Slain waitress's last moments detailedShe was hanging on for dear life,' witness says on 1st day of testimony
07/16/2003
Jennifer Sanchez clung to the roof of an old Chevrolet Nova in terror – her legs dangling – as the driver swerved to throw her off, several witnesses recalled on the opening day of testimony in Sarah Foust's murder trial.
The 20-year-old waitress who had hoped to become a schoolteacher had a "terrified" look in her eyes as Ms. Foust backed up her car, forcing Ms. Sanchez onto the trunk, then sped away from an Irving restaurant, witness Jonathan Cooley said.
"It scared the heck out of me," he said. "It was pretty obvious that there was a person behind her and she was backing into her. ... It appeared to me she was hanging on for dear life."
Ms. Foust sobbed several times Tuesday, including when Ms. Sanchez's father described his daughter and identified photographs of her and while jurors heard a recording of 911 dispatchers talking with witnesses just after the incident.
Her attorney, David Scoggins, declined to make any opening remarks.
Patrons and employees of an Irving Bennigan's restaurant described how Ms. Foust, 19, and friends Kortnie Henson, David W. Thornton and Michael John Prewitt set in motion the events that led to the waitress's death just after midnight Jan. 3. The group had $130 worth of food and alcohol, then tried to sneak away without paying the tab, witnesses said.
Kevin Barlow was sitting at a nearby table and said the group had been acting oddly. One of the women was wearing pajama pants, and they appeared to be intoxicated, he said.
Mr. Prewitt asked about nearby topless clubs where the women might work, Mr. Barlow said.
He warned Ms. Sanchez when three of them exited the restaurant while Mr. Prewitt remained to finish a beer, then got up to go to the restroom.
Moments later, Mr. Prewitt was sprinting out a side exit with Ms. Sanchez in pursuit.
Outside, Ms. Sanchez approached the idling car driven by Ms. Foust and threatened to call police.
"She said, 'You're not going to get away. I'm going to write your number down.' ... While she was behind the car, the car started backing up into her," Mr. Cooley said.
Witnesses said they saw Ms. Sanchez on the trunk of the car. The car accelerated through the parking lot, and Ms. Sanchez began moving onto the roof of the car, possibly in an effort to hold on, Mr. Cooley said.
The car turned suddenly, throwing Ms. Sanchez to the ground. She died later that morning from her injuries.
To obtain a guilty verdict for murder, prosecutors Keith Robinson and Howard Blackmon must prove that Ms. Foust intended to hurt or kill Ms. Sanchez as she fled from the restaurant.
"She makes a decision ... to cut the wheel of that car, to attempt to throw Jennifer Sanchez off the roof of that car, and she's successful," Mr. Robinson told jurors in his opening statements.
A lawsuit filed by Ms. Sanchez's parents charges that the restaurant put their daughter in danger by having a policy that encouraged employees to pursue patrons trying to leave without paying.
A Bennigan's manager denied under cross-examination by Mr. Scoggins on Tuesday that the restaurant made employees responsible for bills that are not paid.
Defense attorneys have said they plan to have Ms. Foust testify on her own behalf after prosecutors finish presenting their case.
Ms. Foust, who does not have a driver's license, faces five to 99 years in prison if convicted of murder, a first-degree felony.
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