Opinion ID: 1791
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Ronald Higdon's Testimony

Text: Ronald Higdon testified that, in the months leading up to the attack, he had been living at the Clark Street apartment with his then-girlfriend Lydia Ceruti, [2] Lydia's three children, [3] and one Daniel Lamont, a friend of Higdon who had moved into the apartment when he did. However, on April 28, 2002, the date of the incident, Higdon and Ceruti were no longer involved in an intimate relationship and Higdon was scheduled to move out of the apartment on May 3, 2002. At this time, Higdon was aware not only that Ceruti had recently become romantically involved with English, but also that English was actually the father of Ceruti's youngest child, Brice, who was conceived at a time when Ceruti was cohabitating with Higdon. At approximately 9:30 p.m., Higdon saw English, Ceruti, and Brice sitting in a car in front of the Clark Street apartment. [4] Higdon went up to the car and had a brief conversation with Ceruti. Higdon then left for a period of time, at which point English, Ceruti, and Brice entered the apartment. Later in the evening, Higdon returned to the area and went up to the apartment. The apartment was the second-floor unit of a two-unit, two-floor apartment building. Two doors needed to be unlocked in order to gain access to the apartment in question. According to Higdon, he used a key to open the first door, then used a standard household butter knife to jimmy open the second door. According to Higdon, the lock to this second door was broken and always had to be jimmied open. After Higdon opened these doors and entered the apartment, he noticed that Ceruti and the three children were present along with English, who was sitting on the edge of a pull-out sofa bed that had been opened in the middle of the family room. Daniel Lamont was also present in the apartment at this time. According to Higdon, as he entered the apartment, he immediately placed the butter knife he used to open the second door on the entertainment center in the family room. He then went up to English and started a conversation about the children. At the end of the conversation, Higdon offered to shake hands. English originally refused but then agreed after Higdon asked a second time. Higdon then turned his back to English and walked toward Ceruti, who was standing at or near the door leading out of the apartment. Higdon began talking to Ceruti, apparently asking her to let him stay for a few extra days. During the conversation, Higdon unexpectedly felt an extreme pain in his lower back that he described as a burning and stinging sensation. He turned around and saw English standing before him with a knife in his hand. Higdon testified that he then grabbed English's hand and threw English against the wall. Just as Higdon was about to get the knife out of English's hand, English pulled out another knife with his other hand and started slashing at Higdon. Higdon was cut multiple times on his face and hands. Higdon also testified that during the fight, English repeatedly said, I'm going to kill you. At some point during the altercation, Higdon became weak (apparently from blood loss), released English and went into one of the bedrooms, slammed the door, and leaned his body against the door so that English could not enter the room. Higdon then used a cell phone to call 911. Higdon testified that while he was waiting for the police to arrive, he could hear English on the other side of the door, yelling that if I open the door or if I come out out of that room, that he's going to give me some more of what I just got ... that this time he's going to kill me. An ambulance eventually arrived, and Higdon was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. [5]