Blake Carrington's Trial

The **trial of Blake Carrington** (officially *People of the State of Georgia v. Blake Alexander Carrington*) is a criminal trial held in Atlanta, Georgia. Billionaire-tycoon Blake Carrington was tried on the count of murder in the first degree, for allegedly killing his hitman Nathan Macintosh.

Judge Ruth Matthews was the sitting judge for the case. The case was declared a mistrial, with no plans for a retrial.

## Background

The bodies of Nathan Macintosh and Trixie Tate were accidentally discovered in the lake on the Carrington property by professional divers. Carrington's son, Adam, hired the divers to procure his sisters' lost engagement ring. Blake did not turn himself in and initially tried to cover up the incident by burying the case in his team of lawyers. His efforts failed and Blake was arrested for the suspected murder and placed in federal prison pending his arraignment. ("Guilt Trip to Alaska")

Blake was placed in the general population during his brief stint in prison. However, he felt intimidated by his fellow inmates who didn't respond well to his wealthy status. Blake paid off his cellmate to stab him with a self-made knife so he would be sent to the infirmary and the prison would be forced to report the incident. From there, Blake's lawyer, Mitch, pleaded the case that Blake would be in imminent danger if he remained in prison. They requested that Blake be held under house arrest at his manor for the remainder of his trial. The judge at the time granted the request. ("Caution Never Won A War")

The DA offered Blake a rain deal, which the defense counsel urged Blake to take. Mitch claimed that he heard whisperings that the prosecution had a surprise witness. The witness could testify to Blake being at the scene of the murder. Later, DA Brown offered Joseph Anders full immunity if he cooperated and testified against Blake, an agreement that Anders considered.

## Trial

Blake wanted a speedy trial, which both sides of the case worked tirelessly to make happen. The trial began just weeks after Thanksgiving. The case was televised by multiple media outlets and reported on by several magazines, including Fallon Unlimited. There were a few interruptions and interjections, which delayed the trial

DA Erica Brown gave her opening statement and made her case as to why Blake is a murderer. Michael Culhane testified against Blake on the stand and accused him of killing his father. This caused an outburst from Blake, and he was warned by Judge Matthews about being in contempt.

Fallon Carrington was called to the stand next. She was asked if she believed her father was capable of murder. She tried to plead the case that everyone is capable of murder under the right circumstances. She is pressured by the DA and says that yes, she believes her father is capable of murder. She tried to say that she meant it only in the sense that everyone is capable of the crime, but the DA cut her off and had no further questions.

Blake’s lawyer, Mitchell, in turn, went after Fallon during cross-examination. Mitchell made the case that Fallon was a spoiled brat who benefited from her father’s property and money. He pushed that she was upset that she had been cut out of his will, which she claimed she doesn't care about. Mitchell then tried to discredit her as a witness by bringing up her DUI charges and legal problems that Blake helped her fix. She was enraged at her father and threw the judge's gavel at her father's head, which earned her a warning from the judge.

Joseph Anders was called to the stand next. He testified that he killed Nathan Macintosh and not Blake. This surprised the courtroom and D.A Brown, as she thought Anders would testify against Blake.

On the last day of the prosecution, DA Brown called a last-minute witness to take the stand. Mitchell objected on the ground that the name wasn't on the initial witness list. Brown argued that the person wasn't able to be in the country until just that day, and the prosecution's case hindered on the testimony. Judge Matthews allowed the witness. Jeff Colby escorted a woman in, leading most to believe that he was the surprise witness. However, he stepped aside and the woman took the stand. She was asked to state her name and introduced herself as Alexis Carrington Colby, Blake's ex-wife.

The defense called for a recess to prepare for Alexis' testimony. When the session resumed, Alexis gave her testimony. She claimed she had a hair appointment at six, was home by seven, and was in a bathtub with a martini. She heard Mac scream and looked at the window, which overlooked the lake, and witnessed Blake strangle Mac. When Fallon looked into Alexis' story, she discovered Alexis had lied about being home that night. Mitchell used this newly discovered evidence to cast doubt on Alexis' testimony.

Cristal Carrington entered the jury restroom wearing red high heels. She warned the juror that if she didn't vote for an acquittal in the Blake Carrington case, she would have her physically attacked or hurt. The juror defended herself and noticed the heels. Cristal left the restroom. The juror approached Judge Matthews and informed her of the threat. She stated that the woman was wearing red high heels. Cristal entered the courtroom in the same heels, and the juror identified her. Cristal was called to the front of the courtroom so Judge Matthews could see her shoes. Cristal had changed her shoes to white heels. Because the Judge didn't see the red heels, she dismissed the juror and called the secondary juror number one to take over. The backup juror was being paid off by Blake to vote not guilty.

The prosecution and defense both delivered closing testimonies. The jury deliberated for two hours, before returning. The foreperson announced that the jury was unable to reach a verdict, and was deadlocked.

## Prosecution

District Attorney Erica Brown is the prosecutor in the case and represents the people during the trial.

### Witnesses

* Michael Culhane (Character Witness)
* Fallon Carrington (Character Witness)
* Joseph Anders (Character Witness and Eyewitness)
* Alexis Carrington Colby (Surprise Witness)

## Defense

Attorney Mitchell represents and defends Blake Carrington during the remainder of the trial.

### Witnesses

* Alexis Carrington Colby
* Fallon Carrington (Cross-Examination Witness)

## Notes and Trivia

* Many things could have pointed the police to Blake, including:
	+ Adam sneaking into the morgue and messing with some paperwork. He sent Mac’s DNA-riddled body to be cremated. However, if Adam had done something wrong, Blake's DNA would still have been on Mac and, subsequently, the body bag.
	+ Fallon told the police that Macintosh had killed Trixie Tate, the body of the young girl found in the lake with Macintosh. However, this could have caused the police to look deeper into Macintosh's death and find discrepancies in Blake's history with him.
* The jury was selected between "Shoot From the Hip" and "The Sensational Blake Carrington Trial". The jury selection process and sequestering were not shown.