GUILTY UT - Michele MacNeill, 50, found dead in bathtub, Pleasant Grove, 11 April 2007 - #1

[scorekeeper]

and PTSD

I see a lot of PTSD

A friend of mine has PTSD and she goes thru the same facial/emotions that Rachel is showing on the stand.

They are reliving their feelings at the time and it is very, very emotional for them.

 

[Chelly]

I don't think she appears unstable. She looks stressed and overwhelmed by the circumstances.. Not unstable. She just looks stricken.

She is unstable right now!

 

[Bravo]

I read an article stating that the judge was considering whether to allow evidence that Alexis had been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder.

Thank You. So not the right Sister.

 

[minor4th]

Unfortunately I think her testimony might actually help MacNeill...so sad, she is just showing her true grief, but it's not coming out the right way for the case. I feel so bad for her. The reason I feel it might help him in the end, is because the jury might think the daughters were so upset with him having an affair on their mom that they had anger towards him already. Thus it's clouding their perception. I hope the jury doesn't see it that way.

I wonder if that actually is the case.

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

What Rachel is describing is so devastating. How Macneill was talking to her about autopsies and positioning..

This man was looking to back himself up from the beginning..

My heart is completely broken for her.

 

[Leilei]

Defense will have to tread lightly on cross...

 

[Ina Cognito]

I read an article stating that the judge was considering whether to allow evidence that Alexis had been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder.

I don't feel that would influence her testimony. Nor is it relavant. IMO

 

[minor4th]

Thank You. So not the right Sister.

No, it was Rachel who was diagnosed with bipolar

 

[Bravo]

"Judge Derek Pullan began the proceedings Tuesday by addressing some outstanding issues with attorneys, including whether the mental health records of MacNeill’s daughter Rachel MacNeill -- who testified in a preliminary hearing in 2012 that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder -- will be released for the defense to use during the trial, and whether to grant a defense motion to exclude two prosecution toxicology experts from testifying."

http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/10/15/martin-macneill-trial-jury-selection-begins

K so it is Rachel. I think we need to consider this explaining her difficulty today. Thanks:seeya:

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

She is unstable right now!

That is not unstable. That is distraught. She is not coming off as a time bomb but someone who is trying hard to keep it together while her father is on trial for the murder of her mother..

 

[CarolinaMoon]

I agree. She has obviously been tramumatized by this whole event and is just having a very hard time being on the stand. Realize the sisters have also been waiting for this day for a very long time and it's very important to them. Very high anxiety and emotions here

I'm pretty sure her condition probably goes further back than her mother's death. However, I believe what she is saying, even though she's having a hard time getting it all out.

I'm sure that's why they have put her on before Alexis, who will corroborate a lot of what she has said.

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

Her illness Has no bearing on today. Someone can be this upset and distraught based on the case. Anyone would be.

 

[Bravo]

I don't feel that would influence her testimony. Nor is it relavant. IMO

Agree. IMO it only explains her "delivery" of testimony. Not the testimony itself.

 

[otto]

I think she's doing a great job. Yes, she is very nervous, and it's clear that she wants to say so much more than she is allowed, but I think that the jury can easily see that this witness was completely disturbed by her father's actions at the time of her mother's death. I think that is the important point.

 

[Chelly]

This woman should not be on a witness stand.

 

[minor4th]

This witness is acting very bizarrely - and it's not just being upset

 

[otto]

Is that a shirt? I don't think it looks like a shirt to anyone, but it probably was a shirt at some time.

 

[Ina Cognito]

Don't they have evidence bags in Utah?? Ziplock? Seriously??

 

[Bravo]

I'm sure the Defense will want to bring out her Bi-polar condition :banghead: For me it changes nothing. Nothing as far as the truth or validity to her testimony. It only explains her mannerisms and delivery on the stand. IMO.

 

[aa9511]

Defense will have to tread lightly on cross...

It will be very interesting what their strategy is....