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today will be the third day of witnesses in the state’s case against fields. friday’s recap is linked here.
the commonwealth is expected to rest tomorrow.
the commonwealth is expected to rest tomorrow.
i will update you at lunch today - i even packed a thermos of delicious soup made for me by a dear friend.
the judge seems surprised that we are moving along on schedule. we heard from 5 witnesses this morning - the girlfriend of one of thursday’s witnesses who also witnessed the attack, the wife of the victim who testified thursday (a witness and friend of heather heyer’s),
the fire captain who arrived on the scene and performed CPR on heather heyer, and two more victims of the attack.
one of the victims testified that when he got to the hospital that day after being struck by fields’ car, his main concern was about medical bills. he was reluctant to receive the treatment that he needed, putting off surgery on his hip for months.
as we listen to testimony from survivors about the ways their bodies were broken, about the surgeries they needed, and the procedures some still need, consider donating to the heal charlottesville fund.
i imagine every journalist covering this trial has raced back to their transmission vehicle to provide updates about this morning’s testimony. i am going to enjoy the pozole @brooklynsupper made for me and not think about hearing a paramedic describe heather heyer’s last moments.
finishing my lunch with a brownie made for me with love by the coolest most radical socialist i know, who happens to be 11 years old, and tearing up a little bit with awe at my resilient, beautiful community.
many witnesses have testified about the kinds of things the crowd at fourth and water street was chanting that day before the attack, one of which was “who takes care of us? we take care of us.” and it is true. it continues to be true. we take care of us. ❤️
based on the list of potential witnesses read at the start of the trial, the majority of the witnesses the commonwealth has left are law enforcement officers of some kind - detectives, an FBI data analyst, the officers who were on scene when fields was detained...
ACA nina antony mentioned in her opening statement that the jury would have a chance to judge fields’ demeanor and statements to officers at the time of his arrest. we may hear that body camera footage today (or perhaps tomorrow)
we will also hear, again either this afternoon or tomorrow, from the medical examiner and a DNA analyst. the DNA analyst will likely link the blood stains we heard about from the detective on friday to individual victims.
the medical examiner will, i suspect, discuss heather’s cause of death in more detail. one would hope this would put to rest some of the uglier conspiracy theories, but no amount of facts will ever stop those people.
headed back in now. hopefully today’s early lunch is a good indicator that we aren’t in for a late day today. more soon.
we heard from 9 witnesses today and are ahead of schedule enough that the judge released the jury for the day a little before 3. the commonwealth is expected to rest before lunch tomorrow.
headed home now to pick through my notes for the day. as expected, we heard detailed testimony from the medical examiner about heather heyer’s autopsy. the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the torso.
the medical examiner also testified to the extent of heather’s injuries. there was a complete transection of the thoracic aorta. her broken ribs lacerated her lungs and liver. her right femur was fractured. she showed the jury pictures of massive contusions and abrasions.
we also heard from the forensic biologist & DNA specialist who tested the swabs the forensic detective took from the scene & from the challenger. she matched the flesh embedded in the challenger’s windshield to heather heyer, as well as blood from several locations on the car.
blood stains on the car & from various locations on 4th street contained ten different DNA profiles. DNA from living victims was not compared to the samples, but based on the locations where they were collected, it isn’t hard to guess whose blood is on those swabs.
the audio recap of today's testimony is up. extreme content warning for discussion of the events of august 12, including descriptions of injuries & death.
today we heard from more victims, witnesses, a police officer, the medical examiner & a DNA ansoundcloud.com/wtju/the-trial…2DqyYBEY
today we heard from more victims, witnesses, a police officer, the medical examiner & a DNA ansoundcloud.com/wtju/the-trial…2DqyYBEY
