Opinion ID: 6341114
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Alibi Witness Report

Text: Before trial, Edwards designated Ms. Connie Burrell as an alibi witness. Her story, however, shifted multiple times. Shortly after the robbery, Burrell told Dane County Sheriﬀ’s Department oﬃcers that she had not seen Edwards in a few weeks. Almost a year later, in September 2019, Burrell told Agent Boxwell the alibi story about recording music with Edwards during the time of the robbery, and emailed timestamped music ﬁles to prove it. But in early 2020, the alibi fell apart. On January 16, 2020, law enforcement executed a warrant to search Burrell’s apartment. During the search, Burrell recanted the alibi and claimed she visited Edwards in jail and he instructed her to “tell them I was with you.” On January 17, 2020, Burrell told Agent Boxwell that Edwards threatened her if she would not provide an alibi. Then, on January 18, 2020, she told Agent Boxwell she overheard Edwards on the phone planning the robbery and he came directly to her apartment after crashing the Outlander. On January 19, 2020, Burrell told Agent Boxwell she lied—she never heard Edwards plan a robbery over the phone and he did not instruct her during the jailhouse visit to “tell them I was with you.” Then, on February 6, 2020, Burrell told Agent Boxwell she lied on January 19, she manipulated the dates on the music ﬁles, Edwards instructed her to say he was with her that night, but she did not overhear Edwards plan a robbery. Agent Boxwell documented each of Burrell’s statements in separate reports. Before trial, the government provided the reports for multiple statements, but not the report containing her January 19 statement. Edwards chose not to call Burrell as an alibi witness. Edwards ﬁrst learned of the existence—but 8 No. 20-3297 not details—of the January 19 statement during a pre-trial hearing. Edwards never followed up with Burrell regarding this statement and did not receive a copy of the report until after trial.