Opinion ID: 771185
Heading Depth: 6
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Massey and Hughes Testimony

Text: 43 The testimony of co-defendant Hughes, though consistent, was not without difficulties for the prosecution, most importantly because Hughes never actually saw Whelchel hit Margo. Hughes testified that just before the attack began, she turned her back to Whelchel. While turned, she heard a crack like when you hit a baseball. When Hughes did turn back around, Margo was on her knees and Steve [Whelchel] was standing behind her. Hughes testified that she then ran away and that later, when she started to return to the scene, Whelchel told her to get the hell out of here. 44 Hughes testified that she heard Margo pleading with Whelchel to stop. On cross-examination, however, it was revealed that in an earlier statement Hughes said that she held her hands over her ears after Margo was first struck and could not hear any words or specific statements. Hughes also testified that Whelchel told her he had clubbed and stabbed Margo. 45 Unlike Hughes, Massey testified that she actually saw Whelchel kill Margo. Massey's testimony was substantially the same as Hughes's, except that Massey testified that she watched Whelchel hit Margo and did not flee the scene. Massey admitted that she hit Margo with a table leg herself. 46 The jury heard testimony which could undermine the credibility of Hughes and Massey. First, Massey had broken up with Whelchel subsequent to the murder but before she agreed to testify and Whelchel, in his role in the after the fact cover-up, allegedly threatened to turn in Massey and the rest of the group. Moreover, Hughes and Massey testified against Whelchel as part of a plea agreement in which they were prosecuted as juveniles in exchange for their testimony, giving them an incentive to minimize their roles in the murder. This incentive is especially strong in Massey's case, as sheadmitted striking Margo but claimed that her blows were inflicted post-mortem. 47