Chapter 28
Jodie Marshall
Jodie lingered in the shower enjoying the hot water running over her tight shoulders. She was nervous. This was her first time as second chair in an actual trial. She was surprised that Stan had given her the assignment as he was much more experienced than she was and this was, after all, a triple homicide. Deep down she was glad for the opportunity, however, because she would soon have her own trial where she’d be first chair when Bob Larson’s civil case came to trial in a few months. She knew this experience would be invaluable.
She tried on several outfits before deciding on a white, short-sleeve peplum skirt suit with matching red purse and shoes. She knew Paula was wearing a floral printed blazer, navy skirt and gold shoes, so they’d both be quite distracting as Maria had suggested. She wasn’t very hungry but she knew she’d better eat something because there was no guarantee they’d have time for lunch. Carl had an English muffin and coffee waiting for her when she came out of the bedroom.
“Wow! You look dressed to kill,” Carl said.
Jodie smiled appreciatively. “Thank you. That was the plan.”
Jodie sat at the table and bit into her English muffin.
“So, what’s going to happen today?” Carl asked.
“Rutledge will give his opening statement and then begin presenting his case.”
“So, what will you be doing?”
“Listening carefully and jotting down issues and questions that Paula can ask on cross examination.”
“Sounds pretty intense.”
“I’m sure it will be. I’ve never actually done it before.”
“Really?”
“I’ve handled many cases but they’ve all settled so I never actually got any trial experience. Fortunately Paula was a prosecutor before they formed Turner & Waters so she’s had a lot of trial experience.”
“Well, good luck. I’ll be listening for reports on the TV.”
“Thanks.”
There was a honk from the parking lot. Carl looked out the window. “Brandon’s here.”
“Okay,” she said getting up and taking one last sip of coffee. “I better go.”
“Finish your breakfast. Brandon will wait.”
“No, I don’t want to be late,” she said as she got up and gave Carl a quick kiss. “See you later.”
She rushed outside and got into Brandon’s car. They took Central Expressway to LBJ Freeway and then the Dallas North Tollway to Stemmons. Thirty minutes later they were pulling into the parking garage for the Frank Crowley Courts Building. There were many news vans in the parking lot and reporters hanging around the entrance to the building. As they approached the entrance, several reporters tried to cut them off.
“Ms. Marshall. Have you found Emilio Bellucci yet?”
Jodie shook her head. “Ask the prosecutor. He’s his witness.”
“But isn’t he one of your clients?”
“He’s not currently a client,” Jodie replied as they made it inside.
When they got to the courtroom, Brandon found a seat in the gallery and Jodie went up to the defense table where Paula was already setting up. An extra defense table had been set up for Black and his team on the left facing the judge, so Paula and Jodie were in the middle. Rutledge and another ADA were at the prosecution table which was cluttered by files and notebooks. Behind them were several file storage boxes and evidence bags. The two men gave Jodie a hard look as she set her purse and briefcase on the table. She smiled at them and they turned away.
“So, the fun begins, huh?” Jodie said.
Paula rolled her eyes. “I guess so. Ready or not.”
“No news on Sandy or Emilio?”
“No. Still missing,” Paula replied.
“Who do you think Rutledge will call as his first witness?”
“Well, since Sandy isn’t available he’ll probably go with the person who took the video.”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot about the video. How do we respond to that?”
“Well we can’t deny what happened. I just wish they didn’t have a video of it.”
George Black and his entourage, which included Wilkinson, Hunt, and Jamison, came up the center aisle and walked over to the second defense table. He nodded to Jodie and Paula and then began setting up. Black, Wilkinson and Jamison sat at the table and the others sat in chairs directly behind him.
There was a commotion at the door as Ricardo and Sonia arrived. Sonia took a seat in the gallery and Ricardo came up to the center defense table. He was wearing a suit and tie as instructed. Jodie smiled at him.
“Hi, Ricardo,” Paula said.
Ricardo nodded.
“Just have a seat in between Jodie and me. If you have a question during the trial just write it down on a legal pad and give it to Jodie. She’ll answer it. Don’t talk during the trial and don’t react facially to anything that happens. Just be attentive and make eye contact with the jury.”
“What do you think my chances are now that you’ve picked a jury?” Ricardo asked.
Paula shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine, but I’m feeling optimistic.”
“Me too,” Jodie interjected. “I think you have a good shot at beating this thing.”
Ricardo took a deep breath. “I’m so scared.”
Jodie put a hand on Ricardo’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. “Just hang in there.”
There were voices coming from the corridor and the bailiff stood up. “All rise!”
Everyone got to their feet as Judge Amos Anderson took the bench. “Be seated,” he said as he began organizing his desk. “Alright, this is cause #97-42378, State of Texas vs. Ricardo Rizzi, Tom Wilkinson, Christopher Hunt and Benjamin Jamison. The clerk will read the indictment.”
The clerk rose and began reading, “In the name and by the authority of the State of Texas: The Grand Jury of Dallas County, Texas at the March Term, 1997 A.D. of the 333rd District Court, in said court at said Term, does present that one Ricardo Rizzi, while employed at Emilio’s Italian Restaurant in Dallas, Texas, did intentionally cause a poison to be mixed in the Parmesan Cheese which he served to Sandy Richmond, John Richmond, William Rice, and Donna Rice on May 7, 1997 at approximately 7:10 p.m., for remuneration of $10,000, causing the death of John Richmond, William Rice, and Donna Rice and serious injury to Sandy Richmond.” The clerk read similar indictments for each of the other defendants.
“Thank you,” the judge said. “Mr. Rutledge you may give your opening statement.”
Brian Rutledge, wearing a blue suit and a red tie, rose and went to the lectern. He placed a legal pad in front of him, ran his fingers through his hair and then smiled at the jury. “Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury we are here today because on May 7, 1997 two couples decided to go out to dinner at Emilio’s Italian Restaurant in Dallas. We will show that Sandy Richmond and her husband, John Richmond arrived at the restaurant at about 6:55 p.m. and before they were seated they bumped into some friends, Bill Rice and his wife, Donna. They hadn’t planned to have dinner together but since they happened to have arrived at the same time they asked the hostess, Julie Marks, to seat them together. The evidence will show that several minutes before they were seated, Julie Marks had seated defendant Christopher Hunt and his girlfriend, Evelyn Sanders at a table adjacent to them.
“Now the evidence will further show that Christopher Hunt works for a company called Wilkinson Properties owned by Defendants Tom Wilkinson, Christopher Hunt, Benjamin Jamison and several other principals. We will show that Wilkinson Properties had acquired ownership of the entire city block, upon which Emilio’s Italian Restaurant was located, with the exception of the lot where the restaurant was situated. We will introduce evidence to show that Wilkinson Properties, through Tom Wilkinson, Christopher Hunt, and Benjamin Jamison, had made numerous attempts to acquire Mr. Bellucci’s property. His lot was the last acquisition necessary to begin a long-planned development in which they had already invested millions of dollars. The acqui
sition of this last lot on the block was absolutely essential and time was of the essence as they were paying interest on all their interim financing.
“But the evidence will show that Emilio Bellucci, the legal owner of this lot, repeatedly refused to sell it even though Wilkinson Properties was offering 150% of its assessed value. The facts will show that Emilio Bellucci simply did not want to sell but that Wilkinson, Hunt and Jamison wouldn’t take no for an answer. So, they concocted a plan to force Emilio Bellucci and his wife, Eva, to sell the restaurant. The plan was simple—cause something to happen at the restaurant that was so heinous that people would stop coming there and the business would be forced to go bankrupt. Once this happened they knew Emilio Bellucci would be forced to sell to them or if he went bankrupt they could buy the property from the bankruptcy estate at pennies on the dollar.
“We will also present evidence that will show that defendants Tom Wilkinson, Christopher Hunt and Benjamin Jamison conspired with the defendant, Ricardo Rizzi, to murder two patrons while they were dining at the restaurant. The evidence will show that Mr. Rizzi was in desperate financial straits and was paid $10,000 in cash to lace the cheese with rat poison and then serve it to the victims. The murder took place at a table near the front of the restaurant where more people would be likely to see it. And it would be accomplished by the defendant lacing a bowl of Parmesan cheese with rat poison and then serving it to the guests at the table. By a dark twist of fate instead of just two diners being at the table there were four.
“We will play for you a video of the murder so you will understand the heinous nature of this crime. You will see Ricardo Rizzi serving the Parmesan cheese and how quickly the victims reacted to the poison. You will see John Richmond, Bill Rice, and Donna Rice die before your eyes and Sandy Richmond get violently sick due to the acts of the defendant Ricardo Rizzi and the other defendants.
“Now counsel for the defendant Ricardo Rizzi will try to convince you that he was set up by the other defendants to take the fall for this crime. And counsel with the other three defendants will try to convince you that Ricardo Rizzi acted alone. But we will submit overwhelming evidence to show that all these defendants acted in concert. Therefore they are all responsible for these deaths.
“Finally, the court will instruct you that the State must prove their case beyond all reasonable doubt, which admittedly is a high standard, but we are confident that we can meet that burden and when the last witness is seated you will agree we have proved beyond all reasonable doubt that these four defendants, Ricardo Rizzi, Tom Wilkinson, Christopher Hunt, and Benjamin Jamison are all guilty of capital murder and sentence them to death by lethal injection. Thank you.”
“Thank you, Mr. Rutledge,” the judge said. “Ms. Waters. Would you like to make an opening statement?”
Paula had an option to make an opening statement now or after the State had completed the presentation of its case and closed. Stan and Paula differed on this strategy. Stan preferred to wait because he felt the jury would forget everything he said in his opening statement if there wasn’t evidence introduced immediately to support it. There was also a danger that the evidence presented during the State’s case might differ from what was expected and if he had already given his opening statement he wouldn’t be able to adjust his case to take into consideration the new evidence. Paula, however, believed that jurors made up their minds very early on in a trial so it was imperative that she at least outline what evidence she was prepared to introduce so that the jury would keep an open mind until it was her time to present evidence.
“Yes, Your Honor, I would.”
“Very well, you may proceed.”
Paula stood, made eye contact with the jurors, and then smiled. “Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. You all were introduced to Ricardo Rizzi at the beginning of the trial when we were picking the jury. During the course of this trial you will learn from Mr. Rizzi’s girlfriend that he is a simple man with a good heart. We don’t deny that he was having financial problems but what the prosecution failed to mention was that these financial difficulties were not caused by Mr. Rizzi living above his means, but the result of his financial assistance to his sister who had leukemia but found herself without health insurance. He had no obligation to help her but he ran up $40,000 on his credit cards because she needed his help and he loved her. Now he could have filed bankruptcy but he didn’t because as several witnesses will tell you, he is a proud and honorable man.
“It is true that Tom Wilkinson and his cohorts wanted Emilio’s property. That is an uncontested fact, but the idea that Ricardo had anything to do with the scheme to get Emilio Bellucci to sell is absurd. The prosecution will introduce a shoe box containing $10,000.00 in cash they say was found underneath Ricardo’s bed.They will produce evidence to show that the fingerprints of Tom Wilkinson were on the shoe box. But we will produce evidence to show that Ricardo’s fingerprints were not on the shoe box or any of the money contained in it. We will also show that not one dollar of the money was spent because Ricardo didn’t even know the money was under his bed. It’s our contention that someone planted the shoe box under his bed in order to frame him for these murders. The prosecution will also introduce a box of Vacor Rat Poison that they found in Emilio’s garage and apparently was the same type of poison used in the murders. Again the evidence will show that the box of rat poison does not have Ricardo’s fingerprints on it but a plastic bag with Vacor Rat Poison residue inside it was found in Christopher Hunt’s car.
“What we will show you during the course of this trial is that the State cannot meet their burden of proving our client intentionally murdered Bill and Donna Rice and John Richmond and attempted to kill Sandy Rice, beyond any reasonable doubt. We will show you that there is considerable doubt as to whether Ricardo Rizzi had anything to do with these heinous acts. When you have heard all the evidence we believe that you will come to the same conclusion that we have, that Mr. Rizzi has been set up to take the fall for these crimes.
“The judge has instructed you that the opening statements that Mr. Rutledge made and what I’m giving right now are not evidence. Nor is anything you have seen or heard so far in this trial competent evidence that you should consider. What that means is, right now, Ricardo Rizzi is presumed to be innocent. And only if Mr. Rutledge presents competent evidence later on in this trial that proves, in your minds, that he is guilty beyond any reasonable doubt, can you find him guilty.
“So, please listen carefully to all the testimony of the witnesses and consider all the exhibits that are accepted by the court into evidence during the course of the trial. To do that you must wait until the trial is over to decide if Ricardo Rizzi is guilty or innocent. I know for the next day or two Mr. Rutledge will present a lot of seemingly damning evidence that you may think proves Ricardo is guilty, but wait until I present my evidence as I believe you will change your mind once you consider all the testimony and analyze all the evidence presented.
“On behalf of myself and Mr. Rizzi, I want to thank you in advance for your jury service as we are aware that you are all sacrificing your precious time to serve as jurors in this case and we certainly appreciate it. Thank you.”
“Thank you, Ms. Waters,” the judge said. “Mr. Black, will you be making an opening statement at this time?”
“No, Your Honor. We’ll reserve our opening statement for presentation at the commencement of our case in chief.”
“Very well, Mr. Rutledge, call your first witness.
“The State calls Frank Jordan,” Rutledge said.
The bailiff went out in the hall and returned with a short, thin Caucasian man in his mid-forties with a receding hairline. He walked to the witness stand and sat down.
“State your name, please?”
“Frank Jordan.”
“Mr. Jordan. What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a photographer.”
“And what kind of photography do you do?”
“I ph
otograph weddings, birthdays, bar mitzvahs, graduations, you name it.”
“On the night of May 7, 1997 were you on a job at Emilio’s Italian Restaurant in Dallas?”
“Yes, I was there photographing the 50th Anniversary of Jonathan and Anne Clark.”
“And while you were filming this anniversary dinner was your attention diverted at any time?”
“Yes. At the table in front of us and to the right I saw a man coughing and choking.”
“So, did you do anything in reaction to this?”
“Yes. The man seemed to be in so much distress I just naturally pointed my camera toward him. Just seconds later the lady next to him began to choke and then vomited. Then the other two got sick.”
“So, did you continue to photograph what was happening?”
“Yes, I filmed everything . . . the woman collapsing to the floor, the man next to her slumping over at the table, and the general chaos that ensued.”
“Did you develop that film?”
“Yes.”
“And was it in your exclusive custody up until you turned it over to this office?”
“Yes.”
“Your Honor, I would like to play the video for the court and jury.”
The judge nodded. “Are there any objections?”
Paula shook her head. “No, Your Honor.”
“No, Your Honor,” Black said.
Rutledge nodded to his second chair who had the video cued up in a projector. “Dim the lights, please.”
The bailiff dimmed the lights and the assistant started the video. The video started off with the anniversary couple raising their glasses in a toast. Then off to the right John Richmond stood up coughing incessantly. The camera moved away from the couple and focused on the table. Donna Rice began to choke and vomit. She was holding her throat as patrons looked on in horror. Bill Rice leaned over to help her then his face paled and he slumped over on the table.
The film lasted eight minutes and the jury and everyone in the courtroom watched intently the ingestion of the poison by the four victims and then their violent reactions. Paula watched the faces of the jurors as they viewed the film and could see their outrage and sadness. She saw them look at Ricardo and knew they were already beginning to focus their emotions on him. She wondered if there was a chance in hell she could convince them he was innocent.