Opinion ID: 6216640
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Zitnik Testimony.

Text: ¶18 The State elicited testimony from Zitnik, inter alia, regarding his prior relationship with Lake. Zitnik testified that it was “pretty hard to narrow down” what led to their falling out approximately a year before the stabbing, but conceded there were “definitely some issues” and that he “didn’t want to listen to [Lake] talk about some things.” The State then pressed Zitnik for more: [State]: [I]f I could get a little bit more specific, . . . what things did you not want to hear him talk about? 13 [Zitnik]: . . . I don’t remember exactly word-for-word[.] . . . [He] called himself a skull fucker [and] . . . he was talking about skull fucking . . . children because their skulls are softer and more like rubber[.] . . . I told him that I’m not going to put up with it and stay away from me after that. When asked on cross-examination how long he had been telling Lake, “I don’t like you[,] [s]tay away from me,” Zitnik responded, “Since he told me he likes to fuck children in the skull.” In response to a follow-up question as to why he could not remember when Lake made such statement, Zitnik replied, “because it’s . . . a flake of dust in the wind[,] [i]t means nothing to me.” Contrary to Cravens’ testimony, and the State’s assertions at the pretrial motions hearing and in its opening statement, Zitnik did not testify that he had children or that Lake’s child sex abuse comments and references offended him because he did.