GUILTY TX - Christina Morris, 23, Plano, 30 Aug 2014 - Enrique Arochi kidnapping trial #2

[SteveS]

"The Spring Creek/121 Intersection is on the Denton County side....."
"Where is the county line? Is it near "121" ?"

Just to clarify, while the conversation here focused for awhile on the 121/Spring Creek interchange, apparently that location was never mentioned in the courtroom. Instead, the witness spoke of traveling on 121 toward the cell tower at Spring Creek, in reference to the one at Spring Creek and Coit. That tower area, and traveling that direction, would have put EA smack dab in the middle of Collin Co.

As far as the county line issue, based on what we know, there's no issue of having crossed county lines. Collin County is almost a square, and if you visualize it as a square clock face with numbers:
a - the DNT runs N-S down the west side of Collin County
b - SAL and the portion of 121 just adjacent to it, would be at about 8 on your clock face
c - so once he got on 121 traveling E he had to go maybe 20 miles before he left the county
d - if he traveled on 121 heading E and turned N on 75, it would also have been about 15-20 miles to pass a county line, and maybe a bit fewer to go 121 to 75 southbound and leave Collin C
e - both EA's home and his work are well within county lines, with the closest border maybe 5 miles from his house and 3 miles from his work
f - the issue is only one of where he might have first abducted her, ie against her will, and there's really no indication he left the county that night

 

[TCMom]

Okay, first post. Just Benzick testimony. Part 1 of ????

Arochi Trial Sept 13, 2016
General commentary:
Disclaimer – I am human, it was a long day, I wrote as furiously as I could. 55 pages of handwritten notes. If something needs clarification or doesn’t jibe with reporter tweets, please ask and I’ll try to clarify.
Judge Rusch has a great handle on his court room. He is a No BS kind of judge but also thoughtful and rather humorous. He is patient with the attorneys (to an extent) and took time out to explain the principle of hearsay to the jurors (more on that later on.)
Jurors seemed to be paying close attention throughout the day. I don’t believe anyone is taking notes, not sure if that’s by choice or not allowed. I observed some of them looking over at EA during interesting parts of the testimony, maybe looking for a reaction.
A visual aid timeline has been referenced. There is one, but it is not up at all times. It’s a black posterboard size prop with white 1.5 inch (?) strips with details and time stamps. They Velcro the strips to the timeline once they get clarification from a witness that it’s accurate. They add it to the board and then the board goes away. I assume it will just be available to look at for the jury at the end.
Enrique is paying attention the whole time as far as I can tell. I didn’t see any notetaking or talking with his attorneys. Calm, cool, collected. No emotion that I could see.
****************************************************
Okay, 8:30 am.
Enrique enters- wearing a dark suit, blue shirt, maroon and black tie. It does appear (to me) that he has gained some weight since his interviews on TV.

Detective Aaron Benzick is on the stand. Jury is out, no pre-business.

Jury called in.

Cross-examination of Plano PD Det Benzick re: cell phone towers.

He reiterates that phones will ping the closest available tower, not just the closest.

Environmental conditions (buildings, weather, tower usage) will affect that.

Can NOT tell how far the phone is from the tower.

Exhibit 81 is a map of CM phone on Aug 30[SUP]th[/SUP] between 3:30 and 4:48am.

3 cell towers:
1) North of Shops at Legacy (5800 Granite Pkwy)
2) E of Shops at Legacy (on top of HP)
3) E of Shops at Legacy (at Spring Creek and Coit.

Outgoing calls from CM at 3:45 and 3:46.

3:45 am call is walking Northbound on Parkwood (then there is a tower switch)
3:46 am call

Difference in cell (call) and data.

The HP tower referenced above is older, can’t do data.
Phone data activity can be active use or just something running in the background

Detective was promoted to CAPERS in Jan 2015.
Very active participant in the investigation.
Det Busby was his main point of contact

 

[TCMom]

Post 2 of ??? Still Benzick

On 8/29-8/30 there were 2 cameras offline/not-working at Henry’s. (defined later)

There IS a way for a pedestrian to exit without being picked up on camera (defined later, but virtually impossible)

Benzick collected a LOT of video.

NTTA purges all video after 12 hours
No street of redlight camera footage (for the investigation) for:
City of Plano
City of Frisco
City of McKinney
City of Allen
TXDOT (75,121)
Cameras do exist – no reason given for why no footage obtained.

Blue Martini – no video footage from there. There was 1 camera inside that covers the front door.

Defense is questioning the fact that no video was archived for defense from Blue Martini or 2 pkg garages by Blue Martini. Detective did not record from Blue Martini at all. He never saw the party group of people walking on that cam or any of the cars in question. He was looking for the camaro No need to keep.

Defense is critical of PPD for not archiving video because of reports of “suspicious cars”

Defense asks Benzick if he is aware of Barney Lipscomb (sp?) – Botanist from UNT consulted due to fresh vegetation under Camaro. Benzick acknowledged that Lipscomb was used to identify type of vegetation in case of possible off-roading. PPD thought it was important to consider vegetation but didn’t ultimately locate it.

Defense asks about LaTerrance Dunbar who was at Travis Dance Club (in Uptown Dallaa). Dunbar sent CM a Facebook message on Aug 26. Essentially said It was a pleasure meeting you don’t forget about my party this weekend LOL (Editorial: I think it was “party this weekend at the lake” but I didn’t write that part down, so may be wrong.

Objections from Pros which the Judge ponders. He explains hearsay to the jury – can be considered not “for the truth of the matter” but can be when considered as to what prompted the witness to act further.

PPD did not feel TB was relevant. He runs a city crime watch for Dallas and the US Security Institute. (He was later discussed that he is a bodyguard).

Defense brings up Green Kia Soul- suspicious vehicle in the area but Benzick couldn’t find anything related. Later said the patterns of the Soul are what he is familiar with Uber/Taxis driving slowly around waiting for a fare.

Defense asks about “mysterious shadow” in garage video that the jury has seen – Detective said it’s car lights moving in the garage (Arochi’s I think)

Defense starts asking Benzick if Det ? is a smart guy and knows what he’s doing, agrees with Benzick – State objects to this citing “comparable testimony” and there’s about a 3 minute side bar discussing.

Defense asks Benzick if he thinks it’s a circumstantial case. Benzick makes defense explain circumstantial vs direct. Defense starts talking about whether they start with conclusion and find facts or find facts and then come to conclusion.

Defense asks Benzick if he has a theory as to what happened: Yes.

Starts to ask questions about theory. Lots of setup questions here providing unrelated examples to show what the state has to prove related to “element of offense” and reasonable doubt to “element of offense”

Defense: Going to ask you some agree/disagree questions

Shows video of EA and CM at 3:55am walking to garage.

Is it your theory that CM wants to get in EA’s car? [Yes]
She gets in the front seat? [Yes]
Ever had a different theory? [Not really]
You interviewed EA? [Yes]
CM’s purpose is that she wants to spend time with EA [No]
Cm talked to boyfriend, wanted to go home to FW to see HF, wanted to take care of dog. Agree? [Yes]
3:30 CM says &#8220;I&#8217;m leaving&#8221; <in a text to HF> She wasn&#8217;t trying to get to car, she wanted HF to come pick her up all the way to her car. CM was using EA&#8217;s phone to get HF attention.

Detective believes CM got into EA&#8217;s car willingly. Believes that CM was upset and vulnerable. She enters the car with consent but Benzick will not rule out trickery by EA.

There were text messages with keys previously brought up in court.

Shows a picture of the Camaro leaving the parking garage next to Henry&#8217;s and it&#8217;s turning right on Bishop Road at 3:58am. Benzick believes CM is in the front seat of the car.

Defense asks &#8220;At some point you believe she withdraws consent&#8221; Benzick cannot say when but has a general timeframe and location when consent was withdrawn.

Defense asks &#8220;Why did she change plans <from going home to FW>? No evidence of romantic interest in EA? Benzick: No, no evidence.

Defense starts telling a story that:
&#8220;Detective has a specific theory. Detective believes CM was using Adderall, can&#8217;t remember on molly, speed, amphetamine, partying is not necessarily over, right?&#8221; Benzick basically says No, not the case.

Defense: &#8220;After Whataburger, there are 5 people in the apartment. Still drug using going on? Not ruled out?&#8221;
Benzick says &#8220;Yes there was. EA told him that CM used drugs at the apartment. Detective is not sure when.

Defense asks if theory is that CM went with EA to &#8220;score drugs&#8221;? [No sir]

Camaro turns right (North) on Bishop. Tollbooth on Sam Rayburn 121 headed north east. Tolltag entry shows that 1 specific record 4:08am (no others). Tollbooth is EAST of Custer Road. Detective can&#8217;t say where they he exited because there&#8217;s no place to register tolltag at subsequent exits.

 

[TCMom]

Post 3 of ???

Benzick theory believes they got off the tollroad because consent was withdrawn possibly before toll exit. He has this time range based on cell data, toll data, video.

Defense: In your theory, where was consent withdrawn?
Benzick: Between parking garage and tollbooth exit

Defense: She wants to go to Ft Worth but got in car willingly?

Det No evidence he got back on tollroad, but believes Camaro went westbound based on cell records

Defense: Zero evidence of a weapon? Yes
Defense: Zero evidence of Sexual Assault? <OBJECTION> <jury out> sidebar.

Prosecutor is concerned because he&#8217;s told his witnesses not to talk about deviant *advertiser censored*, sexual assault of a child or the fact that they know from interviews that EA has engaged in choking with consensual sexual partners.

Detective has seen *advertiser censored* from EA&#8217;s house, he found the *advertiser censored* 1[SUP]st[/SUP] hand in search of house. He was 1[SUP]st[/SUP] hand involved in child assault case. He has knowledge of choking through direct interviews.

Judge is concerned that if Defense continues with that question they are opening up a HUGE door to other details that are currently not known to jury.

Recess-> Defense comes back and withdraws the question.

<Jury comes back in>

Defense starts asking about Lt Wise and theories again.

Do you believe the kidnapping happened AFTER CM got in vehicle? [Yes]
And you believe this because liberation is being prevented, she is secreted somewhere and can&#8217;t get out?

Defense asked if interior of Camaro was processed &#8211; Benzick not part of that investigation.

Defense asks about a person &#8211; came in as a tip from Det Stamm. He was arrested for PI and was talking about CM during transport. Nothing came of it.

Defense asks about Benzick researching Uber.

Discussion about 8/30 5:32am data ping in Allen
4:32 am ping on 5800 Granite parkway

Green Kia Soul 4:08am &#8211; Defense says &#8220;CM sent a text that she&#8217;s going to take a cab?&#8221; Detective unaware of that.

Detective helped make sure that the 4 apartment complexes around Shops at Legacy, all unoccupied apartments were searched and cleared.

Verification that the Celica never moved.

Prosecutor back asking questions now:

2 &#8220;Not Online Cameras&#8221;
1) Camera number 16 on a map &#8211; edge of Dunkin Donuts drive thru
2) Middle corner by stairs on the top floor &#8211; irrelevant because all activity happened on lower floor.

Detective researched how to get out of garage without being seen by camera. Shows a map of where cars would be. Christina&#8217;s car was nose facing South. Enrique&#8217;s was nose facing north, 1 spot closer to Dunkin Donuts. (Nose to nose, off 1)
In order to get out without being seen, you&#8217;d have to shimy along stairwell wall in the middle of the garage and then hop a small wall onto Lois Lane. If you walked left or right, you&#8217;d be picked up on camera. You&#8217;d have to cross Lois Lane and weave your way through townhomes to the north of Lois Lane.

Benzick interview with EA
1) Denied drug use
2) Then admitted to it
3) Said CM wanted Adderall

<I noticed on the map there is a tower at Warren/DNT with 3:50 hours on it>

Reiteration of fact that HP tower can&#8217;t do data (only voice) so Spring Creek/Coit tower does data.

Det theory is that Morris is too intoxicated to drive that night when she left.

Defense comes back up and hammers questions again about revoking consent and timeframe. Benzick is consistent. Defense is trying to imply that she got into her car and stayed there to sober up until 7 or 8 am when there&#8217;s not video to show that she got out.

<Benzick done>



<Moving on to Witness Jacobson through lunch break now>

 

[SteveS]

Question... Is it the Shops at Legacy on Legacy Drive Plano OR Shops at Legacy on Bishop?

Google has 2 and they are different locations. Def & Det Benzink? at 3:58 approaching Bishop Road.

Chris JoseVerified account &#8207;@ChrisJoseNBC5 1m1 minute ago
Defense showing picture of Arochi's Camaro approaching Bishop Rd at 3:58 am. Morris is in the car #arochitrial

Where did this picture come from? Detective stated they did not collect red light or city camera footage. Did they look at it? Is this picture from other video shown? Did Defense get the video from red light and city cameras?

L.P. Phillips &#8207;@lpphillips 50s50 seconds ago
Benzick: unaware of any other video of Arochi's car leaving the Shops at Legacy. #arochitrial

The garage in the case can be located as follows on a map:
a - go to Dallas North Tollway at Legacy Dr (which will be not far south of 121)
b - go E on Legacy
c - stay on Legacy as you cross Bishop, and about 1 block further on the left side is a shopping complex with a left turn from Legacy, which goes between shops and straight into a parking garage

 

[TCMom]

Witness Robert Jacobson &#8211; NTTA (Custodian of Records), handles customer disputes

Exhibits 95 and 96 &#8211; Record for car registered to Enrique Arochi
8/29 9:47pm going south on SRT Custer Main Lane
8/30 4:08a going North on SRT Custer Main Lane

Exhibit 97 &#8211; Record for car registered to Mark Morris
8/29 8:54 pm going North at Parker and Dallas North Tollway, Main Plaza. Previous records show she was on President George Bush Tollway coming from Ft Worth direction.
9/3 2:24am going North on SRT (presumably Mark Morris driving car back)

Exhibit 98 &#8211; Car registered to Mary Jane Foster
8/29 10:24pm &#8211; Dallas North Tollway MainLanes at Keller Springs going North
8/29 10:28pm &#8211; Dallas North Tollway Main Lanes at Parker going North
8/29 11:13pm &#8211; Dallas North Tollway Main Lanes at Parker going South
8/20 11:16pm &#8211; Dallas North Tollway Main Lanes at Keller Springs going South.


Witness Cory Carr (Roadway Systems Mgr IT, NTTA)
Explaining about their methods
1) Loop detection &#8211; basically magnetic in concrete detecting car undercarriage
2) Transponder readers to read toll tags
3) Photo
Images are taken only for people who don&#8217;t have tolltag or who have more than 2 axles. Minimum of 3 pictures per transaction
No video on NTTA cameras &#8211; all just stills
Clarified the SRT Main Lane Gantry at Custer.


<Here is where the Hunter Foster not pleading 5A scuttlebutt started happening and I stopped taking notes because I was in mild shock. Basically jury left and prosecution said they had agreements from state and fed for immunity on HF&#8217;s testimony for a period of 5 years on non-violent drug related offenses. The State reiterated in court and assured HF attorney he was not a suspect in the Disappearance, Kidnapping, OR Murder of Christina Morris.> I think there&#8217;s more on tweets here.

<Lunch break before HF testimony>

 

[arkansasmimi]

Gotta post this before I lose it and will ask again maybe later. BUT as a juror, this is a potential :thinking: pings may not mean dittly as far as location where EA was. (Yes I do understand about her phone pinging too just saying this part) going to see what our court reporter says

Valerie WigglesworthVerified account &#8207;@vlwigg 1m1 minute ago
Detective testifies Arochi accesses cell tower at 4:56 am on Granite Pkway near Shops of Legacy then at 5:32 am by Allen home #arochitrial

Natalie Solis &#8207;@Fox4Natalie 2m2 minutes ago McKinney, TX
Det on cross: believes Arochi was home in Allen by 5:32am based on his cell phone data @Fox4 #ArochiTrial

Natalie Solis &#8207;@Fox4Natalie 39s40 seconds ago McKinney, TX
Det on cross: says it's possible Arochi could have been home before 5:32am when phone data is used @FOX4 #ArochiTrial

L.P. Phillips &#8207;@lpphillips 34s35 seconds ago
Benzick: Now going over county lines. I think this plays into venue. Where did Morris withdraw consent and was it in CC? #arochitrial http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...cused-of-kidnapping-2&p=12801740#post12801740

 

[b.humble]

Or it was an OD and he freaked out. See: Casey Anthony.

ETA: child in trunk, DNA present, body found--but her lies were not considered grounds for murder.

CA's attorney argued that Caylee died as a result of accidental drowning at her grandparent's house due a faulty gate latch not properly securing the pool (was able to prove the latch was faulty). He claimed CA + father were the only ones who knew about Caylee's death and that CA's father pressured her into disposing of the body rather than calling police. The attorney argued CA was incestually abused by her father from a young age and was still scared of her father and therefore heavily influenced. Baez (CA's attorney) acknowledged CA dumped Caylee's body, but claimed she did not murder her. Decomposition prevented the state from telling the cause of death therefore they could not prove how Caylee died. While I believe CA was guilty, I respect the jury's decision. The defense's story was plausible and created reasonable doubt as to whether or not CA was guilty of murder. A totally different situation than EA's case.

First, CA's case was murder with death penalty. EA's is aggrivated kidnapping with a max sentence of 99 years.--these stakes matter a lot to jurors.
Second, Via CA's attorney, she admitted knowledge of her child's death, provided a cause, and explained her involvement which is what created the reasonable doubt. EA has yet to admit or acknowledge any knowledge of anything.
Third, the state was not well prepared for CA's case; in fact they changed the stakes (death penalty) at the last minute (post arrest, pre-jury selection). Collin County has had their ish together.
Fourth, CA's case had a body, but no DNA evidence. EA's case has no body (explaining the AK rather than murder) but DNA evidence.

 

[b.humble]

Not if he was a victim of organized crime.

HF stayed so high he couldn't even remember where his live in girlfriend worked.

EA is a disgraced manager from a cell phone store in a rural area of N. Texas.

Who exactly is clammoring to add tweedle dee and tweedle dumb to their roster of cartel or organized crime units??

 

[Stella888]

Y'all, if you did t know already, please KNOW THIS:

HF WAS RUNNING DRUGS DOR HIS MOTHER. THATS HOW ****ED UP THEIR LIFE WAS,

I'm on board with you! I've done extensive research and this is much worse than just a kidnapping/murder! I really thought LE had way more than what has been presented. I feel like I know more than LE and I'm just a sleuther.

Thank you for this post.

This is my opinion only.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TCMom]

Still Tuesday, Sept 13, 2016
After lunch

HF is wearing green prison issue with shackles on his feet. His hands are unshackled so that he can alert his lawyer if he needs assistance during testimony.

(He was very quiet, not a big man, very meek)

Judge talks to HF about what his agreement means:

It's a Use Immunity Agreement - as long as he testifies truthfully then they will not use what he says against him. He can raise his hand if he needs help from his attorney. Attorney can also invoke 5A from front row where he is sitting. HF understands all of this.

<Jury brought in>

HF is currently a federal prisoner housed in Bastrop, TX serving a 33 month sentence of Conspiracy to distribute MDMA/ecstasy.

Prosecution reiterates immunity deal in front of jury - state and federal immunity for nonviolent drug offenses in the last 5 years.

HF testimony.

Grew up in Allen. Best friends with Christina Morris and Logan Prendergast since middle school. Logan and Christina dated. HF graduated Allen High School and went to Arizona State. Then went to New York City and did runway modeling and commercial print modeling for 8-9 months.

Moved back to Allen - Dad's house. Did not keep in contact with CM while gone.

2014 - doesn't remember exactly when they started dating. Was within a month after LP and CM broke up. Lived with CM in Ft Worth.

Drug problem began in HS (marijuana and party drugs (ecstasy))
Clean in Arizona
Drugs in NYC (same stuff as before)
Kept using in Texas
Was selling drugs while with Christina

Real jobs included: Redbull logisitcs, women's shoes at Northpark, car wash, roofing and restoration and helped out at Audio Home Theater.

CM moved to Ft Worth with him - doesn't know what her job was (editorial: sad face)

August 29 - CM/HF were in a good mood. CM wanted to go to Allen. HF didn't want to. Taylor Barry was at their house in FW. Christina left house first in her car. HF and TB left 1 hour after CM. He knew Taylor 3-4 months at this point.

They went to Concrete Cowboy in Uptown - was dealing drugs. Sold to undercover federal officer that night. It was MDMA (ground up in a bag - Molly)

CM occasionally used Xanax and Adderall (she had a script). He estimated 2-3x per week. HF said CM had used Molly before they were dating.

Prosecutor showing map of Concrete Cowboy. HF says it was a bar with music. Was there most of the night. Went to the W hotel. May have gone to other bars around there (Concrete Cowboy).

Confirms his cell number.

At beginning of the night, CM and HF were texting each other.

HF was using Molly & Xanax & Alcohol. Night was a blur; doesn&#8217;t know how to explain the high. MDMA helps you stay up.

HF drove his car (FJ Cruiser) &#8211; went to W Hotel after 2am w/TB and friend of TB.

Doesn&#8217;t remember calls or texts from any number, was probably asleep or high.

HF says he went home around 10am-12pm on morning of 8/30. TB was with him.

Says he saw LP at Concrete Cowboy, had no words/interaction, doesn&#8217;t think LP saw him.

Saturday didn&#8217;t call CM, figured she was still with friends. Went to sleep at home, got up in the evening. Didn&#8217;t call or text CM, he was still using drugs. Thought she was mad, and/or w/family and friends.

Went out Saturday night &#8211; selling / doing drugs (back to Dallas)

Went home Sunday. They had two dogs Madden and Daphne &#8211; Christina loved the dogs.

No word on Monday.

1[SUP]st[/SUP] person to contact Hunter was Mark &#8211; MM wasn&#8217;t able to reach CM.

HF started to check jails. He knew PP, called her.

Jonni called HF at some point.

PP told HF about EA leaving with CM. He didn&#8217;t not know EA, maybe met briefly before, did not run into him in months previous.

HF got EA number from PP &#8211; called and EA Answered. EA told HF they were in different garages. HF confronted him about being last one to see her. It was a 2-3 min convo.

HF received a call from police on Tuesday and drove FJ to police station for Robin Busby.

HF doesn&#8217;t remember having a tolltag.

You were free to leave at the end of the convo? [Yes]
Did you look for missed calls and texts [Already seen them]

Saw the missed texts and calls the day after.

Gave phone to Busby but was hesitant because of drug activities and wanted to hide them. 2-3 days later he allowed them to extract everything. Told Busby he lost his phone because he was scared but it was a lie. NEVER lost phone.

Verified CMs #
Review of text messages (I got many, but not all) extracted from Hunter&#8217;s phone.

Friday afternoon
CM: Do you want me to get you food?
HF: No, sorry, need to meet with Barry and V
CM: V?
HF: Vincent
CM Are you being 100 w me? (clarifies that means being honest)
CM: Layla needs 3 xanax (Layla may be someone she worked with, HF doesn&#8217;t know)
CM: Bodyguard people calling me, you should call the dude

<HF believes body guard (I think LaTerrence B from before) wanted to just hang out. Neither he nor CM needed a bodyguard)

Friday evening
CM: Can you get coke?
HF: No
CM: Dammit I was looking to toot me some coca-cola
HF: BS
HF: Hope you&#8217;re f-ing joking.

<HF says she has a past with cocaine and he didn&#8217;t want her doing it again>

CM: My nose too pretty and my personality.
CM: Couldn&#8217;t get Xanax until Tuesday
CM: Sends a screenshot of convo with someone (number only) who can&#8217;t get a Xanax refill yet. But had hydros. Can bring 5 hydros
<HF doesn&#8217;t know who>

CM: Do you know Bre Loftin
HF: Duh
HF: Hello stranger
CM: (11:13) Leaving
HF: (11:40) Meeting Phat to get more
CM: LOL Think you&#8217;ll make it out here? People want to see you
HF: LOL Who?
CM: List of people <he knows mots of them>
CM: If you can bring P $40 worth of Coke she&#8217;d be in heaven
CM: F U

HF: I&#8217;m see Logan (2:03am)
HF: Beat down
CM: Kill him
<HF testifies that she&#8217;s not serious>

CM (2:12) Can you come pick me up?
Please tell me what&#8217;s going on
Lost my car key
Really? Right now I mean that much to you?
(2:34) picture of keys with &#8220;Found them. I throwed please come get me.
7-8 more texts she&#8217;s apologizing for getting mad and asking him to come get her.

3:01am Good night, Hope you&#8217;re okay
You lost the best thing that ever happened to you

3:16 Taking taxi home. See you one day.
3:29 WTF? Please just answer
3:29: Phones dead too
3:29 Driving home
3:48 Can I at least get in house.


Back to when he found out she was missing:

HF texts &#8220;Can you please respond? I lost my phone <and some other stuff I didn&#8217;t catch>

Did you want her to disappear? &#8220;No Sir&#8221;
Did you want to break up with her? &#8220;No sir&#8221;
Get rid of her? &#8220;No&#8221;
Care for her? &#8220;Yes sir&#8221;

Describe Christina Morris &#8211; &#8220;beautiful, really small, brown eyes&#8221; <speaks in past tense>
Estimates her at 5&#8217;5&#8221; 100 lbs, XS clothes.

How long did she live with you? (I think he said 1 ½ years which doesn&#8217;t sound right)
Was she afraid of dark? &#8220;Yes&#8221;
Wouldn&#8217;t walk to car alone? &#8220;Not at night?&#8221;

What about her personality? If something bad happened would she fight? &#8220;She would fight?&#8221;
Would she get in a trunk? &#8220;No&#8221;
Wouldn&#8217;t hide in a trunk? &#8220;no&#8221;

Prosecution passes witness, Sidebar before defense.

 

[TCMom]

Defense questioning of HF

Not testifying because you want to? &#8220;no&#8221;
Testifying because you have to? &#8220;yes&#8221;
Refused to testify until you got immunity? &#8220;yes&#8221;

HF admits to lying to investigators early on.

Says testimony today was 100% truthful

August 29[SUP]th[/SUP] you never left Uptown Dallas? &#8220;no&#8221;
Never north of 635? &#8220;no&#8221;
Asks again

Defense: Your factual resume (federal) says you sold drugs to undercover agent at Jaguars/Eternal Eden than night.

HF sold drugs there occasionally. HF doesn&#8217;t know where Jaguars is relative to Uptown. HF believes factual resume but doesn&#8217;t remember going there.

&#8220;Does your Mom have a tolltag? &#8220;No sir&#8221;
&#8220;Anyone in the Foster family have tolltag?&#8221; Silence.

Defense finding exhibit (tolltag records)

Confirms mom&#8217;s name is Mary Jane Foster. Shown tolltag records. Didn&#8217;t know there was a tolltag.

Shown toll records related to Keller Springs and Parker. Doesn&#8217;t remember going to Collin County.

CM&#8217;s boss called and HF didn&#8217;t respond/ignored them. They were looking for Christina &#8211; left messages. He called CM&#8217;s phone and &#8220;it was off&#8221;

Went to PPD Sept 3[SUP]rd[/SUP]

Denies deleting data off phone.
When pressed, might have deleted things about dealing drugs

Defense: You&#8217;re texting CM about drugs? Didn&#8217;t delete that?

HF: No argument with CM; came to agreement they would go separate ways.
Defense: CM suspects you were cheating?
HF: No
Defense: CM and your mom close?
HF:Yes
Defense : Lived next door to mom?
HF: Yes
Defense Mom talked to detectives? Are you aware Mom told detectives she said CM should give him a dose of his own medicine? <Objections: Hearsay. Sustained>

CM had a camera at house

HF: Recalls lying about phone. Claimed he lost phone at gas station. PPD &#8211; How&#8217;d you get it back? HF said person that found it called last person I called and I went back to gas station to get it.

Defense: HF told detectives he didn&#8217;t answer CM because he could tell she was upset.
HF doesn&#8217;t remember

HF contacted attorney because he know he was a suspect in disappearance.

Defense asking about LP. HF doesn&#8217;t remember time, clothes LP was wearing. Says LP was drinking and was across the bar.
Defense trying to bring up LP denying being at Cowboy Concrete <objections>

HF: No plan for her to spend the night with PP. Doesn&#8217;t recall plan to pick her up, or telling PPD about that plan. Doesn&#8217;t recall telling CM he would pick her up if she needed a ride.

Shown documents of interview w/PPD

Defense starts asking Hunter about being truthful, has to define perjury for him.
Defense names off people in the conspiracy indictment. HF doesn&#8217;t know them.

Defense asks if CM had a past drug issue with Cocaine? &#8220;yes&#8221;
Defense asks if HF introduced her to heroin?

Where did you meet bodyguard? &#8220;Travis night club&#8221; &#8211; doesn&#8217;t remember his name. Doesn&#8217;t know about CM&#8217;s conversation with body guard?

Defense: Did you owe people money?
Hf: Sometimes

Def: Have you ever snitched or worked with police? &#8220;No sir&#8221;
Def: Did you ever use snapchat? &#8220;Yes&#8221;
Reiterating snapchat auto-deletion
Did you use SC for drugs? No
Text messages? Yes

<end of HF Testimony>

 

[Gigglingtoes]

CA's attorney argued that Caylee died as a result of accidental drowning at her grandparent's house due a faulty gate latch not properly securing the pool (was able to prove the latch was faulty). He claimed CA + father were the only ones who knew about Caylee's death and that CA's father pressured her into disposing of the body rather than calling police. The attorney argued CA was incestually abused by her father from a young age and was still scared of her father and therefore heavily influenced. Baez (CA's attorney) acknowledged CA dumped Caylee's body, but claimed she did not murder her. Decomposition prevented the state from telling the cause of death therefore they could not prove how Caylee died. While I believe CA was guilty, I respect the jury's decision. The defense's story was plausible and created reasonable doubt as to whether or not CA was guilty of murder. A totally different situation than EA's case.

First, CA's case was murder with death penalty. EA's is aggrivated kidnapping with a max sentence of 99 years.--these stakes matter a lot to jurors.
Second, Via CA's attorney, she admitted knowledge of her child's death, provided a cause, and explained her involvement which is what created the reasonable doubt. EA has yet to admit or acknowledge any knowledge of anything.
Third, the state was not well prepared for CA's case; in fact they changed the stakes (death penalty) at the last minute (post arrest, pre-jury selection). Collin County has had their ish together.
Fourth, CA's case had a body, but no DNA evidence. EA's case has no body (explaining the AK rather than murder) but DNA evidence.

mic drop :goodpost:

 

[b.humble]

TCMom,

Awesome, AWESOME job! Your posts are, by far, the best I've seen for this case so far. Journalists have added elements of drama, IMO (I can't blame them because that's what sells) but yours were meaningful due to being a clinical observation of what was going on without editorial. Thank you for going today and for posting your notes!

 

[TCMom]

Witness Anny Cruz with Kroger
Manager of Bethany location
Released receipts and video from Kroger gas pumps on 8/30/14
Multiple cameras.

Witness Daniel Bryeans with Plano PPD
Assisted Det Busby.

Receipt from Kroger was $24.12 6.974 gallons 8/30/14 with start time of 10:17am and stop time of 10:17am. Showed Arochi&#8217;s plus customer number
Camera was off from time on receipt and real time &#8211; by 15 minutes.

Watching Kroger Video

First video is view from front of car. Gets out, hesitation at trunk. Payment.

Detective says he has a rag draped over his shoulder and doing something on passenger side of vehicle. (Did not appear to check other areas of car &#8211; my own observation)
(Sat in car a LONG time &#8211; another person pulled up, got gas and left, in the time he was there)
Car backs away

Second video from back camera (pumpside)
(Takes forever to get out of car)
Walks around, takes a step back to trunk in hesitation
Gets gas
Looks at trunk again, back and forth across back of car.
Squeegess the bumper.

See two screen shots of him bent over cleaning bumper. Front and back view

State pulls out visual timeline, confirms that it&#8217;s 10:15, puts a time marker up on timeline.

<Defense>

Did you interview people at Sprint Store? &#8220;yes&#8221;
Reasonable that he would be on way to work? &#8220;Yes&#8221;
Camaro tank bigger than 7 gallons? &#8220;I would guess yes.&#8221;
Don&#8217;t know if empty tank or topping off? &#8220;No&#8221;

Detective didn&#8217;t investigate car wash membership. Involvement in investigation was limited. Defense asking about strategy and theory &#8211; does this with all detectives it seems. Detective believes his opinion is same or similar to other detectives.

Detective done.



Witness Shantanu Arora (sp)
Used bank of America ATM at shops at legacy. 3 pictures &#8211; 1 of him, 1 of his friend in car, 1 of friends car. Friend was in car driving. He got out of car and walked to drivethru atm. Saw nothing unusual at 3:58am, no screaming woman etc. Friend was leaving the country as of Friday (I gather he as supposed to testify.

Witness (Second user of ATM, didn&#8217;t get name). Using walkup ATM at 4:09a. Heard nothing, no screaming, out of the ordinary.



Witness Shawn McKinney
Director of Sales for Sprint &#8211; Regional Manager including Wylie store
Supplied store schedule and time card
No real interaction with EA. &#8211; event was right after his company bought Wylie store (and others)
State shows two schedules
State shows time card
8/30 EA scheduled at 8am-1pm, 2p-6p, clocked in at 10:51 am, clocked out at 6pm
9/1 scheduled but not clocked.
<State adds time rows to visual aid?
Defense continues perusing time card with witness.
5 other instances that I noted where he was due at 8 and was anywhere from 39 minutes late to 3+ hours late. Just in a 2-3 week period.

Defense asks if people forget to clock in and beg them not to dock hourly pay. &#8220;Yes, common occurance&#8221;



Witness Det Jonathan May &#8211; Plano PD

Went to Sprint store to interview coworkers on 9/10
District Mgr Jeremy Brisendine- was evasive and less than cooperative
Jacob Telamontes
David Leal
John Boling (showed up at some point)

9/9 &#8220;Statement sheets had been dropped off&#8221; &#8211; blank sheet for the employees to fill out.
9/10 &#8211; Trying to pick up statements &#8211; written forms were gone, asked where they were, never located.
Conducted recorded interviews &#8211; was there twice on same day
Brisendine was interviewed 2x
Talked to Jacob and David

May was tasked with recovering vacuum cleaner and interviewing party people.

Det Garcia had done trash pull at Arochi&#8217;s and gotten an empty shopvac box.

Asked about vacuum at sprint store. Retrieved it from rear office of store. They had their own vacuum cleaner right behind it (in picture) wasn&#8217;t purchased for the store.

9/11/14 &#8211; Went to watch DVR to see if they could find statements. JB had statements, took them from the store, brought them back and put them on EA&#8217;s desk.

Questioned JB at store then at PPD, Learned EA and JB were social friends.
Asked if Leal and Talamonte were not big fans &#8211; Detective can&#8217;t say &#8211; neither person spoke highly or poorly about EA.

Defense tried to get into social activity with other coworkers. Detective: No, not that he knows.

<end of detective testimony>

 

[TCMom]

Witness Juan Ponce worked at Sprint before EA was promoted to manager in August.

Juan switched shifts with David Leal, store opens at 10, he was supposed to be there at 9:45 opening with EA.
EA wasn&#8217;t there and Juan was confused.

Juan had keys so he opened the store and set up demos.
Doesn&#8217;t remember what time EA came in.
EA came in walking with a limp, hung over &#8211; hand bruised, and scrapes went up arm, bite mark on forearm.
He asked EA what happened.
EA said Bar fight at Shops @ Legacy, had a guy in chokehold, guy bit him.
EA spent the day partially napping in back room, was sluggish.

Juan says after 8/30 EA was more aggressive. Punched a door after a customer left because he was mad at customer. EA had a slight temper.
EA got a car wash on Wed/Thurs of following week.

Juan overheard EA say car rim fell on his hand. He didn&#8217;t want to start anything so he didn&#8217;t question him.

Juan filled out written statement, was given one at Sprint Store but it went missing, went to PPD to fill it out. Asked coworkers where forms were, no one knew.

<Defense>
Asks if Ponce had security code? &#8220;Yes&#8221;
Does EA brag about things? &#8220;Yes&#8221;
Want to seem tougher than he is? &#8220;Yes&#8221;
Did JP use shopvac? &#8220;No&#8221;
See anyone else use it? &#8220;No&#8221;
Told police it had been there &#8220;a few weeks&#8221;


Witness David Leal, Worked with EA at Sprint

Were you scheduled to work? Yes, switched shifts with Juan Ponce.
Came in a noon.
Saw EA with a bruise on his forearm just below his wrist &#8220;circular&#8221; and saw scratches.
EA told about bar fight. Claimed someone said &#8220;Why is a Mexican driving a Camaro?&#8221; EA was offended and swung.
Later in the week, David overheard EA telling another coworker he was rotating his tires and one fell on his arm.
David called him out on it and EA said &#8220;That&#8217;s just what I told you&#8221;
David says he was not social with EA.
David said statement forms were in trash can. Gave a recorded statement to police.

<Defense>
DL told police that he and EA didn&#8217;t get along.
Spoke with detectives several times; knew they were being recorded.
DL can&#8217;t always tell when EA was joking or being serious
EA tried to make himself look cool? &#8220;yes&#8221;
(The witness did have a touch of attitude which set off this next question)
Defense &#8220;Do you have an agenda today or are you just here to answer questions?&#8221; &#8220;Just here to answer questions&#8221;

<Witness done>

 

[Gigglingtoes]

Impressive note taking TC. I won't even bother with mine now! LOL
Its pretty remarkable you wrote so much with so much happening.

 

[arkansasmimi]

It's a Use Immunity Agreement - as long as he testifies truthfully then they will not use what he says against him. He can raise his hand if he needs help from his attorney. Attorney can also invoke 5A from front row where he is sitting. HF understands all of this. http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...cused-of-kidnapping-2&p=12803371#post12803371

That is exactly what I thought it would be http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...cused-of-kidnapping-2&p=12795868#post12795868

pretty interesting article.

 

[allmybecsloveme]

It's not blood. I'm worried. This case isn't going like I hoped.

I was thinking I'd read that it wasn't blood and that none of her DNA was I the shopvac either. But then several people have acted like they were waiting to hear so I thought I read it wrong. That's even more worrisome now that I know I didn't misread that.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[b.humble]

I knew this, but apparently wasn't allowed to disclose that info. I have talked extensively with certain friends of her, but have been brushed off by this forum any time I tried to disclose the info that Christina was a drug user. Everyone wants to paint the missing as perfect, but I do t see how that helps us find them.

Yes, Arochi has claimed to have abused every drug known to man that day. Apparently so has HF.

WHO IS THE TRUTH TELLER? She was involved in in HF BUSINESS. She was a partier/addict.

So, we are going with EA wanted to rape her and then killed her? Ok.

Last sentence: yes, that's exactly what I'm going with.

IMO, It's not the drugs people have brushed off, it's the fact that at the end of the day, the drugs really don't matter. This isn't the season finale of Narcos or The Sopranos, this is real. This is a young woman who left a party with one man, was last seen with that one man, and has not been seen or heard from since. Not to mention the DNA evidence found in that man's trunk. Here are my thoughts (and my thoughts only):

HF was a drug dealer: Unconventinally surprising, but early common knowledge.
CM doing recreational drugs: no one was surprised given the former.
CM possibly helping HF: Oh..really? (yawn), okies, no big reveal.
Drugs being involved in the night's activities: sure, that seems likely.


CM was a victim that night and despite drugs, drug deals, coke, coca cola, ramen noodles, and poor social choices, she was a human being and she deserves the respect of being discussed as such and not judged or discussed as though she's somehow less of a victim because she made decisions that may or may not be mainstream. Everything she did that night is "heresay" because she's not here to testify nor is/was she here to be drug tested or questioned. She's missing. So no, I don't care if she was a partier, an addict, a drug dealer's girlfriend, a college graduate, or a Toyota owner. She was someone's daughter, friend, sister, and loved one. She deserves the respect of being spoken of as such.

You haven't been brushed off, nor have the things that were mentioned today. It's just that they don't matter nearly as much as other facts do.