Chapter Sixteen
Excerpt from Testimony of Hugo Aguilar
Ada Olson: Mr. Aguilar—you were a skater at Avery Hall on and off during the time Ana Robbins was there.
Hugo Aguilar: Yes.
Ada Olson: Do you know why they were called Orphans?
Hugo Aguilar: Well, no one else that young came for that long without a parent or a coach from their other rink. So I guess they were alone. Like orphans. And that was how they acted—like they couldn’t trust anyone for anything.
Ada Olson: Is that how they felt that night in the field? And what happened after . . .
Hugo Aguilar: I guess so. We tried to help. We tried to do what we thought was best for them.
Ada Olson: And who is “we,” Mr. Aguilar?
Hugo Aguilar: Me and Emile.
Ada Olson: Emile Dresiér?
Hugo Aguilar: Yeah.
Ada Olson: And given everything that followed, leading right up to this moment, do you still believe that you did what was best for them?
Hugo Aguilar: Hey, we were young too.
Ada Olson: You were twenty-one. Mr. Dresiér was twenty-three. And Mr. Dresiér was a coach. He had a lot to lose. Did you ever think about that?
Hugo Aguilar: No. I didn’t.
Ada Olson: You just trusted him? Or maybe you let him take over so you wouldn’t have to take responsibility?
Hugo Aguilar: Like I said—I was young.