Hello my loyal readers of the world wide web. Here is the next chapter, the second half of the court case. I hope you like it, I was a bit unsure about how to write this, I wanted it to be unexpected yet realistic and some of the stuff I was thinking would have been good in the real Home and Away but just didn't seem as though they would fit in my story so I decided against them. Again, I know I must sound like a broken record but please guys can you pretty please with cherries on top check out my blog called Sweet and Sassy. It really has nothing to do with fan fictions but it is about my life and hopefully it will be funny, I've been told the things I get up (which might I add seem perfectly normal to me) are very funny to people of the outside world. I have a keen interest in craft, cooking, animals and writing and I will be writing about that sort of stuff. Sweet and Sassy also has a spoonful of weird (like me) and hopefully it will become successful, I've worked REALLY hard and it would be great if you could check it out and comment –use your fan fiction names if you'd like, it would be great to hear from you! Anyway as usual please review, Dannielle xoxo
[DISCLAIMER/COPYRIGHT: I do not own any of the existing characters or storylines in Home and Away but any characters, storylines or ideas used in this story are strictly copyrighted and are not to be used by any other person/s without written permission of the author of this story. Thank-you.]
BELLA POV
I walked out of the court room furious, everyone followed behind me "how can she say stuff like that!" I snapped as we walked into a conference room "she can't she is clutching at straws and making you seem like an unreliable witness gives them the chance to seek a lower sentence" Morag said calmly as Cooper put his hand on my shoulders "are all the questions going to be that personal because I don't think I can take much more" I sighed resting my head against Cooper's chest "I really don't know the defence have come out of nowhere with their questions" she said and I nodded slightly "who is next?" I asked as Charlie handed me some water "Richard Harding" she said and I opened my eyes and looked up at Cooper, my head still rested against his chest "that should be fun" I smirked "hopefully he won't ask those kind of questions" Cooper said and I nodded "why do you think they are making her out like a liar?" Brax asked "well the only logical reason is because they have very weak case and the courts are extremely strict on child offences and really there is no way that Mr Baylis is going to escape going to jail but making Isabella out like she is a liar – if the jury buy it, could shorten his sentence" Morag said "but I am not lying" I groaned "I know that and I will prove that trust me, we have DNA evidence that puts Mr Baylis at the scene of the crime along with eyewitness reports from all of you that you saw him on the day of the attack and phone records – they aren't getting away with this one" Morag said and I nodded as I hugged Cooper tightly
Twenty minutes passed by quickly and I was again seated on the sand before a room full of people staring at me. Richard gathered some papers and walked to the front of the room "Miss Braxton, is it true that you had been receiving threatning messages from an unknown source before the attack took place?" he asked and I nodded "yes that is true" I said "so is it possible that Mr Baylis could have just been the front man in all of this?" he asked "no" I said coldly "care to explain?" he asked "because he admitted that he was the one who had ordered the messages to be sent" I said "do you have any witnesses to that statement?" he asked "yes" I replied smugly and his face dropped slightly "my sister in law was in the room when he made the statement, she was tied up and gagged on the floor of our living room" I said "no further questions" Richard said before returning to his seat.
Morag stood up "Miss Braxton, is it correct that on the day of the attack no police had notified you that Mr Baylis had escaped custody even though they knew you were his first target?" she asked and I nodded "yes, no-one told me he had escaped" I said "is it also true that the first person to tell you of his escape was Mr Harding himself?" she asked and I nodded "yes" "your honour I would like to prevent multiple reports providing evidence that my client was attacked by the defendant Mr Ryan Baylis on the 4th of March 2012" Morag said handing the judge some papers. He nodded handing them back and she turned to face the jury "I have in my hand DNA evidence that puts Mr Baylis at the scene of the crime, when captured in custody, Mr Baylis had by clients blood on a baseball bat in his car, on his clothes and her DNA underneath his fingernails, he also found fragments of DNA in his car and hair samples that match my client Isabella Braxton" she said before turning to me "Isabella on the day of the attack could you please explain to the jury how you came across Mr Baylis" she said and I nodded "I was at Cooper's house and his father came home and mentioned that Ryan had escaped, everything that had been happening for the last few weeks all clicked and I knew that he would be coming for me so I ran home, when I got there I found Charlie tied up and gagged on the floor of the living room and Ryan holding my niece Mckenzie with a gun in his hand. He said that if I didn't come with me he would kill Mckenzie in front of Charlie and that if I went with him her life would be spared so I agreed to go with him but he lied and refused to let her go. He took Charlie's car and drove us to some old shack in the bush and locked me in a room where he kept coming in and beating me" I said taking a sip of water
"I woke up to him standing in front of me laughing and he left the door open, walked across the room and lit a match, he dropped it and was gone. I managed to untie myself and find Mckenzie but just as we were about to get out of the house it exploded and collapsed. Next thing I knew I was waking up in hospital a week later with the doctors telling me I was brain dead" I said and Morag nodded "ladies and gentleman of the jury, the defendant Mr Ryan Baylis went to great lengths to seek revenge on my client for testifying against him and sending him to prison. He was infatuated with her and his prison cell was covered in photographs of her that were taken without her permission. He had written numerous unsent letters to my client explain in detail exactly what he planned to do to her. His plan was intricate and well thought out but when put in action it failed miserably, in his letters he stated he planned to make her die a slow and painful death and in the end she would be begging him to kill her" Morag said handing some papers to the jury members who quickly scanned them, their eyes wide in horror. I felt tears in my eyes hearing this for the first time about what he wanted to do to me and what he almost did "Mr Baylis never once stated in his letters his plan to kill young Mckenzie Braxton an innocent four month old child at the time, Mr Baylis used this innocent child as a tool to manipulate my client into doing what he wanted and still tried to kill her in the end. Ladies and gentleman of the jury, your honour, my client is lucky to be alive, against all medical odds she is sitting here today, her niece is safe and all they want is closure. Mr Baylis is a man who should not be allowed to walk the streets freely, he is a danger to society and should not be allowed to walk free today" she said taking a seat "Miss Braxton you may take your seat now" the judge said softly.
After another hour of explainations and excuses it was finally time for a verdict. Ryan was led to the stand by two guards and the head juror stood up and cleared her throat "we the members of the jury have found the defendant Ryan Baylis guilty on the charge of attempted murder of a minor under the age of 12, we find the defendant guilty on the charge of attempted murder with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, we find the defendant guilty on the charge of escaping protective custody and we find the defendant guilty of the charge of intent of causing bodily harm, stalking and intimidation" the judge nodded and thought for a moment "based on the charges and the guilty finding I sentence the defendant Ryan Alan Baylis to 30 years jail with the chance of parole after 24 years, case dismissed" he said clunking his gavel against the wood and I sighed loudly as the guards handcuffed Ryan and led him out of the courtroom. I stood up and was instantly wrapped in a hug my three brothers as the defence team exited the courtroom to address the media. I thanked Morag before being stopped by an older lady from the jury "I just wanted to say I think you are very brave girl and I would be proud to have you as a granddaughter" she said and I smiled, my eyes misting slightly as I thought of my grandmother "thank you" I said softly and she nodded as she bustled out of the room. Cooper hugged me tightly lifting me off the ground slightly before he took my hand and we all walked out of the court room.
We were greeted by a swarm of reporters asking me questions and taking photographs "Isabella are you glad it is over?" one woman asked "definitely" I said as I kept my head down "Isabella are you happy with the sentence" a man asked "I don't think he should ever walk the streets again but let's hope in 24 years he will be too frail to hurt anyone else" I said as Cooper unlocked the car "and it's Bella" I said as I climbed into the car as we all took off.
Well that is the trial over and done with. What did you think? Next chapter will be set one week after the trial and it is the lead up to the camping trip! Which I am so excited to write about! Please review and check out my blog! Review, Dannielle xoxo