Opinion ID: 1940967
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Government Fact Witnesses

Text: In September 1998, six-month-old Brianna Blackmond and her two-and-a-half-year-old sister, Shdiamond Blackmond, were placed with a foster family, Mr. and Mrs. Lopez. Brianna and Shdiamond spent over a year in their care, during which time Brianna learned how to crawl, walk, and climb stairs. On December 23, 1999, a social worker called Mr. Lopez and informed him that Brianna and Shdiamond were to be returned to their mother, Charissie Blackmond. The Lopezes packed the children's belongings, and that evening social workers returned the two girls to Ms. Blackmond, who with her infant daughter lived in a row house at 52 Bates Street, Northwest, along with appellant and her five children. Appellant was Brianna's godmother. During the next two weeks, Brianna had a lot of trouble adjusting to her new living arrangement within appellant's home. Mary Scrivener, appellant's neighbor, noticed during visits to appellant's home that Brianna did not eat, talk, or interact with others. Appellant had also mentioned to her that Brianna was not eating. Concerned about Brianna's well-being, Ms. Scrivener gave appellant Ensure, a nutritional supplement, to give to Brianna and recommended that appellant take Brianna to the hospital. It appeared to Ms. Scrivener that appellant spent more time with Brianna than Ms. Blackmond did. Waymond Moore, Ms. Blackmond's boy friend, also observed Brianna while she was living with appellant. Mr. Moore testified that soon after Brianna arrived, she looked like something was wrong with her. Brianna would not play or respond to people, and on one occasion Moore saw her shaking like she was cold. Mr. Moore recalled that appellant and Ms. Blackmond had once taken Brianna to the Hunt Place Clinic. On another occasion, Mr. Moore called an ambulance for Brianna, and when the paramedics arrived, they informed him that Brianna had a fever. Sheila Horton West, a registration clerk at the Hunt Place Clinic, testified that she received a telephone call from Ms. Blackmond and a second woman on January 3, 2000. Ms. West had previously met Ms. Blackmond as a patient at the clinic and had known her for over ten years. Ms. Blackmond was hysterical and told Ms. West that Brianna was shaking and was not talking or eating. Ms. West instructed Ms. Blackmond to bring Brianna to the clinic that afternoon. When she arrived at the clinic after the appointed time, Ms. Blackmond informed Ms. West that Brianna was in the car and was doing better. Because she had another appointment, Ms. Blackmond said, she could not bring Brianna into the clinic, but she agreed to bring Brianna in the following day; however, she did not appear the next morning. Appellant's sister, Marsha Washington, also expressed concern about Brianna's weight and lack of speech. She testified that Ms. Blackmond had told her that she had taken Brianna to a doctor and that the doctor said [Brianna] would come around and talk. Appellant's son, Aaron O'Brien (age eleven), testified that appellant had handcuffed Brianna to a stroller on January 5, 2000, to prevent her from lying on the floor. Aaron then accompanied appellant to purchase shoes for Brianna and Shdiamond. Later that afternoon, Aaron said, his mother picked Brianna up and then she dropped her on her head on the floor in front of the ... fireplace twice, one after the other. Brianna's head hit the floor both times. Aaron's cousins and sisters and Shdiamond were all in the living room at the time. After Brianna's head hit the floor the second time, she was not moving, and her eyes were closed. Aaron acknowledged that until just a few days before trial, he had said that Brianna had fallen down the stairs. He admitted that before the ambulance came for Brianna, appellant had instructed him to say this. On cross-examination defense counsel questioned Aaron about his differing accounts, playing multiple excerpts of Aaron's videotaped interviews on January 7 and April 11, 2000. Aaron repeatedly tried to explain that his prior account of Brianna's falling down the stairs was false: Q. You heard three loud booms, didn't you? A. No. Q. Okay. Let us hear what you said on January 7. A. I know that. Q. What do you know? A. I know. Q. You know what? A. I know what I said on the tape. Q. Okay. Well, the jury needs to hear it. So we are going to watch what you said on January 7, 2000, okay. [Tape played.] Did you hear that boom boom? A. Did I really hear it? Q. Did you say it on the tape? A. Oh, yes. Q. That was you on the tape, wasn't it? A. Yes. Q. And you were referring to the sounds that you heard right before you saw Brianna on the floor. A. Yes. Q. And after you heard those sounds, you saw Brianna lying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, didn't you? A. No. Q. And Aaron, that is when you told your mom that it was Brianna who made the noise falling, didn't you? A. No. Q. All right. We are going to watch what you said on 4-11-2000. A. Okay. [Tape played.] Q. That was you, Aaron? A. Yes. Q. You weren't just saying it. You were actually demonstrating where you found Brianna at the bottom of the stairs, weren't you? Weren't you? A. Yes. Q. And when Brianna was on the floor, your mother ran to her and picked her up? A. You are not understanding. That didn't happen. Q. Aaron, you need to answer the question.... A. No. On redirect, Aaron was asked to clarify his earlier testimony on cross-examination: Q. Is what you said [on September 28, 2001] the truth or a lie? ... That your mother dropped Brianna on her head? A. Yes. Q. Yes, what is it, the truth or a lie? A. The truth.       Q. When [defense counsel] was asking you questions, at one point you said none of this happened. Do you remember saying that when she questioned you? A. Yes. Q. What did you mean about that? A. She kept saying the tapes that I, that I was saying she fell down the steps. I was trying to explain to her that none of that steps stuff happened. Lakeisha O'Brien (age ten), Aaron's sister, testified that appellant was doing Brianna's hair on the couch [8] and that, frustrated because Brianna was moving around, appellant got up ... off the couch, and picked [Brianna] up by her shirt and slammed her. Using a doll, Lakeisha demonstrated to the court and jury that Brianna was on the floor before appellant picked her up and dropped her, hitting her face. [9] On cross-examination Lakeisha was impeached with her grand jury testimony and two videotaped interviews on January 7 and April 28, 2000, in which she had stated that Brianna fell down the stairs. Lakeisha admitted that she had told her aunt that her younger sister Antoinette had accidentally pushed Brianna down the stairs. Lakeisha acknowledged that her voice could be heard on the 911 call counting the steps that Brianna had allegedly fallen down and announcing that it was five steps. However, Lakeisha insisted that those earlier accounts were false: Q. Lakeisha, nobody hurt Brianna, did they? A. Yes. Q. Didn't she fall down the steps? A. No. Q. Huh? A. No. Q. She did or she didn't? A. She didn't. Q. What you said on the radio when you called out, that wasn't right? A. Yes. Q. It was right, wasn't it? A. No. Q: No. When you testified in front of the grand jury, you weren't telling the truth? A. No. Q. No? A. Yes. Q. You were telling the truth, weren't you? A. No. Q. Were you telling the truth or were you telling a lie when you testified in the grand jury? A. Telling a lie. Q. You were telling a lie. You took an oath, didn't you? A. Yes. On redirect, Lakeisha explained her earlier testimony on cross-examination: Q. What really happened? How did Brianna get hurt? A. My mother dropped her. Q. Why did you tell that story all that time about her falling down the stairs then? A. Because I was afraid. Q. Afraid for your mommy? A. Yes. Q. Do you love your mommy? A. Yes. Tiffany O'Brien (age six) corroborated her sister Lakeisha's testimony that appellant slammed [Brianna] on the floor and demonstrated the action with a doll. Tiffany's testimony, unlike that of Aaron and Lakeisha, was consistent with her videotaped interview on January 7, 2000, when Tiffany stated spontaneously that Mommy slammed Brianna and Brianna went to sleep. However, Tiffany also made reference to Brianna's falling out the steps during her January 7 interview. Tiffany made similar comments during a later interview on April 28, 2000. On cross-examination, Tiffany reiterated her testimony on direct: Q. After Brianna fell down the steps, what did A. No. Q.your mommy do? A. She slammed her. Q. Let's see what you said on April 28th about that, okay? ... [Tape played.] ... [D]id you see that? A. Yes. Q. Is that what you said about Brianna falling down the steps? A. Yes. Q. Yeah, and Mommy slammed her and she was asleep? A. No, she wasn't asleep. Q. Is that what you said there? A. No. Q. Well A. She slammed her but she wasn't asleep. She was downstairs. Q. Okay. Is that what you said before onin January? A. Yes. Q. Okay. Now do you remember what your mommy did? A. Yes. Q. What did your mommy do? A. Slammed her. On January 5, 2000, Marsha Washington's sons, Antonio (age eight) and Ricardo (age ten), spent the day at appellant's house. Antonio testified that appellant dropped Brianna on the floor several times after picking her up by her shirt. According to Antonio, appellant picked Brianna up each time, and Brianna's face was looking down. [10] On cross-examination, Antonio acknowledged that initially he had told the police and a prosecutor that Brianna had fallen down the stairs. He also admitted that he initially reported to his mother that Brianna had been injured when Antoinette accidentally pushed Brianna on the stairs. On cross-examination, Antonio agreed that the first time he said that appellant had hurt Brianna was in a videotaped interview on October 12, 2000: Q. Antonio, I have one more question, okay. You have to pay attention. Now, Antonio, October 12, 2000, when you first came up with the story about your auntie Angela slamming Brianna or dropping her on the floor, that was the shortest video you made? A. Yes. Q. And, and that was because, before you went in there, you knew what you were going to say, didn't you? A. Yes. Q. That is because somebody helped you come up with those words, didn't they? A. Yes. Q. And the word, the word slam you used on October 12, they helped with that video, didn't they? A. Yes. Q. Do you know what that word means? A. Drop. On redirect, however, Antonio denied that anyone told him what to say about the day Brianna got hurt. Paramedic Teresa Boone responded to 52 Bates Street on January 5, 2000. She testified that when she arrived, Brianna was unconscious. Boone also noticed that Brianna had some bruising on her back and ... what appeared as some scratches [on] her face. The scratches were not bleeding and appeared to be a day or so old. Ms. Boone positively identified the scratches on Brianna's left cheek from an autopsy photograph. On cross-examination Ms. Boone was impeached with her testimony before the grand jury, in which she said that she believed the facial scratches were on Brianna's forehead. Dr. Shireen Atabaki was on duty at Children's Hospital in the afternoon of January 5, 2000, when Brianna was brought in. The doctor testified that Brianna was unconscious and was not breathing; her heart had stopped, there were hemorrhages behind her retinas, and she showed no sign of active brain function. Brianna's extremities were cold and clammy. After Brianna was intubated, Dr. Atabaki was able to get Brianna's heart beating again, but Brianna was unable to breathe on her own and showed no sign of upper or lower brain function. Dr. Glenn Stryjewski took over Brianna's care in the intensive care unit. He testified that he saw a slight red mark over her right buttock [11] and a discoloration on her right ear lobe, but he did not notice any marks on Brianna's face. A CAT scan revealed a significant amount of blood in the brain tissue on the left side, and bleeding under the arachnoid and dural layers of the brain on the right side. During the night Dr. Stryjewski did literally hundreds of things to help keep Brianna's blood pressure adequate. [12] However, on the following morning, January 6, Brianna was pronounced dead. [13]