Damaged (31 page)

“Yes, Your Honor.” Mary sat down, agitated. She looked over at John, who shot her a warning glance. She could see the strain in his expression and read his mind. They both knew their case was in real trouble.

Judge Green straightened in his tall chair, then swiveled to face Chan-Willig. “Please proceed with your line of questioning.”

“Thank you, Your Honor.” Chan-Willig turned back to the witness. “Detective Randolph, let's back up a minute. Is it your understanding that Patrick lived alone with his grandfather, Edward O'Brien?”

“Yes. Their residence was a house at 637 Moretone Street.”

“Detective Randolph, is it also your understanding that prior to his death, Edward O'Brien was Patrick's sole caretaker?”

“Yes, that is my understanding.”

“Detective Randolph, do you know when Edward O'Brien passed away?”

“Dr. Chopra had difficulty determining time of death because there was such a significant delay in notifying police of the death. In addition, Dr. Chopra tells me that death from hypoglycemia can take several hours. His tentative finding is that the last insulin injection was given at about eleven o'clock on the night of October 8, last Thursday. Dr. Chopra tentatively places the time of death as anywhere between the hours of five o'clock in the morning and nine o'clock in the morning on Friday, October 9.”

“Detective Randolph, what did Dr. Chopra tell you about the status of his investigation?”

“Dr. Chopra told me that it was in its preliminary stages. He had finished his physical examination of the body, but he hadn't filed an autopsy report yet. He called me to let me know that, at the present time, the manner of Edward O'Brien's death was suspicious.”

“Detective Randolph, upon hearing that information, what did you do?”

“I began my own investigation.”

“Detective Randolph, what is the status of your investigation at this point?”

“It's very preliminary, too. That's what I wanted to explain to the court.” Detective Randolph looked over at Judge Green. “Your Honor, I only received this call from Dr. Chopra late last night. Dr. Chopra would be here himself, if he hadn't had a previous commitment with the conference. This is not a murder case yet because Dr. Chopra has not officially determined that the manner of death was homicide. As you know, cause and manner of death are two different things.”

Judge Green shook his head, his expression grim. “No, I wasn't aware of the difference. Please elaborate briefly, Detective Randolph. This is out of my wheelhouse.”

Detective Randolph nodded. “Your Honor, the cause of death is the way a person died, which in Edward O'Brien's case was hypoglycemia. The manner of death is whether that death occurred by natural causes, accidental death, suicide, or homicide. Dr. Chopra has not yet determined that the manner of Edward O'Brien's death was a homicide. Dr. Chopra is waiting to file his official report and release the body until he consults with the Chief Medical Examiner, who is away on vacation for another week. Dr. Chopra called me to give me the heads-up, and I called DHS. That's when I learned that Patrick was in the Einstein Crisis Center and that this shelter care hearing was being held today. Then I called Assistant City Solicitor Ms. Chan-Willig, who asked me to testify. She also asked me if Dr. Chopra could testify, but he had already left for the conference.”

Judge Green nodded. “Now I understand. Thank you.”

Chan-Willig faced the witness stand. “Detective Randolph, did you interview Patrick in this case?”

“No, I have not.”

Mary blinked, surprised. She had no idea how Detective Randolph learned that Patrick sometimes injected Edward with insulin. John glanced over, and she could see that he was surprised, too. Either way, she feared that their case was circling the drain.

Chan-Willig asked, “Detective Randolph, how did you discover that Patrick knew how to inject his grandfather with insulin and did so sometimes?”

“I learned that from Cassandra Porter of the Philadelphia Children's Alliance. She conducted a forensic interview of Patrick the day before Edward O'Brien died. She told me that Patrick told her that one of the ways in which he helped his grandfather was that he injected him with insulin when his hand was unsteady.”

Mary took the news like a body blow. She tried to piece together what must have gone on behind the scenes. After Detective Randolph had spoken to DHS, DHS would have put him in contact with Cassandra. Cassandra would have had to cooperate with law enforcement, but Mary hoped that Cassandra had also told the detective that Patrick loved Edward and never would've hurt him intentionally.

Chan-Willig continued her questioning, “Detective Randolph, would you tell the court your theory of how Edward O'Brien died?”

Detective Randolph nodded. “It's too early to have a final theory of the case, but I'm investigating whether Patrick injected his grandfather with insulin, causing his death.”

“Detective Randolph, do you have a theory, final or otherwise, about a motive that Patrick would have for intentionally injecting his grandfather with a lethal dose of insulin?”

Mary felt like objecting, but didn't dare. She looked over, but John's attention was riveted on the witness, as was Abby's.

Detective Randolph nodded. “Yes.”

Chan-Willig stood tall. “Detective Randolph, what is your theory as regards to Patrick's motive?”

“That Patrick suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of his grandfather, which would provide motive.”

Mary felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. She couldn't imagine where Detective Randolph had gotten his theory of motive. Edward never would have abused Patrick. It couldn't have come from Cassandra. Robertson was the one who had abused Patrick, and Cassandra had known that. Mary felt utterly dumbfounded.

“Objection!” John leapt to his feet. “Your Honor, this is inadmissible. There are no facts in evidence to support this testimony, and even though procedural rules are informal in shelter care hearings, this is beyond the pale. It's plainly unreliable and speculative.”

Chan-Willig turned to the judge. “Your Honor, it's insulting that Mr. Foxman would call Detective Randolph unreliable in any way. You have heard his years of expertise and service in law enforcement. Detective Randolph is more than qualified to explain to the Court his theory of motive in this case, even though it is in its formative stages.”

Judge Green folded his arms, his mouth set grimly. “The objection is denied. Counsel, both of you, sit down. I will not allow this proceeding to get out of hand.”

“Thank you, Your Honor.” John sat down, as did Chan-Willig.

Judge Green glowered at John. “Mr. Foxman, we're not trying to determine beyond a reasonable doubt whether Patrick is guilty of the murder of his grandfather. We're merely trying to determine where Patrick should live, and the standard for that is far lower. Detective Randolph's testimony is probative and extremely helpful to the Court in making that determination. In addition, I'm aware that his testimony comes as a surprise to you, but I'll advise you to limit your objections. I've had more objections today than I have all year. Are we clear, Mr. Foxman?”

“Yes, Your Honor.” John nodded, and Mary tried to piece together her thoughts. Patrick's forensic interview with Cassandra was confidential, but not from law enforcement. Detective Randolph's theory of the case and the new suspicions about Edward's death pointed to Patrick's guilt, which was just plain wrong.

Judge Green sighed, his impatience plain. “Ms. Chan-Willig, please wrap this up. I have your point.”

“Thank you, Your Honor.” Chan-Willig faced Detective Randolph. “Detective Randolph, what have you done to further your investigation of Edward O'Brien's death?”

“I went to the residence on Moretone Street and conducted a walk-through myself, last night at about ten o'clock. I declared it a crime scene, established a perimeter, and called a mobile tech team to collect trace evidence, typically hair, fibers, and fingerprints. They arrived shortly thereafter.”

“Detective Randolph, what has your or their investigation revealed that might be of interest to this Court?”

“As I testified, my investigation is in a preliminary stage, but we found a used syringe of insulin in the wastebasket of Edward O'Brien's bedroom, where his body was found in bed, it had a child's fingerprints.”

“Detective Randolph, did you draw any relevant conclusion regarding the syringe used to inject Edward O'Brien for the last time, the lethal dose of insulin?”

“Yes. The fingerprints on the syringe match the child's fingerprints we also found in Patrick's bedroom, so we tentatively believe that the fingerprints on the syringe used last are Patrick's fingerprints.”

Chan-Willig paused to let the testimony sink in. “Detective Randolph, moving on, what are the problems that you or Dr. Chopra are encountering in your investigation?”

“Yes, Edward O'Brien's death was reported by Ms. DiNunzio, who called 911 at around nine o'clock on Friday night, October 9. However, as I testified, there was a significant delay between the time of death and the time of report. Dr. Chopra told me that the delay between the time of death and the notification to police impedes his forensic investigation.” Detective Randolph turned to Judge Green. “I'm no pathologist, so I won't speak to that in detail. For my part, the delay in reporting the death impedes my investigation because of the possibility of contamination of the crime scene.”

Mary tried to remain composed, realizing the facts made Patrick look guilty when he wasn't. She was the only one who knew that Patrick had been in denial that Edward had died, not because Patrick had killed him but because he loved him so much. She wracked her brain for a way to counteract it when they put on their case, other than her testimony. She thought of calling Cassandra as a witness, but Cassandra was now in touch with Detective Randolph, so she couldn't testify for Patrick.

“Detective Randolph, was there any problem with contamination of the crime scene that you encountered in your investigation?”

“Yes, numerous problems. Specifically, the search for other trace evidence in the bedroom where Edward died has been impeded because someone cleaned up the scene. Edward's bedsheets had been washed and set folded on the bed, the top of his dresser was clear, and his night table had been swept clean, though we found the most recent syringe discarded in the wastebasket.”

“Detective Randolph, do you have a theory as to who cleaned up Edward's bedroom?”

Detective Randolph glanced at Mary. “It's my understanding that Mary DiNunzio was the only one in the house with Patrick. We assume she is the one who cleaned it up. We do not currently know when she arrived at the house.”

Mary kept her face rigidly forward and her expression impassive. The testimony made it look as if she covered up Edward's death after the fact. When she took the stand, she would just have to explain that she hadn't done it to hide evidence of a murder, because there had been no murder. Patrick hadn't killed Edward, at least not on purpose. Maybe Edward had forgotten that he'd already injected himself and asked Patrick to inject him before bedtime. Mary couldn't explain why the needlemark was in a different location and she would have to ask Patrick why he did that. But he wasn't a killer.

“Detective Randolph, why wasn't the house declared a crime scene that very night when you were called, so that evidence wasn't lost or destroyed?”

“Ms. DiNunzio reported it as a natural death, which was confirmed by the assistant medical examiner on the scene because of the circumstances, a seventy-two-year-old man in ill health who had died in his sleep. It wasn't until the autopsy that the stray needlemark was found.”

“Detective Randolph, given the information that you have at this point, have you formed an opinion as to Patrick's dangerousness that may be helpful to the Court in deciding where to place him?”

“Yes, I have an opinion as to Patrick's dangerousness.”

“Detective Randolph, what is your opinion?”

“My opinion is that Patrick may have been involved in the death of his grandfather and is dangerous.”

“Thank you, I have no further questions.”

Judge Green swiveled his head to John, with a frown. “Mr. Foxman, any cross-examination?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” John answered, standing up.

Mary prayed he'd repair the damage, but she had no idea how.

 

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

John stood a respectful distance from the witness stand. “Detective Randolph, you testified that your investigation is barely in the preliminary stages, isn't that correct?”

“Yes, that's correct.”

“In fact, your investigation is only hours old, isn't that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Detective Randolph, isn't it also true that it's not even a murder investigation yet, because there is officially no murder?”

“Yes, that's true.”

“So it's a murder investigation without a murder?”

“Well, yes.” Detective Randolph half-smiled.

“Detective Randolph, so isn't it fair to say that your theory isn't something you'd want to stake your reputation on, is it?”

“Yes, I absolutely wouldn't stake my reputation on it.”

“Detective Randolph, isn't it true that as you learn new facts, your theory of the case may change?”

“Yes, that's true.”

“For example, Detective Randolph, let's assume that Patrick injected his grandfather that night, but did so at his grandfather's request and with absolutely no intent to harm his grandfather. That's possible, isn't it?”

“Yes, that's possible.”

“In fact, that's completely possible, isn't it?”

“Yes, that's completely possible.”