September 19
Defendant Lobby No. 6
10:00 AM
Cotoli Morix
Arriving in the courtroom was, to say the least, a rather jarring experience. My hands were shaking as I settled down behind the defense bench, and all the while, I kept on looking around at the area and realizing just how different everything was compared to my past trials. Ghastly wasn't on the other side of the courtroom with Cassidy at his side. Instead, Prosecutor Burke had taken his place. Chrysalis was nowhere to be seen, still back at the hospital with Pieter trying to recover from everything that happened. I hated how few familiar faces there were, and it was enough to leave me squirming uncomfortably under the gazes of the people watching me from the gallery. It seemed that this case had attracted a lot of attention given how sudden and violent it had been, and I could only hope that the pressure didn't get to me too much.
The one thing that was the same though was the judge sitting at the top of the courtroom. Judge Diaphan hit her gavel down and immediately earned the attention of everyone in the area. "Court is now in session for the trial of Ghastly Bespoke," she announced. I was sure that she knew where she had read the name before, but she chose to not say anything about it, instead simply turning her attention to the rest of the courtroom. "Are the defense and prosecution ready?"
Prosecutor Burke was quick to nod, not even bothering to spare a glance in Cassidy's direction along the way. "The prosecution is ready," she announced. I could hear the stress edging in her voice too, and I could only guess that it was because she was scared for Anton. He was still in the hospital as far as I could tell, and I could only hope that he was going to wake up sooner rather than later.
"The defense is also ready," I said next. I didn't know how true it was, but I figured that I might as well try and make it seem like I knew what I was doing. My foot was tapping anxiously against the floor, and it took much more energy than it should have for me to fall still. I just wanted all of this to be over already, but I knew it wasn't going to be that easy. If it was going to be simple, then it would have already ended.
Judge Diaphan nodded. "In that case, I believe it's time to hear the summary of the case. Prosecution, please give your opening statement," she declared, looking over to the other side of the courtroom.
Prosecutor Burke cleared her throat before speaking. "The crime took place at a factory not far from here by the name of Sparx. The victim, one Natasha Morix, was found killed in a room that had been left isolated and abandoned. All of the employees that were meant to show up that day had never come in, and that meant she was alone. She was strangled to death and then hung from the ceiling with a rope. There were many other victims who were attacked at the time as well, leading to there being six victims of this case, five of them of assault and one of murder," she announced.
"It sounds as if the culprit of this case was rather violent," Judge Diaphan murmured. "And you believe that the defendant was the one to carry all of this out?"
Prosecutor Burke didn't respond to that for a long moment before she let out a sigh. "There wasn't that much evidence found at the scene of the crime or in the rest of the building. In fact, the place was almost completely empty," she continued to explain. "The proof that was discovered was minimal, and it all pointed toward the defendant being the culprit."
"What evidence are you referring to specifically?" Judge Diaphan questioned. I could tell that she was pushing it because Prosecutor Burke was so hesitant to actually say something. No matter how much she wanted to avoid it, Prosecutor Burke was going to have to say it sooner or later, and I could only hope it didn't wind up blowing up in our faces when that time did come.
"There was video footage taken in a hallway of the factory," Prosecutor Burke eventually said. "The defendant could be seen walking through the area with someone who looked like the victim in his arms. It's difficult to make out of the victim was unconscious or dead at the time, but there was most certainly camera footage taken at all that made the defendant seem suspicious."
Prosecutor Burke held up a picture from there, and I looked at it carefully. We hadn't been able to see the video footage the day before, but this seemed to be it. Sure enough, Ghastly was in the center of the frame, walking down a hallway with a figure that looked an awful lot like my mother unconscious in his arms. The overall shape of the person was the same too, between the long light brown hair and the general concept of stature. It was strange to see, and my stomach seemed intent on doing flips as soon as it caught sight of the awful picture.
"That certainly does look like the defendant carrying the victim..." Judge Diaphan murmured. "Though I'm willing to assume that there won't be a verdict declaring the defendant guilty quite yet. After all, the defense still seems to firmly believe that he wasn't the culprit, and that means we must follow through with the rest of the trial."
I nodded. "The defense will do everything in its power to bring out the truth of this case, and I firmly believe that the truth is that the defendant is not the one behind this murder," I announced. My voice was still shaking from anxiety, and I could only hope I didn't sound too ridiculous. I felt awful because of how terribly the last day had been going, but I couldn't let that stop me as long as Ghastly still needed my help. Everyone involved with this case was counting on me to try and do something to find the truth, and the last thing I was going to do was let any of them down after how much had already happened.
Judge Diaphan nodded her acknowledgement. "In that case, I believe it's time for us to call the first witness to the stand. What do you have to say to that, prosecution?" she questioned, glancing over in Prosecutor Burke's direction.
"That sounds fine with me," Prosecutor Burke replied. "The prosecution now calls the detective in charge of the investigation to the witness stand."
Detective Wattson made her way to the stand next, and she seemed to be absolutely exhausted. I winced at the sight of her, wondering just what could have drained her energy to such a degree. I could already get a good enough guess in mind, but it was still awful that she was suffering so much. It was probably exhaustion caused by just how strange this case was, and the lack of evidence wasn't helping anyone. Plus, she and Detective Erikson seemed to be close, and that meant she was probably going overtime to try and help him since his daughter was in the hospital.
In other words, this case was miserable for absolutely everyone involved, and I could barely even say I was surprised.
"Please state your name and occupation for the court, witness," Prosecutor Burke announced, placing one hand on the bench in front of her.
Detective Wattson nodded. "My name is Vera Wattson, and I'm a homicide detective at the local precinct. I'm also the one leading the investigation into this particular case," she explained.
"And it's because of the current case that you've been summoned here to begin with," Prosecutor Burke went on. "If you wouldn't mind, would you be willing to explain the details of this case to the rest of the court?"
"If that's what you'd like, then it would be my honor," Detective Wattson replied with a small smile, though I could tell that it wasn't entirely genuine. She didn't want to be here in the slightest, though I guess that at least fit the theme the rest of us had going on. Every last one of us was miserable, and we could only hope things started to go a little bit better soon, though as far as I was concerned, that may not have even been possible to begin with.
~ Witness Testimony ~
~ Basic Details of the Case ~
-"The crime took place in the Sparx Factory where many new technologies and artificial intelligences are developed."
-"Many bright minds work there as they try to learn more about how we can push the limits of technology to aid our reality."
-"However, it seems as if there was a miscommunication on the day of the crime that led to nobody showing up for work."
-"Instead, the factory was almost entirely empty, and that was when the culprit struck and attacked the victim, killing her."
-"There were many others who were also hurt, and I can only imagine that they were witnesses to what happened."
-"The photograph taken from the video footage of the security cameras clearly shows the defendant and the victim... It's incredibly convincing proof, wouldn't you say?"
"A miscommunication?" Venus questioned as soon as the testimony was over. She had caught on and noticed the same strange thing that I had, and she had even beaten me to the punch when it came to asking about it. "What sort of miscommunication are you talking about?"
"There was a message that went out to the other workers of the factory on the day of the crime," Detective Wattson explained. "Someone said that none of them had to come into work, and that was how the culprit was able to sneak in and out unopposed. Nearly everyone had been deflected from the area because of this email message... The leader of operations at the factory denies having sent it and even has an alibi for the time when it was sent out, so an outsider must have gotten involved in order to keep everyone away."
"Do you think the defendant was the one responsible for that?" I asked firmly, my hands coming down on the bench before me. "I doubt that he would have sent out a message of that nature. You would need a very specific set of skills to accomplish something like that, and I've never known him to be capable of such a thing."
"The question here isn't necessarily who sent out the message. I want to know who killed the victim, and unfortunately, the defendant remains the most suspicious out of everyone else involved with the case," Detective Wattson frowned. "Whoever sent out the message isn't important in comparison to the matter of the murder. If the defendant took advantage of the chaos, then that means the message is low in relevance when compared to everything else. If he sent it, then that would probably change the situation a bit, but as of right now, all that matters is that somebody was killed at the time of the crime. That's what we need to focus on above all else."
I frowned at her words, hating that there was a point to what she was trying to get across. I turned to look at Venus a moment later and saw that she had pressed one finger to her chin as she thought. "You know... The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that there's something wrong with the security picture of Ghastly," she mused. "I can't quite put a finger on what it is, but I feel like there's something off about it."
I looked back to the security photo with a light exhale of breath. "Hm... You really think there's something strange about it?" I asked as I glanced over to her.
Venus nodded. "Yeah. I don't know what it is or why there would be something wrong, but I feel like there has to be something going on here," she replied. "Maybe that's something we can look into during this cross-examination. After all, this security photo is the only thing that's actually keeping Ghastly as a suspect. Without this, then there's no way to say for sure what's going on. I mean, this is the reason he was arrested, so if we can find a hole in this picture, then that could be all we need to make the pieces fall into place."
I nodded vaguely in response. "Alright... I suppose you have a point," I murmured. I pressed my shoulders back before looking over to Detective Wattson. I could only hope this cross-examination went well, though I had no idea how much the universe was going to be willing to follow up on my desires. After all, it wasn't as if the world had been kind to me up to this point, so I was just going to have to fight through it and hope with everything I had that Venus was right about there being something strange behind the scenes.
~ Cross-Examination ~
~ Basic Details of the Case ~
-"The crime took place in the Sparx Factory where many new technologies and artificial intelligences are developed."
-"Many bright minds work there as they try to learn more about how we can push the limits of technology to aid our reality."
-"However, it seems as if there was a miscommunication on the day of the crime that led to nobody showing up for work."
-"Instead, the factory was almost entirely empty, and that was when the culprit struck and attacked the victim, killing her."
-"There were many others who were also hurt, and I can only imagine that they were witnesses to what happened."
-"The photograph taken from the video footage of the security cameras clearly shows the defendant and the victim... It's incredibly convincing proof, wouldn't you say?"
"Objection!"
"Prosecutor Burke," I started as I looked across the courtroom. The woman seemed caught off guard that I was addressing her in the middle of a cross-examination, but she nodded regardless to show that she was listening. "You said that the victim was strangled to death and then suspended from the ceiling using a piece of rope, yes?"
Prosecutor Burke nodded. "Yes... The cause of death was very clearly strangulation, most likely with the rope given the bruises around the victim's neck," she announced. "The autopsy made it pretty damn obvious that the cause of death had nothing to do with the fact that she was suspended from the ceiling. She was killed by strangulation, not hanging."
"And that's exactly the problem here," I commented as I glanced over to the picture. "The rope was the weapon used to strangle the victim, but if that's the case... I think there's something wrong with the security photo that was taken on the day of the murder."
"What are you referring to specifically, defense?" Judge Diaphan questioned. "Point it out for the court."
I nodded. "Look at the area of the victim's neck in this picture. What you see there doesn't match up in the slightest with the idea that she was strangled with the rope. In fact, I would say that it's the complete opposite... There are next to no bruises found there, and if anything, they form the shape of a hand more than anything else," I explained. "Those injuries don't match up at all with what was noted on the autopsy report, so that leads me to ask... Why?"
Venus looked a bit closer at the picture at those words, and she nodded. "You know, the more that I look at it, the more I think you're right... That isn't the mark that would be left behind by strangulation with a rope," she agreed. "But it would definitely be like how somebody would look if they were strangled with a hand."
"Why would that be the case though?" I asked the rest of the court. "There has to be an explanation for why the markings on the victim's neck would look more like strangulation with a hand rather than a rope. In fact, I would argue that the bruising is a bit too limited for something like this... I feel like there would be more bruises around the victim's neck if we were really looking at the defendant carry someone he had just killed around the factory. I feel like there's something else going on behind the scenes of this picture."
"What do you propose could be happening with this then?" Prosecutor Burke questioned as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Unless you're able to say who the person in the picture is, then we're stuck for a moment. The way you're talking right now makes it clear that you don't think this is actually the victim the way the picture would lead you to believe."
I paused to think about that before glancing over to Venus. "What do you think?" I asked of her. "I think that Prosecutor Burke might be right about this not being the victim... So who is it exactly that we're seeing in this picture?"
Venus shrugged. "I guess we're just going to have to think through the situation and who it could have potentially been," she told me. "I mean, it's not like there were all that many people at the factory at the time of the crime. That means that if we just think about it logically, then we're going to stumble upon the truth eventually. That just means we have to come at this backwards. Who all was at the scene of the crime when the murder took place?"
I looked down at the picture with a light frown. It was hard to pick out any of the smaller details about the situation because of how far away the picture was taken from, and that meant that we were going to have to do this the hard way. "It couldn't possibly be Yuri, Sora, Anton, or Mukuro," I told her. "It's not like any of them have anything in common with my mother in terms of appearance. The person in the picture looks a lot more like my mother here than any of them could have."
"We can't see the face of the person Ghastly was carrying in this picture," Venus said as she crossed her arms. "So that means we are going to have to come at this from a different angle... What do you think it could all mean? What happened at the time of the crime for this to happen?"
I snapped my fingers at that. "That's it!" I murmured before looking up to the rest of the court. "I believe I've figured out the truth of the person who can be seen in this picture!"
"Then go on and explain it," Judge Diaphan announced. "Who is the person the defendant is carrying through the factory hallways in this picture?"
"The person in question is none other than Chrysalis Starr, my younger sister," I declared. "I spoke with the defendant shortly after the crime scene was discovered, and he said that he was with her. Chrysalis and the victim are similar enough in size and stature to be confused for one another, especially if their faces are tilted away from the camera. I think it's easy enough to conclude that the person being carried through the factory in this picture is one of the assault victims rather than the one who was killed at the scene of the crime."
"You seem pretty confident in that," Prosecutor Burke muttered under her breath. "Can I ask for a bit of elaboration as to how you seem so sure of it?"
I nodded. "After I found the scene of the crime, I received a phone call from the defendant. He said that Chrysalis had found him in a moment of panic, and she collapsed soon afterwards. We still don't know what happened for her to be attacked and knocked unconscious, but it would make sense if the picture of him roaming through the factory was actually the defendant trying to bring one of the assault victims to a better location to be taken care of when the authorities arrived," I announced. "I think that the supposedly conclusive picture to make it seem as if the defendant was the culprit is actually not conclusive in the slightest. Instead, it simply shows something that we already knew in the form of him carrying one of the assault victims elsewhere in the factory."
"You know, all of this does make me ask something..." Venus commented as she placed one finger on her chin. "Why is it that Ghastly was arrested on the basis of that one security photo alone? I mean, if there are security cameras everywhere in the factory, then you would expect there to be a couple other cameras scattered about to help us put the pieces together of what happened a bit more seamlessly."
Prosecutor Burke hesitated at that before letting out a sigh and looking off to the side. "About that... The security footage in the factory seems to have been tampered with," she announced. "The footage that was picked up on by the cameras was almost completely wiped clean save for a few small flickers, and the photo that you see now is one of the lingering traces left behind from the time of the crime. Most of the other cameras were wiped of any footage."
"In that case, I don't think that we can call this picture conclusive!" I declared. "It sounds to me like this was a setup meant to make us think that the defendant was the one behind the crime even though he was far from being the culprit. I believe that the culprit of this case tampered with the evidence to frame the defendant. The fact that there's so little evidence to incriminate the defendant aside from this one picture only backs up this assertion, I would say."
Judge Diaphan nodded at that. "If the picture of the defendant walking through the factory was not of the murder victim, then I suppose that changes the way we have to look at the case... Though I will admit that I'm still somewhat concerned as long as he was carrying someone through the halls of the factory at all," she admitted. "What are the circumstances behind that encounter? For all we know, that could have been a crime he committed himself and simply denied."
"The phone call that I received had the defendant telling me that Chrysalis found him by chance. She was running through the factory in a state of fear, and he claimed that she was having a panic attack when she lost consciousness. I would guess that she ultimately passed out from air loss from seemingly being strangled by the culprit. We still don't know how she was attacked, after all," I declared. It took a lot more effort than I'm willing to admit to keep my voice steady as I talked about Chrysalis being attacked, and my hands shook ever so slightly under the weight of what I was saying.
"Actually, we were able to get a bit of feedback from the hospital to show what knocked her unconscious," Prosecutor Burke countered. "A few tests were run this morning, and it sounds like she was forcefully fed a strong pill that knocked her unconscious as soon as it was in her system. It's an illegal drug of some kind, and it can be lethal in larger doses. She's bound to make a full recovery, but it's still unsettling that the culprit was able to get their hands on something like that so easily."
I did my best to not run too pale as I looked over to Venus, fear coursing through me already. "Who could have done something like this...?!" I murmured under my breath. I bit down on my lip, knowing that I couldn't focus on this too much more than we already had, but I still hated that this was happening in the first place. I didn't know who was behind this crime, but I was going to make sure that they saw justice after everything they had done.
"I believe it's time for us to call the next witness behind this case to move on with the trial," Prosecutor Burke announced. She glanced up to the stand and nodded to Detective Wattson to tell her to move along. Detective Wattson was more than happy to do so, but instead of returning to the bench where the witnesses were sitting, she instead made her way out of the courtroom entirely. She was most likely going back to the scene of the crime to do what she could to further the investigation. I could only hope there was something helpful in terms of information ready for us when we arrived there, though I supposed only time would be able to tell how that turned out.
"We should try to hear from the witness that was mentioned by the defense," Judge Diaphan suggested. "That would be a perfect way to move the trial along, would it not?"
Prosecutor Burke hesitated before shaking her head. "I spoke with her yesterday, and she doesn't remember a thing from the time of the crime. Whatever happened around the time when the victim was killed must have distorted her memories somehow, because she claims that her mind is as good as wiped clean after that," she replied. "Instead, we're going to be hearing from one of the other victims of assault from the scene of the crime. After all, there were five people who were attacked, and at least one of them has to be helpful in discovering more about the case."
Judge Diaphan nodded a moment later. "Alright... If you believe that would be for the best, then I trust your judgement," she agreed, though I could tell she was still somewhat upset about us not being able to hear from Chrysalis. As much as I wanted to see my youngest sister in that moment, I knew that it was best for her to stay at the hospital and try to recover. She had been through more than enough, and she deserved to be able to relax for a short while after all that had happened, though I somehow doubted she was relaxing in the slightest given the circumstances. At least she wasn't dealing with the extra pressure that came with being in the courtroom.
"The prosecution calls its next witness to the stand at this time," Prosecutor Burke announced. She pointed to the stand, and I frowned as I watched the figure of a person I recognized approached the podium.
Sora stood at the center of the courtroom with a small smile on her face, though I would have been lying if I said that I didn't see right through her. She was nervous about this, not that she wanted to admit it. Sora had seen unfortunate experiences with testifying in the past, and it was only natural that she would be nervous given the increased pressure on her shoulders that came with this case's entire situation. Her anxiety was palpable, and I wished there was something more I could say or do to help her feel better about all of this. However, I knew that wasn't going to be a benefit I would be allowed to afford, so I just gave her a reassuring smile to try and help her through the fear that came with testifying in front of a courtroom.
"Please state your name and occupation for the courtroom," Prosecutor Burke instructed.
Sora cleared her throat before speaking. "My name is Sora Lin, and I'm a prosecutor at the local Prosecutor's Office," she replied. "But right now, I'm working as a witness for this case." She hadn't even bothered to mention her side job of performing music online, and I winced at that. She was much more rattled by what had happened than she wanted to admit openly, and I knew that I was going to have to talk to her about it after all of this was over. I had no idea how I was supposed to approach it, but that wasn't going to stop me from at least putting in the effort to try.
"You were one of the assault victims of this case, weren't you?" Judge Diaphan questioned.
Sora nodded. "As a matter of fact, I was," she answered, her eyes shifting down to the ground. "And I'm willing to guess that you want me to talk about what I saw when everything... You know... Went bad."
Prosecutor Burke hesitated before nodding. "Yeah... That is what we need you to talk about," she said carefully, almost like she was dancing around the subject at hand in an attempt to not make Sora uncomfortable.
Sora sighed before steadying herself a moment later. "Alright... In that case, I guess it's time for me to get right to it," she announced. She cleared her throat once again, readying herself to speak.
"I guess this is where things get even more serious," Venus murmured. "I hope that we're able to find a way to solve this."
I nodded my agreement. "We'll have to see where this takes us," I replied. I had no idea what we could expect next, but I already had an awful feeling about it. My stomach was twisting already, and I could only hope that this went well. This was going to be the most important part of the trial yet, and that was a dangerous thing to think about. At least this would get us a bit closer to figuring out the truth... That was the hope, at the very least. I guessed only time would be able to tell there, huh?
So tired
-Digital