GUILTY NC - Laura Ackerson, 27, Kinston, 13 July 2011 #8

[MissSallyAnnie]

What the H are Amanda and her attorney chatting about? Is this a coffee break? It's a murder trial with her life on the line, something is very, very wrong off with this woman!

 

[Chelly]

Sha's testimony is apparently pretty lengthy...........does it help or hurt Amanda?

Sha's testimony was unemotional, concise and honest and did not help her mother one bit. I would say it was damning of AH.

 

[luckyme]

Sha just might get her mother convicted!

 

[swanna]

Couldn't they just look at the elapsed time from the WRAL video feed and estimate from that? The video is online with elapsed times!

(IIRC she was on the stand for at least 2 hrs)

Would you not think that all the evidence would be ready in case the jury needs it to review?

 

[aa9511]

Didn't the jury take notes?

There are 12 of them, surely out of the 12 of them they can gather the relevant parts of her testimony?

What could they be looking for which requires such precision?

 

[Boodles]

How much was aired online yesterday about the jury's request of the saw?

I just don't see how Grant and Amanda with their limited smarts could figure out how to clean up that well if they did they dismembered Laura in the apt. The amount of trace that you couldn't see would seem to me to be enormous. How would they be able to do that, even with bleach? I just have trouble getting past that. So, if it was done elsewhere, where?

Prancy, he bought plastic sheeting and tarps. I believe they prepped the bathroom by covering the walls and ceiling (ceiling sadly was not tested), with plastic. All that plastic was never recovered.

Then they had bleach, Magic Erasers, etc. They saturated the walls and floor, IMO, with bleach. Finding no blood anywhere goes to show they sterilized it.

 

[MissSallyAnnie]

Sha was called by the prosecution, not the defense. So hopefully that's a good sign. I wasn't impressed with her cross exam. But then again, I wasn't impressed by anything the defense did in this trial.

 

[otto]

One thing the jury could possibly be thinking of (just want to play neutral for one minute...LOL), is that if it was pre-planned, why didn't they get the saw and the things like plastic, bleach, and stuff, before Laura got to the apartment.

But they have to remember Boz's words that premeditation doesn't mean planning months or weeks or days in advance...it just requires that they thought about what they were doing (killing her) before they actually killed her.

There is evidence of that - Laura coming mid-week, Grant's idea for mid-week visit, note written ahead of time, etc..

So maybe Amanda was telling the truth when she told Bearkat or Baraket or whatever the name was, that they didn't plan for it to happen that way.

Maybe, initially, they only planned to strangle her - no blood involved.

Maybe something happened, and they had to stab her, or just decided to stab her (change of plans).

Blood involved.

Throw her in the bathtub.

Couldn't take her out b/c scared of blood getting places where investigators would find it.

So they decided they had to cut her up and put her in coolers, in order to contain the evidence.

I am thinking maybe the jury is stuck on this pre-meditation aspect of it.

If they can just get around planning the "perfect" crime. There is other evidence that it was pre-planned.

Regarding the pre-purchase of clean up materials, I think the critical phrase is that is that it wasn't supposed to happen "like that". Murder is sometimes a lot messier than originally anticipated. I would be surprised if anyone thought that cutting up a body in an apartment bathroom over a five day period would be the perfect murder.

 

[east2west]

Here is a short video of a man demonstrating a skil reciprocating saw. I don't think it's the exact model of the one Grant - AND Amanda used, but it's interesting at the end he recommends using ear protection.

Didn't Amanda tell Grant in one of her love letters that he should try "ear plugs" to meditate? Coincidence, I think not! :facepalm:
Reciprocating Saws Video - YouTube

iirc they used a SKIL 9205 reciprocating saw

 

[Chelly]

I would recommend to those who didn't witness Sha's testimony, to view it on YouTube. It was excellent and vital to this trial. I am a huge fan of Sha. She also testified impressively at the GH trial.

 

[Nymeria]

Sha's testimony was unemotional, concise and honest and did not help her mother one bit. I would say it was damning of AH.

Agreed, but she also made Grant seem pretty bad. I don't want this jury to latch onto the idea that all was fine until Grant came along.

 

[MissSallyAnnie]

It's 2014, bring in the video!

 

[aa9511]

That's they the jury shoudl take NOTES!

 

[microfiche79]

Didn't the jury take notes?

There are 12 of them, surely out of the 12 of them they can gather the relevant parts of her testimony?

What could they be looking for which requires such precision?

Does seem over-the-top. This jury is anal!

 

[MissSallyAnnie]

And I want Patsy Hayes brought in to read the testimony - she's so good at that!

 

[NCB]

Transcript has not been prepared. Court reporter would need overnight to type it. JS giving jury their options now.

 

[CUCKOOHEAD]

Someone upthread commented on having to stop sawing frequently to clean the flesh out off of the blade. (I'm so sorry, hope this isn't too offensive...cuz it is to me too). But I wonder if they were using the machete to cut through the flesh and the saw on the bones. (Again, I'm so sorry).

Grant doesn't seem to me to be the handy man type that would be all that great at using a saw.

If this post bothers people let me know and I'll delete it.

I thought of them using a carving knife until they got close to the bone because it would be quicker. And I remember the autopsy said Laura had a knife wound and I wondered if the two hadn't been cutting her up instead of stabbing her but I do think that one of them cut her throat to bleed her out in the tub.

Sorry so graphic.

 

[otto]

Didn't the jury take notes?

There are 12 of them, surely out of the 12 of them they can gather the relevant parts of her testimony?

What could they be looking for which requires such precision?

It sounds like someone is disagreeing with something Sha said during testimony ... gives me the impression that there's a holdout.

 

[potboiler]

I missed shay's testimony in this trial, but did see it in Grants. She seemed to feel that the piece of furniture was left to both of them. Why would Amanda give it to her sister if she didn't want Grant to sell it? Why not give it to Shay?

 

[MissSallyAnnie]

Prancy, he bought plastic sheeting and tarps. I believe they prepped the bathroom by covering the walls and ceiling (ceiling sadly was not tested), with plastic. All that plastic was never recovered.

Then they had bleach, Magic Erasers, etc. They saturated the walls and floor, IMO, with bleach. Finding no blood anywhere goes to show they sterilized it.

They pulled a Dexter...