Shot Wife and Dog Trial — FL v. Timothy Kramer — Full Closings

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Ms. Shea, you may give your closing now. [00:00:02] Speaker ?: Thank you. May I please the court, Mr. Benson, and the testers? [00:00:13] Speaker 2: Sunglasses. [00:00:14] Speaker 1: I'll leave that. The ones that's tabbed, leave them on. Everything else goes off. And the red one. [00:00:24] Speaker ?: There you go. [00:00:25] Speaker 1: Thank you. Go ahead now. [00:00:26] Speaker 2: Good morning. You guys were a perky panel on Monday, too, so it's good to see that you're still in good spirits after two days. And I know that I speak for all of the court staff that we really appreciate your attentiveness. And we plowed through a lot of evidence in the last two days. I think it was 19 witnesses. So I just want to thank you for that. I'm going to step over here because I need to look with you at the big screen in order to do this. But we're here with opinions against cynic infringement. And the judge is going to tell you that it's up to you to decide which evidence you should rely on. Use your common sense in deciding what's the best evidence. What you should consider in determining the verdict. So many of the evidence may not be as reliable as other evidence. [00:01:22] Speaker ?: And as the jury, you get to decide which evidence you want to rely on and which evidence you don't. It's also going to tell you that you have the prerogative. You may believe or disbelieve all or any part of the evidence or the testimony of any witness. [00:01:40] Speaker 2: So the factors that give you some guidance, the instructions give you some guidance, the factors that you should consider. Well, actually, let's talk about the witnesses first. We have, like, three different categories of witnesses. Law enforcement witnesses, professional witnesses, and the law enforcement witnesses. And the first day was largely law enforcement. You had Deputy Glass. He's the one that started the missing persons investigation. Sean McNaughton from Home PD, who was just responding to Escambia's call for assistance. He spoke to Mr. Kramer and Milton. He makes contact with him at his sister's apartment. Plates him into custody. You know, Lieutenant Charette. He sees as the Dolores' phone. Lawrence Masita is a crime scene technician. Collected the things in the apartment. Photographed the defendant. Deputy Gither, who located Rose's car in the park. Marissa Beetson. Photographed the car in the park. And then documented and collected all the evidence at the crime scene. And also went back in October and collected the evidence that they found the truck. The firearm in the truck. Crime scene sent a call. She did the first search warrant of the truck. Documented the blue star and the floorboard of the truck. Britt and Bishop did the same thing with the victim's car. Documented the blue star footprints and the floorboard of her car. And then the evidence could have downloaded about everyone's cell phone prices. All of these people, and investigator Crawford, the main investigator in the police. And she's sort of the, I guess, compiles all of the things, puts the investigation together. Directs all of the activity as everything's unfolding. All of this evidence on Tuesday was really about establishing where Rosa was, where the defendant was, how he gets arrested, how they identify that he's the one that killed her. That was most of Tuesday. The professional witnesses, Dr. Lee, the veterinarian who examined Cody. Dr. Armstrong, the medical examiner. Ms. Snowden from FDLE, who tested the firearm and found that it matches the shell casings in the house. Ms. Wilkerson, who analyzed the DNA primarily on the defendant's genes. And investigator Little, who's law enforcement, but really his presentation is more about analyzing the cell phone data, not so much about piecing together all the evidence from the various crime scenes. And then you have the lay witnesses. Ms. Merkman and Mr. Keyless, these were family members of the decedent. And their testimony was largely geared towards establishing a timeline and historians for Rosa. Where she was staying, where she went on the morning of the 23rd, about what time she left, the reason she was leaving. Well, some of her habits, you know, they knew that she was unhappy in her marriage. They knew that she was separating from her husband. That was the substance of their testimony. LaShawn Kelly, who's the co-worker of the defendant. He knows he works as a stocker at the PetSmart. He knows he left work before he was supposed to leave work on the 23rd. He also knows that the defendant had expressed he knew his wife was leaving him. And he was, you know, he was troubled enough about it to talk about it at work. And then the last witness was the defendant. So these are the factors that you should consider when you're thinking about the testimony of all of these witnesses. First, did the witness have the opportunity to see and know the things about which they testified? Did the witness have an accurate memory? Was the witness honest and straightforward in answering the attorney's questions? Did the witness have some interest in how the case should be decided? And think about this one because it could affect how they testified to you. That's why you should consider whether or not they had an interest. Did the witness at some other time make a statement that is inconsistent with the testimony he gave in court? There's really only one witness that was ever questioned about earlier statements that they made other than their testimony here today. And that was the defendant. He's the only one that said anything different than any other time that he was in court. And lastly, does the witness's testimony agree with the other testimony and evidence in the case? And this is the actually, these are not in order as they are in your instructions, but I think that this is the most pertinent of the criteria that you should, you know, analyze the evidence through. Because you have to make sure that it makes sense. Remember, the instructions say that you have to use your common sense in deciding which evidence is the best evidence. And so, it's necessary to make sure that it agrees with the other testimony and evidence in the case. Now, phase exhibit N3, these are the text messages between the defendant and the decedent. Now, you remember his testimony from yesterday. Rosa can't testify because Rosa is dead. But she's the only other one that knows what was really going on between them. The best thing that I can give you are the communications between Rosa and the defendant. So, State's Exhibit N3 is that exhibit. Now, Investigator Crawford read what was said between them, really more what the defendant said to her on the 23rd. But they start, I think, on the 11th of July. And they go, it's about 83 pages front and back. I'm going to go through a number of these pages. And I really hope that I can see it on the big screen to make it easier to publish. Which may be a little bit. Most of them are not, don't have this many words on them. But I'm going to read off this one. This is on July the 16th. July the 16th is the day that she leaves. And it starts at 4.13 in the morning. She says, I need to get out. Well, and she also, both of them, have pretty poor grammar and spelling and syntax and whatnot in their text messages. We do the best we can with it. I need to get this out of my chest. I want to start by saying, I love you, but we are back on the same old song. You cannot say you're happy like this. I don't know what to do anymore. All we do is sleeping early. It doesn't matter if you're next day. I need time. And seriously, we can't keep on reading like, I do have love for you, but I can't keep reading like this. I suggest to you she needs living like this. He responds, I feel the same thing. I thought you were going to get the job yesterday. So that put me back in my slump. I don't know what to tell you, but to go off and do something if you want. I'm trying to make sure there's enough of the bills. I'm not trying to spend a penny, save gas, doing what I think is the right thing to do. We both just lay there and don't say anything. So we are both at fault. I love you with all my heart, but you would have a place to live if something happens. I don't. She responds, I don't have any words, any to say. You don't show me affection anymore. It's okay, I'm not putting my body to blame, anybody to blame, so I'll be moving out today. And if it is meant to be, we will find our old love we had and may be back on track. Remember I love you and just charm this last thing. Hope it helps, but I love you. All I can say right now until I get my old Tim back. I love you. Please don't keep this fight anymore. Remember I always have loved you, but this step has to happen. The defendant's testimony yesterday is that she was the aggressor in all of this, that she is the angry, agitated, aggravated one. But that's not what's played out in these messages. Still on the 16th, the defendant says, again, you have a place to sleep. I will not when they come and take the house back. But oh, guess that it's my fault. You have thrown up leaving now for a while. She says, this is the only way I can think that things will get better. I have no other ideas. So if a place to live is what's bothering you, sell the house and you will have money. Defendant says, you say you love me, but you don't put the person you love on the streets. But you have a great day and I will not bother you anymore. And thanks for telling me you're leaving over the phone. I will leave you now. I will leave you be now. She says, I hope being us close together or farther apart. Defendant responds, if you leave, we are done. I will tell you that much. You will have to tell me when I was at work. You would have to tell me when I was at work. I at least would have told you that it is not love telling me you're leaving when I was at work or a hell thing. I will drop, I think this has passed it. I will drop it off at my grandparents' house when I get home. Thanks for telling me this while I was at work. You knew that I was having issues at my job. That shows how much you really loved me. You've been famous for a while now. And also, you go live with your dad and take care of him. Rosa said, if that is not so, but if you want to think that, so be it. Then with the fighting arguments and not being happy because you talk at the old us back that you didn't try. I will not text you anymore unless it is to fix things, not to fight. He responds, you have not tried either. It's on both of us. Okay, so you're going to walk out with at least both trying. I think I got this now. I am waiting to take for real thinking and actually fix the burden. Defend it. Like I said, you leave, it's over. And that is showing you that you're not willing to work on us, but are willing to walk out on us. Well, at least I know that the house is not getting paid from this point on. Instead of telling me, hey, we need to fix this, you just tell me you're walking out. Sorry, but that just blows our mind. She says, you can't say this hasn't been going on for a while. And he responds, yeah, but I would never just walk out on you ever. So you're going to be gone when I get back. Could you at least tell me that much? Are you going to be gone when I get back? She says, yes, I'm gone. I do love you, but you don't think I do. If you do want me back and love me, real love, he says. Well, yes, I want you and don't want you to leave. I would have fixed this already if I knew how and knew what to fix. So then I need to leave for work because Aiden can't be there by himself. Where this says, he's fine, he's eating. If you do say you love me, then fight for me and show me. Defend it. I can't fight for you when you're gone. Versus like, yes, you can. You have done it before. Defend it. And this so far has been in a span of about two hours. A little less than two hours. Please don't do this. I can't handle you walking out of the room, please. Well, I'm at home alone in the next two days if you want to come talk to the future out what we are going to do. I texted you that I am home and also home tomorrow if you want to talk. And he did not reply. So I will leave you alone. I sit here heartbroken. So don't say I didn't try to fix this. So he starts with, please don't do this. I can't handle you walking out of the room, please. At 6.06. Then he says, well, I'm at home alone for the next two days if you want to come and talk. That's at 6.41. I texted you that I'm home and I'm also home tomorrow if you want to talk and you didn't reply. So I'm going to leave you alone and sit here by myself. And that's at 6.54. So he gave her, what is that, 13 minutes? And then he says, so don't say I didn't try to fix this. At 6.58. We busted our asses off, we get what we have, and it's all gone in the blink of an eye. 7.01. She says, I will come by tomorrow and talk to you. I need to think. I've been telling everyone I need mental help, but no one helps me. But I help everyone out, including helping me with 80. Love that kid like I am. Defendant. Well, he's gone for now and I can't help you with the mental health part. Dr. Lee has to do that. She says, well, I was denied Sedgwick for being out. He replies, I take it after all the time we've been together, you can't make time to come and talk to me, so no, so no, hold on. I take it after all the time we've been together, you can't make time to come and talk, so know what you have to go back to work. I knew they were going to deny you because you just came back from it not too long ago. We both have issues going on, and as a couple, you work on them together, you don't just walk out. She said, all I can say is, I'm sorry for flipping your world upside down. Mine is too. I know I get this. Heart to wake up to know that I am more than just a check, and I am more than just your babysitter. And he says, I'm so hurt right now, I don't know what to do, I lost my best friend loving my life. She says, I didn't walk out on you. I need someone that is going to love me and appreciate me for what I do, not look at me with that look of hate. Defendant, it's both of our fault that we are where we are at right now. I told you I told you I was home, you don't want to try and fix this, I cannot force you. Defendant, you don't just wake up one day and take your stuff and read unless it was planned. Defendant, I love you with all my heart and soul and would do anything to fix this, but when you walked out on me, that tells me that you're done. This is now at 7.32 on the same day. Have a great life, be safe, stay safe, because no matter what I say is going to fix it, 7.34. I don't know if it is your mental health issues, but you don't just walk away after all this time. I invite you to come over and fix this, but you have other plans today that shows you're not willing to fight for me and you're done. 7.46. And then, lastly, call that guy back that tried to set up the interview or call Alexa for a job at 7.52. At 7.58, from this point on, I'm going to let you be, you left me, I guess I should take the hint, well, I got it. At 8.23, I sit here alone, heartbroken, sad, lost, my best friend, lost the love of my life. 9.05, I want my wife back home, I am lost, but it does not look like that will ever happen. 9.26, I can't believe you're not heartbreaking as it is, and I'm lost as hell. She says, at 9.26, I love you and I miss you, but I just can't keep living this life because it's not a marriage. And you just, like, for my grandkids to come up in the night, you don't let any of the kids around. I want to grow old with, but I need you to be 100% sure that you want me and that things will work out. All of the arguments we have, and one week you're okay, but next week you get on to me about some things. You talk as if you're pissed off at me. We are going to work on us, then you will have to show me that you want me back. Fight for the love I have. You think I just jumped up and left you. That's not so. I left because I'm tired of how you talk down to me. I am in, it says tired, I believe she needs tears. I am in tears. I don't have my best friend, but it can't keep going where we're going. One of us needs to make a change. Defend it. Both of us need to change. You left me, I lost my world, but saying that, it was just not my fault. She says, I'm not just yours, mine too. We were always going to the beach early in the morning to pick shelves, but you don't do that. I want to be with you. I am shaking and lost for words. I don't know what to do. Defend it. I am lost. How do you think I'm feeling? Rosa, I am too. Just think of how to fix this, and I will do the same. I am lost big time. You are the light of my world, but I can't keep getting hurt by hateful words. I'm feeling like I'm no good for you. So it's clear that she's struggling. She's trying to articulate to him what her complaints are. She feels like she's berated. She feels like he's constantly talking down to her, being mean to her. And his whole response is always, it's both our fault, or when are you going to come and talk to me? We're still on the 16th. Her solution is we need to take a break. We need to think about ourselves. You know, we need to see where we can each work on this. That's her approach in this, and his approach is, you left. You need to come back and talk to me. And that's it. Defend it at 934. Well, I feel the same way and always last in your life. You're lost. I'm lost. Neither of us know what to do. I don't have a clue on how to fix my wife walking out on me. I did nothing that deserves you walk away from our marriage after how long we've never been together. I'm sitting here thinking on what to do with all the stuff in the house. How most important. Where do I go live? I'm so fucking lost. Defendant. Okay, so there's nothing. Okay, so nothing. You had a great day and night. I'll see you whenever. This is killing me. You just don't know. I see you took all of your shoes and work stuff. You took all that and had plans on never coming back. Now, we go through a couple of messages where Rosa explains she doesn't have her glasses, can't read the text messages, she's dropped them off to be repaired, has to pick them up, and then she picks back up after this and says, and the defendant says, just be honest, you don't plan on coming back. She says, I plan on coming back if and when you decide to treat me as your wife and not talk down to me or lose your temper when something doesn't go right. Plus, you're always negative. That's what I would, would, that's what I would for you to work on, showing me by text, send me flowers, do the same thing you did at the beginning to win my love. Defend it. And what about you? What are you going to work on? Rosa, tell me what about me? What would you like? Because you're talking about the stuff that's in there. Well, that shows me you're not trying to work on anything. How I offer marriage counseling, pay the $70 deposit for you to tell me later, you don't want to go. So I'm out $70, okay? That told me you didn't because material stuff matters to you more than me. It's all you, you, you. Stop and think about me. Rosa, who needs to feel love and appreciate me and take me and my family as their family as well. Remember, the defendant said something about marriage counseling. He said something about losing the money for that. And here, Rosa's like, I asked you to go to marriage counseling. I said, please go with me to marriage counseling. And she's the one that lost the money. But that's not what the defendant represented to you yesterday. Defendant, again, it all comes down to me as being my fault. He's being manipulative with her. I think he is sort of projecting all of this on her. And she says, you pointed out what was wrong with me, so I did the same work on it. Defendant, I didn't point out anything. She says, maybe not today, but you would point out all my issues. I see, or anything else down at to where I can and can't go out. I have to hurry home for what to watch you sleep. Defendant, I see, so we're going to put it all on me. You have a good day and night. She says, no, I asked to have time and time again what to do and what I did wrong. Defendant, like I said, you have a good day and night. Love you. You're going to let you be and do things you want to do. I like how you pointed out everything that is wrong with me, but I did not say nothing about you. All I said was, it's both our fault. Taking my nighttime meds and a few more to sleep through this nightmare. Skipping ahead a little bit, we're moving to the 17th. She says, I'm going to be as honest as I can. We have a lot to work on. And this back and forth from each other is not doing any good. And this back and forth from each other is not doing any good. I'm sitting here and I think, if I want to continue with the back and forth, and I don't. I'm tired of being talked to like I'm 80. And I want you to give me your respect. And I heard you have to receive respect to get it back. I am confused and lost and broken too, but this is the last time I will do this. But this has to come from both of us instead of sitting there eating gummy and going to sleep. That's not a light. You have said all kinds of hurtful words and never once have you apologized to me for something you said. And I did. And then you find the truth. I want a man that can take care of everything since the man is the head of the house. Anything that breaks, I have to figure it out or get my dad to come over and help. You have put so much of me to take care of you, but you never did anything wrong because you never have said you're sorry. So, yes, I'm going to be here until I figure out if I can get this down my fellow head over heels. For now, I'll just work on you and take this time to fix you. And if you would allow it, can I bring the white dresser and a TV for me? And if you would allow it, can I bring the white dresser and one TV, if not all good? And the defendant's representation yesterday was that she comes in demanding pieces of furniture. And he wants to split it up in the divorce. Mind you, throughout all of these messages, the whole thing is never about divorce from him. From him, it's about you need to come home, you need to come back, you can't leave. And here she says, and if you would allow it, as if she's asking. And she says, can I bring the white dresser and one TV? So it means there's multiple TVs in the house. If not, it's all good. She'll get over it. It's not, you know, that's not a big deal to her. And he says, no, it needs to be fixed before anything else leaves the house. All that shows me is that you don't plan on coming back. If it's over, just say it, please, don't string me on. Which she does keep saying over and over and over again. She keeps saying, I need a break. We need to work it out. We need to work on our things. His whole response is, either come back or just say you're done. And he just guilt trips her through all of these messages. Defendant, your dad knows how to fix things. I do not. My father never showed me nothing. You're going to come and take, you're just going to come and take it when I'm not here. We both know this. You're acting like this is just my fault. It takes two people to cause issues and two people have to fix them. Just be honest, you have no plans on coming back. He's really not offering to help fix anything. He's just trying to box her into saying she's not coming back. She says, honestly, I don't know if I will be back either. Just remember, always know that you will always be in my heart. I do love you a lot. And this is killing me. But I need to thin my head. And this is the only way I know how. He says, you won't even answer the phone. Please, I need to hear your voice. I can't do this without you because you're my rock. You're the only one that holds me together. He'll say something nice like that. And then I skipped ahead a few pages. So I ended at page 34, 8.48 a.m. on the 17th. Skipping it over to page 40 at 11.50, she says, always safe. I will stop by to get a box band. He says, I'll put one in the front room for you. Well, I guess I'll, and that was at 11.51. I'll let him give you two. Well, I guess I'll see you when either of us gets a chance. And she says, I am stopping by to get the fan. I will give you a hug and a kiss. I'm asking, all I'm asking is to take this time, however long it will take us, and to get back on track because we need to find ourselves. Defendant. I've given up on life. How I can even keep my wife happy and that our house time has failed. You're acting like you're going to be gone for weeks. I can't do this without you. I'm a broken man. I can see it in your eyes that we are over. She says, no, what you see in my eyes is worry about what has happened and how long it's going to take for you for, I think she means us, to go back together. We can't, we can start dating again. This is what I would like for us to take steps as if we were dating, phone call, pretext, and maybe just go have a picnic. This, of that matter, we can show respect for one another. And the defendant says, and that's telling me you're not going to be back by the time it is my birthday and our wedding and retreat. The house will go into foreclosure. I can't afford these bills by myself. I'm begging you to please come home. I can't do this anymore. The way I take this is that you want to start from the beginning, dating, and then move on from there. This will take months. And I'm not going to live by myself for months. It's always all about him and all of these messages. And then, skipping again to page 54, and this is July 18th, she says, and if you read it in a mere eight pages, it appears that there was a time when they were reconciled and they were back together because they were lovey-dovey a little bit in the messages. And this is afterwards, and she's leaving again. She says, forgive me. I'm a screwed up person. I want for you to get the same way. I want you to work on us. Anyway, I love you brokenhearted and incomplete. My world is falling without you in it. I keep sleeping alone. But for months, please, if you really want to work things out, but what I subjected, you don't want to do. I think we both need to clear our mind and move forward together. My heart hurts. That you will never be in my life again just because you don't want to work things out week by week. I am lost. My brain hurts. My heart aches for us. And all the damage I have done. Not only with you, but with others also. I am not a woman I can give my husband what he wants because of my mood swing. We need a new beginning. Seduce me like you used to do. I always love you. He says, good morning, my sweet love. I see you took the rest of your clothes and jewelry box. I hope you keep true to your work. I think he means word. And won't see me today. And then he says, after seeing that you took the rest of your stuff, I don't have a good feeling. This is on the 19th, starting at 2.50 in the morning, I need you to call me ASAP, please. Hold on. The last, the message is that he started with good morning and I see you took your stuff. That's 2 in the morning, 2.14 in the morning. At 2.50, he says, I need you to call me ASAP, please. Let's use the meet video chat, that's at 3.07. Please call me now ASAP and for it, that's 3.26 a.m. At 5.41 a.m., he says, I miss you so much, I've never heard this bad in my life. When are you coming over? I want every second I can't get with you at 6.17 a.m. Then at 7.11 a.m., I got a feeling that you're not coming. If you're not coming over, please just tell me. She says, I'm not sure yet at 10.37. Then he says, please call me, important please, at 10.37. Please answer, it's important. If it's the last thing you do, all I want to do is talk. I know you're not going to come over. Well, I tried. All of those messages are within 5 minutes. You gave up before, giving it a chance, and I've seen you took $200 from a bank account. I've given you 12 years of my life. Is it too much to ask to hear your voice, please? You lied to me. When you took the rest of your stuff yesterday, you knew you were not coming back. You could have been honest with me. You could have just told me the truth at least. On the 19th at 11 o'clock, he says, I quit my job, which we know he didn't do. He's trying to manipulate her, guilt trip her again. All I'm asking is to hear your voice. Well, I guess that you don't have time for me. Sorry to bother you. I will let you be. I see you don't want anything to do with me anymore. Sorry I messed up your life. Then he sends a family picture. I guess you don't even have one, man. I can't hear your voice. That's so much to ask of you. Please, are you still coming? She says, yes. I just had to take care of a few things as I told you. I'm coming over. Give me time to put a TV on the wall for Dad. I didn't realize it. Or we didn't realize what time it was. He says, you don't have to. Just answer your phone. I'm sorry I pushed you away and fucked up your love. I do. I'm sorry. She says, I know you're stressed because you don't have money or a place to stay. What I can offer you is $10 for the house and a transfer to my name so you can try to build your life. He doesn't even respond to that. But she's trying to offer him solutions. He also doesn't mention anything about his 401k or being upset about losing money in the house. He never even says anything about that in any of these messages to her. But she's trying to offer him a solution, $10,000 for the house. And then he says, I miss you and love you from like it was day one. I know you don't feel the same. I know where the money would come from, your dad. And he said that he's not getting involved in our anything at this point. Then she says, I'm tired of getting hurt, you know, after a while. The same thing year after year. My kids are the worst kids on this earth. I gave you a choice so you would not be in the street. I'm sorry this is bad and this far. So much buildup. And then referring to the dad, he says, she says, he doesn't, but he also doesn't want to see you in the street. Defendant, he told me he was not getting involved in it. So I'm going to take his work as you. She says, I know, but I asked for it so that you won't be in the street. I care about you, and he does too. And then she says, I didn't understand your last message. If you cared, you would find it in your heart to forget the past and both of us keep moving. It's not going, doing I was any good. We can't get past this and move on with my whole life. We can get past this and move on your, my whole life, my everything. We have been through worse and this, and make it worse. She says, please, I don't want you to suffer anymore. Take your medicine and go rest your mind. She says, I can't sleep, eat, move out. I can't eat, move out over the bed. I'm broken and it can't be fixed. Please is the same, my heart. You're doing this to take care of your dad and understand, I understand it more than you know. She says, I am with him because he needs me. I love you, but I don't think this can be fixed again. He's already done for both of us. And he responds, I miss you so much. Please don't do this. We can work it out. We can leave this town. I need to see you, please. And beg me, please, to see you today. Please give me this one last thing. I was not trying to be nosy, but you got something from the Social Security office and it was a check for you for $1,507.87. Again, sorry, not trying to be nosy. And he's opening her mail. I've been up all night. Let me know what you want done with this check, please. She said, I read your message. I'll stop by and take up the check. When, please. I'm going to change and I'll be there. Like, in a few hours from now, once I get dressed, I just woke up. Can I call you to hear your voice, please? Yes, that's a no. I know you don't care about me anymore, but I got that. She said she's on her way. Why won't you answer my calls? Do you hate me that much? She puts in her dad's address. I miss you so much. I'm in so much pain right now. I'm worried where I will be in a month from now. A loan is running through my head. I need your help. I don't want to be homeless. She says, I don't want you to be homeless either. I need your help, so I am not. I'm going to help you get a place. She says, I can't afford a place by myself. Can I call you, please? She says, I'm going to help you. I promise if they take the house, which I'm hoping we can work together to sell it, so you won't be homeless. I just messaged everybody waiting for him to answer. He says, I love you. It hurts so bad, baby. I'm hurting big time. I'm begging you to please come spend the night with me. Be with me. He does family picture. Please call. I'm begging you. Please, I need you so bad. And it's going straight to blue scale. And then he says, I'm up whenever you want to come and get me, my sweet love. I miss you so much. I'm hurting really bad. I need you back home. I will never hurt you again. Trust me. You have opened my eyes big time. I had hope and believed you would be home today. After talking to you today, I had a 0% chance that you would be home now. I'm begging you. Please don't go back on your word you gave me yesterday. I promise with all my heart and soul things will never go back to the way they were. You've opened my eyes. Please don't throw away 13 years over to pay things. I know deep in my heart it's going to be a mail. I understand that you're willing to come over. Even if it's just for one hour, please. The race sucks. All of our drivers are way in the back. I guess he's watching NASCAR. When you get a second chance, please call me. Thanks. Baby, would you please call the mortgage company and see what they say and let me know, please. We're into the 22nd now of July. He says, yes, I will. May I hear your voice if I call you? You are a cause yourself over and over. He doesn't understand what. I don't understand. He says, you are a cause yourself to hurt. Over and over. Throw the car up in the air and let them lay where they land. He says, I hurt without you. I cannot help. I'm hurting bad. He says, I know deep in my heart. He says, I know deep in my heart you want to come back, but you're torn between me and your dad. I will apologize to him for what I've done to you. And this is part of what we heard yesterday. Where he prays, I love you and miss you. Please come spend the night with me. Will you cancel the whole room? And he says, please tell me you did not mean that long letter you left me. He told me today that we could fix this. You're loving this. This is at 7. This is July 22nd at 9.9 a.m. Now, I know that was kind of painful and long, but I need to make sure that you see this. And process what it's saying, because this is a very different flavor of the relationship than was represented by the defendant. And right here at 7.22 at 9.29 in the morning, is that talking about the long letter that she sent? This is the long letter that she sent. It states Exhibit S. And she sent it at 8.27 on the 22nd. And she says, I want to start by saying I really didn't have a lot of pain to see the pain in my heart. But all the times I told you over and over, you kept telling me it hurts. I know how many times I did that for weeks at a time when you kept sleeping in the other room or leave. But that's what you, all of them, words hurt. Every time you attacked my kids, it hurt deep down in my soul. When you kept telling me to leave or pushing me away when I wanted to hold on for 10 years of my life, they were both got empty inside and gave up. Would not go out. All the times I asked you to come out when I was dancing and asked you to come. Even on a howling dance, you kept telling me no, so you pushed my love for you to be bruised. From here on out, you need to find you another true love because my light was, I believe she means dim. My light was dimmed down. So now, I just feel sorry for you. And I had a small amount of love for you, but it was burning out. And I can't tell you that my eyes are, I can't tell you my eyes are open now. And I see you. And honestly, I can't say the hardest way was to do this, but it needs to be letting you know that I love you. That I love, but I'm sorry all that I do is out. I love you, but I'm not going to love you. I'm sorry that I thought you was going to be my man for life, but sorry I'm going to let you out. You take good days too, so that's why I appreciate it. But from here on out, I am sorry, but I am not in love with you, and I am not in love anymore. You pushed me far, far away. We were having a good marriage, so you got controlling as to when I needed to be home, as if I was your prisoner. I told you I wanted out. I needed out. You keep telling no, not until 18 is 18. Look around, he's not 18. Well, I guess you sell the house, and that way you won't be in this treat, and you can build your life again. I gave you many times to change. There's a lot to help you out, and it was never enough for you. I put my kids and my grandkids to the side, because you call my daughter Minis, and my boys, you attack them too. And I held on for 11 to 12 years. I gave you 11 minutes to try to change, but no, didn't want to do that. I made a deposit of $70 for the marriage counseling, but you didn't want to do that. I took it at him as my son. Never called, I believe she means called him, and he didn't either. And that was more, but I will leave you with this letter. I'm sorry that my love was gone. That was on the 22nd at 8.27. And then he responds, we can still work this out. Please don't do this. Reply to me so I don't know what's going on. Are you going to come back over here? If you don't reply to me, I will never know. I will give you your mom's bowl. He's trying to manipulate her into coming back over there so that he can continue to do the full press on her in person. That was at 10.09 on the 22nd. She says, I can stop by and get it at 12.54 on the 22nd. Come now, please. Otherwise, it will have to be tomorrow. This is at 1.12 on the 22nd. I will see you tomorrow. I put some stuff on the bed, the bowl, and the photo album. I put it up and will give you when I see you tomorrow after I get off work. This is the 23rd at 2.41 in the morning. I need you to come get your stuff first thing. That way we don't have to see each other until we sign the paper. Sell the house. That way we can both move on. Let me know. You're on your way. The glass door is locked. You said 5.30. I guess you don't want your stuff. Same types of messages. M3, these were the text messages. Same thing in the text messages that we heard yesterday. M3 are the Facebook messages. It's the exact same content. He puts the exact same stuff in email, in text message, in Facebook, and he's blowing her up all the time, constantly. All of those messages, most of those message bubbles are green. Without success, except to say, will you call me? Can I call you? Will you come over here? When am I going to see you? And then he will dangle carrots like, I'll give you your mother's bowl. I'll let you come get this fan. Whatever it is to get her to come there. So he says that she was aggravated, angry, red-faced, and drinking. The decedent's father said that when she left, she seemed stressed. She didn't seem, you know, angry or upset, really. But she was going over there to get the stuff. She knew that he wouldn't be there. And he says she comes in the door angry and upset, and red-faced, and he believed she was drinking. Well, her blood alcohol in her autopsy report was .05. But remember, this is before 6 o'clock in the morning. And .05 isn't drunk. But she's got THC. She's got Xanax in her system. She has prescriptions for all of these things. And he also said, all of those things are depressants. They're downers. They're not, you know, they're not the type that's going to hype somebody up and make them excited. He says that she slams her hand on the white dresser and the gun was on the nearby brown dresser. There's the white dresser. There's the brown dresser way over there. So, you know, they said they preserve everything. When they come into the crime scene, they leave it as it was. This is where the empty space is in the dresser. There's keys and a phone. Her wedding rings. Perhaps she did put her wedding rings on the desk. Maybe she slammed her wedding rings on the dresser in frustration. But the gun is supposed to be over here on this one. And doesn't, you know, just consider that when you're considering what he said. This is the other angle of the dresser. And then from across the room, it would be a little weird to just have a gun sitting on the dresser like that. But in any event, really the only slapping space is over here on this side of the dresser. And there's your rings. He also said that she charged him and was kicking him in the knees. And called him a piece of shit and said she was going to kill him. Now, we just spent, I don't know how long I've been reading, probably a while. Did any of that sound like she was homicidal and enough to go kill him? She's frustrated. She's despondent in her marriage. She's depressed. But is she homicidal? This is the surveillance video from PetSmart. We admitted it yesterday, but I didn't publish it at that time. They're short clips. This is the 258 view. Mind you, this is just after he would have texted her and said, I'll see you after work. And he's walking just fine. Now, he hobbled up to the stand yesterday and hobbled back over there to the table. But he's, you know, two years ago when this happened, he's walking just fine. He works as a stocker. He has to be able to lift at least 50 pounds. It's his job to take stuff off of these trucks and put them up in the shelves. So he's not feeble and fragile. And then this is when he leaves at 426. If it's plain. Yeah, here we go. And he gets around and goes fine. And he's walking with purpose at 426 because he's trying to get there before her. And here he is after he's been detained. No scratches on his face. No scratches on his hands. There's this red mark on his chest. He says it's a scratch. But, you know, he didn't say anything about Rosa hitting him in the chest in his testimony. And he also had to admit that he'd been handcuffed from the time that Gauntlet handcuffed him a little after 1 in the morning. And he's sitting in this room. And he's sitting all hunched over in the chair for like six hours. So when Masita gets there at 3, whatever it was, and takes these pictures. Also, nothing on his back. There may be a little scratch right here. Assuming this came from Rosa, which he didn't say. He didn't say she scratched his arms. He said he had a scratch. Assuming, for the sake of argument, that this was from Rosa, does that justify four gunshots? So, these were the messages N1 and N2 are the same thing. One is in the chat bubble. The other is condensed and easier to read. But to Dolores, Dolores is the one that suggested that she attacks you from behind, goes to your face, and you're disabled with that back condition. And he admits, they didn't say anything was wrong with my back. So, he admits that at this time, that there's really nothing wrong with his back. And she wants to know, did you learn how you had surgery? He's like, yes, I did on my knee. But they say the amount of time that's passed doesn't fall under standing ground. It doesn't have anything to do with standing ground. But he's acknowledging that it has been some time since whenever he had these surgeries. And you just saw him walk across PetSmart. He's walking and getting around just fine. He said she was advancing towards him, so he advances towards her. And he grabbed the gun and went to shoot. And then he didn't know that he shot her. He thought he might have shot Cody because he heard him yelp. But he didn't know that he shot her. Well, here she is. This is her final place of rest in the corner of this room. She's got one leg, partially under the bed. And he also said that he felt trapped because she had trapped him in the room. But she's the one that's on the far side of the wall, right? And he had said he started at the bathroom, which would be in the opposite corner. And she was over here in this corner. This is that bag that he's referring to on the corner of the bed. Yet, okay, well, hold on. Let me get back to this part. This is how she's positioned. And it's very tight space in here. So she's over here. And he would be, like, over here by the bathroom. But he says he felt trapped. She's shot four times. One of them is right here on her nose, on the left side. One of them is here on the left side of her head. One of them is here on the left side of her side. And the other one is down here on her leg. All of them are on the left side. So this goes through the nasal cavity and into the brain. This one also goes into the brain. But here's the other thing about it. There's stippling. These little red specks. This is the burning gunpowder, or the unburnt gunpowder, that scratches the skin and leaves the marks. And this indicates that it's at closer range, less than three feet, anywhere from six inches to two to three feet. So to put stippling, you've got to be pretty close. Okay? That's really not that far. That's less than an arm's length. An arm's length. So he's going to know, when he's aiming at the side of her head, that he's shooting her. And her face, because he shot her in the nose. And the stippling, it's close enough that the stippling even gets behind her ear. Right here, these other specks. And this is the exits on the other side. Also, note, she's got a scratch on her neck, which appears to be around the same time. The medical examiner couldn't say for certain, but that looks like a fresh wound. And here's the positioning of it. And this is really important, because look where she's at. Two of the gunshots are up here. One's in her side, one's in her leg. But look at where her head is. And then when they roll her over, here's the exit wound. There's one here, and there's one here in her hair. There's a defect from a bullet in the floor. And then the projectile is this little brass thing right here. So she's got to be down on the pillow pretty much when he shoots her, either right here or right here. It's one of these two, probably, that come out here. And she says he didn't know he shot her. Similarly, this is when she rolls over in her stomach. She's got the exit wound. This is the left side of these two injuries is the exit wound, according to the medical examiner. She says, because there's, like, you can see the path of travel that the bullet took from this side to here. There's another defect in the floor. Well, here's the exit wound. And there's this other, clearly simultaneous injury, because it's actively bleeding. Here's the defect in the floor, where this one came out, too. So she had to be on the floor when she gets shot. And there's the projectile. And here's Cody. Sweet Cody. He's shot three times. But look how tall Cody is. He's just above knee height. He's down low. But he says he didn't know when he shot her. She had to be on the ground for at least two of the four shots. And Cody is shot three times. We know that there's four shell casings recovered. Not as many projectiles recovered. But the projectiles are the things that are moving fast and get stuck in stuff once they're expelled from the gun, right? So if Cody shot three times, she shot four times. At least two of those are while she's down on the ground. Then he would have known that he shot her. And he would have known that he shot the dog at the same time. He said he moved her car because he needed time. And he didn't call the police because he was zombied out all day. You have 18 pages of single space text messages or 143 pages of bubble chat messages just between him and Dolores. That's all he's doing all day long is talking about it. So he's not very, that zombied out. Rosa got to the house at 5.59 in the morning and he starts calling Dolores at 6.12 in the morning. So this had to have occurred within, I'm trying to do math in my head, 13 minutes. Allow her time to get in the house for whatever to happen happened. And then he shoots her, and then he's, well, allow him a minute or two to freak out about it because that's reasonable. And then he starts calling his sister. So in a span of 13 minutes, all of a sudden, he's blowing up his sister's phone. Call, call, call. Text. Call, call, call, call. Text. Call, call. Finally, Dolores calls him back, and they talk for nine minutes. And then they talk again for two minutes. And then the first text message after that call is, you made a promise. Don't go back on your word. Talks to his sister for nine minutes. You made a promise. Don't go back on your word. And she says, you told me you killed her. I can't be an accessory to that. Well, you also listen to an hour of Investigator Crawford reading the text messages where she comes to his defense with the whole self-defense thing. But this right here, this doesn't sound like he told her it was self-defense. This sounds like he told her it was murder. And she can't be an accessory to that. And then this just shows, yeah, it's a completely different change in pattern. He hasn't really talked to her that much. But on this particular day, they talk a lot. And then he says he went to Milton to get advice. He didn't go to Milton to get advice. No matter what happens, you're still going to hide me, and no one will turn me in. I can't have anyone there to turn me in, sis. You have to have my back. Are you there? I need to know this before I come over. Are you there? Sis, are you there so I can head your way, please? None of that's about advice. That's about getting away. So consider this. He's had two years to try to perfect this story. He knows what the evidence is against him. I mean, all of that is provided. He's had two years to try to find a way to explain it in something palliative. [00:59:43] Speaker 1: Yes, ma'am. [00:59:55] Speaker ?: He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. [01:00:18] Speaker 2: He's also had the benefit of watching the entire trial. And if you remember in opening statements, I told you that while he's charged with premeditated murder, I told you that he, I was going to show you that he lured Rose into the house and that he surprised her because he hid his car in the back. That's what the evidence suggests because there was freshly disturbed earth by the front gate and there were these tire marks in the backyard. And in the opening statement, Mr. Benson said that... The lack of evidence is also important in this case too. The representation was made that the defendant said that he pulled his car behind the house or pulled the truck behind the house to load it with stuff. Well, Investigator Crawford, who did search the vehicle on July the 26th, there's nothing in the truck but some jeans, nothing in the back seat, nothing in the front seat. There was nothing in the, I didn't publish these pictures right here, but, you know, glove box, center console, whatever. Nothing in the bed of the truck, the only other stuff is this stuff in this chair by the front door at Dolores' house that was his. So there's not a huge amount of stuff. And interestingly enough, none of that was part of the narrative when he testified. And then the other problem that he has is that even on the 23rd of July, he didn't believe it was self-defense. Because he asked his sister, should I put a knife in her hand? And this is early, early in the text message. This is at 6.59, less than an hour. And then he admits, just before that even, 6.52, it's all good, I did this, it's on me. This is right after Dolores has said, you know, I can't be an accessory to this. He says, it's all good, I did this, it's on me. And then later on in the afternoon, when he's been sitting around brooding about it, he says, she had to show deadly force under the law and she did not. And he admits this is a problem. I guess he's researching what is self-defense, what is stand your ground, what is deadly force. He's doing his homework because there's a whole long discussion about it with his sister. Well, here's what the judge is going to tell you. This is the law on the justifiable use of deadly force. The defendant was justified in using deadly force if he reasonably believed that such force was necessary, as in essential, required, to prevent imminent death or great bodily injury. Imminent death or great bodily injury, or great bodily harm to himself. So he's got to really feel like he's about to die. She has the ability to kill him and is in the throes of getting ready to do that. That's what this is. So he wasn't wrong when he said that to Dolores. But, based on all of the messages that he's sending, even he doesn't believe that it rose to that level. She might have been upset with him. Maybe she was upset because he was aggressive towards her and she's defensive. You also must consider the circumstances at the time the force was used. The danger need not have been actual. However, the appearance of danger must have been so real that the defendant actually believed that force was necessary. Remember, the circumstances of this are he wants to be there when she gets there. She just wants to get her stuff, her mom's stuff that's precious to her. She's already said she's done. He wants to be there. He wants to put himself in this situation. These are the circumstances. And then, moreover, a reasonably cautious and prudent person under the same circumstances would have believed that the deadly force was necessary. Well, the reasonably prudent and cautious person in this is you. As the jury, you have to decide whether this was reasonable. You are the reasonably cautious and prudent person. So is this self-defense, really? And when you consider all of that, I submit to you that it is not. So we're going to talk about the different degrees of homicide. First, we start with a first-degree premeditated murder. Second-degree murder is a lesser-included offense. Manslaughter is a lesser-included offense or not guilty. This is a simplified version of your verdict form. We're going to start with manslaughter. Prudent crime of manslaughter, there's two elements. That Rosa is dead and the defendant intentionally committed an act that caused her death. Has that been established? Absolutely. You don't believe that it's self-defense? Consider, is Rosa dead? Did he intentionally commit the act to kill her? Yes. The state does not have to prove that he intended to kill her. So, yes, this is a manslaughter. Second-degree murder, the victim said, the death was caused by the criminal act of the defendant, and it was an unlawful killing by an act eminently dangerous to another, demonstrating a depraved mind without regard for human life, which is defined in the instructions as this. A person of ordinary judgment would know that that type of act is reasonably certain to kill or due to serious bodily injury to another. Shooting him four times? Going to do it. It's done from ill will, hatred, spite, or evil intent, and indicates an indifference to human life. And, the state doesn't have to prove that the defendant intended to kill him. So, does he harbor ill will, spite, or hatred at her? He's been spewing it all over the text messages for a couple of weeks. Yes, he's angry with her. He's spiteful towards her. And, in the moment, he could have acted with that ill will and that type of depraved mind, but he didn't, I don't have to prove that he intended to cause her death. If you want to find that it is second degree murder, all of this is present in this case. So, yes, it is second degree murder. First degree murder, three elements. Murdered dead, criminal, active, defendant, and that it was a premeditated killing. So, these are the elements of premeditation. This is how it is defined in the instructions. It is a killing after consciously deciding to do so. The decision must be present in the mind at the time of the killing. The law does not fix the exact period of time. It must pass between the formation of the premeditated intent to kill and the killing. Meaning, the law doesn't say that you have to plan it a week ahead of time. You don't have to plan it a day ahead of time. So long as it's done before you start pulling the trigger, so long as Tim had decided that before he starts pulling the trigger, then it was premeditated. And he could have made that decision ten seconds before he started pulling the trigger. But I submit to you it was probably before that. The period of time just must be long enough to allow reflection by the defendant so that he knows what he's doing. And he's not acting on emotion. He's made the decision to do it. Now, what this instruction, one of the things that Mr. Benson had said is that the defendant made a lot of mistakes and a lot of bad decisions. And as it plays out, you know, he went and hid her car. He fled to Milton. He did all these things. However, you know, he didn't really get away with it. An exit plan is not... I don't have to prove to you to prove premeditation that he had a good exit plan. Nothing in here about that. The only thing that has to be premeditated is the intent to kill Rosa. Not how he's going to get away after that. He didn't have to... I don't have to prove that he planned his escape and had a whole elaborate after plan. Just that he intended to kill Rosa before he pulled the trigger. The premeditated intent to kill must be formed before the killing. And I submit to you that that has been proven. If you return a verdict of guilty, it has to be for the highest offense that has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. So, yes, we've proved manslaughter. Yes, there's second-degree murder. And I'm going to tell you there's premeditated murder. You've just been watching or watching, reading all of these messages. And you see how it's going. Now, what it says to you is that he's losing control. He is losing control of Rosa. She is not doing what he wants her to do. And when a control freak starts to lose control, they cannot handle it. He was not going to let Rosa walk out on him. And I submit to you that by the time, you know, all of those messages and all of those words, that email on the 22nd is the thing that tipped him over the edge. And right after that, as he's very insistent about, I need to see you, I need, of course, he was very insistent all of the times. I need to see you. I need to see you. But he lures her over there. He knows that she will come for her mother's things. He leaves, walks out of work early. He was only there like an hour and a half, not even an hour and a half. Walks out, gets in his car, goes to the house. The only explanation for the tire tracks in the yard is for him to have pulled the truck behind the house to wait for her. And when she gets there, within 13 minutes, he's blowing up his sister's phone. And the statement that whatever it is he says to her in those nine minutes, she responds with, I can't be an accessory to this. And he killed her. And he killed her because he couldn't live without her and no one else would either. Now, there's also the second charge of aggravated animal cruelty. There's two elements. I'm going to take the second one first. The defendant's act resulted in excessive or repeated infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering to the animal. Shooting an animal, especially like this, is definitely an infliction of unnecessary pain and suffering. It is repeated because he shot Cody three times. And it's excessive because shooting an animal like this is always excessive. And that the defendant intentionally committed that act. Here's Cody. Here's one entry wound over his right ear, on his head. Here's the exit to that wound. I'm sorry. This is the exit to that wound. There's another entry wound here, which exited here. And another entry wound here, which exited here. Now, we know that he has to be standing over top of Rosa, the killer. And he doesn't care that the dog's in the middle. He's pulling the trigger there, too. And, you know, a dog is a dog. He's probably hopping around three times, twice in the head. And it is a miracle that Cody is fine. He didn't hit anything important. But Rosa shot through the dog. He's intending to shoot Rosa. And at least three of the shots into Rosa went through this dog. So he's intentionally shooting the dog. His claim is he loves Cody very much. Cody was stuck around him more than Rosa. He misses him. And he didn't mean to shoot Cody. But he shot him three times in order to shoot Rosa. This is, back to Rosa and Tim's text messages, this is the very first page from July the 20th, or, sorry, July the 11th. Rosa says, the stupid dog shit in our room, but his stomach is not feeling well, so I didn't get him breakfast. Try to get the smell off. The defendant responds with, he shits in the house. I would imagine he says one more time, he will live out in the backyard or be gone, that simple. Just be gone. There's only two times Cody is mentioned in all of the text messages that you have. The other one is here, page 43. And this is in a stack of the constant replies, unanswered replies to Rosa, or unanswered pleas to Rosa. And he says, I will be getting rid of Cody because he doesn't deserve to be in a room all day. It's not fair to him. Well, that's very noble, if that's true. But, I submit to you, this is another one of his manipulation tactics because now he's weaponizing Cody against Rosa amidst all the other things that he's trying to, ways that he's trying to control her actions or try to get her back. Now he's weaponizing Cody by saying that he's going to get rid of Cody. And if he loved Cody so much, he wouldn't just get rid of Cody. Even if his wife left him, hopefully he'd hold on to his, you know, canine companion. You know, a dog is a man's best friend and all that. But, no, he just says, I'm going to get rid of Cody. So, consider that. Consider the sincerity of the defendant's statements. Consider the interest that he has. And how you interpret his testimony. Consider the inconsistencies of all the statements that you've seen from what he said happened. And consider whether or not you think he's being honest. One of the things that the instruction says is to consider not only what the witnesses said, but how they acted when they testified. And you see, he was almost studious when he responded to Mr. Benson's questions. Very responsive and explaining all the things. And he spoke clearly and sat up straight. Well, when I'm asking him questions, he didn't move the chair back, but he kept backing away. Where he's, so far from the microphone, the judge who's sitting right next to him can't hear him. Sir, you've got to speak up. Sir, what are you saying? You couldn't hear him. It's almost like when you talk to children, when they know they've done something wrong. They don't want to talk, and they'll talk to them while they're in trouble. And that's how the defendant was acting. So you should use your common sense in deciding which evidence is the best evidence. And you can choose to believe or disbelieve all or any part of the defendant's testimony or any other witness. So, if you have a reasonable doubt, it has to be based on reasoning, common sense, after careful and impartial consideration of all the evidence. So, if you were to find the defendant not guilty because he acted in self-defense, you have to really consider, is that the commonsensical, is it reasonable, and does it make good common sense in the context of all the evidence that you've heard over the last two days? I'm not assuming to you, that it doesn't. Not at all. The defendant was losing his marriage. It was falling apart. He was afraid that he was going to lose his house. The defendant was desperate. And in that moment, he was going to get the last word. And he made that decision when he told Rosa to be there, when he wasn't there. We could meet later to sign the papers for the house. Basically giving her another thing that he knows she wants. She's suggesting let's sell the house so that you don't have to worry about this. Okay, I'll sign the papers. We'll meet later to sign the papers. Just come over here and get your stuff while I'm at work. And then he hides the car. And the next thing you know, within the next 13 minutes, she's dead. Four gunshot wounds. So, I submit to you that his version of the events, especially after you consider everything that he says to Dolores, the lies that he tells the Milton officer, the fact that he's trying to take off and get out of town, all of these things, those types of actions and statements and behaviors suggest that he knows he's guilty. And you know he's guilty, too, because you've just listened to all of his evidence for two days. So, I submit to you, you have everything you need to find him guilty of manslaughter, find him guilty of second-degree murder, and find him guilty of the highest offense, which has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, first-degree premeditated murder. [01:20:17] Speaker 3: There is no spite. What it is, is sadness, sadness from both of them, that a 13-year marriage has broken down. There are messages from Rosa that Ms. Shea didn't read. I'm coming today. I just have to do a couple of things first. I want to see you also. I will lay next to you and hold you. I will wake you. I want to. That wasn't read to you. It wasn't read to you to mislead you. Read all of the messages. I'm not going to sit here and read all 83 pages to you. Read them all. It will give you a true flavor. Also within those messages, you will not see any suggestion of planned homicidal violence. There are no threats in there. It's just sadness and love. The damage has been done both ways. They're both sad. Messages aren't all of the communication that Tim and Rosa had during this time period. The state, with investigator Little, spent time going through call detail records. The call detail records show that there were phone calls between Tim and Rosa during this time period, too. Investigator Little said during his pattern of life analysis that Ms. Kramer's device spent a significant amount of her time at the marital residence up until a week before this happened. So not the two, three weeks that her family members had testified about. She was there spending most of her time there trying to work out what was broken up until the last week. So look at those call detail records. See the phone calls between them. We don't know what was talked about during that time. But when you look at all the messages, you look at the phone calls, you can safely assume that it was two people trying to work out their issues. You have to read the email with the text messages, consider the phone calls. But what's important about the emails and the messages is that this is not the lure and ambush case that Ms. Shea suggests it is. Mr. Kramer, in his last few emails, announces that he's home. Rosa receives those messages. She knows he's there. She knows he's there. He's announcing he's there. There's no evidence that Mr. Kramer pulled his vehicle in the back of the home and hid it there, laying in wait for his wife to get home. Why would he do that and then announce that he's home? It doesn't make any sense. You have to look at all of this evidence critically, and you have to look at all of it together. Don't just isolate little text messages. Don't just isolate a single email. Look at it all together, and you get a complete picture. And it's not a picture of premeditated murder. It's not a picture of second-degree murder. It's not a picture of murder at all. And this isn't unusual for her to be going over to the house. During this time period, she had been going back and forth. So there's nothing different about that day that she's suddenly luring her there. He'd been trying to get her there, and she had been going there. They had been working things out. She even stayed there for the majority of three days, spending an overnight there. Little's presentation confirmed that. A couple of other things to clear up from Ms. Shea's argument. She showed you photograph E36, which showed the white dresser and the brown dresser. And the state seemed to suggest that these two dressers were miles apart. That's how they want to make it seem. But they're right next to each other. The gun is on the brown dresser. They're not on opposite sides of the room. It's a very small room. So when Ms. Gramer slams her hand down on the dresser, the gun's right there. The two dressers are side by side. Just because she slams her hand down on the white dresser doesn't change the fact that the gun is right in between them. Ms. Shea spoke a lot about the scratch marks and how those don't justify self-defense. That is not what Mr. Kramer's testimony was. He didn't say that he defended himself from his wife because of some scratch marks. He said that he defended himself against his wife, who had been kicking him in his knees, hitting him in the back, threatened to kill him. That's why he defended himself. There's a gun in the room, the small room in between them. That's why he defended himself. He believed he was going to die. Rosa told him, I'm going to kill you. She's seen the gun in between them that she knows how to use, and she can pick up, shoot him, and kill him. What is he supposed to do? Is he supposed to try to get out of the room? There's no duty to retreat when you're in a place where you have the right to be. And if he tries to get out of the room, what is she going to do? He's going to grab the gun and shoot him in the back. The two of them, one of them wasn't going to leave that room. That's what Tim thought that night. There's a gun right in between them. So he didn't defend himself over some scratches. He defended himself after he was beaten by his wife, which had happened before. He was afraid of her based on what had happened before, and that's something you can consider. That's in the jury instruction. Ms. Shea spent some time talking about how Mr. Kramer testified that he didn't know he had shot his wife. That was not the evidence. What Mr. Kramer said was he didn't remember exactly where she was when he fired the shots. Of course he knew he shot her. He told you after he shot her, he was stunned. He was shocked. He was devastated. He knew he shot her. What the testimony from Tim was, was as he staggered to grab the gun from a stupid position and fired the shots, he didn't know exactly where she was. He didn't know where Cody was. This is a traumatic situation. One that not many people ever find themselves in, but when you do find yourself in a situation like that, not everyone reacts the same. You're also not looking at the clock, trying to figure out, well, what time did I shoot her? What time did I move the car? What time did I call my sister? Tim doesn't know what happened afterwards. He told you he was a zombie. Why was he a zombie? Because he was devastated that he shot and killed the love of his life. Not something he wanted to do, something he had to do. Forgive him for not remembering the exact time that he did things. Forgive him for not knowing exactly where he was when he quickly pulled the trigger to defend himself. Ms. Shea spoke a little bit about the feelings of being trapped. Yes, they were both trapped in that room because Rosa closed the door. There was nowhere for them to go. But that's not really the central issue. The central issue is the gun in between them, okay? There's no way to get out. If he tries to get out, she can grab the gun and shoot him. Ms. Shea spent some time talking a little bit about the stippling. The ME testified that the stippling behind the ear, it was more spread out, so that is more indicative of being on the greater range than the lesser range, right? She said two to three inches, two to three feet. When stippling is more spread out, it's further away. The ME also testified that all of the other gunshots had no stippling, but that doesn't mean that those weren't at close range as well, because we know there's an intermediate object, Cody, unfortunately. But what does that really do for us? We heard Cody, the vet said Cody's about knee height, and we saw photographs from inside of the bedroom where the casings were. One of the casings is underneath the dresser. When you fire a gun, the casings usually go to the right, okay, and up. If Cody is getting shot, these low to the ground casings are low to the ground, that tells you that whoever's firing the gun is low to the ground as well, which is consistent with what Tim testified to about grabbing the gun from the dresser as he's punched over or just firing quickly. So that's consistent with what Mr. Kramer testified to the disturbed earth that Detective Glass, not Detective, Deputy Glass testified about. That doesn't prove anything. Deputy Glass can't say when that earth was disturbed. He's not an agriculturalist or anything like that. Yes, the gate was opened. He has no idea when the gate was opened. There's nothing to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the vehicle was pulled behind the home before Ms. Kramer got back versus after this terrible incident took place. Absolutely no evidence of hiding and waiting. One more thing about Cody. Ms. Shea presented you with a couple of text messages about Cody between Rosa and Tim. The first is both of them being angry that the dog had pooped on the floor. I think anyone would be upset about their dog pooping on the floor. But then the next message, Ms. Shea tries to twist it. There's more than one way to look at the message about giving Cody up. At this point in the messages and read them for the context, Tim believes that he's going to be homeless. So is it that he doesn't care about Cody, that he's going to give him up? Or is it that he actually does care and he doesn't want his dog to be homeless as well? You don't see Rosa then saying, hey, I'll take Cody. That's Tim's dog. He didn't mean to hurt his dog. The last thing I'll address with Ms. Shea's argument has to do with Tim's testimony. It seems as though she suggested that he was being evasive. You watched the testimony as well as everyone else. And he sat there and he answered each and every one of her questions. Yes, ma'am. No, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. No, ma'am. He was not evasive. He was up front. He admitted when he lied. He admitted when he was wrong. But he was not evasive. So when you're considering his testimony, that's not somewhere, something that should put a chink in his armor. So the text messages between Tim and Dolores. Those messages, again, you have to take in complete context. And I know we got to hear each and every one of them. They become bizarre. They really do, especially when Dolores starts questioning Tim about whether or not Rosa is actually dead. But what is interesting is clearly Tim is looking into stand-your-ground laws. He's looking into self-defense. He's wondering about what had just happened. If you had just premeditatedly murdered someone, why are you looking up the rules about self-defense? It's because something else happened. Tim, sorry, is not the smartest guy in the world. He has an eighth-grade education. The jobs that he's worked throughout the years are simple jobs. Nothing, I'm not saying anything negative about that, but you have to understand his mindset and his intelligence when he's trying to unpack what just happened. Those messages suggest that something other than premeditated murder happened, and Tim is trying to figure it out. A lot of what is in those messages does corroborate what he said. Yes, there are some lies. There are lies to the Milton Police Department when they arrive as well. But again, this is a traumatic thing that Tim just went through, and not everyone deals with it the same way. But his research suggests that he's trying to figure out what just happened and what is the law. And it's not premeditated murder that he's looking at. So what you have to do, and we're just going to walk through the state's evidence, is see, has the state proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt, and have they, with their evidence, disproved self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt? And with each witness, there are things that corroborate what Tim said. Some of the witnesses are nothing that the defense contested, because a lot of what happened in this case is black and white. What this case is really about, it's not about the three months of marital discord, it's about those 13 minutes in that house, which we have very little insight into what happened during that time. But that's what we have to analyze. Ms. Merkman was the first witness who testified for the state. And really, what she said, we don't disagree with. There were marital problems. Rosa went over to the house that day. One thing that she corroborated, and you have to look for corroboration of Mr. Kramer's testimony wherever you can look for it, is Ms. Merkman confirmed that her sister did martial arts. She confirmed that Rosa was having mental health issues, and that she was on leave from work. Those are all things to consider, because what Rosa is going through and things that are affecting her, Tim knows about that. Tim knows her mental state. So when she comes into the house that night, agitated, intoxicated, all of that is at play when you're judging whether or not he was reasonable in defending himself. Tim knew at the time she was mentally unstable and that was confirmed by her sister. With both Ms. Merkman and Mr. Kieles, they both confirmed that Rosa liked to drink wine. There's nothing wrong with that. Her father doesn't remember Rosa drinking the night before or drinking the morning of, or using her medical marijuana products the night before or the morning of. No one knows, but what we do know is at the time that she died, she was under the influence of alcohol, 0.58, under the influence of Xanax. The medical examiner testified that it was at a level where people have found to be driving under the influence, as well as THC, all of those mixed together with someone who is going through a mental health crisis. That is what Tim was presented with when she walked in through the front door. All of those things going on and all of those things you have to consider when you're deciding whether or not he was reasonable and justified in defending himself. Jonathan Glass, we already spoke about his testimony. Benjamin Gauntlet, he finds Tim's vehicle up in Milton. He said that Tim willingly spoke with him, albeit he lied, we know. That's all part of Tim just didn't know what to do. He hadn't had a chance to consult with a lawyer yet. He wanted to. But what Gauntlet testifies to is also about Dolores and about Dolores telling, you can hear on the body camera or on the in-car video that Dolores says that Tim is scared. Yes, he is scared. He just went through something very horrible and he doesn't know what's going to happen next. It's also important to note that Gauntlet confirmed that he has dealt with Dolores before and he knows that Dolores has mental health issues. And unfortunately, that was the only person that Tim had to turn to to get advice from. Warren's, or Brian Shorette, he just went up to Milton. There's really nothing we dispute about what he says that doesn't help the state's case, doesn't help really anything. Warren's Masita, he took a number of photos. He didn't take photos of Tim's legs, just the upper body. And again, there was a lot of emphasis placed on the scratch marks. Don't get confused. The scratch marks on the chest, the possible scratch on the arm. That is not why this was self-defense. This was self-defense because there was a gun between two people, one of whom was intoxicated and struggling with mental health issues. The other thing about this is with the premeditated murder. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense if this is premeditated murder that Tim lures Rosa to the home. And then after premeditated murdering her, he just leaves his bloody clothes on. He just keeps the gun. What sense does that make? If you're going to premeditated murder someone, you're going to get rid of evidence rather than keeping it. What that shows, and this is the evidence that Masita collected, not the gun. We'll talk a little bit about that. He didn't search the Tahoe. He's not one of the many people who missed the gun. But it just doesn't make much sense that after premeditated murder, you don't try to get rid of evidence. We're reading all of these text messages. They weren't deleted. They were kept intact. All of the evidence was really kept intact. Tim mentioned that he did try to clean up a little bit, but there's only one small area of that house that was mopped up. It's clearly someone who did not expect what happened to be on the agenda for the morning. [01:44:22] Speaker ?: There's only one small area of the car. There's only one small area of the car, but there's only one small area of the car. [01:44:26] Speaker 3: There's only one small area of the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. [01:44:50] Speaker ?: There's only one small area of the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. [01:44:52] Speaker 3: There's only one small area of the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. There's only one small area of the car in the car. [01:45:00] Speaker ?: There's only one small area of the car in the car. [01:45:02] Speaker 3: Marissa Beaton, she's the one you remember, took a lot of photographs inside of the home. And she testified that that bedroom is small. It might be hard to tell from the photographs, but it's a very small space. She found four casings. Look at the photographs of where the casings were found. Low underneath the dresser on the dog bed. What that indicates and what that is consistent with is with what Tim testified to, that he was low to the ground himself when he fired. Two projectiles are recovered from the scene. And it's the state's contention that the position of those projectiles on the ground indicated that Tim was standing over Rosa at the time he fired shots at her. That doesn't make sense for a couple of reasons. But the number one reason that that doesn't make sense is because of where Cody was positioned, and that some of those projectiles went through Cody as well. So it's more consistent with what Tim described about how things happened than with what the state contends. The other thing about Ms. Beetson's testimony, and you have to look at it in connection with medical examiner's testimony. Just because a projectile is on the floor, that doesn't mean anything about the path that it took. Okay, when a projectile passes through objects, passes through bodies, the path of it changes. So just because that's where it lies, that doesn't tell you anything about where it was fired from. The vet Dr. Lee, we already spoke about the dog's height. There's no -- you have to think about looking at the scene and where is the blood, where is the dog positioned at the time. There's no blood up on the bed. There's a little bit of blood on the dog bed, but most of it is centered, you know, on the floor. And that gives you just a tiny bit of insight into where everyone was positioned at the time that this happened. But also, Dr. Lee, in considering, you know, the animal cruelty, she said that this was a good dog that was cared for with a healthy weight. It was a loved dog. That was her contention based on how she encountered him and the way that Cody acted with her. Danielle Armstrong, we've already talked about her testimony with some of the other things, with the stippling and considering the range and the bullets changing trajectory, especially when they passed through a dog. And she confirmed, yes, that Rosa was intoxicated at the time that all of this happened. And that's all important for you to consider when you're considering if the state has disproved self-defense. She also testified about Rosa's size 66 inches, which is five foot six. Tim testified that he's five foot five. It's in the jury instruction for self-defense that you can consider, you know, the physical capabilities and the build of people. She weighed 192 pounds. Tim weighed 155 pounds at the time. So she outweighed him. You heard from Tim also about his physical limitations, about his issues with his knees, about his issues with his back. During the autopsy, Dr. Armstrong examined everything about Rosa and didn't find any physical limitations. Brittany Bishop, she testified about the search of the Kia. There's nothing there that helps the state's case of premeditated murder. There's nothing there that helps the state overcome self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. Jennifer Hall. I'm only going to talk about this once, but it's important to consider that the people charged with investigating this case, a case which they knew was first-degree murder with a firearm, that when they search the suspect's vehicle, they don't find the gun. That's sloppy. It wasn't hidden away in the vehicle. It was just underneath the front seat. Jennifer Hall missed it. Investigator Timo missed it. Investigator Crawford missed it. And then with Investigator Crawford, who's charged with quarterbacking the entire case, she knows two projectiles are found at the scene. She knows one projectile is recovered from Rosa. Where's the fourth projectile? Did she bother to go back to look for it? No. She only went to that house once. And when she realized that one of the projectiles was missing, didn't even cross her mind to go looking for it again. It's sloppy. And those are the people that are investigating this case. You don't get a complete picture of what happened in that bedroom, because the investigators couldn't be bothered with going back to take another look. LaShawn Kelly, who you heard from just yesterday, he confirmed what we already knew, that Tim and Rosa had marital problems. He also gave you a little insight into Tim. He said Tim is a pretty flat person. Tim is Tim. There's no other way to really describe him. He's a good worker. He does his job. That's all that he offered. That doesn't... Just because Tim told his manager a couple of months before this happened that there were marital problems, that's not evidence of premeditated murder. Mr. Kelly didn't say that he complained about his wife or expressed any hatred or ill will or spite, just simply that there were marital problems and that it upset him. Again, you have to look at all of it when you're considering what has to be in the mind for premeditated murder, what has to be in the mind for second degree murder. That evidence is completely lacking from this case. Matthew Bevins extracted some phones. That doesn't get the state's case any closer. Brittany Crawford, we already spoke about her. She spent an hour and a half or so reading 143 pages of messages between Dolores and Tim. They chose not to read these messages. I again urge you, when you go back to deliberate, read all of these messages. Okay? It gives you a better insight into what was going on at the time. And when the state chooses to show you some things and not show you others, you have to look at all of it. Okay? There's a reason why they don't want you to see all of it. [01:53:31] Speaker 1: It's sustained. [01:53:39] Speaker 3: Brianna Snowden. We agree. The gun that she found, that she analyzed, the gun that was plain as day under the driver's seat is the gun that was used in this case. The gun that was in between Tim and Rosa during an argument. Jennifer Wilkerson, again, you know, we don't disagree with what she testified to. It does, again, bring me back to if this is premeditated murder, why does Tim keep on wearing the clothes that he committed premeditated murder? It doesn't make sense. What makes more sense is that if something that he didn't plan for happened, the aftermath isn't going to make a whole lot of sense. The last witness you heard from for the state, John Little, it was a nice presentation. Again, the way that it was presented to you was calculated when they're corroborating the locations. Are they showing benign texts or are they taking texts out of context? Should I put a knife in her hand? And that's the one that they flash up on the screen. Again, look at all of the evidence, consider it all in context. So that's what the state presented and the state's evidence, again, does not show any premeditation, does not show any hatred, ill will or spite. This is not first degree murder. This is not second degree murder. Tim testified. Tim didn't have to testify. He chose to testify, to tell his story. And Tim's version of what happened presents a situation where Rosa came over to the house. She came over, aggravated, upset. There was an argument in the living room. The argument carried over into the bedroom. Rosa got incensed because Tim wouldn't sell her the house. She got incensed because he wouldn't leave her even a dresser or a TV. Rosa attacked Tim. She kicked him in the knees. She hit him in the back. Tim somehow found it within himself to push her off of him. To stagger towards the gun, to grab it and shoot himself in self-defense. She told him that she was going to kill him. He feared that that was true. He had nowhere to go. Nowhere to run. If he tried to, he would have been shot in the back. Tim was defending himself. Tim didn't want to do what he did. He feels awful about it. But he was left with no choice. Tim is not guilty. [01:57:04] Speaker 1: Thank you, Mr. Benson. State, you may rebut. [01:57:10] Speaker ?: Thank you. [01:57:40] Speaker 1: Are you going to need the screen, Ms. Shea? Yes, sir. Maybe. [01:57:49] Speaker 2: We'll see. [01:58:10] Speaker ?: Okay. Okay. So. [01:58:11] Speaker 2: I don't think my argument initially was misleading to you as far as it relates to self-defense. Of course, it's my burden to prove these charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Absolutely. And I went through a sample verdict form. I went through each of the charges. I went through the elements. I explained what evidence supports those things. In self-defense, I have to disprove it beyond a reasonable doubt. You are instructed that you are permitted to believe or disbelieve evidence that you don't believe is credible. And my arguments, I submit to you that the defendant and his testimony is not credible. And that's a lot of what my cross-examination was about, was attacking his credibility. Now, he exhibited a lot of consciousness, what we call consciousness of guilt after this incident, things that people do that are inconsistent with innocence, things that they do or say that suggest that they are aware that they are guilty of something. Now, if you're acting in self-defense, you do not feel like you are guilty of anything, you feel justified, you feel like it was necessary, and that's what you would have to believe the defendant felt at the time. He would have to believe that it was absolutely necessary, and if he did feel it was absolutely necessary, there would be no reason to be afraid of it. There would be no reason to behave in such a way that suggests he thinks he did something wrong. But he was lying to Dolores all throughout his text messages, and there were several themes in the text messages to Dolores. One of them is basically he wants the whole thing kept secret. He gets mad at her for telling some other family member about what he had said, doesn't want her to tell anybody else. And then there's all that subterfuge about law enforcement is here investigating it, even though they really weren't. There's a lot about not going to jail. I think the word jail is used like ten times in all of those messages. I'm very worried about being turned in or going to jail. And then the other part is coming up with the defense. Now, the circumstances, let me go through some of these circumstances that Mr. Benson brought up. He's suggesting that I'm trying to mislead you because I didn't publish all of the text messages. Hour and a half is a really long time to talk for closing argument, and I know you guys appreciated the break afterwards. That's why I didn't read you all of the text messages. I also told you I'm taking a gap here, but if you go back and read them, you will find that there were periods of reconciliation where they're all lovey-dovey. I didn't skip it, I just didn't read every single word to you. And I agree with Mr. Benson, you should absolutely go back there and read all the messages. Because that's the only way you're going to get the feel of the relationship between Tim and Rosa. And still, I think you will find in those messages that Rosa is the one that exhibits the most sadness. Now, Tim exhibits sadness, he does. And then he tries to turn that and guilt trip her into coming to see him. He uses that. And it's obvious that he gets spiteful from time to time. He gets snarky with her from time to time. And in the context of second-degree murder, if an action is spawned out of hatred, ill will, spite, I'm doing these out of order, spite, ill will, hatred, or evil intent, that counts. That's spite. He's frustrated, angry, discontented with the situation going on in the marriage. That is sufficient for depraved mind, okay? Doesn't have to reach the law of premeditation for second-degree murder. Now, he also made a point that the messages, there's three different versions. Because the defendant was very persistent whenever he was communicating with Rosa. He sends text messages, he sends emails, he sends Facebook messages, and they're all the same. And there are some that come just before 6 in the morning, like 5.48, I think, Mr. Benson said, whatever the time stamps are. But at that time, if you'll remember, Rosa's driving her car. She may not have seen those messages. She's already on her way to the house because she believes the defendant is at work where he's supposed to be. Remember, there's only one set of tracks in the grass. And by the time Deputy Glass gets there, it's 7 p.m. on the 23rd. All of this occurs before 6 in the morning. So this recent, you'd pull the vehicle in the back and then left again. Mr. Benson said, it's unusual, it wasn't unusual for her to go to the house at that time. And that's true. It wasn't unusual for her to go to the house early in the morning because the defendant was at work. It's not unusual for her to be there. It is unusual for him to be there if he's supposed to be at work. I'm going to come back to this one. With regard to, you know, he said, I was arguing that he had testified that he didn't know where she was or that he didn't know that he'd shot her. Mr. Benson, you just rely on your memory of what he said his positioning was. However, he says, Mr. Benson says he shoots from a stooped position. And the thing about the stippling, 2 to 3 inches to 2 to 3 feet, and he says it's on the outside edge of that. Well, if we're talking, say, 2 feet, that is really close in the context of shooting firearms, even especially in a small room. And the location of the shell casings. Now, there is a diagram. If you can't get the positioning of everything just from the photographs, like the orientation of it, there's the diagram, and there's measurements on the diagram. This room is only like 10 by 13, I think, is what the measurements say on the diagram. It is small, and there's a lot of stuff in there. So the walkways are very narrow. But the shell casing location is important. There's one shell casing up under the post to the bed that's closest to the door. There's one shell casing that's just underneath the dresser, the white dresser. And there are two shell casings. The one is over by the closet door, which I'm not going to flip back to get to the picture. But if you have the, if I'm facing the closet door, the two dressers are here. And then you've got the dresser space here, the closet door here, the dog bed, and the decedent are there. There's one over here. Which means he would have been standing up over the dog bed. Otherwise, it would have bounced out, possibly would have bounced out off of the furniture or over into another part of the room. But it's over by the closet door. Another shell casing is on the dog bed. So he's right over here in this corner where she is. Her, she lands and dies in the floor right there. The other thing is there are defects in the floor right underneath her head. She's laying on that pillow, the dog bed, like this. She's got a hole here, a hole here. The exit holes are here. And she's laying right here on this pillow. And as soon as you remove the pillow in her, there's a defect in the floor from the force of the bullet that went through her head. Giant exit wound on the side of her head. So he's standing over her after she's down. And that's why there's a defect in the floor. Now, as far as bullets change direction inside the body, that's probably true. She gets shot in her side, her left side. And the exit wound is over here. But there's also a defect in the floor right underneath her. Which means she's shot here. And somehow or another, she's not standing up when that happens. Because how would the defect be in the floor right underneath her back? She's down on the ground when she gets shot. For at least those two shots. And he's within a couple of feet of her head when he shoots her in the head. And three of these had to go through the dog. And two of the shell casings are right over here, tucked in this corner of the room where she is. So he is on top of her. Now, Mr. Benson says that, you know, he couldn't remember certain specifics of timing of things. And, you know, okay. Because it's traumatic. And he was just trying to figure out what happened. If this was self-defense, if this was truly self-defense, he would know right then and there that this was self-defense. He wouldn't have had to call his sister and say that it was something else. This was the call logs. This is the call logs. And I can't see it on the screen because it's tiny. Outgoing to Rosa and the times that he's calling her. He's blowing up her phone. But Rosa's not there yet. She doesn't answer. But she's driving. But that's also not unusual because Tim's been blowing her phone up. These were the messages that he sent to her at 444. You need to come get your stuff first thing. That way we don't need to see each other until we sign the papers. Come get your things. Come get your stuff first thing right now. And then, you know, you said 530, I guess, you know, because he knows that that's when she comes. But he's still supposed to be at work at 530. And he sent these messages. But by 533, she's still, she's on her way over there. If you're not coming, it's trash then. Now, this is, this is actually where I'm at because I was talking about the self-defense and how, if it is self-defense, then you would know. If you look at these messages. Now, this is where he's talking to Dolores. The first page isn't on this slide, but in the first page at 648, that's when, that's when Dolores said, Tim, you told me you killed her. I can't be an accessory and you need to call the law. That's what she said to him. It's not on this page. And here at 650, Tim replies to her, you don't need to be, she was going to come over. He says, no, you don't need to be a part of this. You've got people to care for. At 652, 30, he says, it's all good. I did this. It's on me. And, you know, Sister D, that's her name and his phone, but she's trying to help him. And Tim says, I didn't tell you anything. Now he's going back on what he told her. Whatever he told her the first time he talked to her in that nine-minute phone call makes her respond, hey, you told me you killed her. I can't be an accessory. That does not sound like self-defense. But the thing is, if you really, if you, if you feel like someone is going to kill you and you've just got to respond in self-defense, there's nothing wrong with that. Everybody knows there's nothing wrong with that. And there's nothing wrong with telling the truth about that. So Dolores thinks she murdered, at that point in the conversation, is suggesting, you know, thinks that he murdered her. And Tim even says, no, you don't need to be a part of this. Doesn't want her to get in any trouble. And he says, it's all good. It's on me. I didn't tell you anything. Dolores says, delete all your messages. He's like, yeah, that's all you need to say. And she says, I can't lie. And he says, don't lie about what? I told you nothing. Now let's just erase it. Let's forget I told you anything. And at 6.55, Dolores is encouraging him to call the police and do the proper thing. And that's the proper thing. And if it's self-defense, and if he's really afraid of her because she knows something about karate, then say that. There's nothing wrong with that. But he doesn't call the police and say that. Instead, he's like, hey, should I put a knife in her hand? And I submit to you, it's not, it's disingenuous kind of, really. I mean, Lisa told you that, yeah, Rosa had done some karate stuff with her first husband, who's passed away. But that was before she and Tim ever met. So, Tim and Rosa had been together 13 years at the time she died. And that marriage was however many years before that. So, 13 to 20 years or whatever. She's a 50-something-year-old woman. 5'6", 190 pounds. Lisa says she doesn't, you know, she doesn't work out. She doesn't do physical fitness, whatever. She's also depressed and sad and struggling in her marriage. I mean, you can tell from looking at the autopsy photos. She's not, you know, the specter of, you know, working out and being in the gym all the time. She's a normal lady. But the defendant wants you to believe that she's like some kind of, you know, female Bruce Lee. So, if it was self-defense, there's really no reason not to tell the truth. And if you really did fear for your life, why not say that to Dolores? And Mr. Benson says, you know, no offense, he's not a smart guy. Well, he skips the simple step. The simple step was, I thought she was going to kill me. I had to do what I had to do. That's the simple step. Instead, he starts researching the law because he's looking for excuses. And, you know, it goes from there. Then he starts, he's been lying, he lies to Dolores all day long about stuff. And then he lies to the law enforcement officer. Then he pretends like he's Rosa lying to Rosa's family. So, if he's lied to every single person in the story, why should you not question whether or not he's lying to you now that it's all on the line? Especially when you look at how this shooting went down. He had to have been standing over top of her when he kills her. You know, I mean, I still have to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt. And I believe I've done that through all of the two days we listened to evidence, through all of these arguments. I mean, it's his right to a trial. But what do you say when you've made bad choices and you don't want to be accountable for it? And I submit to you, you say it's self-defense, even if the evidence doesn't support that. Because that's the only way out. That is the only absolute defense to any of the degrees of homicide. That Mr. Benson said in his opening statement, was that? [02:16:42] Speaker 1: Yeah, I'll approach it real quick, please. Thank you. [02:17:13] Speaker ?: Thank you. [02:17:43] Speaker 1: All right, the objections withdrawn are based on discussions at the bench. Go ahead, Ms. Shelly. [02:18:09] Speaker 2: Yeah, so, and it may have been the defendant, maybe Mr. Benson said it too, but the claim is that Rosa left him no choice, that's the claim, right, for this shooting. The claim is that Rosa left him no choice. And I submit to you that in the just mushroom cloud of this relationship, the defendant, having lost control of her and potentially going to lose the house, either to foreclosure or whatever, you know, he's going to have a living situation problem. He had made up his mind, and he says this in his text messages over and over and over again. I can't live without you. I can't live without you. He made up his mind that he could not live without her. And the thing about it is he selfishly made the decision that she would not live without him. If he was going to lose it all, he was taking her out too. And she left him no choice because she didn't want to be with him anymore. And that is motive for murder. And when you add it into all the other things, promising her stuff that she wants, promising her she can get it when he's not there, leaving work early so he can be there when she gets there, having a gun readily available, standing over top of her when he shoots her, leaving, hiding her car, however you want to characterize it, the whole purpose is to throw people off the track. It's not a sophisticated plan, but the decision to kill was in his mind before he pulls the trigger, and that's what has to be proven. Don't have to prove how he's going to get away with it. And then all the other subterfuge that happens after that, too. All of that is consciousness of guilt. None of it is consistent with somebody who's afraid for their life. None of it. And I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, that this is not a justifiable killing. It is up to you to look at this evidence and make a decision on what you think the state has proven, the highest charge that you think the state has proven beyond a reasonable doubt. We have absolutely proven all three different versions of homicide, and you picked. And we trust you to do that. And I thank you.