District Attorney Jim Woodall is bringing forward witnesses to explain the course of events of Aug. 30, 2006, almost in the exact order they occurred. He warned the jury in his opening statements he would be presenting "very dry" testimony.
So far, we have heard from witnesses on the scene at Orange, both students and administrators as well as law enforcement officers. Then, testimony has followed Castillo from his arrest to booking and the comments he made in the interim. While in custody, Castillo told officers he had "sacrificed" his father, leading them to a second crime scene at 230 Lipps Lane. That's where we stand as of this writing.
Public defender James Williams objected to the prosecution's use of some photos from the home that showed the deceased body of Rafael Castillo, saying their graphic nature would unnecessarily sway the opinion of jury. Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour allowed the photos, saying 18 pictures from the scene had been condensed to a more reasonable three.
As stated before, the defense is more likely to dwell on family life and psychiatric evaluation of Alvaro Castillo than the events of the day in question, given that neither side disputes what happened.
On another note, I am going to be gone Thursday and Friday, but I will try to respond to e-mails before the workday Monday.
See what ended up on The News of Orange County's cutting room floor.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Feel free to send us a comment. Just be sure to keep it clean and respectful. And we reserve the right to not publish anonymous comments.