Chapter Forty-Four
Judge Stark ordered a brief recess after Karen and Vanderlasky finished giving their opening statements. When court reconvened, Vanderlasky called Dr. Sally Grace, the medical examiner who established that death occurred in the early evening, two days before the body was discovered.
“Was the defendant arrested two days after Mr. Cogen was murdered?”
“Yes.”
“What caused Mr. Cogen’s death?”
“Blunt force trauma to his head.”
“Multiple blows with a heavy object?”
“Yes.”
“I’m showing the witness a marble statue of the famous sculptor Rodin’s The Thinker that was recovered near Mr. Cogen’s body, and I’d like it marked as State’s exhibit seven. Dr. Grace, are there bloodstains on this statue?”
“Yes. Several.”
“Could this be the murder weapon?”
“I’m certain that it is.”
“Was Mr. Cogen conscious or unconscious when he was beaten to death?”
“A toxicology screen of Mr. Cogen’s stomach contents established that he had been rendered unconscious by barbiturates that had been administered in an ice cream milkshake.”
“Did you learn that Mr. Cogen was a recovering alcoholic who regularly drank milkshakes so he wouldn’t drink alcohol?”
“Yes.”
“No further questions, Your Honor.”
“Dr. Grace,” Karen said, “you told the jurors that Mr. Cogen died from blunt force trauma caused by blows from a stone statue discovered at the murder scene and that there were several bloodstains on the statue.”
“Yes.”
“Was the blood from more than one person?”
“Yes.”
“Was some of the blood from Mr. Cogen?”
“Yes.”
“Was the other blood my client’s?”
“No.”
“Whose blood was it?”
“A man named Thomas Horan.”
“Is Mr. Horan a United States congressman?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
The prosecutor called Portland police officer Brady McDowell.
Officer McDowell identified the car the defendant was driving from a photograph.
Then he told the jury how enthusiastic the defendant was about the 2019 Jaguar XJR575.
After that, he testified about what Jack Blackburn said about meeting Billy Kramer in the Clinton Street Tavern, driving Cynthia Woodruff home, and not finding Kramer when he tried to return the Jaguar.
Officer McDowell recounted what Jack had said after being shown the registration with Cogen’s name and address.
Finally, he related what Blackburn said after being shown Cogen’s bloodstained wallet.
Then Vanderlasky had McDowell tell the jurors about the discovery of Terrance Cogen’s body.
During a short cross-examination, Karen established that her client had been cooperative and seemed surprised when he was arrested.
“The State calls Inez Castro,” Vanderlasky said when McDowell was excused.
A slim, middle-aged woman with curly black hair and blue eyes that were shielded by wire-rimmed glasses took the stand.
“Mrs. Castro, how are you employed?”
“I’m a forensic specialist at the Oregon State Crime Lab.”
“Were you part of a group of forensic experts that worked the murder scene at Terrance Cogen’s mansion?”
“I was.”
“Did you examine a wallet that contained a credit card belonging to Terrance Cogen that was found in his 2019 XJR575 Jaguar?”
“Yes.”
“Were there bloodstains on the wallet?”
“There were.”
“Were you able to match the blood to a person?”
“Yes.”
“Whose blood was it?”
“I matched it to the deceased, Terrance Cogen.”
“Were there fingerprints on the wallet?”
“Yes.”
“Were any of them the defendant’s prints?”
“Yes.”
“Mrs. Castro, did you take custody of a beer glass that was found near the deceased body?”
“I did.”
Vanderlasky picked up an evidence bag containing the beer glass.
“I’d like this beer glass entered into evidence as State’s exhibit five.”
“No objection,” Karen said.
“Is this the beer glass you found near Mr. Cogen’s dead body?”
“Yes.”
“Were you the expert who found latent fingerprints on the beer glass?”
“Yes.”
“Is it a fact that no two people have the same fingerprints?”
“No one has ever found two people with identical prints.”
“Were you able to match the fingerprints found on the beer glass to a person?”
“Yes.”
“Who was that person?”
“Jack Blackburn.”
“The defendant?”
“Yes.”
“No further questions.”
“Miss Wyatt?” Judge Stark said.
“Thank you, Your Honor. Mrs. Castro, isn’t one of the guiding principles of crime scene investigation that a criminal will always leave some trace evidence that links him to a crime scene when he commits a crime?”
“Yes.”
“Now, you found Mr. Blackburn’s fingerprints on a beer glass at the scene?”
“Yes.”
“If we don’t count the prints found on the beer glass, please tell the jury how many of Mr. Blackburn’s prints were found at the Cogen estate?”
“The only prints we found were on the glass.”
“So, your answer is none.”
“Yes.”
“I assume you found traces of Mr. Blackburn’s DNA all over the place.”
“No. We didn’t find any of his DNA at the estate.”
“What about footprints, hair, and other trace evidence? Surely you found some of these things at the murder scene.”
“We did not.”
“Mrs. Castro, is it safe to say that there would be no evidence whatsoever connecting Jack Blackburn to the scene of Terrance Cogen’s murder if the beer glass did not exist?”
“That is correct.”
“No further questions, Your Honor.”
“Any more witnesses, Mr. Vanderlasky?”
“The State calls Cynthia Woodruff.”
Cynthia Woodruff looked like she would have preferred being anyplace other than the witness-box. Her voice shook when she took the oath, and she glanced at the jurors quickly, then looked away.
“Miss Woodruff,” Vanderlasky asked, “did you know Terrance Cogen?”
“Yes. I worked in his house. I was his housekeeper.”
“Did you know Billy Kramer?”
“Yeah. He was Mr. Cogen’s chauffeur and houseman.”
“Have you met the defendant, Jack Blackburn?”
“Just that one time.”
“Was that at the Clinton Street Tavern?”
“Yes.”
“Did the defendant drive you home from the tavern?”
“It wasn’t to my home.”
“But when you left, it was in a car driven by the defendant?”
“Yes.”
“Was this a car that the murder victim, Terrance Cogen, owned?”
“Yes.”
“I am showing you a picture of a Jaguar XJR575, which has been marked as State’s exhibit fifteen. Is this the car you drove in with the defendant?”
“Yes.”
“Where was the car parked?”
“It was in a parking garage a block or so from the tavern.”
“How did the defendant react when he saw the car?”
“He … he got very excited.”
“Did he talk about how fabulous the car was?”
“He wouldn’t stop talking about it. He raved about the car all the time I was in it.”
“Thank you, Miss Woodruff. I have no more questions.”
“Any cross, Miss Wyatt?” Judge Stark asked.
“A little, Your Honor. Miss Woodruff, other than at the tavern and the ride from the tavern, had you ever met Jack Blackburn?”
“No.”
“So, you never saw him at Mr. Cogen’s estate?”
“No.”
“Was the evening you met Mr. Blackburn the evening Mr. Cogen was murdered?”
“Yes.”
“Please tell the jury why you met Mr. Blackburn.”
Cynthia told the jurors that Billy Kramer had asked her to drive her car to the Clinton Street Tavern, where they were going to meet Jack.
Then she told the jurors that Kramer had instructed her to say that she wanted to go home when he gave her a cue.
Karen had her tell the jurors that she gave Jack a false address as her apartment and how Kramer had picked her up and driven her to Red Rim, Arizona, where they had hidden in a motel until they were arrested.
“Miss Woodruff, how long would you estimate the time interval was between leaving the tavern with Mr. Blackburn and the time Mr. Kramer picked you up?”
“It must have been about an hour, because I was getting upset when Billy didn’t come right away.”
“Did you think he might have forgotten you?”
“It entered my mind.”
“Let me ask you a question, and take your time before answering. Did Billy Kramer have enough time to drive from the tavern to Mr. Cogen’s estate and then drive to the place you were waiting in the time it took you to drive to the place where Mr. Blackburn left you and the time Mr. Kramer picked you up? ”
Cynthia’s brow furrowed. After a few moments, she said, “He could have done it.”
“At some point when you were with Mr. Kramer in Arizona, did he tell you why he wanted to give Mr. Blackburn the Jag?”
“Yes.”
“What did he tell you?”
“He said that Mr. Cogen was dead, murdered.”
“Did you know that before Mr. Kramer told you?”
“No! It scared the hell out of me.”
“What did Mr. Cogen’s murder have to do with letting Mr. Blackburn drive the 2019 Jaguar XJR575?”
“Billy said he wanted to frame Jack for the murder so no one would think he did it.”
“What was his plan?”
“He knew Jack was crazy about cars and would be excited when he learned that he could drive the Jag.”
“What was the rest of Mr. Kramer’s plan?”
“It was awful. I told him so. He was going to disappear from the tavern so Jack wouldn’t be able to return the car. He figured that Jack would want to keep driving it. Then—and here’s the worst thing he did—he called the cops and pretended to be Mr. Cogen and reported the car stolen.”
“Your Honor, I would like to play the 911 recording I have marked as Defense exhibit one for the jury.”
“Mr. Vanderlasky?” the judge asked.
Vanderlasky looked uncomfortable, but he answered, “No objection.”
“911, what is your emergency?” were the first words the jury heard when the recording played.
“This is Terrance Cogen. I own a 2019 Jaguar XJR575 car, license IRULE. It’s been stolen.”
Karen stopped the recording.
“Do you know what Terrance Cogen sounds like?”
“Of course. I spoke to him every day.”
“Was that Terrance Cogen reporting the theft?”
“No, that was Billy Kramer.”
“We’ve heard testimony that Mr. Cogen was a recovering alcoholic who drank milkshakes when he had an urge to drink alcohol. Did you know about this habit?”
“Yes.”
“Did Mr. Kramer?”
“Yes.”
“Did Mr. Kramer make milkshakes for Mr. Cogen?”
“Frequently.”
“No further questions, Your Honor.”
“Mr. Vanderlasky?”
“Thank you, Judge Stark. Miss Woodruff, isn’t it true that you were very angry with Mr. Kramer?”
“Definitely.”
“Were you and Mr. Kramer lovers?”
“Yeah.”
“Were you staying in a low-rent motel when you were arrested?”
“Yes.”
“Were you very angry that he made you hide out in a place like that for several days?”
“Yes.”
“In fact, you were so angry at Mr. Kramer that you cut a deal with the police and my office, where you would get immunity from prosecution if you testified against Billy Kramer.”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Kramer is dead, isn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“So, you can make up any story you want to and he can’t defend himself?”
“What I said is what happened.”
“According to you, a woman who hated Mr. Kramer.”
“I’m not lying.”
“So you say. No further questions.”
“No redirect,” Karen said.
“Any more witnesses, Mr. Vanderlasky?”
“No, Your Honor. The State rests.”
“I assume you have some motions, Miss Wyatt.”
“I do.”
“Let’s take our lunch break and reconvene at one thirty, and I’ll hear them then.”
“How are we doing?” Jack Blackburn asked.
Karen could see that he was very nervous, so she put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze.
“I think we’re going to blow the DA’s case out of the water when we put on our case.”
“Am I going to have to testify?”
“I haven’t decided yet. Let’s wait and see how the evidence shakes out.”