Courtroom Erupts Over Text Messages in Ex-Football Player’s Murder Trial

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: that's what you're speaking of [00:00:01] Speaker 2: yes that is that's it it's on my computer so let me pull it up on my computer [00:00:12] Speaker ?: that's the state's copy just let me see it but that's the state's copy it's not what i was looking [00:00:18] Speaker 2: at but that's the text that you're referencing i don't know that that's the text i thought you said it just was the text context wise it doesn't mean that the sender and the recipient that i was looking at was because i verified that before i went into it so if i can pull it up on my computer because that's i just remembered i was looking at it from my computer well it says a phone [00:00:40] Speaker 1: number in and it's 0608 how do you pronounce it nigea nigea my body is starting to feel like it's shutting down yeah it's not shaking you said shaking you said it was from mr bidding that's what i'm trying [00:00:58] Speaker 2: to determine i'm trying to pull it up for you so that i can get it to you it has the sender's number and then it has the message next to the message is the next one [00:01:25] Speaker 1: look at the bottom of the page okay i'm just trying i don't know to show that to the state [00:01:32] Speaker 2: if you look at the bottom of that page the sender number is five o'clock the recipient is the very next message is that message that we quote her copy is the metadata yeah now i can i can read all of this on page 1969 the record 4388 [00:02:15] Speaker 3: it says the center name is nagea 501 541 and this following page 1970 is the message if you also see the center goes with this message let me ask you a question the center says 501-541-500 is there a police [00:02:38] Speaker 1: officer here that can tell us who's the center and who's the receiver on that i absolutely can get okay why don't you do that so you're miss holland you're still thinking that [00:02:54] Speaker 2: what i'm sharing is when i looked at the sender's number it said 501 and then when it said recipient it did not say it did not say jay benny so when i saw sender 501 [00:03:12] Speaker 1: let me ask you are you acknowledging you're now mistaken i don't know that i can say that she's [00:03:19] Speaker 2: right because it does say sender's name nigia nigia but the number was 501-541-0608 what do you need to figure out whether you were mistaken let me just speak with my staff who sent it to me okay so what she shared with me that it was in fact from nigia however we have several other messages where she does in fact do the same drugs so we can come back you're jumping way ahead of me well the question [00:04:15] Speaker 1: you asked the doctor is that wrong let me say yes yes or no well no it's not your honor if i can for the record please allow me to [00:04:27] Speaker 2: say what i need to share for the record thank you we were mistaken in regards to that does the jury need to know that they can but if they know that then i need to be able to go over to other messages that suggest the same drugs because i can go a day later because one of the questions i [00:04:45] Speaker 1: asked i'm just saying the doctor's gone i'm just saying the message you try to convey to the jury is [00:04:52] Speaker 2: you want to listen to me or co-counseling i'm listening to you if i can what did i just say he said do i need to let the jury know i said the doctor's gone i heard that part too but if you would remember what i said was if she told you she did mushrooms would that make a difference [00:05:11] Speaker 1: right that's not what i'm dealing with i'm dealing with the question that you used this text message from what you said was miss benning and now that's not true you you sustained their objection to this you wouldn't ask the question a different way in the second time and the question [00:05:31] Speaker 2: they didn't object the question i asked was if she told you she did mushrooms would that make a [00:05:36] Speaker 1: difference and the final question even we can replay it we can't and i also have the final question you [00:05:42] Speaker 2: asked was this same thing it was but the the drugs she said no i didn't know that you know we can clear it up and i can talk about the others the same drugs i'm dealing with the others and what are the witnesses [00:05:54] Speaker 1: i'm dealing with were you wrong on who generated this text i was but that text did not come into evidence the question was your question included the text no it did not not not what was in front of the [00:06:10] Speaker 2: the question this witness was able to answer did not deal with the question they objected to and i feel [00:06:16] Speaker 1: what was sustained did not come in then your file question after the mushrooms and everything else was if you knew that she was taking adderall to the point of shutting down her body would that been contrary to her history she answered yes they didn't object so the jury heard all that and they can bring the doctor [00:06:39] Speaker 2: back and say something different she's gone well she can come back if she wants to impeach that she [00:06:45] Speaker 1: can't but you said it didn't get out why was they impeached because you're saying it did and i'm not it did but then i'm going to bring the jury down you're on the argument that questions are not evidence which i told them to the get-go that's right but that the question you asked generated from a text from [00:07:04] Speaker 2: miss benning was not from miss benning the question i asked had to do with the drugs miss benning was doing and there's plenty a plethora of evidence you weren't asked about that and i'm not getting into [00:07:16] Speaker 1: it okay well that's what if she goes if you think you want a question now who you know is miss miss jackson did we have a jury out of do you think it's relevant that this text comes in to impeach miss jackson about her reliability no they don't okay you can let the jury step down [00:07:54] Speaker ?: get out of do you think it's relevant that this text comes out of do you think it's relevant to me you think it's important that this text comes out of do you think it's relevant to me but you think it's important to me it's important to me that this text comes out of do you think it's important to me but you think it's important to me it's important to me that this text comes out of do you think it's important to me it's important to me that it's important to me that this text comes out of do you think it's important to me [00:08:15] Speaker 1: okay who's the next one keante jones runner keante jones and i'll call him up just i don't know if he was in here or not lady joe of the jury let me give you this piece of information one and this deals with dr malayla's testimony i'm going to object to this [00:08:58] Speaker 2: on the record in regards to all right let the attorney step up [00:09:15] Speaker ?: Thank you. Thank you. [00:10:15] Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you. You, Ms. Hollins, are now saying that you didn't say it was okay for the court to instruct the jury that that question coming from Ms. Benning's, a text from Ms. Benning, was wrong. [00:10:58] Speaker 2: What I thought the court was saying. [00:11:00] Speaker 1: Did you say that or not? [00:11:02] Speaker 2: Judge, I cannot. I cannot respond to you every time that I'm trying to protect the jury. [00:11:08] Speaker 1: I said, I'm going to bring the jury in and instruct them that questions are evidence and that your question to the doctor, Malala, about Ms. Benning generating a text that she was starting to feel like her body was shutting down did not come from Ms. Benning. You now agree to that, right? You agree the text did come from Ms. Benning. [00:11:32] Speaker 2: I do agree that the text did come from Ms. Benning. [00:11:33] Speaker 1: But you're now saying you didn't say that that was okay. [00:11:37] Speaker 2: No, what I thought the court was saying was that you were going to instruct the jury that what the lawyers say is not evidence. I don't have a problem with that. But if you want to comment on exact evidence, the court can't comment on evidence. The proper way for the DAs to impeach me is to bring that witness back in and then ask that particular question in regards to this exhibit. That is the proper way. Then at that time, I have a right to come back and ask about those very same drugs so that the jury doesn't believe that I'm misleading them. The way that the court wants to do it, it makes the jury believe I'm misleading them about the drugs. [00:12:17] Speaker 1: Because you misunderstood the text. [00:12:19] Speaker 2: I like it, but the court sustained the state's objection. [00:12:22] Speaker 1: Not the third time. [00:12:23] Speaker 2: The third time. If my question is wrong, the proper thing for them to do is to bring that witness back. [00:12:29] Speaker 1: But that message got to the jury. So how would I explain to the jury what question or what information we're talking about? [00:12:36] Speaker 2: Your Honor, that's not for you to do. It's for the state to do. [00:12:39] Speaker 1: How would I? You're saying it's okay for me to bring the jury in and instruct them that what the attorneys say is not evident. [00:12:46] Speaker 2: That's correct. [00:12:48] Speaker 1: About what? [00:12:49] Speaker 2: That's for the jury, for them to come back and decide. If the court comments on direct evidence, it is improper. [00:12:57] Speaker 1: And the court knows that there was no evidence of your question. [00:13:00] Speaker 2: Then why are they talking to the jury if there's no evidence of your question? [00:13:02] Speaker 1: Because you brought it up and misunderstood what your staff gave you. [00:13:06] Speaker 2: So that means that the state has a right to bring that witness back up. That is the way that that is handled. It's not for the court to then impeach me. That's not the way that they are. [00:13:19] Speaker 1: Is the doctor still around? [00:13:20] Speaker 3: No, Your Honor, but she keeps talking about us impeaching her. She is supposed to be ethical, follow the rules, and not lie to the witnesses. [00:13:31] Speaker 1: She wasn't unethical. She was wrong about who sent the text. Maybe that's the last time. I don't know. You're right, Your Honor. All right. Let the jury step back. Let the jury step back.