Chapter 690: 226: Sentenced to death! _3
Lawyer Bush nodded and then looked to the second witness, “Miss Afra Gracen, please recount what you saw around 8:40 p.m. on August 18th!”
Afra Gracen stood up, “On August 18th, I had a fight with James and later, I drove him out. Around 8 o’clock in the evening, the more I thought about it, the more I felt something was wrong. I couldn’t just let James kick me out like that, so I took a taxi to Imperial Court Apartments. Since the power was off that day in Imperial Court Apartments, the elevator couldn’t be used, so I had to climb the stairs. Halfway up, I suddenly heard footsteps, and then I saw a strangely dressed person. At the time, I thought it was a thief, so I took a picture of them and hid quietly.”
Upon hearing this, Lawyer Bush immediately presented a photo.
“Is this the photo you took at the time?”
Afra Gracen looked up and nodded, “Yes.”
Lawyer Bush nodded and continued, “Alright, what happened next?”
Afra Gracen’s thoughts were immersed in what she had seen and heard that day, “Later I went back to where we lived, and as soon as I opened the door, I found James lying in a pool of blood. I was terrified because I had just had an argument with him during the day and had scratched his arm with a fruit knife. If the police investigated, they would definitely think that I killed him! At that time, I was so scared that I lost my soul, and my first reaction was to run! So, when the police first asked me, I was afraid of being held accountable, and I denied ever going back that day.”
Lawyer Bush looked at Afra Gracen and spoke in a serious tone, “Afra, you should be very clear about the consequences of perjury, right?”
Afra Gracen immediately nodded, “I know, I know! I am willing to pay the legal price for what I said, and I can guarantee that everything I said is true. If I told a lie, may lightning strike me down!”
At the end, Afra Gracen raised three fingers and made an appearance as if to swear to the heavens.
The audience watching the live stream became unsettled.
[What is this lawyer trying to prove? Does she want to say that the person with an unclear face is her sister? And then her sister killed James? That’s impossible!]
[Exactly! Why would they think that person is her sister? I’d say that person is Viola Thompson!]
[I’m going to be sick!]
[Is this lawyer good enough? If she’s not, get someone else!]
[They can’t seriously be trying to convict her sister on these messy pieces of evidence, can they?]
Lawyer Bush then looked at the third witness, “Maureen Fitzell, please recount what happened on August 18th.”
Maureen Fitzell stood up and began, “On August 18th, I met with Sophie Cooper around 11 o’clock, almost noon. We had lunch together, saw a movie, and then had dinner. After returning home that evening, we chatted together, and during the conversation, around six o’clock, Sophie gave me a mixed-flavored juice. The taste of the juice was strange and a bit bitter. I thought it was strange, but Sophie told me that the mixed juice’s taste was just like that, so I didn’t think much of it and drank it. I didn’t expect that after I finished, my consciousness gradually blurred and then I lost consciousness. When I woke up, it was already half past nine. I don’t know what happened during this process, so I just assumed that I had been with Sophie the whole time.”
Lawyer Bush immediately showed the judge and everyone a surveillance video.
“Maureen Fitzell, can you confirm if the person in the surveillance footage is you?”
Maureen Fitzell looked at the video and nodded, “It’s me.”
The video fully recorded the process of Sylvia Thompson bringing the juice to Maureen Fitzell, Maureen Fitzell losing consciousness, and Sylvia Thompson changing clothes and leaving.
Lawyer Bush then looked at Sylvia Thompson and continued, “Defendant Sophie Cooper, could you please explain why you drugged Maureen Fitzell’s drink, and why you changed your clothes before going outside?”
“I didn’t drug her! Maureen was too tired and fell asleep, it has nothing to do with me.”
“Your Honor,” Maureen Fitzell stood up from the witness stand again, holding a medical report, “This is the result of my examination at the hospital. The doctor said that after drinking the vitamin C and antacid, my body was left with serious after-effects.”
The judge instructed someone to take the evidence up.
Lawyer Bush asked again, “Defendant Sophie Cooper, can you explain why you changed your clothes before going outside?”
Sylvia Thompson hesitated for a moment and then said, “I just wanted to change my clothes and take a walk.”