A Friend and the First Officer on the Scene Testify at Danny Rolling's Penalty Phase, 1994 (Court TV)

Name: A Friend and the First Officer on the Scene Testify at Danny Rolling's Penalty Phase, 1994 (Court TV)
Uploaded: 2021-10-28T00:00:00Z
Duration: 32 min 2 s
Description: Court TV footage from the 1994 penalty phase in Gainesville: Scott Henratty describes his last meeting with Sonja Larson and Christina Powell, and Officer Ray Barber describes the welfare check on August 26, 1990, that found them. Rolling is not heard.

Court TV footage from the 1994 penalty phase in Gainesville: Scott Henratty describes his last meeting with Sonja Larson and Christina Powell, and Officer Ray Barber describes the welfare check on August 26, 1990, that found them. Rolling is not heard.

Subject: Danny Rolling
Recorded: about February 15, 1994
Runtime: 32:02

Content warning: A police officer describes finding the bodies of two murdered college students, Sonja Larson and Christina Powell: one on a waterbed with "a large amount of blood over the sheets", the other lying naked on the living-room floor (22:05 to 25:20 of the video). Crime-scene photographs are admitted and shown to the jury; they are described only briefly on the soundtrack.

The Interview

This is not an interview, and Danny Rolling does not speak in it. It is unnarrated Court TV footage from the penalty phase of Rolling's case in Gainesville in March 1994, after he had pleaded guilty to the five murders. Two State witnesses testify under questioning by a prosecutor who is not named on the tape. Scott Henratty, a friend of Sonja Larson since middle school, describes the last time he saw her and her roommate, Christina Powell. Gainesville police Officer Raymond (Ray) Barber then describes the call that led him into their apartment on Sunday, August 26, 1990. Near the end, Judge Stan R. Morris gives the jurors instructions while they look at the photographs.

Historical Context

In late August 1990, five students were murdered in Gainesville in the space of a few days: Sonja Larson, 18, and Christina Powell, 17, then Christa Hoyt, 18, and Tracy Paules, 23, and Manuel "Manny" Taboada, 23. Larson and Powell, who had just moved into the Williamsburg Apartments for the new semester, were the first victims found. Danny Rolling, a drifter from Shreveport, Louisiana, was arrested on September 7, 1990, on an unrelated robbery charge in Ocala and was later charged with the murders.

Circumstances

Rolling pleaded guilty on February 15, 1994, the day his trial was due to begin. A jury was then seated to recommend life imprisonment or death. In the penalty phase the State presented the circumstances of the murders, and these two witnesses came early in its case. The defense, from the Public Defender's office, objected to the crime-scene photographs; the judge granted a continuing objection and admitted them.

What the Recording Covers

Henratty, a University of Florida senior when he testified and a new Santa Fe Community College student in 1990, says that on the Thursday before the murders he and his roommate met Larson and Powell by chance near the Williamsburg Apartments, ate with them at Chili's on Archer Road, and invited them over that evening. He testifies that he knocked at their door on Saturday morning with no answer and saw Larson's car outside, that his roommates found a note on the door that night and he added a message to it, and that on Sunday he returned to find the police there. He identifies a photograph of the door with the note, and the note itself.

Officer Barber testifies that at about 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 26, 1990, he was sent to meet the maintenance man for a well-being check requested by worried parents, Christina Powell's father among them. He describes trying keys on three doors of apartment 113, breaking a pane of glass at the back door and finding a double-keyed deadbolt, and then, with the agreement of the apartment manager, forcing the upstairs door, whose frame came away from the studs with the chain still fastened. He says that from the doorway he saw a body on a bed upstairs, cleared the apartment alone, and found a second young woman on the living-room floor; that he told the manager to let no one in; and that he had another officer start a log of arrivals and took a crime-scene officer back through the apartment. The tape ends with the judge's remarks to the jury on taking notes, on ignoring the camera, and on exhibits cropped at his direction.

What Makes the Recording Significant

It is the sworn account of the first police officer inside the apartment where the first two Gainesville victims were found, given in open court at Rolling's penalty phase, and the account of a friend who saw Sonja Larson and Christina Powell a few days before they were killed.

Archival Importance

The footage is Court TV's own record of the penalty phase, running from the first witness's oath to the second witness leaving the stand, so the testimony survives as it was given.

Important Caveats

Rolling is not heard and is not named on the tape. The prosecutor and the defense lawyer are not named on the tape; the judge is identified from the trial record. The exact day of the testimony is not stated and has not been verified. The names of the maintenance man, the apartment manager, Henratty's roommate and the other officers are given as heard and have not been verified. Neither witness is cross-examined on the tape. The testimony is the witnesses' own account.

Clerk: Do you swear or affirm that the evidence you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Scott Henratty: [unclear: "Yes, it is" (Whisper small) / "Yes, sir" (second machine pass); the reply to the oath is not clearly caught].

Prosecutor: May it please the Court?

Judge: Yes, sir.

Prosecutor: Would you state your name, please?

Scott Henratty: Scott Lyon Henratty.

Prosecutor: Mr. Henratty, how are you? What's your occupation?

Scott Henratty: I'm a student at the University of Florida.

Prosecutor: What year are you in at this university?

Scott Henratty: I'm a senior.

Prosecutor: Back in August of 1990, were you a student at that time?

Scott Henratty: Yes, I was at Santa Fe Community College.

Prosecutor: What year were you in in August of 1990?

Scott Henratty: I was a first semester freshman.

Prosecutor: Had you been to either Santa Fe or the University of Florida as a student prior to August of 1990?

Scott Henratty: No, I hadn't.

Prosecutor: Before coming to Gainesville in August of 1990, where did you live?

Scott Henratty: Pompano Beach, Florida.

Prosecutor: And how long had you lived in the Pompano Beach area?

Scott Henratty: All of my life, 20, 18 years at that time.

Prosecutor: I'm sorry?

Scott Henratty: 18 years at that time.

Prosecutor: Okay, I'm going to ask you to keep your voice up a little bit.

Scott Henratty: Okay.

Prosecutor: Did you know a person by the name of Sonja Larson?

Scott Henratty: Yes, I did.

Prosecutor: And how long had you known Ms. Larson?

Scott Henratty: I knew Sonja. I went to middle school and high school with her, and I became very good friends with her in the latter part, last three years of my high school.

Prosecutor: Okay. During the summer of 1990, had you seen Ms. Larson in Gainesville?

Scott Henratty: Yes, I came up, came to Gainesville sometime in July, I think to sign a lease for my apartment I was in in the fall, and I saw her. We went out one night during the weekend, and I met with her, and we were together a little while during the weekend in July.

Prosecutor: Okay. Let's talk about the latter part of August of 1990. Did you have an occasion to see Ms. Larson in the latter part of August of 1990?

Scott Henratty: Yes, I did.

Prosecutor: Can you explain to the jury the circumstances, how that happened?

Scott Henratty: I came to Gainesville Saturday to move into my apartment for the fall semester, Saturday, I'm not sure what date, Saturday the week before the first semester of school. And I knew that Sonja was coming to town that Thursday of that week.

Prosecutor: And how did you know that?

Scott Henratty: I called, actually Wednesday night, I called home to a friend of mine, and she just met with Sonja and told me that she was coming up the following morning.

Prosecutor: Okay, and this would be Thursday morning now?

Scott Henratty: Yeah, she's leaving to come up here Thursday morning from down home.

Prosecutor: Okay.

Scott Henratty: And [unclear: "it could be in about noon" / "being about noon"], I went with one of my roommates. We went to get a haircut, and the gentleman told us that we'd have to come back at five o'clock. So at that point, we were on our way home, and I decided, why don't we go by Sonja's apartment and see if she's home yet.

Prosecutor: Who are you with?

Scott Henratty: I'm with my roommate, Brian [unclear: "Oldman" (Whisper) / "Olton" (captions)].

Prosecutor: Okay.

Scott Henratty: So we decided to drive to Sonja's house. I'd say it's about 3:30 in the afternoon on that Thursday. And as we turned down the street of Williamsburg, I had never been there, so I didn't really know where I was going. I turned down Williamsburg and I ran into her coming out of the complex in her CRX.

Prosecutor: Okay, were you familiar with her car?

Scott Henratty: Very familiar.

Prosecutor: And why was that?

Scott Henratty: She had it in high school throughout. The only car I've known she's ever had, for three years. I've seen it many times.

Prosecutor: You were in it many times?

Scott Henratty: Yes, I was.

Prosecutor: Okay. Was she with anyone at that time?

Scott Henratty: Yes, she was with Christina Powell.

Prosecutor: Okay, had you ever met Ms. Powell?

Scott Henratty: No, that was the first time I've ever seen her.

Prosecutor: Okay.

Scott Henratty: We had a little...

Prosecutor: Where did you actually meet?

Scott Henratty: We met in the road, actually, outside of Williamsburg, on public street there.

Prosecutor: Okay.

Scott Henratty: And we had a short conversation.

Prosecutor: Were you both in your cars?

Scott Henratty: Yes, we never left our cars, just parked like this in [unclear: "Mill Street" / "the street"]. And we decided, they said they were going to get something to eat, and we decided, okay, we'd like, okay, we'll join you. So we all decided we'd go to Chili's restaurant on Archer Road to have lunch.

Prosecutor: Now, did everyone go?

Scott Henratty: Yes. It was four of us.

Prosecutor: Could you identify who went?

Scott Henratty: Brian [unclear: "Holden" (both machines here)], myself, Sonja Larson and Christina Powell.

Prosecutor: Okay. Approximately what time was this?

Scott Henratty: We were there about, almost, I know it's about four o'clock, a little before four o'clock on Thursday.

Prosecutor: Right. Did you both go in separate cars?

Scott Henratty: Yes, we did. We drove from there, I did a U-turn, I followed her there and parked out in front of Chili's and went inside.

Prosecutor: Okay. Did you in fact have lunch or dinner, whatever the case may be?

Scott Henratty: Yeah, well, we all ordered food, drinks, conversation.

Prosecutor: Generally, just briefly give us the, what kind of topics were being discussed there.

Scott Henratty: We just discussed, we're all college freshmen except for Brian, and about moving away and coming back into, coming to school, and problems with, I gotta pay my phone bill, how to get to school. They were talking about getting the apartment together. We were talking about we had a good time this week that we've been here, and just the upcoming semester. It was a very light conversation, and it was, it was fun. It was, okay, good time.

Prosecutor: How did, on what note did the conversation end?

Scott Henratty: Well, we decided, we had, me and Brian had to go for our appointment to get our haircuts, so we had to leave about a quarter to five, and we discussed meeting later that evening.

Prosecutor: "We" meaning whom?

Scott Henratty: Sonja and possibly Christina joining us at our house later that evening, meeting the rest of my roommates, and Sonja was also friends with [unclear: rest of phrase not caught]. We decided that, as we were out in the parking lot, we discussed that, why don't they come over later that evening. Me and Brian said that we'd be out between 8 and 10 o'clock that night, because we were going to play volleyball at the university, so we asked that either they come before 8 or maybe like after 10, just talk a little, they could see our apartment, they'd never been there. And they said that they really had a lot of things to do to get ready and get together, get their apartment together. But they said...

Defense Counsel: I'd like to make an objection. [Wording per a short-window check pass; captions "We would like to make an objection".]

Prosecutor: Sure.

Prosecutor: So there was no firm commitment on their part?

Scott Henratty: No. They said, I was in the impression that they'd probably stop by, but when they did not show up, I was not alarmed.

Prosecutor: Okay. Did you try and make contact with Ms. Larson on Friday?

Scott Henratty: No, I did not.

Prosecutor: How about Saturday?

Scott Henratty: Yes. Saturday I had an orientation at Santa Fe Community College as an incoming student. I went to that at about, it was, started at 9 o'clock, I'm pretty sure it was 9 o'clock.

Prosecutor: What time did you leave there?

Scott Henratty: It would last about an hour and a half. I left 11, 11:30 a.m. in the morning on Saturday.

Prosecutor: Did you go by Ms. Larson's house at that time?

Scott Henratty: [unclear: "Yes, I did" (Whisper) / "apartment" (captions)]. I decided to stop by her house, and I had to look for the apartment, I said, again, I'd never been there.

Prosecutor: Now, this is Saturday. But what time is it?

Scott Henratty: Saturday, I'd say 11, 11:30 in the morning.

Prosecutor: Okay. Were you able to, what did you do when you arrived?

Scott Henratty: I had to look for the apartment, because I didn't know where it was.

Prosecutor: Did you find it?

Scott Henratty: Yes, I did. I found it.

Prosecutor: Did you knock on the door?

Scott Henratty: Yes, I did.

Prosecutor: Were you able to get an answer?

Scott Henratty: Oh, no. I did, I knocked a couple times, and there was no response.

Prosecutor: Okay. Did you then leave?

Scott Henratty: Yeah, I walked outside of the building, I looked around, I noticed her car was out front in the same position that it'd always been in, that it was. I noticed her car out front.

Prosecutor: And did you come back later that day?

Scott Henratty: Yes, I did. I came back that night. I was, all my roommates were getting ready to go, it was about, I'd say 10:30 in the evening.

Prosecutor: And did you in fact leave a note on her door at that time?

Scott Henratty: Yes, I did. My roommates, we decided that we were going out, we decided that we'd go by and see if she's there. We hadn't found her and we didn't see her in four days, so we were just anxious to see her. So we went to her apartment about 10:30 that evening.

Prosecutor: And were you able to make contact with her?

Scott Henratty: No. Again, we went to the door. My roommates went to the door. There was, they knocked, there was no answer, and they came back, as I stayed in the car this time. They came back and told me that there was a note on the door, and they told me to get a pen and go and leave a note on the door saying that we were there.

Prosecutor: And did you, in fact, do that?

Scott Henratty: Yes, I got out of the car and went to the door and wrote a note. I wrote a message on the note that was already there.

Prosecutor: Okay. Did you come back on Sunday?

Scott Henratty: Yes, I did.

Prosecutor: And were the police already, in fact, there?

Scott Henratty: Oh, yes, they were.

Prosecutor: And did you find out at that time that Sonja had been murdered?

Scott Henratty: Yes, I did.

Prosecutor: Okay. [To the judge] I'd ask to approach the witness.

Judge: You can. *[About 09:03 to 09:20: no speech; the exhibits are handled.]*

Prosecutor: Let me show you, excuse me, just a minute. Let me show you what's marked State's Exhibit [unclear: "X" / "next"] for identification and ask you if you recognize that photograph, Mr. Henratty.

Scott Henratty: Yes, I do.

Prosecutor: What is generally shown in the photograph?

Scott Henratty: That's Sonja Larson's, Christina Powell's front door, with the note that I wrote on that night.

Prosecutor: Now, the note that I'm about to show you, did it have some writing on it before you put your writing on that note?

Scott Henratty: Yes, it did. It had two passages already on it.

Prosecutor: What door is that to the apartment?

Scott Henratty: The front door.

Prosecutor: Okay.

Scott Henratty: After the entrance to the other one.

Prosecutor: Does this photograph fairly and accurately show the door and the location of the note as you saw it on that Saturday evening?

Scott Henratty: Yes, it does.

Prosecutor: Your Honor, I'd ask it be admitted into evidence as the next number, [unclear: "over objection"; speaker uncertain, possibly the judge].

Judge: Is there any objection to the photograph?

Defense Counsel: Yes, sir. Same objection that would have been applied to the other.

Judge: All right. Overruled.

Prosecutor: Let me show you what's marked State's Exhibit [unclear: "O" / "over"] for identification and ask you if you recognize that, Mr. Henratty.

Scott Henratty: Yes, I do.

Prosecutor: What is it?

Scott Henratty: That's the note that I wrote on, on Sonja's door.

Prosecutor: Okay. And is it your writing on the bottom?

Scott Henratty: Yes, it is.

Prosecutor: The rest of that writing on the blue piece of paper, is that your writing?

Scott Henratty: No, it isn't.

Prosecutor: And how about on the white piece of paper?

Scott Henratty: No, it's not.

Prosecutor: Okay. Is that the note that you wrote on, and is shown in this State's exhibit that I just showed you dealing with the door?

Scott Henratty: Yes, it is.

Prosecutor: Okay. Your Honor, I'd ask that it be admitted into evidence as the next number.

Judge: Composite or separate?

Prosecutor: They're separate.

Judge: Whatever the next two numbers. [unclear: "14" (second machine pass only); possibly the clerk giving the number].

Speaker Uncertain: Thank you. *(second machine pass only)* *[About 11:09 to 11:24: no speech.]*

Prosecutor: And after, on Sunday, when you came back and met with the police, you explained to them what you've explained to the jury?

Scott Henratty: Oh, yes, I did.

Prosecutor: No more questions. *(Whisper small only; captions "thanksgiving please")*

Judge: Questions for the defense? *(Whisper small only)* *[No reply is caught; there is no cross-examination on the tape.]*

Judge: Thank you, sir, you may step down.

Prosecutor: State your name, please.

Officer Ray Barber: Raymond Barber.

Prosecutor: And how are you employed?

Officer Ray Barber: I'm a police officer for the city of Gainesville.

Prosecutor: And how long have you been employed in that capacity?

Officer Ray Barber: 10 years.

Prosecutor: Were you so employed back in August of 1990?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, I was.

Prosecutor: And what assignment did you have back then?

Officer Ray Barber: I was a patrol officer assigned to answering calls on a shift.

Prosecutor: Okay. Referring you back to August, Sunday, August 26 of 1990, did you respond to a call at Williamsburg Apartments?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, I did.

Prosecutor: Approximately what time of day is it?

Officer Ray Barber: It was late afternoon, just prior to my getting off shift. I think around 3 o'clock, something like that.

Prosecutor: Okay.

Officer Ray Barber: Not the exact time.

Prosecutor: Did you respond to that location?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, I did.

Prosecutor: And what happened when you arrived?

Officer Ray Barber: I had to, I was instructed by the radio to meet with a maintenance man at the apartment complex for some type of problem.

Prosecutor: Okay. And once you got there, what developed?

Officer Ray Barber: When I got there, I contacted, or the maintenance man contacted me, Mr. Rock. He informed me that he was, he had a set of parents with him, and they were concerned about their daughter. They hadn't, she hadn't telephoned them or called them, and they were down looking for their daughter. And basically, it was a well-being check, is what we would call it.

Prosecutor: What did you do in response to that, Officer Barber?

Officer Ray Barber: I was with Mr. Rock, and he said the reason that I was called there was, whenever they go into an apartment under these type of circumstances, they like to have somebody with them. It was just their company policy. So we tried several sets of keys that he had on his key ring, master key ring, for the apartment in question.

Prosecutor: Which door were they tried on?

Officer Ray Barber: We, it's a townhouse style apartment complex. I believe 113 was the number. We tried the, as you go in the front door, the public door, there's a little landing, which is the first, first door, the main door. We tried them on that door. We went upstairs...

Prosecutor: Let me stop there and show you State's Exhibit 14 and ask if you recognize that photograph.

Officer Ray Barber: Yes. That's a door, 113 is the door, and it's got some notes on it.

Prosecutor: Yes.

Officer Ray Barber: There's a, [unclear: "parrot" (both machines)], there's some notes taped to the door.

Prosecutor: Did you see them on that day?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, I did.

Prosecutor: Sunday?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, I did.

Prosecutor: Does that show that, those notes as you saw back on that Sunday?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes.

Prosecutor: Okay. You tried the keys. What did you do then?

Officer Ray Barber: We tried the keys in that door, then we went upstairs. There's a outside stairs right adjacent to that door, which leads to upstairs bedroom with another door on it, and we tried the keys in that door.

Prosecutor: Okay.

Officer Ray Barber: And they didn't work.

Prosecutor: So then what did you do?

Officer Ray Barber: Then we went back downstairs, and Mr. Powell's with us, the young lady's father. We went back downstairs and went outside to the rear door. There's a landing that you can get to this building, to this apartment, from the rear of the apartment complex, and we tried the keys in that door, and it didn't work.

Prosecutor: What did you do at that point?

Officer Ray Barber: At that point I asked him, I says, the door itself is, has a knob on it, but that knob does not have a locking device on it. It's just a knob like a closet door would have, with no lock. But above it was a deadbolt lock, and I asked him, I says, "Would you like me to break out a small pane of glass and I'll reach inside and see if we can unsecure the door by the deadbolt?" And he goes, "Yes, I'll pay for the, whatever damage," the father saying that. The maintenance man says it's okay, and the father says, "I'll pay for whatever damage is to the door." And we do that, and I reach my hand inside, and it's a double key deadbolt. It doesn't have a latch from the, to work on the inside, and it appeared that the door was locked. I tried the knob and pulled on the door, and it was, wouldn't open.

Prosecutor: Let me show you what's marked State's Exhibit 2A for identification, ask if you recognize that photograph.

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, I do. It shows the pane of glass that I broke out with my stick, and where I reached my hand in, and the type of knob I just described, the doorknob.

Prosecutor: Does that photo fairly and accurately show the back door after you in fact knocked out a portion of the pane of glass on Sunday, August 26th?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes.

Prosecutor: Your Honor, ask that it be admitted into evidence. *[About 16:31 to 16:42: no speech.]*

Speaker Uncertain; Clerk Or Prosecutor: This would be 265P-017. It's 2A for identification.

Judge: Admitted.

Prosecutor: After you realized the situation on the back door, what did you do then?

Officer Ray Barber: At that point, Mr. Rock said, "I'll go back to the office and get some more keys, and we'll see if we can try some more keys," which he did. Mr. Powell, who's also with me, we go back around the front of the building and we're waiting for Mr. Rock to come back, and we're just talking. Been there for, I don't know, 15 minutes or so now. We're talking, and he's saying how his...

Prosecutor: Excuse me, Mr. Barber, we don't need to get into that conversation. After Mr. Rock came back, was there a plan of action that was developed?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, there was. He came back with Ms. Crummett, who is a manager for Mount Vernon Apartments, and I understand there was some association between the two apartment complexes. She said she didn't have any more keys. Mr. Rock said he didn't have any more keys. And then Ms. Crummett said, "Well, we can break down one of the doors, if they're that concerned about the girls."

Prosecutor: Did you in fact do that?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, we did.

Prosecutor: And which door was it that ultimately was chosen?

Officer Ray Barber: It would be the upstairs door that you get, you gain access to by coming in the front public, the front of the building, the front part of the building, the upstairs landing door.

Prosecutor: And that would be actually the third floor?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, I believe that's what it is.

Prosecutor: Let me show you three photographs: marked State's Exhibit 2D for identification, which is 265P-072; State's Exhibit 2E for identification, which is 265P-074; and State's Exhibit 2B for identification, which is 265P-075. And see if you recognize these three photographs.

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, I do. The first, the first one that you handed me is the landing that comes up, which is open to the public. It's a public type [unclear: "airline" (Whisper) / "running" (captions)] stairwell. And it's an outside picture shooting towards the door, which is the door that we knocked off [unclear: "the hinge" / "the hit"], or broke into.

Prosecutor: And does that fairly show the door after it was entered by you and Mr. Rock back on August 26th?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, it does. Mr. Rock is the one who actually put the bodily force to the door. And the whole door, the door, we chose this door because it looked the least insecure door. It was a hollow core door, I believe. And the door and the frame came away from the studs. The door actually didn't even come out of the frame. The whole frame came away from the studs.

Prosecutor: Does that photo show where, the ultimate, after you broke in, the resting place of the door?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes.

Prosecutor: Okay. How about the next photograph, which is State's Exhibit 2E for identification?

Officer Ray Barber: This photograph is the one that you would, as you're looking at the door, at the same level of the door, looking like you would approach the door to go in.

Prosecutor: Again, to show the relative position that the door ended up in?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes.

Prosecutor: Does it fairly and accurately show that as you found it?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes.

Prosecutor: And as you saw the damage that was done to the door?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes.

Prosecutor: Okay. How about the next photograph, which is State's Exhibit [unclear: "2E" (Whisper) / "QB" (captions); by the list above, 2B] for identification?

Officer Ray Barber: This is the way the door would be seen after the damage that we had done to it, breaking into the apartment, from inside the room, inside the bedroom.

Prosecutor: Okay. What's the position of the chain in reference to the frame on the door?

Officer Ray Barber: It is secured on the door.

Prosecutor: And was it that way when you, after it was broken into?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, it was.

Prosecutor: And does that photograph fairly and accurately show what you found back, and the damage to the door that was created back on August 26, 1990?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, it does.

Prosecutor: Your Honor, I'd ask that all three of these photographs be admitted into evidence at this point: 2D, 2E and 2B for identification.

Defense Counsel: [unclear: "Relevance" (captions) / "Unrelevancy" (Whisper small) / "I'm relevant to it" (second machine pass)]. *[About 21:22 to 21:36: no speech caught; no ruling is heard.]*

Prosecutor: Did you then enter the apartment, Officer Barber?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, I did.

Prosecutor: Where did you go first when you entered the apartment?

Officer Ray Barber: From the, again, I was behind Mr. Rock. Mr. Rock [unclear: "was the door open" (Whisper) / "came out of the bar open" (captions)], and as soon as the door was in that position...

Prosecutor: But you went in?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes. Mr. Rock came in, and he came out.

Prosecutor: What did you see when you went into the apartment?

Officer Ray Barber: Right from the way the position of the door was, you could see one body on a bed.

Speaker Uncertain; Clerk Or Prosecutor: 265P-076, [unclear: "2M" / "2N"] for identification.

Prosecutor: Let me show you [unclear: "2M" / "2N"] for identification. See if you recognize what's in that photograph.

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, I do.

Prosecutor: What's shown in that photograph?

Officer Ray Barber: It's, it's showing a white female laying on a waterbed with her arms over her head and a large, a large amount of blood over the sheets.

Prosecutor: Does that show what you found as you entered that upstairs bedroom back on August 26, 1990?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, it does.

Prosecutor: Does it show it the way you found it on that day?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, it does.

Prosecutor: Does it fairly and accurately show that?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes.

Prosecutor: I'd ask it be admitted into evidence.

Judge: Do you have objections additional to those made at the previous hearings?

Defense Counsel: No.

Judge: Do you want to renew those?

Defense Counsel: Yes.

Judge: All right. Court grants a continuing objection to this photograph, based on the motions previously filed by the Public Defender and the arguments raised, and rules as previously, overruled. Be admitted. *[About 23:35 to 23:43: no speech.]*

Prosecutor: What did you do after you entered the apartment and saw the young lady upstairs?

Officer Ray Barber: Okay. Ms. Crummett was on the steps with us also. I instructed her to stay right on the steps, because I was by myself, I was the only officer there. "Stay there. Don't let anybody else in the apartment." I went in and cleared the apartment by myself. Went through the upstairs, went downstairs, and when I went downstairs I observed a second female lying on the floor in the living room.

Prosecutor: When you say clear an apartment, what are you referring to?

Officer Ray Barber: I was referring to a conversation that I had earlier with the father. I had knowledge of possibly three girls living in the apartment at this time. I already observed one body. At that point, my fears were raised up. There possibly may be more, if somebody else is injured or something in the apartment, and that's why I cleared the apartment to see who else was in the apartment.

Prosecutor: All right, sir.

Speaker Uncertain; Clerk Or Prosecutor: [unclear: "ME 166-8" (Whisper small) / "ME166 dash A" (captions)], State's Exhibit 2T for identification.

Prosecutor: Let me show you what's marked 2T for identification. I'll ask you if you recognize what's in that photograph.

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, I do.

Prosecutor: Briefly, what's depicted in the photograph?

Officer Ray Barber: This is a second female lying on the floor, naked.

Prosecutor: Which room is she located in?

Officer Ray Barber: In the living room.

Prosecutor: Okay. And is she shown as you found her back on August 26, 1990?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, she is.

Prosecutor: And in the same relative position as you found her?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes.

Prosecutor: Now, there's some other items located near her.

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, there are.

Prosecutor: Were those items located in basically the same positions as you recall?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes. I did not touch any items or anything that was around anything in the apartment. I can't specifically say what the items were when I went in at the time, but I didn't touch anything, any of the items that were around or near anything.

Prosecutor: Does that photo fairly and accurately depict the young lady as you found her on the floor there in the living room on August 26th?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, it does.

Prosecutor: [Your Honor, I'd] ask it to be admitted into evidence. *[About 26:06 to 26:13: no speech; no ruling is heard.]*

Prosecutor: After you came out of the apartment, did backup assistance arrive?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, they did.

Prosecutor: And did Investigator Manning go in with you as well, the next time? Did you go in a second time?

Officer Ray Barber: Yes, I did. There were two officers who arrived, Officer Van Winkle and Officer Manning. I instructed Officer Van Winkle to start a log of people arriving at the scene, and Gary, Officer Manning, I believe, was in crime scene at this time, and I took him back in with me to show him what was here, and just to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Prosecutor: Okay. And was the apartment kept secure from the time that you entered it until the crime scene investigators arrived?

Officer Ray Barber: To the best of my knowledge, it was.

Prosecutor: In fact, Officer Manning was, in fact, in crime scene?

Officer Ray Barber: I believe he was, yes.

Prosecutor: [Your Honor, may I] have just a moment?

Prosecutor: Your Honor, at this time I'd ask to publish the pictures that have been introduced into evidence to the jury.

Judge: You may. *(Whisper small only)* *[About 27:20 to 27:30: no speech; the photographs are passed to the jury.]*

Judge: Let me ask you to stop for a second. Just put the exhibits on your lap, and let me, let me talk to you about those pads and pencils for just one second. Note-taking, again, is a subject of some controversy in judicial circles. I allow it. If a juror wants it, I think it's an aid to your memory, and I don't see any problem with it. However, there are rules. Let me give you the rule. I got rules for everything. So let me give you the rules for the notepads. First thing I want you to do is turn the notepad over and write your name on it. *[About 28:00 to 28:14: no speech; the jurors write their names.]*

Judge: Now, let me tell you why I did that. Again, remember, I asked you not to discuss, and directed you not to discuss, this case prior to the time that you are actually allowed to do that. Reading each other's notes would be a form of discussing it, so that's why I asked you to keep your notes [unclear: "uniquely" (both machines); possibly "individually"]. What I'm going to do is this: during a recess, when we take a recess, I want you to put the notepads on the floor in front of your chair. Don't take them back to the jury room. You can take notes any time there's an evidentiary issue. During closing arguments, for instance, I'm not going to let you take notes, because it's not evidence. During the jury instructions, I'm not going to let you take notes, because it's not evidence, it's the law. Any time during these proceedings, you may take any notes that you want.

Judge: Let me remind you of two things about those notes. One is that they are an aid to your memory; they are not your memory. All of us take notes differently. Some of us don't take notes at all. The fact that you take copious notes or a few notes doesn't mean that your notes are better or worse than somebody else's notes, just like it doesn't mean your memory is better or worse than somebody else's memory. This is a tool for you to use. You may use it, and when you go back to retire to deliberate, you may take your notes with you, that may assist you in discussing with other jurors what you think is important. It's an aid to your memory. Just like you rely on your memory, you can rely on the notes.

Judge: Let me caution you about one other thing. When you are listening and learning in the jury box, it's the same as listening and learning any other place. The fact of what you hear is not the only means by which you learn something. You also watch people, you watch their demeanor, you take things in context. And I suggest to you that the interactions you have as a juror, even though you're not speaking back with people that you are observing, is as important as it is in everyday life, when you watch and learn about people by the way they do things as well as what they say. So I'm simply suggesting to you that, don't let the notes interfere with your ability to function as a juror. Let them help you in your ability to function as a juror.

Judge: At the close of the day, during the lunch recess and at the close of the day, the notes will be collected and I will keep them. I will not read them, they're not any of my business, but I will keep them. And after these matters are over, I will collect them and I will keep them. So the matter is, you may use them as you see fit or not use them at all. That's your business, but now you have the opportunity to do that. I've interrupted you long enough. Go ahead and proceed on to review the exhibits. *[About 30:36 to 30:52: no speech; the jurors view the photographs.]*

Judge: I've been asked one of these questions by the jurors, and I'm going to publish this one. It says, "Do we need to keep the photos from the camera?" The camera's got nothing to do with what you do. Don't worry about it. Don't pay any attention to it. Just do your job, and don't worry about protecting anything or covering up anything or anything else. That's not the function of a juror. You go ahead and review these matters. *[About 31:12 to 31:19: no speech.]*

Judge: Ladies and gentlemen, as to certain exhibits, you may see that certain exhibits have been, I'm going to use the word "cropped." Things that are either covered or taken out of the exhibit, a portion of the photograph that is covered or something removed, that's done at my direction. So the lawyers and I have had a discussion about this, and I have ruled on what is admissible or what is not admissible. And for various reasons of law, I have directed that certain evidentiary objects be treated in certain fashions. So whenever you see that, understand that it's done at my direction, not at the direction of either one of the lawyers. Okay.

Prosecutor: I have no other questions for Officer Barber.

Judge: Cross-examination?

Defense Counsel: No questions. *(second machine pass only)*

Judge: Officer Barber, you may step down. Thank you. ---