Smoke'em!
Posted on 10/18/2002 7:07:22 AM PDT by KS Flyover
Survivor says she caught STD
By Roxana Hegeman - The Associated Press - 10/18/2002
WICHITA -- A woman who survived a rape and shooting surprised prosecutors Thursday by telling them she had contracted the same sexually transmitted disease a detective just testified one of the suspects had.
The woman alerted prosecutors after she watched live televised coverage of a police detective telling jurors that Reginald Carr had a sexually transmitted disease. The woman said that about two months after the attacks her doctor told her she had the same condition, District Attorney Nola Foulston said.
Outside the jury's presence, Foulston told District Judge Paul Clark the woman hadn't disclosed that information to prosecutors earlier -- and the victim didn't know one of the men arrested for the killings and rapes had the disease. Foulston said she informed defense attorneys of the surprise disclosure immediately after talking to the victim.
Reginald Carr and his brother Jonathan Carr face 113 charges, most of which stem from the events of Dec. 14 to 15, 2000, when five friends were abducted from a Wichita home, forced to engage in sexual acts and to withdraw money from ATMs before they all were shot. The two women were raped. Aaron Sander, 29; Brad Heyka, 27; Jason Befort, 26; and Heather Muller, 25, died. Befort's girlfriend, then a 25-year-old teacher, survived and ran naked for a mile to find help.
The brothers also are being tried in the Dec. 11, 2000, attempted robbery and shooting of Ann Walenta, 55, who later died, and a robbery four days earlier in which Andrew Schreiber was abducted and forced to withdraw cash from ATMs.
The issue of the sexually transmitted disease first came up in court Thursday when defense attorney John Val Wachtel was cross-examining police detective James Hosty. Hosty was guarding Reginald Carr at the hospital where medical staff took samples of his blood and hair as evidence. Hosty said he observed the disease at that time.
Heather Hull, a nurse who collected evidence samples from both brothers, later testified she observed one of the brothers had a sexually transmitted disease. Under cross-examination, Hull acknowledged she couldn't recall which had the disease.
Prosecutors brought back to the stand the woman who survived the attack. She testified that months after the rapes, she developed symptoms of the disease.
With the jury gone to lunch, Val Wachtel told the judge he was surprised by the disclosure and should have objected to that testimony because the information hadn't been disclosed earlier. Val Wachtel moved for a mistrial.
Clark ruled that while the information should have been part of the evidence discovery process, its discovery now could be handled with jury instructions rather than a mistrial.
"I'll find there is no fault as the district attorney didn't know it, nobody in law enforcement knew it until cross examination of detective Hosty was done this morning (and) then the witness made known her medical condition," Clark said.
Reginald Carr wasn't in the courtroom Thursday morning, and his absence wasn't explained to jurors.
But during court proceedings without the jury present, Clark heard a report from a security officer that Reginald Carr had made threats to officers at the correctional center.
Security officers wanted the judge to allow them to bring Reginald Carr into the courtroom in shackles. Val Wachtel told the judge if his client appears in the courtroom in shackles it will give the jury the impression he is a dangerous person and influence their ability to presume him innocent.
Clark ruled Reginald Carr could be restrained during the court proceedings, but that he be brought in before the jury was seated and any restraints used not be visible to jurors. Reginald Carr returned to court in the afternoon, with his shackles discretely hidden.
A neighbor living in the triplex unit to the west of where the five friends were attacked also took the stand Thursday, telling jurors she was coming home around 11 p.m. in her new BMW when a car appeared to follow her home. Jean Beck testified she waited until the unfamiliar car passed before getting out of her car to get her mail and pull into her garage.
Her garage is immediately adjacent to the garage of the triplex unit where the attacks occurred.
Also testifying Thursday was Stephanie Donley, Reginald Carr's girlfriend, in whose apartment stolen property was found when Reginald Carr was arrested. Donley said he stayed with her whenever he was in town and she wasn't working nights.
Donley told jurors she lent Reginald Carr her car the night of the quadruple murders, and didn't see him again until he showed up at 4:30 a.m. the next morning with a lot of property. She had been waiting for him to come home all night.
"I was awake because I was pretty mad," Donley said.
Donley also identified in court the red shorts Reginald Carr was wearing under his jeans just before taking a shower in the apartment. Those are the shorts Foulston contended in her opening arguments were later found to contain traces of Heather Muller's blood.
Donley testified she had a sexual relationship with Reginald Carr, and although she was using birth control pills she asked him to wear condoms. She said he appeared to have a sexually transmitted disease.
For detais about the murders see: The Wichita Massacre
Wichita Massacre Trial Threads:
Wichita to revisit brutal slayings as testimony begins - 10/07/2002
Deputy recalls moment of discovering bodies [Wichita Murders] Day 1 - 10/07/2002
WICHITA MASSACRE TRIAL UNDERWAY Day 1 - 10/08/2002
Legal wrangling opens Carr trial [Wichita Murders] Day 1 - 10/08/2002
Carr trial: Survivor describes sexual attacks by armed intruders [Wichita Massacre] Day 2 - 10/09/2002
Witchita Case of Black Racist Crime Survivor's testimony horrifies courtroom Day 2 - 10/10/2002
Woman testifies that Carrs killed her friends in a soccer field [Wichita Massacre Day 3] - 10/10/2002
Prosecutors Downplay Racial Element in Kansas Murder Trial - 10/11/2002
Reginald Carr had $996, victims' credit card, watch [Wichita Massacre Day 4] - 10/11/2002
Wichita Massacre Audio of 911 Call by Female Survivor with Court Room Video Footage From Day 1- 10/11/2002
Victims' belongings linked to defendant [Wichita Massacre Day 5] - 10/12/2002
Trial opens window into night of fear - 10/13/2002
Media Ignore Kansas Interracial Mass Murder - 10/14/2002
AP Finally Reports Wichita Trial... But Mentions "White Supremacist" Support - 10/14/2002
Nosey mom tips off cops (Wichita Massacre) Day 6 - 10/15/2002
'I was afraid,' witness says [Wichita Massacre Day 6] - 10/15/2002
ATM photos shown in Carr trial [Wichita Massacre Day 7] - 10/16/2002
Testimony on cellist slaying fills Carr trial [Wichita Massacre Day 8] - 10/17/2002
"Wichita Massacre" murder trial "Ping List".Please let me know if you want on (or off) this list.
I realize he is the judge and must remain neutral, but this woman is no WITNESS she is a f*ing VICTIM. We finally have a true victim in this country just chock full o' victims, and she is referred to as a witness. Up is down and down is up. fsf
Not to put too fine a point on it, but samples of the disease causing agent (virus or bacterium) could be taken and cultured from both victim and attacker, then the DNA compared. If it's the exact same pathogen, then there will be strong reason to believe he gave it to her...
Smoke'em!
I don't know the law in Kansas, but in GA it's a pretty safe bet that when the prosecutors and the police investigating the case didn't know the undisclosed evidence from a witness, it's allowed in if the defense is given time to inspect the new evidence before it's given to the jury. This little gambit would not cut much ice here, don't think it will in Kansas either. Plus there's the wonderful saving grace of "overwhelming evidence". If the error wouldn't have affected the verdict, it may be error but it's not harmful error. Hopefully, that's what this is.
The degradation of the American *justice* system, courtesy of scumbag lawyers like Val Wachtel.
it will give the jury the impression he is a dangerous person
Words fail me, and I'm angry.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.