Opinion ID: 3064677
Heading Depth: 6
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Josh Ryen’s Testimony

Text: Josh Ryen was eight years old at the time of the murders. He was left for dead in his parents’ bedroom with his throat cut. He did not take the stand, but his audio- and videotaped testimony was introduced at trial. That testimony was that he saw either a single man or a single shadow in the house during the murders. This testimony was flatly inconsistent with the information he provided immediately after the murders.
Josh Ryen did not testify in person at trial. Instead, two recorded interviews with Josh were played for the jury. One was an audiotaped interview conducted in the office of a psychiatrist, Dr. Lorna Forbes, on December 1, 1983, six months after the murders. The other was a videotaped interview conducted on December 9, 1984, in the midst of Cooper’s trial. A transcript of the audiotaped interview with Dr. Forbes includes the following statements: Q [Dr. Forbes]: Who went to bed first? You guys or everybody all together or what? A [Josh]: I think my Mom, I, my sister and Chris went to bed, but my Dad stayed up. Q: You don’t remember, for sure? 5480 COOPER v. BROWN A: That’s what I think. Then I heard my Mom scream, and I walked in there with Chris, and I saw someone. Q: Well, did, did you mean? Where did you see him? A: Like over by the bed, my Mom’s bed.