why would she participate other than for the reason that she wanted Laura dead? If she wanted Laura dead, wouldn't it make sense that she would have been in on the plan with Grant?
I see that the jury knows she lied, and yet they don't draw circumstantial conclusions from those lies.....meaning WHY did she lie??
3. Amanda also had motivation for Laura to die. Grant was using her money for the court case. Grant was using her money in general. They were about to be required to pay child support. Grant had no job. Amanda had no job. They were broke. They have a small baby, and two boys who Grant still wanted to raise, which would require some type of money. They wanted to travel. Amanda had to move to N. Carolina. Etc.etc..
Those are the three big points I can think of, I'm sure there are more that I'm missing.
I really wish Boz and Becky had focused a little more on the pre-meditation aspect of it.
But maybe they didn't want to reach too far and confuse the jurors. Maybe they just didn't want a Not Guilty. I get that. Maybe it was the right decision for the prosecution after all, I mean, they get to put her away for at least some years.
:twocents:
