Chapter 15
The Case for the Crown
"Your Honor, the crown calls as its first witness Detective Charles Grey to the stand."
Hearing his name, Detective Grey stands up from his seat in the gallery and walks to the witness stand where he is met by the court clerk.
"Please state you full name for the court" the clerk said.
"Charles Andrew Grey."
"Please raise your right hand and repeat after me, 'I Charles Grey do solemnly swear that the evidence to be given by me to the court between our Sovereign Lady the Queen and the Accused at the bar shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.'" Detective Grey, repeated the oath and then sat down in the witness stand.
"Detective Grey," Samantha said, "Why were you called to Canada's AdventureLand on July 1, 2010?"
"We received a 911 call that had said that one of the rollercoasters at the park had derailed with a person aboard," Grey responded.
"When you got to the scene, what did you find?"
"When I arrived, I, along with Constable Leroy Addison surveyed the accident site. The rollercoaster cars were strewn about everywhere, and the car that Mr. Taylor was seated in was upside down. Paramedics turned the car over and began to try to revive Mr. Taylor. Their efforts were unsuccessful, and Mr. Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene."
"What else did your initial investigation uncover?" Samantha asked.
"Well, we found evidence of torching on the underside of the coaster because the wheel casings showed evidence of a uniform burn pattern. After talking to a mechanic at the park, he concluded the only way that this type of burn pattern would be present is if someone had taken a torch to the wheel casings to partially remove them," Grey responded.
"So the ride was sabotaged?"
"Objection," Elijah interjected, "My learned friend has asked the witness to draw a conclusion on a matter that he is not an expert on."
"Your Honor," Samantha said, "the witness has just testified that the wheels were torched, evidence that was gained by talking to a mechanic, it certainly doesn't take a genius to answer this type of question."
"The objection is overruled, please continue Ms. Howard," Justice Richardson replied.
"Yes, the ride appeared to be sabotaged," Grey responded.
"Did you talk to anyone else who was able to tell you when the sabotage took place?" Samantha asked.
"After talking to a metallurgist, he concluded that in order for the metal to cool, given the air temperature that night, the sabotage must have occurred between 11:30 pm and 1:00 am," Grey said.
"How did the expert come up with that window of time?"
"Well the time of 11:30 pm was determined due to the fact that the security guards on duty did not see anyone roaming around the park until they saw the accused, Mr. Ravenwood, at the ride's platform just after midnight. The expert told us that it would take about 45 minutes to complete the torching, so 11:30 was the earliest that it could have taken place. As for 1:00 am, the expert told us that in order for the metal to cool enough so as not to break immediately upon startup, it would have had to cool for at least 8 hours. Since the ride was inspected and tested the next morning at 9:00 am without incident, this set the latest time that the ride could have been tampered with at 1:00 am."
"Did you end up finding the torch that sabotaged the ride?" Samantha inquired.
"We did," Grey responded.
"Is this the torch you found?" Samantha asked, pointing to an acetylene torch placed by the court's deputy in front of the witness stand."
"Yes," Grey said as he examined the tag that was hanging from the torch.
"The crown would like the clerk to enter this torch into evidence and label it Crown's Exhibit A for identification."
"The torch will be so labeled," Justice Richardson said.
"Now where did you find this torch?" Samantha asked.
"Pursuant to a search warrant, we found this torch in the trunk of Mr. Ravenwood's car."
"OK, now in the course of your investigation did you find anything that would show the accused owned this torch, and that it wasn't just placed there by someone else?"
"After searching several vendors in the area, our detectives found a store named 'Earl's Welding Supplies'. They were able to provide us with a signed copy of a receipt with Elliot Ravenwood's signature on it, signed just hours before the ride was torched. After comparing this signature against a known signature of Mr. Ravenwood, it was determined that they were a match. Elliot Ravenwood signed the receipt and bought the torch that night."
"The Crown requests that this receipt be labeled Crown's Exhibit B," Samantha said, passing the receipt to the clerk.
"Next, could you account for the victim's whereabouts the night before the murder?" Samantha asked.
"Objection!" Elijah said. "The question is irrelevant. The victim's whereabouts the night before have no bearing on the guilt of the accused."
"Your Honor," Samantha responded, "this testimony is meant to show that the accused was in the office alone for an extended period of time. It will also show that no other personnel entered the park after 8:00 pm except Mr. Ravenwood and Mr. Taylor."
"Objection is overruled," Justice Richardson said.
"Yes, we can account for his whereabouts," Grey said. "After a loud argument with the accused heard by the victim's secretary, Taylor left the park just after 7:00 PM arriving home at around 7:50 PM. This is confirmed by Highway 407 logs showing Scott Taylor's car entering the 407 at 7:11 PM, and exiting at exit 39 at 7:30 PM. The time that it takes to get from this exit to his home is about 10 minutes, hence the 7:50 PM time estimate. We also know that he returned to the park at around 11:00 PM, because Highway 407 logs show his car getting on the 407 at exit 39 at 10:46 PM and exiting the 407 at Highway 400 at 11:07 PM. To further show that he returned to the park, his security pass was swiped at the side gate entrance, allowing entrance to the main offices. After staying for about 2 hours, he left the park at around 1:22 AM and arrived home around 1:50 AM. The same 407 logs would show that."
"Did the park's logs show that anyone else entered through the staff entrance after 8:00 PM other than Mr. Ravenwood and Mr. Taylor?" Samantha asked.
"No they did not."
"And after the park closed, was anyone other than Mr. Ravenwood, seen roaming around the park?"
"No," Grey responded.
"Finally detective, did you find anything else that would point to the guilt of the accused?"
"Yes we did. In the victim's pocket was a notepad that his secretary identified as being the notepad that Mr. Taylor used frequently to write reminders to himself. Among those reminders was this one 'Talk to A. Tell A. that ETR is going to ruin us if we're not careful.' After our investigation we found out that the initials of the accused were ETR, standing for Elliot-Travis Ravenwood."
"Thank you detective. No further questions Your Honor," Samantha said as she sat down in her chair.
"Does the defense wish to cross-examine this witness?" Justice Richardson inquired.
"We do Your Honor," Elijah said as he stepped up to the podium.
"Detective, this notepad you found, how did you identify that the ETR translated into Elliot-Travis Ravenwood?"
"Well the initials of the accused are ETR, and he was ruining the victim, so we inferred that ETR meant Elliot Ravenwood," Grey responded.
"But the note didn't just say that, it said that Mr. Taylor was going to talk to A. about it. Now the people that Scott Taylor hired to investigate the theft, Ms. Stavros, an accountant, or Mr. Minaldi, a private investigator, do not have initials that fit this mysterious A., so who did you determine was A.?"
"We didn't find A."
"So isn't it entirely possible that this note could have been taken out of context, and that 'ETR is going to ruin us' could mean something completely different?"
"Objection Your Honor," Samantha said, "my learned friend is asking
the witness to speculate."
"Objection sustained. Move on Mr. Deville," the judge said.
"So about these park logs," Elijah continued, "did they show that anyone entered the park between 7:00 and 8:00?" Elijah asked.
"The building doesn't record entries and exits before 8:00 PM, so there wouldn't be a record of that," Grey responded.
"So anyone could have been hiding in the park, waited for everyone to leave and then sabotaged the ride, couldn't they?"
"We considered that, but the evidence lead us away from that conclusion."
"Why?" Elijah asked, with a confused look on his face.
"Because of the security system in place at the park," Grey responded. "After 8:00 PM, in order to enter or exit the staff building from the outside, one had to swipe their ID badge and have their thumb print scanned for positive identification. Each entry and exit is recorded in a log. Once the park closes at 10:00 PM, the staff building is the only way out. All other staff, other than Mr. Taylor and Mr. Ravenwood, were swiped out before 10:30 PM, ruling out any of them as suspects for sabotaging the ride.
Now what you're suggesting is that someone from the outside came in and committed the crime. That has also been disproved. If a person from the outside came through the ticket entrance and waited until the park closed, they would have had no way out. That leaves Mr. Ravenwood as the only person in the park that could have sabotaged the ride."
"Detective, when does the security system stop logging entries and exits?"
"The system stops recording exits and thumb print ID's at 8:00 AM, while entrances are still logged until the park opens at 9:30 AM.
"So it is possible for someone who knew about the security system at the park, to arrive early, stay the entire night, sabotage the ride between 11:30 and 1:00 and then leave the park after 8:00 AM without there being any record of it. Isn't that possible detective?" Elijah asked.
"Objection Your Honor," Samantha said, "my learned friend is again asking the witness to speculate."
"Objection overruled. You opened the door for this counselor. The witness is directed to answer the question," Justice Richardson said.
"Anything is possible, but..." Grey said.
"Thank you for your answer Detective," Elijah interjected quickly so as not giving Detective Grey the chance to elaborate. "Finally Detective, the torch that you found, did it have any fingerprints on it?"
"No it did not."
"Don't you find that odd? I mean to hide the weapon in your trunk, but wipe off your fingerprints? What would possess a person to do that?"
"Objection Your Honor," Samantha said sounding annoyed, "my learned friend knows very well that the witness would have to speculate in order to answer that question."
"Objection sustained," Justice Richardson said.
"No further questions," Elijah said.
"Does the crown wish to re-examine this witness, Ms. Howard," asked the judge.
"Yes Your Honor," Samantha said. "Detective, I believe a moment ago you were rudely interrupted by Mr. Deville when providing an answer. When he asked you if it was possible for someone to stay all night and leave after 8:00 AM, you responded that anything was possible. It was there that Mr. Deville stopped you in mid-sentence. Would you care to finish your answer?"
"I would Ms. Howard. Although I said that anything was possible, the fact of the matter is that the evidence doesn't support it. We determined this because although the security system doesn't record who enters and exits all day, it does record the number of swipes. This goes for not only the office building but for the gates as well. Every night at midnight, it is the job of one of the guards to check the computer and make sure the number of entrances equals the number of exits," Grey said.
"For the night in question, did those totals balance?" Samantha asked.
"The ticketed totals balanced, as did the office log with the exception of Mr. Ravenwood and Mr. Taylor. The logs showed that both were still in the park when the computer was checked at midnight. Since these two people are the only ones allowed to be in the park after midnight, no action was taken. There is no doubt that after 10:30, the only ones in the park were Scott Taylor and Elliot Ravenwood."
"Thank you Detective. Nothing further," Samantha said.
"The witness is excused," the judge said.
"The crown now calls Julie Comartin to the stand,"
After a short pause, Samantha started her questioning. "Ms. Comartin, what is your current job?"
"Your Honor," Elijah interrupted, "the defense will stipulate that Ms. Comartin is a handwriting analyst and her testimony would be considered expert in this field."
"Thank you Mr. Deville," Samantha responded. "Now Ms. Comartin, have you had the opportunity to fully analyze Mr. Ravenwood's signature, to the point where you could positively identify it?"
"I have," Comartin responded.
"I'm now placing in front of you Crown's Exhibit C, do you recognize it?"
"It is Elliot Ravenwood's signature, as found on a document signed in the presence Mr. Taylor's personal secretary, Mrs. Alice Hastings."
"Now I'm placing in front of you Crown's Exhibit D, a bank document opening a business account for the company known as 'Just in Time Supplies'. Could you identify the signature on the third line near the bottom?"
After a few moments, Comartin said, "It is the signature of Elliot Ravenwood."
"How can you be so sure?" Samantha asked.
"Mr. Ravenwood holds his pen on a 45 degree angle. This is quite noticeable compared with people who hold their pen at a much steeper angle. Mr. Ravenwood also has very distinctive 'R's', 'T's' and 'E's which make his signatures very easy to identify. The signature on this bank document is that of Elliot Ravenwood."
"Next, I'm placing in front of you Crown's Exhibit E, identified as a stack of signed withdrawal slips obtained from the Sovereign Bank of Toronto. Check through the various slips and tell me if you can identify the signatures," Samantha said.
Following a short pause, Ms. Comartin told the court that all of the signatures were a match to Elliot Ravenwood.
"Lastly, Ms. Comartin," Samantha continued, "I wish to show you Crown Exhibit's F and G. These are two bank documents that open accounts for Sal Aria and Ivan Tory. Could you examine those signatures please and tell us what you find?"
"The signatures of Sal Aria and Ivan Tory match that of Elliot Ravenwood."
"Thank you Ms. Comartin. Your witness," Samantha said.
"Ms. Comartin," Elijah said, "perhaps Ms. Howard was confused for a second. When you said that the signatures of Sal Aria and Ivan Tory matched that of Elliot Ravenwood, which signature of Elliot Ravenwood did you mean? Was it the one in Exhibits C, D, E, F, or G?"
"The signatures matched Elliot Ravenwood's signatures on all 5 exhibits," Comartin said.
"So what you're saying is that Elliot Ravenwood signed each of the exhibits F and G twice, one with the fake name and one with his real name."
"That is exactly what I'm saying."
"No further questions," Elijah said.
With the crown not wishing to ask any more questions of the witness, Ms. Comartin was excused.
"Your Honor, the crown now wishes to call Burt Granger to the stand."
Mr. Granger was sworn in and then identified himself as the bank manager for the Sovereign Bank of Toronto located on Albion Road.
"Mr. Granger, do you remember opening an account for a business known as 'Just in Time Supplies?'" Samantha asked.
"Yes I do," Granger replied.
"Is the person who opened the account here in the courtroom today?"
"Yes he is."
"Could you identify him please?"
"The man was Elliot Ravenwood and he's sitting in the box in the middle of the room."
"No further questions."
As Elijah approached the podium he had a grin on his face that worried Samantha a little. "Mr. Granger, is this your signature at t
he bottom of Crown's Exhibits E and F?"
"Objection Your Honor. Mr. Deville is seeking to cross-examine the witness on items not covered in direct examination."
"Objection is sustained," Justice Richardson said.
"Fine then, no further questions," Elijah said as he sat down.
"The crown now calls Alice Hastings to the stand." After the witness was sworn in and seated, Samantha began.
"Mrs. Hastings what is your job at Canada's AdventureLand?"
"I was Mr. Taylor's executive secretary, a job that I continue to have under Heather Williams, the newly appointed CEO of the park," Hastings said.
"So you were in charge of all of Mr. Taylor's affairs were you not?" Samantha continued.
"Yes I was. I set up all meetings, recorded the minutes of those meetings, was in charge of most paperwork for the park and generally ran the office for Mr. Taylor. My duties would also involve familiarizing myself with all documentation that would go through Mr. Taylor's office."
"These meetings that you scheduled, did Mr. Ravenwood know about them?"
"Most of them, unless of course they were private meetings."
"So he wasn't kept apprised of the meetings with Ms. Stavros and Mr. Minaldi?"
"No he wasn't."
"What about Mr. Ravenwood's job performance? Was Mr. Ravenwood satisfied with his job?" Samantha asked.
"Objection Your Honor," Elijah interrupted, "My learned friend is asking the witness to draw a conclusion, and furthermore, my client's job performance is completely irrelevant to this case."
"Mr. Ravenwood's job performance is completely relevant because it could show that the accused had a lax accounting policy of the company's finances, which is how he hid his embezzlement from the CEO for so long."
"The objection on the conclusion is sustained. However Ms. Howard, I will let you pursue the line of questioning as it pertains to Mr. Ravenwood's job performance if you can do so by testing the actual knowledge of this witness," Justice Richardson said.
"What were the accounting policies at the park?" Samantha asked.
"Well, every month the finances of the park would be examined by the accounting staff. This is where they would basically make sure the books are in balance. Then once a year, the finances would undergo an audit to account for all income and expenditures," Hastings responded.
"Now would this audit have uncovered the type of fraud that you, in your capacity as Mr. Taylor's secretary now know was occurring?"
"It could have, but only if the background of payees was thoroughly investigated. You see, the park has an approved payee list, that once you get on the list, you're only re-checked if there is a problem. The list accompanies the books to the independent auditor, along with documentation as to the identification, background and operations of each company on the list. That means that unless the auditor was instructed to do so, no further investigation into these companies would be required," Hastings said.
"Was a company known as 'Just in Time Supplies' on this special list?" Samantha inquired.
"Yes it was."
"And who authorized that this company be placed on the list?"
"The computer files said that Elliot Ravenwood did."
"How do you know this?" Samantha asked.
"Only certain people have authority to add a payee to the list, and therefore it would require a security password be entered. Once the password is entered, the name of the person who authorized it appears next to the company's name on the list," Hastings explained.
"Is there any way for someone else to have entered it without Mr. Ravenwood's knowledge?" Samantha asked.
"Only if they knew his password, but even then a notice is sent to the CFO each time a new payee is added to the list along with supporting documentation and who approved it. The CFO could reverse such an authorization if he wanted to. If Mr. Ravenwood did not reverse this authorization, it meant that he approved of the new payee," Hastings said.
"Last set of questions Mrs. Hastings. Did Elliot Ravenwood have an argument with Mr. Taylor on the night before the murder?"
"Yes he did."
"What about?"
"They were in the conference room, so I couldn't hear exactly what was said, but both exited the room very angry," Hastings said.
"What time was this argument?"
"It was about 6:30 PM. After the meeting Mr. Taylor came to his office, and after a few minutes, grabbed his things and left. This was around 7:00 PM."
"No further questions. Your witness Mr. Deville."
"Thank you Ms. Howard," Elijah said, stepping up to the podium. "Mrs. Hastings, you said that the accused had an argument with the victim the night before the murder. Did my client know the contents of that meeting before it occurred?"
"No, but he could have guessed," Hastings said.
"Your Honor, I move that the jury be charged to disregard the witness' last statement as highly prejudicial and complete speculation," Elijah complained.
"The jury will disregard the witness' last statement." Justice Richardson then turned to Mrs. Hastings and reminded her that she is only to answer the questions asked and not to provide her own opinion.
"I'll ask again Mrs. Hastings, did my client know the contents of that meeting beforehand?"
"No," Hastings said.
"Did you know the contents of the meeting?" Elijah asked.
"Not that particular meeting, no."
"So how did you know it was about the embezzlement charge?"
"Even though I did not hear the entire argument, I did pick up some words and the topic I can assure you was about the Mr. Ravenwood's alleged embezzlement from the park."
"How long did the meeting last?"
"About 20 minutes," Hastings replied.
"Were you at your desk for the entire argument?"
"Not for the entire argument. At around 6:40, I received a call from the front desk that the day's mail had arrived, been completely sorted and was ready to be picked up. I always get that call at around that time, so I went and got it. I was only gone about 10 minutes and returned just as the meeting was breaking up."
"So in that time, anyone could have slipped into Mr. Taylor's office, stolen his ID card and left without you knowing it."
"Objection Your Honor," Samantha said sounding exasperated. "My learned friend here has scolded the witness for wanting to speculate in her responses, and now has asked a question that would have her do just that."
"Objection sustained," Justice Richardson said. "Just as I warned the witness, I am also warning you, stick to questions that the witness has direct knowledge about."
"Sorry Your Honor, I'll try not to have it happen again," Elijah responded. "So Mrs. Hastings, you said the victim left at around 7:00 PM, when did you leave?"
"At 7:50 PM."
"Was the office empty when you left?"
"Except for Mr. Ravenwood, yes."
"No further questions," Elijah said as he sat down.
"Does the crown wish to re-examine this witness?" Justice Richardson asked.
"No Your Honor, we do not."
"The witness is excused. Ms. Howard, call your next witness."
Before Samantha called her next witness, one of the jurors signaled to the sheriff that they had a note to send to the judge. The sheriff handed the note to Justice Richardson, who read it silently to herself. The note told the judge that the juror requested a 10 minute break so that they could use the washroom. The judge announced the contents of the note to the court, and adjourned the trial for 10 minutes.
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