Philip Margolin - Gone ,but not forgotten

Larry told the detective that Objection, hearsay," Betsy said, standing.

"No," Norwood ruled. "This is a bail hearing, not a trial. I'm going to permit the State some leeway. If you need to examine some of these Witnesses, you can subpoena them. Let's move on, Mr. Page."

Page nodded at Barrow, who continued with his account of the investigation.

"Farrar told the detective that he had come home from work on August tenth, about eight o'clock. His house looked perfectly normal, but his wife was missing.

None of her clothes was missing or her makeup. In fact, nothing was missing from the house, as far as he could tell. The only unusual circumstance was a rose and a note Mr. Farrar found on his wife's pillow."

"Was there anything odd about the rose?"

"Yes, sir. A lab report on the rose indicates that it had been dyed black."

"What did the note say?"

"Gone, But Not Forgotten." Page handed a document and a photograph to the judge's clerk.

"This is a photocopy of the Farrar note and a photo graph of the rose, Your Honor. The originals are still at the lab. I talked about this with Mrs. Tannenbaum and she's willing to stipulate to the introduction of these and other copies, solely for purposes of this hearing."

"Is that so?" Norwood asked Betsy. She nodded.

"The exhibits will be received."

"Did the detective from missing persons tell you about a second disappearance in mid-September?"

"Yes, sir. Wendy Reiser, the wife of Thomas Reiser, was reported missing by her husband identical circumstances."

"Nothing disturbed in the house or missing?"

"Correct."

"Did Mr. Reiser find a black rose and a note on his wife's pillow?"

"He did."

Page introduced a photocopy of the Reiser note and a photograph of the Reiser rose.

"What did the lab say about the second note and rose?"

"They are identical to the note and rose found at the Farrar house."

"Finally, Detective, did you learn about a third, recent disappearance?"

"Yes, sir. Russell Miller reported his wife, Victoria, missing circumstances that were identical to the other cases. Note and rose on the pillow. Nothing disturbed or missing in the house."

"Several days ago, did you learn where the women were?"

Barrow nodded gravely. "The three women and an unidentified male were found buried in a construction site owned by Darius Construction."

"Who owns Darius Construction?"

"Martin Darius, the defendant."

"Was the gate to the site locked?"

"Yes, sir."

"Was a gaping hole located in the fence near the area where the bodies were found?"

"Yes, sir."

"Were tire tracks located near that hole?"

"They were."

"On the evening Mr. Darius was arrested, did you execute a search warrant at his residence?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you locate any vehicles during the search?"

"We located a station wagon, a BMW and a black Ferrari."

"Move to introduce exhibits ten to twenty-three, which are photographs of the construction site, the hole in the fence, the tire tracks, the burial site and the bodies being removed from it, and the vehicles."

"No objection," Betsy said.

"Received."

"Was a cast made of the tire tracks?"

"It was. The tracks at the site match the tread on the BMW we found at Darius's house."

"Was the trunk of the BMW examined for trace evidence, such as hairs and fibers, that might have belonged to any of the victims?"

"Yes, sir. None was found."

"Did the lab report explain why?"

"The trunk had been recently vacuumed and cleaned."

"How old was the BMW?"

"A year old."

"Not a brand-new car?"

"No, sir."

"Detective Barrow, are you aware of any connections between the defendant and the murdered women?"

"I am. Yes. Mr. Reiser works for the law firm that represents Darius Construction. He and his wife met the defendant at a party Mr. Darius threw this summer to celebrate the opening of a new mall."

"How soon before the disappearance of the first woman, Laura Farrar, was this party?"

"Approximately three weeks."

"Were Mr. and Mrs. Farrar at that party?"

"They were. Mr. Farrar works for the accounting firm that Mr. Darius uses."

"And Russell and Victoria Miller?"

"They were at the party too, but they have closer ties with the defendant. Mr. Miller was just put in charge of the Darius Construction account at Brand, Gates and Valcroft, the advertising agency. They also socialized with Mr. and Mrs. Darius."

Page checked his notes, conferred with Randy High Smith, then said,

"Your witness, Mrs. Tannenbaum.

Betsy looked at a legal pad on which she had listed several points she wanted to bring out through Barrow.

She selected several police reports from the discovery she received from the district attorney.

"Good morning, Detective Barrow. Teams of criminalists from the Oregon State Crime Lab went through the houses of all three women, did they not?"

"That's true."

"Isn't it — also true that none of these fine scientists found a single piece of physical evidence connecting Martin Darius to the homes of laura Farrar, Victoria Miller or Wendy Reiser?"

"The person who murdered these women is very clever. He knows how to clean up a crime scene."

"Your Honor," Betsy said calmly, "will you please direct Detective Barrow to listen to the questions I ask him and respond to those questions? I'm sure Mr. Page will try to explain the problems with his case during argument." judge Norwood glared at Betsy. "I don't need an editorial from you, Mrs. Tannenbaum. Just make your objections." Then Norwood swiveled toward the witness.

"And you've testified enough times to know you only answer what you're asked. Save the clever answers. They don't impress me."

"So, Detective Barrow, what's your answer? Was a single shred of physical evidence linking my client to any victim found at any of the homes of the missing women?"

"No."

"How about on the bodies?"

"We found the tire tracks."

"Your Honor?" Betsy asked.

"Detective Barrow, were there tire tracks on the body of any of those women?" the judge asked sarcastically.

Barrow looked embarrassed. "Sorry, Your Honor."

"Are you catching on, Detective?" judge Norwood asked.

"There was no physical evidence at the burial site connecting the defendant with any of the women," Detective Barrow answered.

"A dead man was — also found at the burial site?"

"Yes."

"Who is he?"

"we don't know."

"So there's nothing connecting this man to Martin Darius?"

"We don't know that. Until we find out who he is, we can't investigate his possible connection with your client."

Betsy was going to object but decided to let the re mark pass. If Barrow kept fencing, he'd keep pissing off the judge.

"You told the judge about the tire tracks you found near the fence.

Don't you think you should tell him about the interview you had with Rudy Doschman?"

"I interviewed him. What about it?"

"Do you have your report of that interview?" Betsy asked, as she walked toward the witness stand.

"Not with me."

"Why don't you take my copy and read this paragraph?" Betsy said, handing the detective a police report she had found in the discovery material. Barrow read the report and looked up.

"Mr. Doschman is a foreman with Darius Construction who was working on the site where the bodies were found?" Betsy asked.

"Yes."

"He told you Mr. Darius visited the site on many occasions, did he not?"

"Yes."

"In his BMW?"

"Yes."

"He also explained that the hole in the fence was there for some time?"

"Yes."

"In fact, it may have been the way the arsonists who burned down some of Mr. Darius's town houses entered the site several weeks ago?"