Good morning all!
Her testimony from Thursday regarding the shell casing is a bit curious.
M: Right so how is it ma'am that if you are shooting him and that's the first thing that happened, then how is it that the shell-casing, exhibit 111 then landed in blood?
N: Objection, calls for speculation
J: Overruled*
A: It didn't land in blood*
M: You see exhibit 111, right?
A: Yes*
M: That's the casing that was involved in this case isn't it?
M: This was the first, if you will, blow, correct?
A: Yes*
M: And this is how the casing landed, do you see it?
A: That's not how it landed from the blow*
My question to her would be: Well, where did it land then? Are you suggesting that the shell casing was moved? Despite being in a "fog", you seem to be suggesting that you specifically remember the exact location of the shell casing after you shot Travis.
I'm thinking that maybe she definitively states that it is not where the casing landed because she didn't actually shoot him in that area of the bathroom, and the casing somehow ended up there during her clean up efforts. I know there was some discussion about her probably loving all the speculation about how every thing went down, and she is the only one who truly knows. I think that during this part of her testimony, she couldn't help herself and refuted the photographic evidence. It would have been better for her if she just continued with the " I don't know". Instead she definitively states "that's not how it landed".
Phew! This took me a long time to write. I hope this makes sense!
YOU make sense, Sigh Sister... the one that doesn't make sense (consistently) - is JA.
I think she may have spent so much time with the shot-came-first theory in order to get the DP off the table (but failing), she is staying with that version because it's the one she's gone over and knows best. Just a guess.
That said, I (personally) don't think the fact that the shell casing is lying in/on a pool of blood is as determinative as it seems to be at first glance.
It's entirely possible that the casing landed elsewhere - I'm drawing a blank as to it's position as found - a clean spot on the sink counter, for example - and was then knocked onto viscous or coagulating blood... so thick that the casing wouldn't roll - sort of like elbow macaroni in thick honey.
The other possibility that has been tossed about is that the blood pooled around the casing...
I don't think any of these theories matter, because it looks like there will never be a definite answer about how it landed where it did.
What DOES matter, imv, is the expert testimony of the ME. Yes, his determination had a little leeway in it, but not much - he seemed pretty confident in his finding that Travis was shot last. I don't see how he would benefit from providing a biased determination.
So in my view - since there cannot be a single answer, really, about the placement of the casing - the point is moot, and the only informed data/evidence we have about the bullet is that it was almost certainly fired into Travis when he was dead or after suffering severe, fatal blood loss (the formal cause of death, iIrc).
We can't rely on anything JA says -- and her versions of things have changed, sometimes within days, sometimes within minutes. She has proven that she is not credible or reliable and will lie to anyone. I think she alone has done more damage to her case than any other factor against her. And it's not just because she took the stand, it started years ago.
Now, I hope
I made as much sense as you did! But I'm pretty sure I didn't...
