“Miss Selby had tried to clean herself up before I got there, yes. She had splashed some water on her face. But it was so beaten and swollen, it was almost black in places... and her right hand, it had a deep cut in it. She was crying so hard, I couldn’t talk to her. She was bleeding from between her legs, but I knew Dr. Kerr was on the way, so I just got her into a clean nightgown and into bed. And I cleaned the wound in her hand and put a dressing on it.
“—no, she didn’t say anything about who had done this to her. I made her as comfortable as I could and then Dr. Kerr asked her about what had happened and she told us about the car hitting her and the man... the alleged rapist. I gave all that information to Milt, to Trooper Karec.”
Dr. Merwin Kerr’s testimony was clinical and impersonal, his delivery restrained as he spoke of Shana’s loosened teeth, the “penile assault” that had ruptured her hymen and the membranes of her vaginal orifice, the blows that contused her cheekbones, the rope burns on her wrists and ankles, the presence of semen in her anal aperture. The cold, detached tones only emphasized the horrors.
Davic listened thoughtfully but again deferred cross-examination. But when Dr. Kerr was excused, he called Trooper Milt Karec.
“Trooper Karec, there are a few points you might clarify for us. Specifically, a clearer understanding of the time certain things happened. The Selby girl was first reported missing around six or six-thirty on that October afternoon. Correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Her bicycle was discovered on Fairlee Road about two hours later. Is that right?”
“Yes, sir, we thought that—”
“Forgive me, Trooper Karec, but I’d prefer to ask these questions in my own way. I’d like you to bear with me, please. You assumed that Miss Selby might have been struck by a car and driven by the motorist to a nearby hospital, is that it?”
“Yes, sir, that’s what we were hoping had happened.”
“Much later that night,” Davic went on, “early the following morning rather, the Selby girl was brought home by her father from a housing park known locally as Little Tennessee or Little Tenn. Is that correct, Trooper?”
“Yes, sir. But meantime we’d had our squads out checking back roads and school parking lots and—”
“Forgive me again, Trooper. Were you notified immediately when the Selby girl was returned home?”
“No, sir, we didn’t know anything about that for almost an hour.”
“How were you advised of that fact?”
“Sergeant Ritter had been checking the Selby place every half hour or so to see if they’d got a call or anything. Around one-thirty, Mrs. Cranston told him the kid was back, had been for an hour or more. Said with all the excitement, they’d forgot to call us.”
“What did you do then?”
“Trooper Jimson and I drove over to question her.”
“That was routine procedure?”
“You better believe it, sir. Sergeant Ritter gave us the call direct, didn’t patch it through Central. Told us to roll on a Code Three, red lights and siren.”
“When you got to the Selbys’, did you question Miss Selby?”
“No, sir. Mr. Selby wouldn’t let us talk to his daughter, wouldn’t even let us see her.”
“Did he tell you why?”
“He said he didn’t want any cops talking to her... he meant any men, I believe.”
“Did you explain to Mr. Selby why it was essential that you speak with his daughter?”
“You’re damned — sorry, sir, you better believe we did. Told him we needed a description of the perpetrator and the car to put out APBs and set up roadblocks.”
“Did Mr. Selby then change his mind?”
“No, sir. He called Sergeant Ritter and told him he wanted a nurse to look at his daughter. Wouldn’t let me or Jimson go near her, never mind we’re both family men.”
Karec then explained that he had waited with Trooper Jimson in the Selby driveway until the nurse and the doctor had treated and questioned the plaintiff. Nurse Redden then provided them with a description of the car and the assailant.
“Trooper Karec, is Nurse Redden a trained police investigator?”
“She’s a fine nurse, sir, a fine woman.”
“That wasn’t my question. The nurse’s description of the alleged perpetrator and vehicle — were they as exact and helpful as you would expect from a trained police officer?”
“I object, Your Honor.”
“Overruled. Witness will answer.”
Karec was eager. “No, sir. The Selby girl was scared out of her wits. Nobody can blame her, but she told Edith things like the man was tall and dark and that the car was shiny and that it was warm and quiet inside it. She should have asked the kid if by dark she meant he was a black guy or a Puerto, and tried to get some—”
“Objection, Your Honor!”
“Sustained. We can’t speculate on what facts might have been developed in a hypothetical interrogation.”
“Yes, Your Honor... Trooper Karec, from the time you arrived at the Selbys’ home, from that moment until you finally put Nurse Redden’s sketchy descriptions of the alleged rapist and his car on the police network — how much time had been lost by then?”
“I’d say more than three hours, sir.”
“In addition, you weren’t notified immediately when the girl was returned home?”
“That’s right, sir.”
“Trooper Karec, even if this alleged rapist had obeyed every posted speed limit to the letter, couldn’t he have driven hundreds of miles from the scene of the crime during those four hours?”
“Objection, Your Honor.”
“Sustained. We won’t admit that speculation.”
Davic nodded deferentially to the bench, but he was pleased the jury had heard the question. “Tell me this then, Trooper. Wouldn’t you say, as a professional, that someone — or let’s just say circumstances — conspired, unintentionally or otherwise, to give that alleged and vaguely described criminal a long headstart on you and your fellow police officers?”
“Objection, Your Honor!”
“Sustained.”
“Thank you, Trooper Karec. I have no more questions.”
Brett said, “Just one thing, Trooper. When Mr. Selby told you he didn’t want you to interrogate his daughter, do you remember all the reasons he gave?”
“Like I testified, ma’am, he told us he didn’t want policemen talking to her. He wanted a woman, a nurse for that.”
“Mr. Selby had still another reason, I believe.” Brett paused. “Do you remember what it was?”
“Well, I think Mr. Selby told us his daughter wouldn’t even talk to him. Maybe he figured we couldn’t do any better but—”
“Thank you, Trooper Karec. No further questions.”
“The witness is excused.”
At the defense table, Davic briefly nodded to Brett, with an accompanying smile that he made certain the jury saw. A gracious gentleman, this fellow... even if he was from New York...
After the luncheon recess Dorcas introduced the Commonwealth’s physical evidence against Earl Thomson. The defendant’s fingerprints from the garage at Vinegar Hill were presented as People’s exhibits, together with photographs of his red Porsche. After dates and times had been corroborated, and the authenticity of the fingerprints established, Captain Slocum was called to the stand to identify the taped interrogations of Earl Thomson. The tapes were played in open court and the exchanges between Slocum, Lieutenant Gus Eberle and the defendant, Earl Thomson, were linked to the People’s chain of evidence.
Captain Slocum made an excellent witness, forceful, assured and professional. His expensive clothing enhanced that image, adding to an overall impression of poise and authority.