http://www.lohud.com/videos/news/2015/02/03/22815149/
Defense opening statement. 32:36
KZ notes: (I took a few notes, and hopefully got dates and times right, but apologies for any errors)
Stephen Riebling did the opening for the defense. I think he did a pretty good job. He talked to the jury a lot about their emotional reactions, and personified Garnett for the jury. Painted a picture of Lacey as a doting and attentive mother. Poked holes in the "direct evidence" but didn't mention circumstantial evidence. (So he's trying to confuse jury with no direct evidence, even as there was a video camera-- which I'll get to.) Over and over he distinguishes between the events at the hospital Jan 17-21 as being the "crime days", and basically tells the jury to just forget all about that pesky feeding tube bag with the massive salt content that was in Lacey's living room, that she tells the neighbor to dispose of. Attorney is trying to minimize that feeding tube bag as irrelevant to whatever happened in the hospitalization. Spends a lot of time emphasizing that the hospitalization is the source of the charges for which Lacey is being tried, not the feeding bag at home.
ADA Doreen Lloyd is attentive to Reibling's opening, and goes "wide eyed/ eyebrows raised" at some of Riebling's statements, frowns some, and writes notes occasionally. ADA's Murphy and Hatfield barely look up during Riebling's opening. Murphy writes a lot.
We learn Garnett's Na+ was 138 in ER on admission. (KZ note-normal venous blood Na+ is 135-145 mEq/l)
At 7 min or so into the video, he "goes there" by suggesting that the Nyack hospital is responsible for either causing, or not discovering why, GS's symptoms worsen. (Yup, I called that-- he blames the hospital & staff, not Lacey.) Emphasizes over and over that "they" were responsible for him, 24/7.
At about 19 min into the opening, we find out the reason the prosecution has Lacey on videocamera is because Garnett was receiving a VIDEO + EEG test as a result of his admission for R/O seizures. He's wearing an EEG cap, and the video camera is set up in the room to record everything. So, the video camera was not concealed, and she and GS were not in a "child abuse" videocamera room. Atty Riebling reveals that there is more than 30 hours of video. And KZ note about that-- we all wondered why no one was alarmed that they had her TWICE on the video camera going into the bathroom, then he had symptoms shortly after. My working theory is that the camera was just recording and recording for those 30 hours-- and not until AFTER his death did anyone review it. So that now maybe makes sense why no staff intervened.
Jan 19, GS awakens very early with diarrhea, soils bedding and clothing. Lacey changes him & cleans up without calling for help. Takes him to bathroom many times that day. Defense says Garnett asks to be taken to bathroom, as seen on tape. Much diarrhea. Late morning lab draw- Na+ is WNL. (within normal limits)
At some point on the 20th, he is unresponsive. Pedes hospital called in, and he's moved to PICU. Tubed and vented.
Less than 24 hours later, he is extubated (breathing tube removed) and he is alert and oriented. Talking appropriately. Neuro intact.
On 21 Jan, blood drawn just before 7 a.m. Na+ WNL.
By 7:15 he has coded, pupils blown.
Discharge/ death summary lists diagnosis/ cause of death as "undetermined."
Key points from the prosecutor:
Only explanation for Garnett Spears' death is deliberate salt poisoning by his mother
Lacey Spears researched dangers of high sodium and tried covering her tracks by asking a friend to discard feeding bag that tested positive for elevated levels of salt.
Key points from the defense:
No one saw Lacey Spears poison her son
No evidence "that legitimately answers why" Spears would have killed Garnett
Kevin McSherry, the doctor, said Spears told him that Garnett was hospitalized at 10 weeks of age with a sodium level of 200. McSherry testified, "I did not believe that," noting that such a high level is incompatible with life. Garnett, he recalls, was quiet, alert and awake. McSherry will continue testifying when the trial resumes at 2 p.m. Wednesday. The trial is expected to last three weeks.
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2015/02/03/lacey-spears-murder-trial-opens/22792525/
