In Ms. McDowell's direct testimony, she stated that she met both Anastasia and Justin through Byron Case,1 that Anastasia and Justin had a very rocky relationship, that Anastasia appeared deeply in love with Justin and was constantly calling McDowell to talk about the relationship. She also stated that Justin Bruton took acid (LSD) and occasionally had hallucinations as a result.2 She testified that Byron and Justin came to her apartment on the night of the murder,3 and exhibited no unusual behavior, did not appear to have been drinking, and that she was close enough to them (six inches) to have been able to tell. She said they had come over to pick something up or deliver something from Abraham Kneisley, and that they seemed in a good mood, talking about their visit to a video gaming store, and did not even mention Anastasia to her. She stated that Byron Case broke the news of Anastasia's death to her a few days later, and that he appeared to her to be upset and "sympathetic".4Upon cross-examination, Ms. McDowell agreed that she had told police in her statement of February 1998 (just more than three months after the murder) that she had thought it was "really odd" how they had visited her that night, that they just stopped by, not really wanting to "hang out", and had specifically not wanted to come into her apartment,5 talking to her out in the hallway.6 She stated that Case had come by her apartment in January 19987 just before her interview with a detective to discuss "the articles in the newspaper", probably referring to a particular story that had appeared in the Kansas City Star,8 and that he had told her specifically that he had come by the night of the murder to pick up a key to her ex-boyfriend's car, but that she still had that key in February 1998. The prosecutor pressed her on her testimony that Byron and Justin had said nothing about Anastasia on the night of the murder, and that she had apparently never thought to ask Case why he failed to mention her.
The prosecutor then moved on to the announcement that Byron Case had on his pager at the time of the murder which said "Leave a message unless this is Anastasia. Nobody wants to talk to you.",9 which showed there was true animosity between Anastasia and Case at the time of the murder. McDowell then acknowledged that, while she had told the detective that Case did not own a firearm to her knowledge, she also told them that he might have owned a gun.10 This was relevant to the fact that Kelly Moffett's testimony11 included hearing Case tell her that he had retrieved a gun from his father's house in order to kill Anastasia.
The prosecutor then questioned McDowell12 about her having talked to Don Rand, another witness for the defense,13 and exchanged information about what they each knew or thought about the case.14 McDowell confirmed her statement to police that she never saw Anastasia carry a purse.15 The prosecutor then questioned her on having been given access to the pre-trial case file16 by Abraham Kneisley17, documents that included statements from all potential witnesses. McDowell responded that her prime interest was to see her own statement and the autopsy report, but did not state whether or not she looked at anything else, nor how much.
TARA MCDOWELL, having been duly sworn by the Court,testified:Page 949 (Tara McDowell direct testimony)
Q.Page 950 (Tara McDowell direct testimony)A.That's fine. You had a second apartment?Q.Right. I moved from one to the other.A.Ms. McDowell, how do you know the defendant, Mr. Byron Case?Q.We had met in Westport, I believe. I'm not sure if it was through a mutual friend. It's been quite some time and had spent some time just talking, hanging out.A.Did you ever meet a young lady named Kelly Moffett?Q.I do not remember Kelly.A.Alright.Q.I've been told that I did, but I don't.A.That's fine. Did you ever meet a young lady named Anastasia WitbolsFeugen?Q.Certainly did.A.How did you know Anastasia?Q.I already knew Byron, and I met Anastasia and Justin through Byron.A.All right. And how well did you know Anastasia?We became very close towards the end of her life. We had spent quite a bit of time together. There were some difficulties. We were very good friends.
Q.Page 951 (Tara McDowell direct testimony)A.Difficulties in her relationship?Q.Her relationship with Justin and her relationship with her family.A.Did you know a young man named Abraham Kneisley?Q.I certainly did.A.How did you know Mr. Kneisley?Q.Also met through mutual acquaintances and ended up dating and living together.A.And, in fact, when you dated and lived together with Mr. Kneisley, that was in the year 1997, right?Q.Yes.A.Did you know a young man named Justin Bruton?Q.I certainly did.A.How did you meet him?Q.Through Byron.A.How well did you know Justin?Q.Very well.A.Did you notice anything unusual in the relationship between Anastasia and Justin?Q.They had a very on-again-off-again emotionally volatile relationship.I never saw anything that would suggest violence, but it certainly wasn't a happy, calm relationship.A.That's fine. At the time leading up to Anastasia's death in October of '97, what was your impression of those two people were together or not together?I think that it's been a few years, and I try to remember when they were on and when they were off. It was so frequently changing.
Q.Page 952 (Tara McDowell direct testimony)A.That's fine. That's fine. Let me start over. During October 1997, how was your relationship going with Mr. Abraham Kneisley?Q.We had broken up and were not really speaking. He was no longer living at my apartment.A.Just for a second let's talk about Anastasia and Justin again. How did Anastasia respond to their constant breakups?Q.They would become very despondent and very needy. I think that she was not in a very good place. She would -- well, I would hear from her several times a day. The phone would ring, and it was always Anastasia. She really needed people around her to help her figure out how she should handle things with Justin. She was very much in love with him.A.More so than he was with her?That's something I don't want to qualify, necessarily.
Q.Page 953 (Tara McDowell direct testimony)A.You don't feel comfortable answering that?Q.No.A.That's fine. In the weeks leading up to Anastasia's death, did you notice any unusual behavior on the part of Justin Bruton?Q.We weren't spending as much time together as we had been.A.Why not?Q.Due to the situation with Abraham.A.You had just broken up?Q.Right. It was a little touchy for me. I was spending time with people that I had been friends with prior to that relationship. I did still speak to them pretty frequently. Justin called me one night and was talking about how all the apartments in his condo complex had fish tanks built into the floors with people living in them. He had taken a large quantity of acid, and this actually stuck with him for a few days. He honestly believed that there were fish people living under his condo floor.All right. Do you know if that was in the weeks leading up to the time frame of Anastasia's death?
A.Page 954 (Tara McDowell direct testimony)Q.Yes.A.Did you actually see Justin Bruton taking acid?Q.Not at that time, no.A.Had you seen Justin using acid?Q.Previous.A.Let me go back to my original question. In the weeks leading up to Anastasia's death, did you notice any other unusual behavior by Justin Bruton?Q.Not that I can think of.A.All right. It's been awhile. Did you consider Anastasia a friend of yours?Q.Definitely.A.So you wouldn't be here today to protect her killer?Q.No.A.Did you go to Anastasia's funeral, for example?Q.I certainly did.A.Ms. McDowell, I have to ask you about the evening of October 22nd 1997. I'm going to ask you to go back to that evening. Okay? Do you recall what you were doing that evening?I was at home. I believe that I had taken a nap that afternoon. I wasn't working during that time period. I think I was reading a book and listening to music.
Q.Page 955 (Tara McDowell direct testimony)A.So you were at home in your apartment?Q.(The witness nodded.)A.Did anyone stop by?Q.Justin and Byron came by my house in the evening.A.What was the purpose of that visit?Q.I believe they were coming by to drop off something or pick something up for Brahm, but I don't remember specifically.A."Brahm" is a short name for?Q.Abraham, sorry.A.Was Kelly Moffett with these two young men?Q.Certainly not.A.When the two men, Justin and Byron, arrived, can you remember how long they stayed when they visited your apartment?Q.I think it was about 20 minutes, but I'm not - don't have a clock in my apartment and -- well, not in the living room, and I don't wear a watch so I'm not exactly sure.A.Did you see any signs from the two young men that they had been drinking liquor?Q.Absolutely not.A.For example, did you smell liquor?(Witness shook head.)
Q.Page 956 (Tara McDowell direct testimony)A.Did you smell any liquor on Byron Case, specifically?Q.I smelled no liquor on either of them at all.A.When you had a conversation, were you close enough to them that you could have smelled liquor?Q.I was -- yes. I was very close. I think I was maybe at most six inches away from them.A.During this 20 minute visit, did you see anything unusual in behavior of either Justin or Byron?Q.No.A.What was the general conversation about?Q.They both seemed to be in fairly good moods. There was no -- I think we might have discussed Byron briefly. I'm sorry. Abraham briefly. Justin, I remember, showed me a stamp on his hand from going to Funcoland either that morning or the day before. It was pretty general conversation. There was nothing specific that I remember.A.Do you know what Funcoland is?Q.Yes. It's a store where they sell new and used video games.And Justin had a stamp on his hand from being there earlier?
A.Page 957 (Tara McDowell direct testimony)Q.Uh-huh.A.And you talked about that briefly?Q.(The witness nodded.)A.Yes or no.Q.Yes. Sorry.A.You're doing fine. During the general conversation, was there any mention of Anastasia and what she did that evening?Q.Not that I recall, no.A.During this 20 minute visit, did you see any signs from Justin Bruton that he was upset or acting emotional?Q.No.A.Did Justin appear to you to be unusually pale or shaken?Q.No.A.Did it appear to you that Justin might have been crying earlier?Q.No.A.Did you see any unusual signs of anybody acting emotional or upset?Q.No, I did not. I'm sorry.Ms. McDowell, I apologize to you drudging up these bad memories. Do you recall when you heard about Anastasia's death?
A.Page 958 (Tara McDowell direct testimony)Q.Yes. It was a few days after her body had been found, and Byron and Robert Hartley came to my house to tell me, I believe they were together.A.So you didn't see it on the news or anything like that?Q.They brought a copy of the newspaper.A.I mean, the day she was found you didn't see it on the news or anything like that?Q.No. I did not.A.When Byron and this other friend broke you the news, I understand -- for the record, you're also upset right now, right?MS. CRAYON:I would like to point out that what we're discussing in terms of -Excuse me, Ms. McDowell.MS. CRAYON:(Counsel approached the bench and the following proceedings were had:)MR. LANCE:I'm going to object. It's unresponsive to a question. I don't know what she is going to say, but to say I want to point something out, rather than me jumping up.THE COURT:I'll try to ask a tighter question.Okay.
Page 959 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)BY MR. LANCE:(The proceedings returned to open court.)Q.
A.Ms. McDowell, I'm going to try to wrap up so let you get out of here. When Byron told you the news about Anastasia's death, did you notice anything unusual or suspicious about Byron Case's behavior?Q.No. He seemed very sympathetic to me that I would be upset and I believe he was also upset.A.That he had lost his friend, Anastasia, also?Q.Yes. And nobody knew where Justin was.A.And you were interviewed by the police the following February; is that correct?Q.Yes.A.And did you tell Detective Kilgore all the information that you could give him about that night?Q.Yes.A.You've been completely truthful today?MR. LANCE:Yes, I have.THE COURT:I'm finished. The prosecutor may have a few questions for you.MS. CRAYON:Cross examination.Yes, your Honor.
THE COURT:Page 960 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)CROSS EXAMINATION BY MS. CRAYON:Ma'am, there is Kleenex. Help yourself to the Kleenex.Q.
A.Are you okay? As much as you can be in this situation?Q.(The witness nodded.)A.Ms. McDowell, I'm Theresa Crayon. You and I spoke on the phone a couple days ago, but we have never met; is that true?Q.Certainly.A.And we kind of talked about what your testimony might be if you did come in and testify as the defense indicated; is that correct?Q.Briefly.A.Right. And today you've talked a little bit about who you knew in this situation, and when Mr. Lance asked you if you knew a Kelly Moffett, I believe your answer was: "I had been told that I met Kelly, but I just don't remember her"; is that right?Q.Yes.A.And why is it that you don't remember Kelly Moffett?Possibly because I believe I only met her once or twice, and we are talking about nearly five years ago.
Q.Page 961 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)A.And when you and I talked, you told me that, because of how young she was and that she lived in Johnson County, you guys just really didn't have very much in common so you didn't pay too much attention to Kelly; is that fair?Q.I honestly don't ever remember being around Kelly. What I said to you on the phone was I didn't have a reason to remember her. I didn't seek her out.A.For the reasons that I just said; isn't that true? Isn't that what you told me? Because she was like 15 years old and lived in Johnson County. There was nothing you had in common or reason to remember her.Q.There was nothing that I knew of.A.That's fair. You also in your statement -- I'm going to refer back and forth to your statement and to things that we had talked about as well as your testimony. You saw Anastasia about a week prior to her being killed; is that right?Q.Yes, I did.And she was in a really good mood and very upbeat about her relationship with Justin; is that fair?
A.Page 962 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)Q.That is certainly fair.A.And, you know, we've heard a lot of testimony, Ms. McDowell, about how Justin and Anastasia's relationship was on and off, and that was true towards the end of the relationship, wasn't it?Q.I think I would prefer if you clarified the end more, because that was true for most of the relationship, as I saw it.A.All right. Did you know Anastasia and Justin when they first started dating like in May or June?Q.No, I did not.A.All right. And so you didn't know when everybody else may be characterizing it, you didn't know about when they were very much in love and were going to get married and were going to live together and things like that? Did you know anything about that?Q.When I met them, they were already living together. So no, I don't know about the previous relationship.And while they were living together early on let me ask it this way. When is it that you got to know the both of them during that summer? Give us a time frame.
A.Page 963 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)Q.I have no idea when I met them.A.Okay.Q.-- specifically.A.So you never knew them when they were really getting along and happy?Q.I said they had an on-again-off-again relationship. They would go through time periods of being intensely attached to each other. They were living together.A.But the entire time that you were associated with both of them, it was always in this on-again-off-again; is that what you're saying?Q.Yes.A.Now, on October 22nd, Mr. Lance asked you about being home that evening and if anybody came by. And I believe you told him that you recalled Justin and Byron stopping by; is that right?Q.Yes.A.And, in fact, you talked to Detective Kilgore on February 3rd of 1998. So it's a few months after Anastasia is killed; is that right?Q.Yes.And when you talked to Detective Kilgore, you were trying to be as helpful as possible; is that right?
A.Page 964 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)Q.I believe so.A.And to remember as much as you could, even though a couple of months had gone by?Q.Yeah.A.And even more time has gone by now. You're sitting here years later trying to remember these things, right?Q.Certainly.A.And in February of '98, you told Detective Kilgore that, when they stopped by, that it was really odd. Isn't that what you told Detective Kilgore?Q.That is exactly the phrase that I used to describe it to him.A.And you told him that they had just stopped by; didn't give you any warning that they were coming; and that that was very unusual for your friends; is that right?Q.Nobody ever gave me a warning that they were coming over. I didn't have a telephone.And that they just -- "It was really odd. They just stopped by. They didn't want to see what I was doing that night. They didn't want to hang out." Is that what you told them?
A.Page 965 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)Q.Yes.A.And, in fact, you said that they didn't even want to come in the apartment; that they stood out in the hallway. You had to come out in the hallway to talk to them?Q.I stood in the doorway of my apartment, and they stood outside, yes.A.They didn't want to come in. Well, let me show you page 7 in your statement from February of '98. And this isn't something you need to read out loud at this point, but if you would just read from here down just to this portion here to refresh your memory.Q.Yes.A.And that, in fact, says that they didn't want to come in, so I went out in the hallway and talked to them for a few minutes; is that right?Q.Yes.A.And ?Q.That's correct.A.I'm sorry?Q.That is correct.A.And that you thought that was very odd; fair?Fair.
Q.Page 966 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)A.And you also told Detective Kilgore in early February, February 3rd, that you had just finished speaking with Byron a couple of weeks ago, which would have been end of January, and that Byron had told you just at the end of January that the reason he came by was to get a key for Abraham's Datsun?Q.Yes.A.And you told Detective Kilgore you can't remember him asking for a key; is that right?Q.I still don't remember that.A.And you also told Kilgore it was really odd, because you had the key right there at the table and, if they had asked for it, you would have given it to them. Isn't that right?Q.That is what I told him.A.And that you remember them coming by and you don't remember him bringing anything from Abraham's house?Q.I don't remember him bringing anything.A.And the only reference you would have is, if they brought you something, would be if Byron told you they did, right?Q.I didn't say it directly like that, no.Well, but you don't remember it, correct?
A.Page 967 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)Q.I don't remember it because they were coming by house every few days to bring me things from Brahm. I would not have noticed a specific time that they brought me a letter.A.Okay. But Byron came by a couple of weeks before you talked to Sergeant Kilgore and tells you: "Don't you remember we came by to get a key to Abraham's car?"Q.No. That is not how that went.A.I want you to go ahead and review on page 7, what you told Detective Kilgore, and there are some other things that are in here, but go ahead and take a second and read that.Q.Yes. He came by to tell me about the articles in the newspaper, at which point I asked him why he had come by that night, the night that Anastasia was killed.A.And Byron said they had come by to get the key for Abraham's Datsun, right?Q.Yes.A."Which I still have", right? Is that what it said?Q.Certainly.And that you say you "don't recall him asking me for that, and I don't understand why I wouldn't have given it to them that night if they had asked, because I had it right here at my side table", right?
A.Q.Q.Correct.A.What your testimony here today is, when they came by, all they did was talk about having gone to Funcoland and Justin actually showed you a stamp he had, right?Q.Uh-huh.A.And never mentioned an Anastasia to you, correct?Q.Not that I recall.A.Well, you would remember that, wouldn't you, Ms. McDowell? If they told you "Anastasia was with us, and she got out of the car, we left her in a bad neighborhood, and she took off", and you're her good friend and confidant, and you've established that you stopped talking to Justin about this because there was such a stress situation, you would remember, would you not, if they told you about Anastasia that night?Q.It's not as if I knew I needed to remember every second of that conversation because my two close friends would be dead within the week.A.When you found out that they were and you thought back and Kilgore asked you about it, you said: "It's very strange because I would think they would have said something, and they didn't."When I spoke to Kilgore in February --Page 968 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)
A.Yes.
Q.-- and could not recall every moment of the conversation that took place in October.
A.So what your testimony is, is that Byron Case and Justin Bruton showed up at your house, at your house or apartment ?
Q.Yeah.
A.-- the night that Anastasia is missing. You don't find out until two days later, and at the time that you find out and the ensuing days after when you're trying to make sense of this, you don't go back and say why didn't they tell me that she got out of the car? Is that what your testimony is?
Q.No. Absolutely.
A.So you never questioned that?
Q.No.
A.And, in fact, in February you told Detective Kilgore that, when they stopped by, not only don't you recall them bringing anything to you, but they told you that they were heading over to Abraham's house, not that they were coming from Abraham's house?
Q.That's how I remembered it.
Page 969 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)That would have been months after it happened instead of years later as we sit here, right?
A.Page 970 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)Q.Right.A.So you remember them saying, "We're going over to Abraham's house," correct?Q.At the time.A.Are you changing that memory now?Q.I don't remember it at all now. I don't recall if they went there prior or after.A.But you would agree with me in February your memory was that you they had told you they were going to Abraham's house?Q.That is what the statement says.A.And, in fact, the statement also says -- and I'll refer you to page 10 if you need to refresh your memory -- that it was odd -- you found it odd they didn't mention Anastasia, because they frequently -- and your words were "bitched about Anastasia" to you?Q.I had attempted to get Justin to quit discussing her with me. It was odd that he didn't bring it up, but...So on page 10 -- are you agreeing with me in your statement that you said it was odd that Byron and Justin had not mentioned Anastasia, because they had gotten to the point where they were always bitching about her?
A.Page 971 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)Q.I haven't seen the statement. I do recall that there was a lot of complaining about Anastasia. By everyone.A.I would be more than glad to show you the statement if it refreshes your recollection. My question is: In February of '98, would you agree that you told Detective Kilgore that you found it odd on October 22, when they came by your house that night, that you found it odd, in hindsight, that they did not say anything about Anastasia, because they had bitched about her so much so often?Q.What precisely is your question? I'm curious. Are you asking me to confirm what the statement says?A.Yes. I'm asking, did you say that to Detective Kilgore in February of 98?Q.I cannot confirm or deny I said that word for word. If you want to show me the statement.MR. LANCE:I would be more than happy to.MS. CRAYON:Counsel, are we on page 10?I'm Sorry. We're starting on page 9 for her full answer so she can read the whole thing she said.
A.Page 972 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)By MS. CRAYON:Yes.Q.
A.Yes what?Q.I said that.A.In fact, you said they didn't even mention Kelly, right?Q.Correct.A.And you told Detective Kilgore, in fact, when he was asking you about what Byron had been saying about all this, you commented that, "Byron was remarkably close mouthed about this whole thing"; do you recall telling him that?Q.No.A.Okay. Refer to page 14 of your statement.Q.I also recall that I was not speaking to Byron frequently at this point.A.Again, you can read to yourself your answer that starts on page 13 and continues to the top of 14.Q.Yes, I said that. ?A.So you don't think Byron shared his thoughts or what may have happened with anybody; he was remarkably close mouthed about it; fair?Q.Fair.As far as you knew, did Byron Case spend a lot of time at Justin's condo?
A.Page 973 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)Q.What time period are you referring to?A.Let's say between May of '97 and October of '97 when Anastasia was killed.Q.Yes.A.And, in fact, he stayed there overnight a lot lived there quite a bit?Q.Frequently.A.I'm going to jump around a little bit. You told Detective Kilgore about a message on Byron Case's pager that he had left just before the murder on his voicemail so that, if you would call the voicemail, you would hear the message. Do you recall what that message said?Q.I recall what the message said, but I was not the one to tell the detective about it.A.If I told you it was in your statement in February of '98, would that surprise you?Q.That would surprise me, because I'm pretty sure he asked me about it, if I had heard the message.A.And you said you didn't?Q.Which I had heard the message.A.Okay. So you lied to the detective about hearing the message?No. I was not the one to tell him about the message. He asked me if I had heard the message, which, in fact, I had.
Q.Page 974 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)A.All right. We'll get to that in a second. What do you recall the message saying?Q.Something about, "This is Byron and I will call you back." I'm trying to remember. The main part of the message -- the part that sticks out in everybody's head, my head including, "If this is Anastasia," something about, "don't leave a message. I won't call you back."A.I'll have to look a little bit to find it, but would you disagree if it was more on the lines of: "Leave a message unless this is Anastasia. Nobody wants to talk to you or nobody is going to bother to call you back."Q.That could be it. It was very negative.A.All right. And at the time that really irritated you, didn't it?Q.I thought it was out of line.A.You thought it was mean, I believe is what you said in your statement; is that fair?Q.Certainly.And I understand that Anastasia was calling many times a day, and you talked about that, and that your perception was Byron was basically just getting really annoyed with hearing from Anastasia as much as he had?
A.Page 975 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)Q.As much as I hate to say it I think Byron and everyone else was getting frustrated.A.All right. And we understand that. And you were frustrated too at times; is that right?Q.I certainly was.A.But you're the one person that stuck it out with Anastasia and tried to talk to heras much as possible?Q.I feel that I tried to.A.And you felt like Byron and others had just completely lost patience with dealing with her; is that right?Q.At times.A.And one of those times would have been when he left this message, right?THE COURT:Correct. Could I have a glass of water?BY MS. CRAYON:Sure. Could you get her a glass of water?
Q.Page 976 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)A.And do you recall in your statement that you told him that as far -- to the best of your knowledge, Byron didn't own a firearm? Do you recall that?Q.Yes.A.And then do you recall adding that you thought his father might have?Q.No.A.I'll show you your statement. Let's take a look at page 11. Does that refresh your memory?Q.When I said that Byron's father may well have owned at least one gun, but I would not know.A.Right. I'm going to get to that. Did you say up here, "To the best of my knowledge, Byron did not own a firearm; however, his father may well have"?Q.That's precisely what that said.A.To Sergeant Kilgore?Q.I did not volunteer that. That was an answer to a question.A.Okay. And would you agree the question was: Do you know of any firearms that Justin or Byron owned?Q.Yes.And your answer was: "To the best of my knowledge Byron did not own a firearm; however, his father may well have"?
A.Page 977 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)Q.Certainly.A.And you indicate to Detective Kilgore at that point, when he says Byron's father, and you said, "Yeah, he was living with his father at this point. His father may well have owned at least one gun. I wouldn't know"?Q.Precisely.A.Which is the extra part you wanted to add in, right? And then you told him about Justin, that you had heard that Justin had had a gun but that he had sold it?Q.That's what I had heard, yes.A.But you didn't see it?Q.No.A.And you didn't ever see Justin or Byron with a gun, right?Q.No. Not a terribly gun-friendly person.A.Two more things. One, after you found out that Anastasia was killed and where that was, you tried to go to the spot where they found her; is that right?Q.Yes, I did.A.And when you went to do that, you had a hard time finding it; is that right?Yes.
Q.Page 978 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)A.And I'm not going to ask you anything about the spot, but in how you got there, you stopped along the way to get directions, right? You stopped at an Amoco?Q.Yes.A.And you had a pretty lengthy conversation with the guy at the Amoco, right?Q.I believe so. I asked him if he had seen her.A.Right. And you guys kind of talked about what you knew had happened and things like that; is that right?Q.I don't remember.A.And, if I told you that in your statement you talked about speaking to the Amoco guy to find out where Lincoln Cemetery was and that you said that you went on and had a conversation about the car and a stoplight -- or I believe it was a stop sign, is what you said he said, and that she was walking quickly uphill to the cemetery. Do you recall having that conversation with the Amoco man?It's a very familiar conversation. I do not -- I cannot say for certain that I had that conversation specifically with the man at the Amoco.
Q.Page 979 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)A.Okay. The conversation is detailed quite a bit and I unless you -- I don't think there is any reason to read through all of it, but would you agree with me your statement says that you finally found it because you stopped at the Amoco?Q.Yes.A.And that, when Sergeant Kilgore asks if you had talked to the gentleman, you said yeah, that he had talked to the police already, right?Q.Yes.A.And that the two of you then had an extensive conversation about what he had seen and that you talk about that he saw Anastasia get out of the car and that he didn't know what kind of car, but that he does say that -- read through here and it's all the way down through here.Q.I don't know if I personally would term this as an extensive conversation.A.I understand that's relative.Q.But, yes. This makes sense that I would have this conversation with him.A.So the two of youQ.Not terribly detail-oriented.But you guys got into a conversation and shared information about what you knew and where she was found and how she got there; is that fair?
A.Q.I believe I told him what I thought had happened.
A.Okay. All right. And that he had basically told you that he saw her taking the road, according to what you're saying, leading up to the cemetery?
Q.I believe that's what he said, yes.
A.And you told him what you knew?
Q.What I thought I knew at that point.
A.What you thought knew had happened, right?
Q.Yeah.
A.And did Anastasia ever carry a purse as far as you know?
Q.I don't believe that I saw her with one at any point. Of course, I never- saw her with sandals.
A.And he asked her about both of those, didn't he? Sergeant Kilgore, in February, asked you whether or not she ever carried a purse or if she ever wore sandals, didn't be?
Q.Yes.
A.And you said that you had never seen her wear any of those things -- either of those things?
Page 980 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)I know specifically I never saw her with sandals, and that I didn't think I had ever seen her with a purse either.
Q.Page 981 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)A.This is a fairly small point, but at the bottom of page 32.Q.Okay.A.Would you agree you told him that you never knew her to carry that much money and you never saw her carry a purse?Q.And that she wasn't feminine like that, yes.A.Exactly. That was the last part of it. Finally, you have talked a little bit about your relationship with Brahm and with Byron. You and Brahm, after you broke up, really cut all contact; is that right? Most contact.Q.Yes.A.And you didn't really talk to him much at all, and you ended up moving to Seattle, right?Q.I now live in Portland.A.I'm sorry. Portland. Okay. So you moved away?Q.Uh-huh.A.And you didn't have any contact with Brahm at all, right?Q.Not until right after I moved, correct.That's what was going to ask you about. So contact was reestablished with Brahm, and I think you estimated for me, like in November or December of just this past year?
A.Page 982 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)Q.I think.A.All right. So fall?Q.Right.A.And you moved when?Q.I moved out there -- I arrived in Portland June 13th of last year.A.And it was probably in the fall of last year that you heard from Abraham Kneisley for the first time in a very long time; is that correct?Q.I believe so, yes.A.And the reason he contacted you was because of this case, right?Q.Yes.A.And you've been in quite a bit of contact with Brahm since then?Q.We have re-established a friendship.A.And your friendship, a lot of your conversations have revolved around this situation with Byron, correct?Q.I would say in the past month, yes, but part of re-establishing friendship is having conversations about everything. We haven't focused entirely on this.All right. And you have gone to visit him once in Berkeley, right?
A.Page 983 (Tara McDowell cross-examination)Q.Yes, I did.A.And when you were down there did Abraham Kneisley have the case file, the entire big case file, that went to this homicide case?Q.He had a stack of paper, but he did not have the entirety of it. I know that I did not see everything.A.Okay. Do you know what the entirety of it is?Q.He estimated that it was -- he did something with his hands, an enormous stack of paper. He certainly didn't have that much. And what he did have, I did not read all of it. I was primarily interested in reading my statement and the autopsy reports.A.Okay. So he had a big stack of paper that he showed you that he had when you got there, and you picked through what you wanted to look at, right?Q.Yes.A.And you've had access to all of the statements and everything, whether you chose to look at them or not?Q.I had access to them for that one afternoon, yes.In fact, you asked him to fax you some stuff and he never did that, did he? Never got around to it?
A.Page 984 (Tara McDowell redirect testimony)Q.Correct.A.But you went down there and he had a big stack of paper that he told you included the police reports and statements of the witnesses?Q.Correct.A.Finally, Ms. McDowell, you testified that you knew Justin Bruton. Would you characterize Justin Bruton as is somewhat emotionally closed off?Ms. CRAYON:Yes.THE COURT:I don't have anything further.MR. LANCE:Mr. Lance, do you have any redirect examination?THE COURT:Yeah, I have a little bit.REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. LANCE:Go ahead.Q.
A.Ms. McDowell, can you explain what your reason was for saying that Byron never owned a gun, but maybe Byron's father owned a gun? Why would you say something like that?By the time I spoke with Kilgore, it had already floated around about who had a gun and who had access to a gun, and everyone was trying to figure out what had happened.
Q.Page 985 (Tara McDowell redirect testimony)A.I don't want to ask about the rumors.Q.But that's why I would have said that.A.The evening Justin and Byron stopped by your apartment, you testified you stood in the doorway and spoke -- you stood in your apartment doorway?Q.Yes.A.And that's how you know you were only six inches away from their face?Q.Yeah. We were right in the doorway.A.You mentioned every few days they would stop by and bring things from Abraham Kneisley. Why had that been going on?Q.Um.A.Let me start with, were you on speaking terms with Abraham Kneisley at this time frame?Q.We were not speaking face to face.A.How would you and Abraham have each other's possessions?Q.We had lived together for approximately a year, perhaps less, and then recently split up and he moved out. Things tend to get mixed together.Sure. Let me go back to -- do you agree with the statement that every few days they would be stopping by to bring some of your things from Abraham Kneisley?
A.Page 986 (Tara McDowell recross-examination)Q.Some of my things, as well as letters.A.Letters from Abraham?Q.From Brahm, yes.A.If they stopped by to bring you something from Abraham Kneisley, would the specific date stand out in your memory?MR. LANCE:No.THE COURT:That's all I have.RECROSS-EXAMNATION BY MS. CRAYON:Anything further?Q.
A.Ms. McDowell, when they're standing in the hallway and you're standing in the doorway, are you whispering?Q.No.A.But your testimony is that they're six inches away from your face?Q.We are talking.A.Six inches away from each other talking in normal voices?MS. CRAYON:I wouldn't say the whole time we were six inches, but, yes, we were certainly that close.Thank you.
THE COURT:Page 987 (Tara McDowell recross-examination)Thank you, ma'am. Appreciate your testimony.MR. LANCE:(The witness was excused.)THE COURT:Judge, we're going to ask for a break.Ladies and gentlemen, let's take a recess. We're going to see our witness situation and then we'll make some plans regarding lunch and that kind of thing. Obviously, we started a little late, and you've been in the box almost two hours now, so I think it's very appropriate for us to take a recess.The Court again reminds you of what you were told at the first recess of the Court. Until you retire to consider your verdict, you must not discuss this case among yourselves or with others or permit anyone to discuss it in your hearing. You should not form or express any opinion about the case until it is finally given to you to decide. Do not read, view, or listen to any newspaper, radio, or television report of the trial.
With that being said, we'll be in recess. All rise, please. You're free to go. We'll take probably 15 minutes or so.(A recess was taken.)
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