GUILTY FL - Phoebe Jonchuck, 5, dropped from 60' bridge, St Petersburg, 8 Jan 2015

[Niner]

I'll come back & do that test you posted SeesSeas. Should be interesting!

Hope you get to go to court today! This is what you have been waiting for!

 

[SeesSeas]

I'll come back & do that test you posted SeesSeas. Should be interesting!

Hope you get to go to court today! This is what you have been waiting for!

Yes, heading over to court soon. . . to watch/hear the controversial Dr Emily!
Court has not started 'on time' AGAIN. Watching LIVE video right now. Judge Helinger is still doing her advisory hearings where she sounds hurried/annoyed with defendant after defendant.

 

[SeesSeas]

LIVE:
The Trial of John Jonchuck, Day 17: Watch as the prosecution brings forth a controversial witness
John Jonchuck murder trial, April 10, 2019.

 

[SeesSeas]

Prepare to be confused.
This is the crux of it for me - that Lazarou is 'unique from the other experts'.
Lazarou says Jonchuck does not have a mental illness. All of the other experts (four so far) say Jonchuck has a mental illness.
“I don’t believe that he has schizophrenia or bipolar disorder,” Lazarou says. She’s unique from the other experts in this regard. Every other psychologist or psychiatrist we’ve heard from says Jonchuck has a mental illness.
The Trial of John Jonchuck, Day 17: Watch as the prosecution brings forth a controversial witness
April 10, 2019
LANE, ZACK AND JOSH (10:40 a.m.)
The recess was supposed to end at 10:10 a.m., but it runs over.

Helinger is out of the courtroom, even as the lawyers and Jonchuck come back. Bolan stands at the lectern. Lazarou is sitting in a room just outside.

10:15 a.m., still no judge.

Two minutes later, she comes in. Bolan asks if the prosecution can put Dr. Lazarou back on the stand. She walks in carrying a thick purple binder.

“Doctor, is psychopathy a mental illness?” Bolan asks.

“No,” Lazarou replies. “Psychopathy is a clinical construct” similar to personality disorders, she says.

“Psychopathy is the most severe form of antisocial personality disorder,” she says.

Antisocial personality disorder includes impulsivity, getting into physical fights, irresponsibility, the psychiatrist says. “Someone could have antisocial personality disorder and not be psychopathic.”

“Does the defendant meet the criteria for antisocial personality disorder?” Bolan asks. “Yes,” says Lazarou.

Why? “Because he meets the criteria,” she says. Bolan asks her to explain further.

You only need three of the seven criteria to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, she says.

Ellis puts a poster board on an easel in front of Lazarou, which she looks to as she speaks.

She describes Jonchuck’s aggression and misbehavior as a child. “I know his mom took him into treatment very early on,” Lazarou says.

We’ve heard all this before. No one has disagreed that Jonchuck has antisocial personality disorder. Yet both sides keep going over these checklists and criteria again and again. At issue is whether he has mental illness, and whether he was insane at the time he killed his daughter.

“I don’t believe that he has schizophrenia or bipolar disorder,” Lazarou says. She’s unique from the other experts in this regard. Every other psychologist or psychiatrist we’ve heard from says Jonchuck has a mental illness.

Lazarou is often looking directly at Helinger as she explains her assessment of this case.

The psychiatrist says Jonchuck’s friends reported having tumultuous and sometimes violent relationships with him.

“Obviously he had some eating issues because now he’s much more fit,” Lazarou says, reading off “eating issues” as a part of one of the criteria she’s discussing after Bolan asked her about borderline personality disorder.

She also talks about Jonchuck’s extreme anger. “He attacked someone for not getting an extra muffin on a Tuesday.”

Lazarou adds: “He was concerned that people were going to get Phoebe from him.” She does not believe Jonchuck’s paranoia was psychotic, she says.

Phoebe’s mom and her new boyfriend, Jonchuck’s mom and his uncles all wanted Phoebe to come live with them.

The judge stops Bolan before he asks the next question. “I don’t know that we have to keep going,” she says. Helinger says it sounds like Lazarou has “refined” her previous testimony, apparently alleviating the issues the defense raised before the recess.

Lazarou found that Jonchuck was malingering in this case.

“Is malingering in the DSM?” Bolan asks. Yes. “What is it?”

“Producing or over-exaggerating symptoms for personal gain. Non-compliance with treatment,” the psychiatrist says.

“He was not being honest in my interview,” Lazarou says when Bolan asks her for examples of Jonchuck exhibiting antisocial personality disorder.

"Even with information that was easily obtained, collateral information, he’d have an automatic, slick response,” she says. “Either ‘I don’t know.’ Or ‘What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?’ But everything around that event he knew. That’s another example of malingering, deception.”

Bolan is done asking questions.

Helinger addresses Lazarou. She says the state asked Lazarou previously if Jonchuck suffered from mental illness and her answer was no. But now, Helinger says, Lazarou has changed her answer?

Lazarou explains only if you consider a personality disorder a mental illness.

“I don’t believe the psychiatric community is in agreement on whether it is,” Lazarou says.

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a personality disorder or mental health issues, she says. “For the not guilty by reason of insanity, I don’t believe personality disorders fit,” she says. (She’s right, they don’t.)

Helinger asks another question, but it’s hard to follow. Lazarou answers, “correct,” and puts her left hand up in an “okay” sign.

Then the judge sighs.

“We’re kind of back to the same problem we had,” Helinger says.

Manuele comes up to the lectern to ask questions.

 

[SeesSeas]

Another delay. Glad I didn't yet drive to the courthouse. I've been watching the proffer of Dr Lazarou on the LIVE video.
My main reason for attending trial is to watch the jurors. I'll plan to be in court at 1:00 PM which is when the jury will be brought back into the courtroom.
The Trial of John Jonchuck, Day 17: Watch as the prosecution brings forth a controversial witness
April 10, 2019
ZACK AND LANE (11:15 a.m.)
After the bench conference, Helinger asks deputies to bring in the jury. She lets Lazarou out. “You’re finished for now.”

The defense apparently wants to depose Lazarou about something during a break. Lazarou leaves all of her materials on the stand, including an open binder, as the jury walks in.

We’re wondering how it got to this: On day 17, they’re re-deposing a witness they argued about last year and debating ad nauseum about her credentials and what she can or can’t say.

The jury hasn’t heard from Lazarou yet. And now it’s unclear when, or maybe even if, she’ll get to testify on the record.

Jurors come in, completely unaware of what’s been happening this morning. Some sit down, only to be told to leave.

“You don’t even need to sit,” Helinger says. Be back at 1 p.m. she says. “You’re allowed to make any expression you like,” the judge says.

“It’s fine,” one juror says. They laugh on their way out of the room.

“Let’s get brunch,” one says.

“Or go shopping,” says another.

After they leave, the judge says, “We’re all very lucky we have that group of people.”

The depositions, she says, will only be about the change in Lazarou’s testimony. We’ll be back at 12:30 p.m. in case the defense has any additional arguments to make before the jury comes in.

 

[SeesSeas]

How will Dr Lazarou testify? Defense is deposing Lazarou during the break.
The Trial of John Jonchuck, Day 17: Watch as the prosecution brings forth a controversial witness
April 10, 2019
ZACK AND JOSH (11:24 p.m.)
When Helinger refers to change in testimony, she means the issue she questioned Lazarou about earlier this morning.

It seems the psychiatrist initially did not explicitly diagnose Jonchuck in her initial report with borderline personality disorder or antisocial personality disorder. The defense argues Lazarou was only going to testify to Jonchuck being a psychopath, which the judge previously said she wouldn’t allow. Therefore, the defense argued, and it sounded like the judge was inclined to agree, Lazarou had nothing to testify about.

But when Lazarou returned to the stand after the recess, she clarified she believes Jonchuck fit criteria for borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder. That could change her testimony. When the judge asked, Lazarou said the psychiatric community is undecided on whether those personality disorders constitute mental illness.

It seems like, as of now, she may testify to these points in front of the jury. But the defense wants to depose her on her evolving analysis.

 

[SeesSeas]

ONE witness today: Emily Lazarou, general forensic psychiatrist
She is the only witness, on either side, who doesn’t believe Jonchuck has some form of mental illness.
The Trial of John Jonchuck, Day 17: Watch as the prosecution brings forth a controversial witness
April 10, 2019
LANE (4:49 p.m.)
The day ended abruptly, without the psychiatrist finishing her testimony. We figured the lawyers and judge were going to argue more about Lazarou’s testimony.

But afterwards, in the courtroom, defense attorneys said they asked to end the day’s proceedings because they were worried about Jonchuck.

“John’s mental illness is a fluid thing,” defense attorney Greg Williams said. “We had concerns and wanted to minimize the potential for him to decompensate.”

Was Jonchuck getting upset watching the psychiatrist’s testimony?

After all, in jail he had previously hallucinated that he’d heard Lazarou saying bad things about him and his lawyers. But she hadn’t been in the jail.

Williams hesitated, and looked to his co-counsel. Craig Whisenhunt, a consultant to the defense, said, “I think this whole trial is stressing him out.”

LANE, JOSH AND ZACK (2:54 p.m.)
[...]
Multiple jurors take notes when Lazarou begins to talk about her diagnosis. Remember, she determined Jonchuck was a psychopath, but Helinger has decided not to allow Lazarou to say that in front of the jury.

Differential diagnosis is basically all the different classes of diagnosis you want to get at when you see somebody, the psychiatrist says.

There are multiple different mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, major depressive disorders, substance use disorders, cognitive disorders, she says. “I’m trying to figure out what’s their complaint, what am I seeing. … In this particular case, it’s a complicated one, I didn’t see any significant major depressive disorders. I noted that he had bipolar 2 as a diagnosis from Dr. Arthur.”

Lazarou says she started her differential diagnosis while examining records before she even met Jonchuck.

“John had been on stimulant medication since age 5,” she says. “These are very potent ones we prescribe.”
[...]
There’s no way he could have bipolar disorder, the psychiatrist says, because he’d been on so many stimulants for so much of his life, and those could trigger manic episodes which might look like symptoms of bipolar disorder.

“Because of that history, I ruled out bipolar disorder,” she says.

This testimony already sets her apart from several other experts, who have said Jonchuck showed signs of bipolar disorder.

LANE, JOSH AND ZACK (2:21 p.m.)
Jonchuck never reported auditory or visual illusions while they were talking, she says.

“He didn’t have any psychotic symptoms, he didn’t report any psychotic symptoms, there was nothing about John that gave me the impression that he had psychotic symptoms,” the psychiatrist says. “He was on a lot of different medications.” But the medications wouldn’t have affected his ability to understand what was happening, she says.

Lazarou never gave Jonchuck any tests. She says she didn’t need to. If a person isn’t reporting any symptoms, there’s nothing to test for, she says. Nor did she conduct any malingering tests.
[...]
“I sort of tell them in advance to save face that I’m going to be able to tell if you’re not telling the truth and it’s not going to be a comfortable situation for either of us,” Lazarou says. “I use the term lying, because that’s what the average person would understand.”

LANE AND ZACK (2 p.m.)
“The state calls Dr. Emily Lazarou,” Bolan says. Once again, she enters wheeling a suitcase. Lazarou glances at the jurors and is then sworn in.

Though the psychiatrist has been in court all day, this is the first time the jury has seen or heard her.

“Good afternoon, doctor,” Helinger says. Lazarou takes out a binder and puts it on the witness stand.

“I’m a general forensic psychiatrist,” she tells the jury.

LANE, JOSH AND ZACK (1:07 p.m.)
[...]
Williams makes one last point, adopting language that Bursten and one of the defense experts, Michael Maher used:

“You put us all in the same room, we’re pretty much all going to have the same diagnosis,” Williams reminds the judge of what Bursten and the defense expert said. “(Lazarou’s) now bolstering for offering an opinion that’s consistent with their expert from yesterday.”

She is the only witness, on either side, who doesn’t believe Jonchuck has some form of mental illness.

The judge dismisses the point. She says Lazarou still isn’t in the room with the other experts, who all agree Jonchuck is severely mentally ill.

 

[Niner]

Thursday, April 11th:
*Trial continues (Day 13) (@ 11am ET) – FL – Phoebe Jonchuck (5) (Jan. 18, 2015, St. Petersburg-thrown off 62’ bridge into Tampa Bay by her father) – *John Nicolas Jonchuck, Jr. (25/now 29) arrested & charged (1/18/15) with 1st degree murder, aggravated assault with a vehicle on LE officers & aggravated fleeing & eluding police. Plead not guilty by reason of insanity. Held without bond.
Jury trial started 3/25/19. Jurors: 4 women & 8 men (alternates: 2 women/1 juror was dismissed on 4/4;1 juror was dismissed on 4/8). Jurors may ask witnesses questions. (Trial could take at least one week. General hours are going to be 9am until 7pm).
Jury Selection (Days 1-5; 3/18/19-3/22/19) & Trial (Days 1-9; 3/25/19-4/5/19) reference post #318 here:
FL - Phoebe Jonchuck, 5, dropped from 60' bridge, St Petersburg, 8 Jan 2015
4/8/19 Day 10: Another alternate juror has been seated. The ill juror is a "she". The remaining 3 alternates were all female. Now there are 2 alternates. The judge sent home the paralegal, Kyrsten Malcolm. She will not testify any more in front of the jury. She was on the stand the last time they heard testimony, but Helinger will simply instruct the jurors that the lawyers did not have any more questions for Malcolm.
State rebuttal witnesses: Peter Bursten, psychologist (specialty: forensic psychology). With the jurors out of the court (breaking for lunch), the defense moves for a mistrial. Motion denied. At 3:24 p.m., Helinger sends the jurors home. She has to consider some more evidence, and whether to let the jury hear it, she explains. She tells the juror who said he had seen a reference to the trial on Facebook not to go on Facebook. Trial continues on 4/9.
4/9/19 Day 11: Prosecution expert rebuttal witness: Peter Bursten continues testimony. Attorneys are back @ 9am to discuss Lazarou’s testimony, jurors back at 11am on 4/10.
4/10/19 Day 12: Prosecution expert rebuttal witness – Emily Lazarou, general forensic psychiatrist. Without the jurors in the morning; Defense also takes her deposition. Lazarou finally on witness stand in front of jurors. Court ends early because Jonchuck was stressed out. Trial continues on 4/11.

 

[SeesSeas]

Heading to the courthouse now.
LIVE trial will be at this link:
The Trial of John Jonchuck, Day 18: Rebuttal (probably) continues
April 11, 2019

 

[SeesSeas]

LIVE trial
Defense cross-examination of Dr Emily Lazarou.
Morning testimony includes video of October 2017 evaluation of Jonchuck by Lazarou.
The Trial of John Jonchuck, Day 18: Watch as rebuttal (probably) continues
John Jonchuck murder trial, April 11, 2019.

 

[SeesSeas]

I stayed all day to observe trial. It was a LONG day of testimony - continued cross of expert rebuttal witness Dr Emily Lazarou.
Defense hammered their case.
Late afternoon, Dr Lazarou started crying during her testimony on the stand.
The Trial of John Jonchuck, Day 18: Watch as rebuttal (probably) continues
April 11, 2019
JOSH, LANE AND ZACK (4 p.m.)
So the defense asks the psychiatrist to review some records. Again.

“What I was asking for was for them to accommodate pregnant and breastfeeding women,” she says. “They would not allow me to sit for the boards because they would not make an accommodation for me breastfeeding.”

We’re now very far afield from the death of Phoebe Jonchuck.

Manuele says the organization did offer Lazarou accommodations.

Lazarou tears up. She says the examiners told her they didn’t need to accommodate her.

The prosecution objects. The judge says: “Miss Manuele, you need to move on.”

We take a break. Lazarou is still crying on the stand and dabbing at her nose with a tissue after the jury leaves the courtroom.

She’s clearly upset by this questioning. It’s unclear how jurors will receive this exchange.

Timestamp 2:03 - Dr Lazarou crying
John Jonchuck murder trial, April 11, 2019.

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

wow, so very far afield indeed. Thanks for the coverage and insights this week @SeesSeas and @Niner. Much appreciated.

 

[SeesSeas]

Did Psychiatrist Emily Lazarou decide that Jonchuck was not mentally ill even before she talked to Jonchuck?
The Trial of John Jonchuck, Day 18: Watch as rebuttal (probably) continues
April 11, 2019
JOSH (2:38 p.m.)
During the bench conference, we found the deposition of Heather Davis. In it, she says she heard Lazarou remark “that he didn’t have a mental illness, and that he was just personality disorder" before going into the interview.

LANE, JOSH AND ZACK (2:28 p.m.)
Manuele plays for the jury the introductory portion of Lazarou’s evaluation of Jonchuck. In the footage, the psychiatrist lays out the rules and expectations. He’s welcome not to answer questions, she tells him, but she could make a judgment about his declining to respond in her forensic report. She also says she’s a medical doctor, and that even though she’s not treating him, she sometimes can’t take herself out of that role. Additionally, she tells Jonchuck in the video, he can ask any questions of her that he wants.

Manuele says that when Jonchuck did ask questions, Lazarou characterized that in her testimony as Jonchuck “trying to take over the interview.” Prosecutors object.

Lazarou says she answered Jonchuck’s questions, even when they were really just “derogatory” about her interviewing, like, “Do you talk to all your patients like that?” And, “What’s the got to do with the price of tea in China?”

“John asks you what the relevance is of one question on Day 2,” Manuele says. Lazarou says she doesn’t remember any questions, but she hasn’t reviewed the transcript, and that interview took place in 2017.

“And the second interview did not go as smoothly as the first interview, correct?” asks the defense. Yes, says the psychiatrist. She interviewed him in October 2017 and in May 2018.

Lazarou is still frustrated by the questions. Her responses are increasingly curt. She’s raised her voice a few times. A couple of jurors are jotting notes.

Now Lazarou and Manuele go back-and-forth about whether November 2 counts as being “around Thanksgiving.”

“Thanksgiving is in November, yes,” says the psychiatrist. “I did a lot of interviews around that time.”

Lazarou told Jonchuck’s mom that he killed Phoebe to get back at her, Manuele says. The psychiatrist says yes, that was her opinion. “She asked me about it at the end, after we had talked for three hours over the course of two days, what did I think happened? ... She asked me and I told her,” Lazarou says. She said it’s not typical for someone she’s interviewing to ask that kind of question, but she figured Michele Jonchuck was going to hear her opinion anyway.

John Jonchuck got very angry about that, Manuele says. (Which is probably what derailed his second interview with the psychiatrist.)

“So before you ever went to see John in May 2018, you were comfortable enough with your opinion that you were telling his family,” Manuele says.

“No,” says the psychiatrist. “She asked me, so I told her.”

This conversation was in fact before her second interview of Jonchuck.

Manuele presses Lazarou that she had made up her mind even before she talked to Jonchuck. No, Lazarou says. But Manuele is walking through how Lazarou entered the mental health treatment center. She has suggested that someone there overheard Lazarou — Heather Davis, a counselor worked who with Jonchuck.

“I have no idea who Heather is,” Lazarou says.

“Did you make a statement to these gentlemen in the room that you knew, prior to getting started, that Mr. Jonchuck was not mentally ill”?” asks Manuele, referencing the prosecutors.

At that, the prosecution asks to approach the bench. The jurors stand up, stretching and sipping from water bottles.

Manuele asks: Did you make that statement?

No, Lazarou says.

 

[Niner]

Friday, April 12th:
*Trial continues (Day 14) (@ 11am ET) – FL – Phoebe Jonchuck (5) (Jan. 18, 2015, St. Petersburg-thrown off 62’ bridge into Tampa Bay by her father) – *John Nicolas Jonchuck, Jr. (25/now 29) arrested & charged (1/18/15) with 1st degree murder, aggravated assault with a vehicle on LE officers & aggravated fleeing & eluding police. Plead not guilty by reason of insanity. Held without bond.
Jury trial started 3/25/19. Jurors: 4 women & 8 men (alternates: 2 women/1 juror was dismissed on 4/4;1 juror was dismissed on 4/8). Jurors may ask witnesses questions. (Trial could take at least one week. General hours are going to be 9am until 7pm).
Jury Selection (Days 1-5; 3/18/19-3/22/19) & Trial (Days 1-9; 3/25/19-4/5/19) reference post #318 here:
FL - Phoebe Jonchuck, 5, dropped from 60' bridge, St Petersburg, 8 Jan 2015
4/8/19 Day 10: Another alternate juror has been seated. The ill juror is a "she". The remaining 3 alternates were all female. Now there are 2 alternates. The judge sent home the paralegal, Kyrsten Malcolm. She will not testify any more in front of the jury. She was on the stand the last time they heard testimony, but Helinger will simply instruct the jurors that the lawyers did not have any more questions for Malcolm.
State rebuttal witnesses: Peter Bursten, psychologist (specialty: forensic psychology). With the jurors out of the court (breaking for lunch), the defense moves for a mistrial. Motion denied. At 3:24 p.m., Helinger sends the jurors home. She has to consider some more evidence, and whether to let the jury hear it, she explains. She tells the juror who said he had seen a reference to the trial on Facebook not to go on Facebook. Trial continues on 4/9.
4/9/19 Day 11: Prosecution expert rebuttal witness: Peter Bursten continues testimony. Attorneys are back @ 9am to discuss Lazarou’s testimony, jurors back at 11am on 4/10.
4/10/19 Day 12: Prosecution expert rebuttal witness – Emily Lazarou, general forensic psychiatrist. Without the jurors in the morning; Defense also takes her deposition. Lazarou finally on witness stand in front of jurors. Court ends early because of Jonchuck. Trial continues on 4/11.
4/11/19 Day 13: Defense cross-examination of Dr Emily Lazarou. Morning testimony includes video of October 2017 evaluation of Jonchuck by Lazarou. Trial continues on 4/12.

 

[SeesSeas]

Late afternoon, Dr Lazarou started crying during her testimony on the stand.

Dr Lazarou crying - Different timestamp with final 4/11/19 video:
Dialogue starts at 6:45:44

 

[SeesSeas]

The Trial of John Jonchuck, Day 19: The last round of testimony
April 12, 2019
The prosecution finished with its second and final expert witness yesterday, meaning the John Jonchuck murder trial is expected to move today into surrebuttal, or the rebuttal to the rebuttal.

It’s an unusual stage, but the defense will have one more chance to call witnesses to cast doubt on the prosecutors’ argument that Jonchuck was not insane when he killed his daughter, Phoebe, by dropping her off a bridge in 2015.

Depending on how quickly the lawyers move through this testimony, it’s possible closing arguments could begin as soon as Monday.

The day will start at 9:30 a.m. with arguments between the lawyers. The jury will return two hours later.

 

[SeesSeas]

The Trial of John Jonchuck, Day 19: The last round of testimony
John Jonchuck murder trial, April 12, 2019.

 

[SeesSeas]

The defense asks for the jurors to come back at 1:30 p.m . . .
The Trial of John Jonchuck, Day 19: The last round of testimony
April 12, 2019
ZACK (9:49 a.m.)
The defense is waiving Jonchuck’s appearance this morning. They say they are not going to call Ryan Wagoner, the psychiatrist they had consulted with to question the methods of one of the prosecution’s experts, Emily Lazarou. Lazarou, also a psychiatrist, testified yesterday. Read about her evaluation in the case in yesterday’s live blog.

In surrebuttal, the public defenders will call Heather Davis, a counselor at the treatment center outside Gainesville where Jonchuck has been receiving treatment. She too testified earlier in the trial, which you can read about here. They’ll also call psychiatrist Michael Maher, who already testified once as an expert, saying he believes Jonchuck was insane at the time he killed his daughter. Read more about what he said here.

Prosecutor Doug Ellis asks Judge Chris Helinger to not allow surrebuttal. She says that’s not going to happen, but he can object to any parts of testimony he thinks should not be admitted, while the witnesses are on the stand. The defense asks for the jurors to come back at 1:30 p.m., when their next witnesses might be at the courthouse. The public defenders expect their surrebuttal questioning to last just about an hour.

After that, it seems, testimony will be over.

ZACK (9:36 a.m.)
We looked at Jonchuck’s latest jail log, and there’s nothing much new to report. He’s still receiving meals and medications.

We’re waiting to get started with arguments this morning. The judge and lawyers are talking about the nasty comments they’ve read referencing them on online live-streams of the trial.

 

[SeesSeas]

Did Psychiatrist Emily Lazarou decide that Jonchuck was not mentally ill even before she talked to Jonchuck?

Testimony today by Witness Heather Davis about Dr Lazarou:
“I heard her say that she didn’t need to evaluate him to know he didn’t have a mental illness,” Davis says.
The Trial of John Jonchuck, Day 19: Testimony ends, closing arguments set for Monday
April 12, 2019
LANE, ZACK AND JOSH (1:45 p.m.)
The first rebuttal witness is Heather Davis, who works at the mental health treatment center where Jonchuck has been housed, outside of Gainesville. She was there when Lazarou went to interview Jonchuck to make her evaluation.

JOSH, LANE AND ZACK (2 p.m.)
Davis says she brought Jonchuck to his first evaluation with Lazarou.

“Did you hear what Dr. Lazarou said prior to that evaluation?” asks Williams.

“I heard her say that she didn’t need to evaluate him to know he didn’t have a mental illness,” Davis says.
[...]
“I was kind of shocked,” Davis says, explaining her reaction to Lazarou’s comment.

This testimony ties directly into the defense’s cross-examination of Lazarou yesterday. The public defenders are using Davis’s recollection to suggest to the jurors that Lazarou had made up her mind before she even interviewed Jonchuck, and thus that her evaluation is meaningless.

 

[SeesSeas]

Dr Emily Lazarou sat directly in front of me on a courtroom bench in the gallery this afternoon. So I was able to observe her mannerisms, gestures and facial expressions as well as her note-taking style.

Two witnesses today - Heather Davis, Dr Michael Maher. Both testified previously.
The Trial of John Jonchuck, Day 19: Testimony ends, closing arguments set for Monday

LANE, ZACK AND JOSH (1:45 p.m.)
A bit of a formality. Helinger calls on prosecutors Doug Ellis and Paul Bolan. Ellis stands:

“The state will rest,” he says.

Psychiatrist Emily Lazarou, who testified all day yesterday, sits in the courtroom galley with a silver suitcase of documents. We don’t expect to hear from her again today, so maybe she’s just watching. Her testimony over the last two days, though, will likely be the subject of the defense’s questions.

The first rebuttal witness is Heather Davis, who works at the mental health treatment center where Jonchuck has been housed, outside of Gainesville. She was there when Lazarou went to interview Jonchuck to make her evaluation.

As Davis takes the stand, Lazarou leaves the courtroom.

LANE AND JOSH (2:12 p.m.)
The next witness is psychiatrist Michael Maher. Public defender Jane McNeill has him reintroduce himself to the jury. Maher testified last week that Jonchuck was insane at the time he killed Phoebe.

LANE, JOSH AND ZACK (2:24 p.m.)
Psychiatrist Emily Lazarou, whose testimony from earlier in the week Maher was called today to rebut, sits in the gallery behind the defense table. Listening to Maher’s testimony, which is in direct contradiction to hers, she fidgets: She puts her hand first on her temple and then her chin, then she peeks at her phone. Next she goes into her metal rolling suitcase and digs out the the DSM-5. She had said yesterday Jonchuck’s delusions were inconsistent, and she believed he was faking his symptoms, or “malingering.”

LANE, JOSH AND ZACK (2:30 p.m.)
“Can you explain why the doses (of John’s medications) have changed?

“Great care to do no harm, and also avoid confusing the situation, or muddying the picture … is one of the goals and requirements of the treatment team,” says the psychiatrist [Maher]. “They want to be sure, they don’t want to be presumptive,” he says. They start with the least amount of medications, on the lowest dose. As the person begins to respond, “It is likely that dose will be raised,” he says. Sometimes it takes six months to respond to medication. “Some might be lowered, some might be raised.”

Lazarou had suggested the low doses of medication Jonchuck was on at the mental health treatment center outside of Gainesville were reasons for her to question if he was really mentally ill. Listening to Maher from the gallery, she takes notes on a stack of papers.

JOSH, LANE AND ZACK (2:40 p.m.)
Cross-examination will come next. Prosecutors and Lazarou duck into a waiting room, where it’s likely Lazarou is helping them formulate their questions for Maher.

LANE, ZACK AND JOSH (3:20 p.m.)
Prosecutor Doug Ellis takes the floor to cross-examine Maher. He asks where organized or disorganized delusion is described in the DSM.

“Nowhere is it listed in the DSM,” Ellis says. The DSM is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which has been mentioned a lot during this trial.

Maher holds his ground. He doesn’t have to reference the book, he says, he just knows the page number off the top of his head. And he knows even if the term he used doesn’t appear, his description is correct.

“One hundred percent positive,” he says.

“Where’s brain illness in the DSM?” Ellis asks.

The psychiatrist says brain illness is not a diagnosis included in the manual.

Ellis says Maher repeatedly used that term, though.

“Yes, because it’s illness of the brain,” Maher says, then takes a deep breath. He seems ready for Ellis’s questions today on cross-examination, compared to prior testimony, when the prosecutor seemed to have the doctor on his heels.
[...]
“Judge at this time, the defense rests,” public defender Jessica Manuele says.

That’s it. We are done with testimony in the murder trial of John Jonchuck.