Nicholas Kassotis Trial (Pt 1) — Opening Statements

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: All right, good morning ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Good morning. I hope you had a good evening. I appreciate you being here on time this morning and I trust that you were all able to abide by the court's instructions and not have any access to any media accounts regarding this trial and again emphasize that that is so important to maintain the integrity of this trial and we all appreciate your understanding and your cooperation. I do want to give you just a basic understanding of the procedure that we will follow during the course of this trial. The trial will begin this morning with the opening statements made by the attorneys. Now I caution you that the opening statements are not evidence. They are simply an introduction to the evidence. They will give you an outline or a preview of what they expect the evidence to be in this case. And because the state has the burden of proof, the state has the right to go first. Now again, as I mentioned yesterday, the defendant enters upon the trial of this case with a presumption that he is innocent. And that presumption stays with the defendant until such time as the state presents sufficient evidence to convince you jurors of the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. That is the state's burden of proof. After the opening statements are concluded, we will begin the presentation of evidence. You'll hear testimony from live witnesses. You'll see photographs, exhibits, documents, all of which will be introduced during the course of this trial. At the conclusion of the trial, the attorneys will give their closing arguments. And again, the closing arguments, like the opening statements, cannot be considered by you as evidence. It is very important that you pay close attention throughout the entire trial. And I will try to give you as many breaks as necessary to keep you comfortable, to keep you refreshed. In the event that you feel that you need a break and there hasn't been one, just raise your hand or try to alert the Bayless and we'll make all the necessary provisions to keep you comfortable. So we thank you again for your service. We thank you again for your service. We thank you for abiding by those instructions. So we'll begin the trial at this time with the opening statements. Ms. Baio, you may proceed for the state. [00:02:37] Doug Weinstein: Thank you. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, I introduced myself yesterday, but just so again, you all know who I am. My name is Doug Weinstein and I am representing Mr. Kosotis in this case. It is my honor to do so. Ladies and gentlemen, my client, Nick Kosotis, is not just an accomplished attorney and decorated JAG officer. who serves his country in Iraq and in the Pentagon. He is also a man who lived in fear, relentless, all consuming fear. His wife, Mindy, also lived in fear. Mr. Kosotis is accused of the unthinkable, the absolutely unthinkable. murdering his wife. But the truth, what really happened is far more complex. Mr. and Mrs. Kosotis were told that they were targets. You will hear testimony that a man calling himself Jim McIntyre, who knows if that is his real name, claiming to be with the FBI, claiming to be with the FBI, told them that their lives were in danger, that they had to disappear, follow orders without question, and trust no one. Not their family, not their friends, not their loved ones. Every move, not their friends. Every move they made. Every move they made. Every lie that they both told. Every strange decision. And there were quite a few that you will hear about in testimony. We're driven by that fear. Mr. Kosotis lied to his friends. He lied to his friends. He lied to his family. He lied to Mindy's loved ones. He lied for years. Not because he wanted to deceive them. But because he believed that their lives depended on it. That their lives depended on it. You're not going to hear testimony that Mr. Kosotis killed Mindy. You will hear testimony that he tried to protect her. But he was manipulated. Controlled. Terrified. And that fear, real and overwhelming, shaped everything that he did for years. So, who's Nicholas Kosotis? Mr. Kosotis grew up in New Hampshire, in rural New Hampshire, in an area where there was quite a bit of hunting, down a road. He graduated college from Boston University. He has two law degrees. He has a JD degree, which is the basic law degree, like I have. A JD degree from Northeastern University, up in Boston. And he has an L.O.M. from Georgetown. In Georgetown, he specialized in national security law and in cyber security. You will hear that Mr. Kosotis is a decorated military veteran, as I've already alluded to. He served in the JAG Corps for a decade. He served in Iraq. He was in the Pentagon. When he separated from service, he left as a lieutenant commander. He achieved numerous commendations within the Navy. He got the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal. And during Nick's time in the Navy, in the JAG Corps, he would sit at the Navy and Marine Corps, he would sit at this very table that the prosecutors are at now. Because he, during his time at least in Italy, he was a prosecutor. You will hear, I expect, I expect, I expect, I don't know everyone that the state is going to put forward, but you're going to hear a testimony, I imagine, from Mr. Kosotis' first wife, Heather. They were divorced in 2015, when Mr. Kosotis learned that Heather was being unfaithful. He marries his second wife, Mindy Kosotis, the woman that was tragically murdered, and that's your here-to-here evidence upon, in the fall of 2016. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Kosotis separates from the Navy. He serves for a brief time as a civilian in the Navy. But then he leaves that. And why does he leave that? He leaves because, frankly, a lot of very strange and unusual things begin to happen. And you will hear testimony on that. He eventually contacts authorities, and a man calling himself Jim McIntyre appears. Now, Jim McIntyre claims to be with the FBI. And Jim McIntyre tells Mr. Kosotis, tells Mindy, that they're in danger. They're in danger. Their life is in danger. And they have to go, essentially, on the run. You'll also hear that, following Mr. Kosotis' divorce from his first wife, Heather, she gets a $1.5 million judgment as part of the divorce against Mr. Kosotis. In the course of providing that award, Mr. Kosotis was under the belief that he was the recipient of a size of a semi-beam. But you'll hear he never gets that money. That money was illusory. That money was allegedly being held by Jim McIntyre for Mr. Kosotis. So he believed he was getting that money. He never got that money. I imagine that the state is going to tell you that Mr. Kosotis and Mrs. Kosotis, Mindy, moving around the country is because of this $1.5 million judgment. But the reality is it was because of fear. So there's a lot going on with Jim McIntyre. There are a host of lies that are told by my client over the next few years while they are on the run. As I said, you're going to hear about the lies that they told to their friends. You're going to hear about the lies that they told to their family. And specifically that Mr. Kosotis told. But this is not, this isn't a case about that. I would like you to focus on the tragic murder of Mindy Kosotis. You're going to see horrific, awful images of Mindy Kosotis's body. Unfortunately, I imagine that they are going to stay with you long after this trial is over. You're going to see her torso. You're going to see her legs. You're going to see her head. It will be difficult for you to see that. I'm sorry that any of us have to see that. You're going to see a Milwaukee knife that was found under the scene of her body. What aren't you going to hear? You're not going to hear evidence that that knife was used on Mindy Kosotis. You're not going to hear evidence from the state's own tool mark expert that that knife was used on Mindy Kosotis. You're going to hear about a tub that was found near her body that was likely used to transport Mindy Kosotis. You're not going to hear evidence of Mr. Kosotis's DNA on that tub. You're not going to hear evidence of Mr. Kosotis's blood on that tub. Just like in the knife, you're not going to hear evidence tying Mr. Kosotis to that specific knife. Now you will hear evidence that Mr. Kosotis purchased the same brand and style of knife at Home Depot. But you will not see evidence again that ties Mr. Kosotis to that specific knife found at the scene. You're also going to hear evidence of a knife saw that Mr. Kosotis purchased at Bass Pro Shops around the time of Mindy's death. But again, the state's own tool mark expert is not going to be able to tell you that those knives were used on Ms. Kosotis. There is a lot that the state will not be able to show you. The state will not even be able to tell you how Mindy died. They do not know how Mrs. Kosotis died. She was murdered. But how is unknown. You're not going to hear evidence telling you where Mindy was killed. They don't know where Mrs. Kosotis was killed and you won't hear evidence about that. At the time of Mindy Kosotis' murder, Mr. and Mrs. Kosotis were living in Savannah. You will hear evidence about the state's searching of the Airbnb that they were renting in Savannah. You will hear evidence of her blood being found on the futon at that residence, along with another individual's blood. You all hear evidence about whose blood that second individual's is. The state's case is going to be very circumstantial, which is why they will tell you it takes two weeks to put it on. You're going to hear evidence that my client's vehicle was at the scene. Because they tracked the GPS in the vehicle. And I say the scene, the scene where her body was found. But you're not going to hear any eyewitnesses placing my client at the scene. You're just not going to see any of them. And for a while, you're going to hear witness after witness after witness testify about the lies that my client told when he was on the run from the individual or individuals that were trying to harm him and his wife. You'll hear lots of them. You'll hear lots of that. You're not going to hear a lot of evidence tying my client to this movie. So what I ask you to do is focus on what's really an issue here as you watch this evidence. Focus on what evidence does the state have that ties Mr. Cassotus to the death of Mrs. Cassotus. We're going to want to distract you. They're going to want to get into all these other lies. They're going to want to get into his third wife. He marries another woman shortly after Mindy's death. A woman that he had been inappropriately flirting with during the last months of Mindy's life. And after Mindy's tragic death, he goes to Pennsylvania and he marries her. But none of those are issues that are the primary issue. So I would just like you to listen to all of the state's evidence. Hear what their witnesses say. Look at their exhibits. And see if, once you review all of that, the state is going to lead their burden. Thank you very much. And I appreciate your attention this morning. [00:16:40] Speaker ?: Thank you, Chancellor. Ms. Pahel. [00:16:45] Speaker 3: December 2nd, 2022. This is the week right after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving that year was on Thursday, the 23rd of November. That weekend for South Georgians is a big hunting weekend. It's deer season. You're going to hear that weekend, the Portal Hunting Club, which is located in Riceboro, Georgia, in Liberty County, right near McIntosh Line. Down off I-95, Jones Road, that turns into Barrington Ferry. But it's right over there. And you're going to hear that there were hunters out. It's a family weekend. They were all out for deer season. You're going to also hear that Portal Hunting Club is a dog club. What that means is, is that when they hunt, they use dogs to do the hunt. And the dogs run out into the woods, and the deer run, and then the hunters chew. And you're going to hear that one of those hunters shot a deer. And the dogs that he was using went to retrieve the buck. The dogs just weren't acting right. When he said come back, the dogs weren't acting right. So he went to look to figure out what was going on. He did not expect what he found. He found a headless, legless, torso. Nude. Completely nude. With two arms. One almost severed. Her two legs severed. Her head severed. Just off the roadway. And as you can imagine, you will hear him testify. They were shot. [00:19:10] Speaker ?: Horrifying. [00:19:14] Speaker 3: And I submit to you that the evidence that you will hear is that they returned to the clubhouse to try and get the police to call somebody to come out. And you're going to hear testimony that that's when the onslaught of law enforcement kicks into high gear. They respond, and they get there by about 5 o'clock, 4:50 p.m. You're going to hear what the hunting club area looked like. Portal hunting club and the area surrounding it, the adjacent territories, it's over 30,000 acres of logging territory. And they hunt on that territory with permission. That looked like a great place to drop a body. If you're not from South Georgia. Because that's a busy weekend. [00:20:06] Speaker ?: Logging. [00:20:08] Speaker 3: Hunters. Dogs. You don't know they're there, I submit to you, you're going to hear that that wasn't a great place to leave a body. Because they found it quick. Wasn't far off the road. And they found it quick. You're going to hear and see some of the information that law enforcement collected, where the torso was recovered. And you'll see those roadways. They're not asphalt. They're not like regular roadways or the highway. But they're still roadways. And the logging trucks use those. And there are cars that come through and local citizens will cut through there when the season is going on because the locks are off the gates. And you're going to hear that people were coming and going, "Wants people." And over the next couple of days, you're going to hear what they found. But that very first day on December 2nd of 2022, the crime scene investigator shows up and they start documenting the crime scene. And I'm going to submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, counsel's right. I agree about one thing. There are tons of horrible pictures. And I submit to you that we will do our very best to limit what we showed you. The state has a burden to prove our kids beyond a reasonable doubt. And dismemberment, unfortunately, is what we were dealt. And we have to prove that. So we will present photographs to prove that. But the torso wasn't all that was found on that first day of December 2nd of 2022. The crime scene is going to talk about what they recovered there. And that investigator recovered not just the torso, but the tubs that were used to transport it. And I submit to you, you're going to hear testimony about the blood that was found inside of those tubs, that they tested it on the scene, that they knew it was first blood and then it was human blood next, because they can test for that. And they're going to tell you also about the knife. Counsel talked to you a lot about what wasn't shown. But I submit to you, you all assured us, and I'm going to ask you to use your common sense as much as possible. You're going to hear about that knife. A Milwaukee, orange-handled, black-sheathed knife. And that knife, ladies and gentlemen, had a cleansing wipe wrapped around it. Call it what you will, Lorox wipes, things you use to clean up. Those wipes were everywhere. There were lots of them that were recovered. Because the killer, the killer didn't want to leave behind evidence. I submit to you that killer was a prosecutor. I submit to you that the evidence is going to show that he would have known to clean up. And I submit to you that there's more evidence. That knife was purchased, I submit, the evidence will show, by Nicholas James Paceras. If you look at that picture, the state will introduce it, you can see that knife tucked under his arm. That's him on surveillance from Home Depot. And I submit to you that in case you were unsure that that was him, that's the receipt. Showing, if you look closely, that's his name, Nicholas James Caseras. So I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, there's no question that the evidence will show that Nicholas James Caseras purchased that knife. And if you look at that, he bought it at 8:56 a.m. On the morning that you will ultimately feel it was the day her body was dumped. The same day, hours after. And you will hear evidence of exactly how we know them. You'll see the tubs, they will be here in this courtroom. You will hear about the DNA analyst testing the substances inside of those tubs and that it was Mindy's blood in those tubs. They didn't know who she was then. They just knew there was an unidentified torso. Those tubs also get bought at Home Depot. And you're going to hear how detectives from the Liberty County Sheriff's Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation ran down every lead they could. And in the beginning of these things, you're going to hear that there wasn't a lot to work with. You're going to hear they found a torso with no head and no legs. And that was all they had. That, the knife and the tubs. So you're going to hear how they started with the knife and the tubs. And then it gets worse. Because while hunters are still out hunting, we find more pieces. Over a three mile radius, pieces are dumped. With no regard, I submit to you. We'll give you the evidence. We'll give you the evidence. [00:25:51] Speaker ?: We'll give you the evidence. [00:25:51] Speaker 3: We'll give you the evidence. [00:25:52] Speaker ?: We'll give you the evidence. [00:25:53] Speaker 3: We'll give you the evidence. We'll give you the evidence. We'll give you the evidence. We'll give you the evidence. [00:25:57] Speaker ?: We'll give you the evidence. [00:25:58] Speaker 3: We'll give you the evidence. We'll give you the evidence. We'll give you the evidence. We'll give you the evidence. [00:26:02] Speaker ?: We'll give you the evidence. We'll give you the evidence. [00:26:04] Speaker 3: We'll give you the evidence. We'll give you the evidence. We'll give you the evidence. We'll give you the evidence. We'll give you the evidence. We'll give you the evidence. We'll give you the evidence. We'll give you the evidence. We'll give you the evidence. First leg found by a hunter. A separate hunter from the first group. I submit to you ladies and gentlemen. You're going to hear about all of the victims in this case. Because although Mindy suffered the most tragic loss. No question. Every person this case touches suffered. You're going to hear there's a second hunter that finds the first leg. And then you're going to hear that they do a canine search. They deployed the dogs. Cadaver dogs to try and find the rest of her. That their job was to try and find this whole person to lay her to rest. You're going to hear that a canine recovered with his handler, of course, the second leg. And I'm not going to show it right now. But you're going to hear how they collected maggots, fly larvae, from that leg to determine when these pieces were dumped. You're going to hear from the doctor. I call him the bug doctor. I call him the bug doctor. He's an entomologist. Not that fancy. He's going to tell you when those bugs could have been exposed to her body. And how that helped law enforcement to narrow down when she got there. That's the second tub. That was found next to the leg. And you're going to see where each of these pieces was recovered. I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, you're going to hear that they were recovered exactly where Nicholas James Kosotis' vehicle was trapped. You're also going to hear him admit that he was there. And I submit to you, you're going to hear him admit it once he realizes law enforcement can track his car. The head, unfortunately, wasn't found until five days later. Buried. That's the shovel. And I submit to you, you're going to see the pictures that show that a shovel was used because you're going to see that there are roots that are disturbed. Where a shovel hit roots and a new spot was picked and her head was buried. You're going to hear about how, how by some miracle that head was found. By some disturbed dirt by the roadway. And then you're going to hear and see Mr. Kosotis buying a shovel. November 4th of 2022. [00:29:18] Speaker ?: From Home Depot. [00:29:19] Speaker 3: From Home Depot. Just by his house in Savannah. Counsel, how'd you believe it's circumstantial? You're not going to see anything. But I submit to you, your common sense is going to easily dictate what the evidence shows. An autopsy is conducted. Two days. Because we didn't know if the head was going to be recovered. That's what you're going to hear the officers testify to. And Detective, or rather, Dr. Lehman, our medical examiner, is going to explain that. He started the autopsy on the torso and the two legs. He took what's called blood stain cards. So that he could send the DNA to the laboratory to determine, is this the same person? We made sure we had the same person first. And on the 9th, he continued the autopsy. Because the head was recovered. And he's going to tell you, there were 9 traumatic wounds to her skull. She was beaten on the head. You will see it. Those didn't go away. One of them resulting in a small fracture. I submit to you, you're also going to see her abdominal wounds. And you're going to hear why. The state is going to present to you a reason why there were wounds to her abdomen as well. And unfortunately, you're going to hear about the dismemberment. You're going to hear from the doctor. He can't rule out certain things. And I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, you're going to hear the reason he can't. Is because of the defendant. I submit to you, he can't rule out, for example, asphyxia. Choking. Because her neck is missing. Parts of her body have been so damaged that he can't do anything about that. That's what you're going to hear. He won't guess. You will not hear any guessing from the state. You will hear facts. And I submit to you, those facts will be compelling. [00:31:48] Speaker ?: Who is she? [00:31:51] Speaker 3: That was the next step, right? [00:31:53] Speaker ?: Who is she? [00:31:54] Speaker 3: How do we figure out that it's Mindy? Now, I've called her Mindy. But the detectives and law enforcement, they didn't know yet. They're going to talk to you about what they did at the time. They tried to test her fingerprints at the scene. They had her hands. [00:32:07] Speaker ?: They weren't on record. [00:32:08] Speaker 3: You're going to hear that they went ahead and they checked, after the autopsy she had actually on the right side, a dental implant, like a crown. They couldn't track that, but they tried. You're going to hear that they did her DNA. They're going to hear that it wasn't in the system. And they went to genetic genealogy. God bless our country. Technology gets better and better. And they were able to get leads to figure out who she might be related to, to try and figure out who this woman was. And you're going to hear that the lead that they got dealing with the FBI was for who might be her mother, Betsy Mevin. And Betsy Mevin, ladies and gentlemen, you're going to hear they did her buckle swabs. It's like a Q-tip, those cotton swabs that they put inside your mouth and they collected mom's DNA. And it turned out that was her mother. 99.9999% statistically. That is Mindy. You're going to hear about the forensic sketches that came out that they tried to find information and the hundreds of leads that law enforcement ran down. You're going to hear about all of the work that everyone put in to try and figure out who is this woman. All while they were trying to run down the knives and the tubs because that's all they had at the scene at the time. Remember I told you the doctor, the entomologist, he will estimate the dates of exposure between a window. And he gives a window and he'll explain to you why there's a window of the 27th through the 29th. And the mean or the median right in the middle is the 28th. But it could be a little bit before or a little bit after. Because he's going to tell you how he did DNA on the fly larvae to figure out how far along they were in their life cycle. So he could know exactly when her body was dumped there. But that in and of itself isn't all you're going to have. Now that we know it's Mindy Mebane Pesotis, you're going to hear that law enforcement went and talked to the people that last saw her alive. To, again, keep closing in that window, right? And you're going to hear that she was at her house with the defendant at the time in Savannah. Her parents had gone away for Thanksgiving weekend. Her dad's going to tell you that he saw her a couple of days before they left. They went up to Hilton Head with their youngest son. And that they were not at the house that weekend. And you're going to hear lived together. Mindy, Mr. Pesotis, her mother and her father. And that her mom and dad went away knowing that Mindy wasn't feeling well. That she was on bed rest from being eight months pregnant. That's what her parents thought. In fact, you're going to hear that they thought that January was her duty. And that she didn't go because she was going to stay home, she didn't feel well. And I also hear them tell you that they were very glad to hear when Mr. Pesotis advised them that Mindy was in the hospital. Because they thought, "Great, she's going to get treatment. They're going to take care of her. We're not worried." So they weren't surprised when they came home and they didn't see Mindy. And you're going to hear one of the most compelling things. Her dad had hip surgery, November 30th, 2022, when he came back from Hilton Head. And when he came back, he went into the hospital, St. Joseph Candler, near the house. It was an overnight stay. And on December 1st, when he came back, Mr. Pesotis helped him into the house with his wife. It's a couple of steps to walk in, and he had just had hip surgery. And you're going to hear Mr. Pesotis told her parents, "Don't worry, I'll take care of Mr. Pesotis, Mr. Mevan. Go back to work. Mrs. Mevan, go back to work. I'll watch him." And while they're in the house together, he says to her father, "I'm going to get Mindy." Mrs. Mevan said, "I'm going to get Mindy." Mrs. Mevan said, "I'm going to get Mindy," is what you will hear, "but she's dead." And he knew that. And I'll tell you why. The evidence is going to show that they were at this house in Savannah, and that in the house in Savannah, there's blood in the house. And it's Mindy's blood. And you're going to note, notably, you're going to see the photographs, that that blood is right where her head would be on the futon. You're going to hear about blood specks on the wall, that they needed to use Blue Star, a luminescent, to find, because it had been cleaned up. You're going to hear, "We don't know whether she died there." But there was definitely a bloodletting event there. And the only person with access was Nicholas James Cossotus. So we follow his car, because now we know it's the 29th, 27th through the 29th. And what we find, his car is a green Ford Explorer. And if you see at the top of that frame, there's a City of Bryceberry building, and that building has a camera. And that camera captures a green Ford Explorer, driving past it, November 29th. I submit to you, the evidence will show, that that's the same day, if you recall, he bought that knife that was found on the crime scene. 8:56 in the morning. You're going to see his car, I submit to you, drive right past it. And I'm going to submit to you, that the evidence that you're going to see, that tells you why we know it's his car, is that car has Bluetooth. When you buy a new car, and your phone can sync, so you can talk on your phone, lots of those new cars do that. AT&T keeps those records. Not the Jim McIntyre's, but AT&T. I'm going to submit to you, an independent third party, no interest in this case. And those records are going to show his car pinged, from his house, to Home Depot, and his whole drive, right down 95 to Riceboro, right across into where he dumps the body. And he's going to admit, on the audio statements to law enforcement, post-Miranda, an attorney who waived his rights. He told them, "I'll turn off my GPS. And you're going to hear the surprise in his voice, when he learns, they can track his car too." You're going to hear that the car, and the phone, follow the same path. You're going to see that witness from Riceboro, and you're going to see those photographs. And there they are. You're going to see his voice floor drive right past it. You're going to see the Georgia records that show his car. You're going to see the car records that show he bought that car with cash. Almost $46,000 of cash. So who claims Mr. McIntyre was running all of his money, and he had no money. That's what you're going to hear. And we're going to tell you where he had money from. You're going to see the car come, and you're going to see the car go. And I told you, we followed the Thurals. He said December 1st, and he tells her parents he's going to the hospital to pick her up. She's already dead. Because he put her there. You're going to hear why everybody believed Mr. Cassotis. Counsel just told you all these wonderful things about his client. Decorated military veteran. Prosecutor. Judge Advocate General with the Navy. Navy. There's nothing to God. Boston. [00:40:58] Speaker ?: Two law degrees. [00:40:59] Speaker 3: It's not just her family that believed him. Everybody believed him. On paper, he looked like Prince Charming. I submit to you, that's what the evidence will share. And then you're going to hear the statements from the defendant. I submit to you, you should listen to them very carefully. There's a lot of information in there. And it's information that law enforcement was able to run down. It's not just lies. It's things that are impossible. I submit to you. [00:41:36] Speaker ?: The question becomes why, right? Mr. Weinstein talked a little bit about the divorce. [00:41:37] Speaker 3: And I'm going to submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, that after 10 years as a decorated military veteran, Mr. Cassotis just leaves the Navy. But he leaves because he owes his first wife $1,500,000 plus, and the Navy is going to make him pay it. I submit to you that divorce, you're going to hear about, and you're going to hear about it from the understanding of why him and Mindy were on the run. I submit to you, Mindy will be afraid. I submit to you, he fooled her too. I submit the evidence is going to show that, that her close family and friends are going to tell you that she was afraid. She bought it. And she paid for that with her life. I submit to you, you're going to hear that there was a new woman. That Mr. Cassotis, before he even had this death, was already moved on. He started talking to a new woman. She didn't know, you're going to hear, she did not know he had a life. She was not from here. She was not in any way aware of what was going on. And that he tricked her too. And you're going to hear that he was running, as quick as he could, away from Georgia. You're going to hear that they got remarried. She was found on December 2nd, that he was already engaged by February, and that he was already married again by April. That he changed his name several times, in multiple states. I submit to you, he didn't want to pay that money. That's what you're going to hear. And you're going to hear how he tried to seal off the loose ends. Changing his name, he burned the car. I submit to you, that's what the evidence will show. To the ground. March. That's what the evidence is going to show. So let's talk for just a moment about the charges. You're going to hear that the state has charged the defendant, and you're going to listen to the court. So anything I say about the law, there's any discrepancy. You followed your dreams. Malice murder. Intent to kill. Every blow is an intent to kill. When you're striking somebody in the head. Do we know if that killed her? [00:44:49] Speaker ?: No, we don't. [00:44:50] Speaker 3: But we know that all of those contributed to her death. And you're going to hear that from the pathologist, medical doctor. You're going to also hear felony murder, which is aggravated assault, where you intend to cause harm, serious bodily injury, but it ultimately kills them. So even if you don't think for a moment that at each blow it was intent to kill, felony murder as if I intended to assault, then they die, it's felony murder. And you're going to hear something about venue, where she was killed. Counsel pointed out quite a bit about what the state doesn't know. We don't. And the law in the state of Georgia, and you're going to listen to Judge Rose, specifically instructs on venue. They're talking about either the county in which the cause of death was inflicted, which in this case, you're going to hear everyone say they don't know exactly when she took her last breath. Because her body was dismembered and tossed over three miles. But they also, under the law, it says, if a dead body is dismembered in this state and it cannot be readily determined in what county the cause of death was inflicted, it shall be considered that the cause of death was inflicted in the county in which the dead body was discovered. The law anticipates cases like this. And I submit to you, that's what we have. Mindy's body was in liberty. That's why we are here. You're also going to hear about concealing the death of another, trying to hide the death itself. You're going to hear about the possession of the knife, and you're going to hear about more than one knife, the deer processing kit and the knife itself, that Milwaukee knife. And I submit to you, you have to get through the flesh to get to the bones. And you're going to hear the tool marks on the flesh. You're going to hear about the possession of tools for the punishment of the crime, those would be the Ford Explorer itself for transporting the body, the insulation knife to get access to the bones, the deer processing kit to potentially cut through the bones, and the tubs that were used to transport her, the shovel that was used to bury her head and partially one of her legs. And the removal of body parts, because they got moved all over. You're going to see them all over that knife. And then the tampering, those cleansing wipes, trying to get rid of biological evidence. I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, a prosecutor would know that. I ask you, ladies and gentlemen, to bring your common sense. Follow the law. And give justice to me in heaven. Thank you. [00:48:03] Speaker ?: Thank you. Thank you.