arielilane
Justice for Liz Barraza
Next witness: Colin Strickland. Here we go.
Colin enters with his head low. He takes off his hat and puts it in his back pocket. He has his eyes up as he takes the stand. Defense begins its line of questioning.Asks about the motorcycle helmets he owns. Colin says he has 5. He says he has worn all of them, Armstrong wore two of them. Doesn't know the last time Armstrong wore one.
Colin is being shown photos of the gun cases, the guns, the black gun lock. The defense hands the photos to the jury to review. Colin says he can't recall buying gun locks for the guns. He says he previously owned the red lock, but can't recall buying the black lock. Colin says he never put the black lock on any gun before.
Colin says he has no idea how the black gun lock got on the gun. He can't recall ever seeing Armstrong with the black lock.Strickland says he can't really remember interviewing with APD on 5/17. He believes he spoke to Spitler about vandalism, but can't remember specifics.
Colin is answering the questions being asked of him, but has a similar attitude as we saw when he testified last week. Not necessarily uncooperative, but also not making it easy on the defense. Very short, annoyed responses. Relies very heavily on "I don't recall.”
The defense is publishing a muted video that shows the interview between Colin Strickland and APD on 5/17/22. You can see Strickland sitting with a baseball hat in the bottom left corner. Detective Spitler sits across from him, leaning forward. Strickland's lawyer is sitting to his right, but is not visible.The video is muted, but we can see Strickland showing Spitler pictures on his phone. He is zooming in and Spitler is leaning in, looking and nodding.Inside the courtroom, Strickland is watching the video on the computer monitor in front of him. Almost all of the jury members are doing the same, watching closely from their computer screens.Strickland, when asked, recalls that he is showing Spitler the vandalism that happened at his house.
The jury has just been handed a series of photographs that shows the vandalism. In the pictures, you can see limestones used for paving that are pushed over. Strickland says they weigh about 30 lbs. each.Strickland says his pushed-over motorcycle is heavy, so it would take someone with strength to push it over.Strickland says he showed those pictures to Spitler because it seemed relevant at the time.
Strickland says he does not know or believe that Armstrong committed the vandalism since he was with her inside the house most of the night. Same house, but not necessarily the same room, Strickland clarifies.
Strickland says he did not hear anything suspicious outside of his home and he was awake most of the night.Strickland says "I don't recall" when asked if he lied to Kaitlin when he was in a relationship with her.
Defense now pointing out Colin's fake alibi and pinning it on him, "that's a lie, isn't it?" That's correct, Colin agrees. Colin says he didn't give that alibi much thought when concocting it. Colin says he has deleted text threads. "Were you fully honest with Moriah Wilson?" Defense asks."I did my best," Colin says. Witness passed.
State asking about when Kaitlin Armstrong came home on 5/11. Strickland says Armstrong was driving it and she did not say she was loaning it to anyone else. As for the helmet, Strickland says he and Armstrong both had their own helmets. Occasionally, Armstrong would wear his, but most often, she would wear her own. No further questions. Witness dismissed.
The jury was dismissed. Kaitlin Armstrong was brought up front to the judge. The courtroom went silent. Her defense attorney Rick Cofer explained to her her rights and asked her if she would like to testify on her own behalf. It was an incredibly serious conversation and you could hear a pin drop in the courtroom. Armstrong said she does not wish to testify in this murder trial. She was then escorted out of the courtroom. There is now a sidebar with the judge with both attorney teams, but I believe the defense is sharing that they are resting their case. Standby for official confirmation.
There were several interesting moments in that exchange I want to note: Kaitlin Armstrong seemed confused, even scared, in that moment. It was as if she couldn't speak. Rick Cofer was asking her direct questions and making sure she understood her rights as a defendant. She was staring right back at him. He had to say, "this isn't a trick question." When he asked if she wanted to testify, I believe she answered, "not." Not no, but "not." That led to more confusion and Cofer had to make sure she meant no. Overall, while Armstrong has been seemingly quiet and stoic, I watched that exchange unfold and begin to wonder if she is scared stiff at what is happening around her.
The defense has rested its case, but the state has called a new witness: Dr. Tim Kalafut, a forensic scientist from Sam Houston State University. He has authored several articles on DNA analysis.
Colin enters with his head low. He takes off his hat and puts it in his back pocket. He has his eyes up as he takes the stand. Defense begins its line of questioning.Asks about the motorcycle helmets he owns. Colin says he has 5. He says he has worn all of them, Armstrong wore two of them. Doesn't know the last time Armstrong wore one.
Colin is being shown photos of the gun cases, the guns, the black gun lock. The defense hands the photos to the jury to review. Colin says he can't recall buying gun locks for the guns. He says he previously owned the red lock, but can't recall buying the black lock. Colin says he never put the black lock on any gun before.
Colin says he has no idea how the black gun lock got on the gun. He can't recall ever seeing Armstrong with the black lock.Strickland says he can't really remember interviewing with APD on 5/17. He believes he spoke to Spitler about vandalism, but can't remember specifics.
Colin is answering the questions being asked of him, but has a similar attitude as we saw when he testified last week. Not necessarily uncooperative, but also not making it easy on the defense. Very short, annoyed responses. Relies very heavily on "I don't recall.”
The defense is publishing a muted video that shows the interview between Colin Strickland and APD on 5/17/22. You can see Strickland sitting with a baseball hat in the bottom left corner. Detective Spitler sits across from him, leaning forward. Strickland's lawyer is sitting to his right, but is not visible.The video is muted, but we can see Strickland showing Spitler pictures on his phone. He is zooming in and Spitler is leaning in, looking and nodding.Inside the courtroom, Strickland is watching the video on the computer monitor in front of him. Almost all of the jury members are doing the same, watching closely from their computer screens.Strickland, when asked, recalls that he is showing Spitler the vandalism that happened at his house.
The jury has just been handed a series of photographs that shows the vandalism. In the pictures, you can see limestones used for paving that are pushed over. Strickland says they weigh about 30 lbs. each.Strickland says his pushed-over motorcycle is heavy, so it would take someone with strength to push it over.Strickland says he showed those pictures to Spitler because it seemed relevant at the time.
Strickland says he does not know or believe that Armstrong committed the vandalism since he was with her inside the house most of the night. Same house, but not necessarily the same room, Strickland clarifies.
Strickland says he did not hear anything suspicious outside of his home and he was awake most of the night.Strickland says "I don't recall" when asked if he lied to Kaitlin when he was in a relationship with her.
Defense now pointing out Colin's fake alibi and pinning it on him, "that's a lie, isn't it?" That's correct, Colin agrees. Colin says he didn't give that alibi much thought when concocting it. Colin says he has deleted text threads. "Were you fully honest with Moriah Wilson?" Defense asks."I did my best," Colin says. Witness passed.
State asking about when Kaitlin Armstrong came home on 5/11. Strickland says Armstrong was driving it and she did not say she was loaning it to anyone else. As for the helmet, Strickland says he and Armstrong both had their own helmets. Occasionally, Armstrong would wear his, but most often, she would wear her own. No further questions. Witness dismissed.
The jury was dismissed. Kaitlin Armstrong was brought up front to the judge. The courtroom went silent. Her defense attorney Rick Cofer explained to her her rights and asked her if she would like to testify on her own behalf. It was an incredibly serious conversation and you could hear a pin drop in the courtroom. Armstrong said she does not wish to testify in this murder trial. She was then escorted out of the courtroom. There is now a sidebar with the judge with both attorney teams, but I believe the defense is sharing that they are resting their case. Standby for official confirmation.
There were several interesting moments in that exchange I want to note: Kaitlin Armstrong seemed confused, even scared, in that moment. It was as if she couldn't speak. Rick Cofer was asking her direct questions and making sure she understood her rights as a defendant. She was staring right back at him. He had to say, "this isn't a trick question." When he asked if she wanted to testify, I believe she answered, "not." Not no, but "not." That led to more confusion and Cofer had to make sure she meant no. Overall, while Armstrong has been seemingly quiet and stoic, I watched that exchange unfold and begin to wonder if she is scared stiff at what is happening around her.
The defense has rested its case, but the state has called a new witness: Dr. Tim Kalafut, a forensic scientist from Sam Houston State University. He has authored several articles on DNA analysis.
