TX - Moriah Wilson, 25, Cyclist Fatally Shot Before Race, Austin, 2022 *arrest* #7

[steeltowngirl]

This is where hearsay gets fuzzy to me. Wouldn’t the defense object to this sort of evidence as hearsay?

I suppose defense could object as hearsay. I hope an atty weighs in, but here is my take. I believe since the witnesses heard the statements with their own ears, it would be admissible. If they were simply repeating what they had heard she told someone else, it would be inadmissible.

As an example, at Patrick Frazee‘s trial, a witness testified that PF told him “No body, no crime”, and it was admitted. PF was convicted.

'No Body, No Crime:' Colo. Man Allegedly Told Friend 6 Months Before Fiancée Kelsey Berreth Vanished

Patrick Frazee allegedly killed Kelsey Berreth on Thanksgiving 2018

people.com

 

[duckcat]

without a doubt anyone would be arrested and court-ordered Anger Management with a hefty fine and possible jail time.

I wonder if since the state really needs him as a witness to prove jealousy as a motive they’re ignoring it. Seeming like he’s detrimental to either side at the moment though.

 

[RickshawFan]

A Texan man? This is ODD.

Not odd: he's a cyclist. That's a whole universe unto itself. FWIW KA desperately wanted to be in that universe, too, so she bought a bike and started cycling, I think when she started dating CS. IMO she was expecting way too much: you don't become an expert cyclist in a year or two.

 

[Seattle1]

Had CS been cooperating with either side, they could have made arrangements for him for either police escort or private entry given he was only in court for two days.

Just the same, we're not talking mobile phones on the street recording the latest street "Karen/Aaron" exhibiting bad behavior but an entourage with extremely powerful professional cameras where there is truly no reason to be on top of you and the camera inches from your face.

I wouldn't like it one bit for myself so I can't condemn CS for not liking it either. Contempt charges or not, personally, I'd probably refuse to leave my vehicle until the entry cleared or the photogs placed behind a barrier. Each side could do better.

Again, what a loser -- even with police protection CS could not control himself. Me, me, me. JMO

ETA: Had a power outage before I could finish my thought!

When the Court made the decision to prohibit cameras and/or live stream from the trial courtroom, knowing the interest and the notoriety of this trial should have been enough for them to establish ground rules for (freelance) media on the property of the courthouse. This issue could/should have been nixed in the bud.

Thus far, it appears that CS is the only witness the photogs have been tripping over.

Perhaps it will repeat if/when surfer dude Teal Akerson appears.



MSM Photo

 

[steeltowngirl]

ETA: Had a power outage before I could finish my thought!

When the Court made the decision to prohibit cameras and/or live stream from the trial courtroom, knowing the interest and the notoriety of this trial should have been enough for them to establish ground rules for (freelance) media on the property of the courthouse. This issue could/should have been nixed in the bud.

Thus far, it appears that CS is the only witness the photogs have been tripping over.

Perhaps it will repeat if/when surfer dude Teal Akerson appears.

View attachment 458777

MSM Photo

Whaatttt?!? Is TA on his way?
Don’t tease me like this @Seattle1 !

 

[SteveP]

ETA: Had a power outage before I could finish my thought!

When the Court made the decision to prohibit cameras and/or live stream from the trial courtroom, knowing the interest and the notoriety of this trial should have been enough for them to establish ground rules for (freelance) media on the property of the courthouse. This issue could/should have been nixed in the bud.

Thus far, it appears that CS is the only witness the photogs have been tripping over.

Perhaps it will repeat if/when surfer dude Teal Akerson appears.

View attachment 458777

MSM Photo

Akerson is not on the witness list, IIRC, but I would wager to guess that the media frenzy will still be there when KA's sister, Christine, takes the stand. Hers is the next big story I am waiting to hear.

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

Akerson is not on the witness list, IIRC, but I would wager to guess that the media frenzy will still be around when KA's sister, Christine, takes the stand. Hers is the next big story I am waiting to hear.

And that is such a huge reason I wish we were privy to video. Surely KA’s stiff unflinching cold staring demeanor will change when her sister speaks to either side.

 

[RickshawFan]

So probably not elitism, but extremely shallow.

It would make KA extremely shallow, and not CS, in CS's opinion. But the cycling crowd would tend towards the opposite of "fast fashion". I would guess CS wears either lycra and his team jersey or jeans.

Yoga clothes, by contrast, are fashion statements and body conscious. Looks are everything, in some of these yoga workouts. And apparently, CS hates yoga (I am with him on this one; I find it incredibly competitive, fashion-plate-ish, and generally unwelcoming to the clumsy among us: not my idea of inspirational at all IMO).

FWIW I don't think I'd like CS in person, but he's just another bloke on the street. He has my sympathy that this all happened to him, not least because he's having to fend off criticism from people who aren't familiar with his niche as a professional athlete. IMO many of his quirks and clumsiness comes from that arena, and may be why he excels there. But it's foreign to most people. I don't like that world, by the way. I find good cyclists to be exceptionally self-involved (translation: I don't like getting run over while I'm mountain biking or yelled at to yield; same thing is required on hiking trails, btw: cyclists are required to yield to hikers unless the trail is specifically designated for cyclists).

IMO there's some dimension of KA's crime that is about not rating as a bike rider. Thus, she trashed Mo's bike after riding it a kind of coup de grâce.

 

[Seattle1]

This is where hearsay gets fuzzy to me. Wouldn’t the defense object to this sort of evidence as hearsay?

There are exceptions to the hearsay rule and one of the exceptions is a statements of self interest. The concept behind why hearsay is not generally admissible is the out of court statement that proves the truth of the issue at hand, is unreliable/second hand information.

In OP's example, I think the state could easily argue that two independent witnesses reported the same to LE. Also, unlike hearsay statements attributed to MW, KA is present to confront the witness. JMO

 

[caradana]

He’s not on trial, he is a victim - but I wish, as a marketing and communications professional, anyone at any of his previous sponsors would call him and explain the following
1) videos of you stepping on people will be a search engine Page 1 result for your name forever, so keep that in mind as you consider that forever could be 60 years and women research the men they date;
2) you were a sponsored guy for a long time and don’t you see that if you were gracious to the photogs, as maddening as they are, and if you helped them up and acted like a man of character who understands other men just doing their jobs and getting the bills paid - you could at least partially redeem yourself? I would be advising him to bring these people donuts and asking them for grace, which they won’t grant, but they will report that you asked them for it.

 

[Seattle1]

Akerson is not on the witness list, IIRC, but I would wager to guess that the media frenzy will still be there when KA's sister, Christine, takes the stand. Hers is the next big story I am waiting to hear.

Yes -- how could I forget about Christine! I think she's on both witness lists. Does anybody recall if she was part of the group of 8 prosecution witnesses (4 of which were neighbors) that were all sworn in together? Maybe it was just KA's parents in the courtroom for opening statements.

 

[RickshawFan]

@alcaprari23

Colin says Mo had one of the most valuable bicycles you can get on the market. In the courtroom he estimates at $11,000-$12,000. He calls it understated in appearance and the general public wouldn't be able to determine the value.

IIRC she worked for Specialized, so she got a special deal.

 

[Seattle1]

He’s not on trial, he is a victim - but I wish, as a marketing and communications professional, anyone at any of his previous sponsors would call him and explain the following
1) videos of you stepping on people will be a search engine Page 1 result for your name forever, so keep that in mind as you consider that forever could be 60 years and women research the men they date;
2) you were a sponsored guy for a long time and don’t you see that if you were gracious to the photogs, as maddening as they are, and if you helped them up and acted like a man of character who understands other men just doing their jobs and getting the bills paid - you could at least partially redeem yourself? I would be advising him to bring these people donuts and asking them for grace, which they won’t grant, but they will report that you asked them for it.

Yes. But at least it seems he did get the memo or remembered the advice to wear the same outfit to Court each day!

(Effort to eliminate clicks to posts from different dates by viewers believing they are from the same day since outfit is the same).

 

[ch_13]

Pretty sure the jury won't see any of that unless they violate the judges instructions.

Could the defense recall CS and show the jury these videos of him attacking photographers outside the courthouse?

If they want to point the finger at him as an alternate suspect—perhaps arguing that he became angry after MW refused his advances—these incidents show a young man with a hair-trigger who's willing to attack others who he feels have wronged him.

(Of course, I don't believe that's true. There's too much evidence against KA. But if they defense is looking for reasonable doubt, this may be their best option.)

 

[TexLil]

@alcaprari23

Court has been adjourned for the day. There is no court tomorrow. Personal reasons, I'm told. Also no court on Friday for Veterans Day. We are back Wednesday at 9am.Thanks all for following along. I'll be back on Wednesday bright and early. You can also catch my analysis of today's trial tonight with Elizabeth Vargas, Chris Cuomo and Ashleigh Banfield on
@NewsNation.

Thank you so much @arielilane for all of the information sharing!!

 

[AugustWest]

This is where hearsay gets fuzzy to me. Wouldn’t the defense object to this sort of evidence as hearsay?

For the purposes of this answer, I am assuming you are referring to testimony which would be given by Ms. Mertz or Chasteen.

Here is the definition of hearsay, found in Rule 801 of the Federal Rules of Evidence:
(c) Hearsay. “Hearsay” means a statement that: (1) the declarant does not make while testifying at the current trial or hearing; and (2) a party offers in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted in the statement.

See: Rule 801. Definitions That Apply to This Article; Exclusions from Hearsay

As you can see, in order to qualify as hearsay, the declarant must make the statement out of court. During the trial, either Ms. Mertz or Ms. Chasteen would be making in-court statements, and thus not hearsay.

 

[TexLil]

IIRC she worked for Specialized, so she got a special deal.

MW's IG is still active and does confirm in profile she was a Specialized racer. Her last post is an ode to one of her Specialized bikes. (she mentions a Crux and an Aethos).

MOO she could have received one or both bikes free of charge. Full disclosure, I raced MTBs in Texas for a while and knew of sponsored racers who were given the manufacturer's latest bikes to race for a year/specific season (then they would usually return & possibly receive new depending on situation - some would keep the bikes). MOO

 

[caradana]

Yes. But at least it seems he did get the memo or remembered the advice to wear the same outfit to Court each day!

(Effort to eliminate clicks to posts from different dates by viewers believing they are from the same day since outfit is the same).

I’m OK with the wearing the same outfit thing, he’s a cycling obsessive who’s to that sport what Steve Irwin was to zoos. He’s on brand to wear the same outfit. He just needs to stop with hostility, and I genuinely don’t blame him for that - he is under enormous pressure and his name is gravel now, much like what he used to bike on. Are his parents in the courtroom? Personally I take heart in the idea that no matter how badly sideways things ever go for me, I am sure my parents would show up. Xo

 

[Seni]

What has struck me from reports of CS demeanour (very subdued) in court, also from police reports, he has been cooperating and responding to the best of his recollection.

He has not been picked up on any anomaly so far, I think.

What will live with CS forever is that if it wasnt for him (his existence), this murder would not have happened. That must weigh very heavily on his mind.

 

[Seni]

Could the defense recall CS and show the jury these videos of him attacking photographers outside the courthouse?

If they want to point the finger at him as an alternate suspect—perhaps arguing that he became angry after MW refused his advances—these incidents show a young man with a hair-trigger who's willing to attack others who he feels have wronged him.

(Of course, I don't believe that's true. There's too much evidence against KA. But if they defense is looking for reasonable doubt, this may be their best option.)

No. Happened outside court. Jury is not supposed to see any of this.