Chris Bohjalian - Midwives

STEPHEN HASTINGS: And then you asked if your wife was dead?

ASA BEDFORD: Yes, sir.

HASTINGS: And Sibyl told you she was?

BEDFORD: That's right.

HASTINGS: So what did you do next?

BEDFORD: I didn't do anything.

HASTINGS: I believe, Reverend Bedford, we've already established that you went to the window. Correct me if I'm mistaken.

BEDFORD: No, I didn't understand the question. I thought you wanted to know if I did something… medical.

HASTINGS: You went to the window?

BEDFORD: Yes.

HASTINGS: To look outside?

BEDFORD: I guess.

HASTINGS: You looked out the window. Did you watch it snow?

BEDFORD: I don't remember, but I probably did. At least for a second or two. But then I looked back at Charlotte.

HASTINGS: From the window.

BEDFORD: Yes, sir.

HASTINGS: (motions toward easel with overhead drawing of the Bedford bedroom, State's 8 for identification) How far is the window from the bed?

BEDFORD: Not far. A couple of feet.

HASTINGS: Two feet?

BEDFORD: No, further.

HASTINGS: Three?

BEDFORD: No.

HASTINGS: Five?

BEDFORD: Maybe. It might be more.

HASTINGS: Seven?

BEDFORD: I don't know, I've never measured it.

HASTINGS: But you think it might be as much as seven feet away?

BEDFORD: Or as little as five.

HASTINGS: (at easel) Using the State's diagram and the State's scale, it's six feet, eight inches from the center of the bed to the glass. Does that sound right to you?

BEDFORD: It sounds… fine.

HASTINGS: Thank you. Was the sun up?

BEDFORD: No, sir, it was still dark out.

HASTINGS: So you did look outside.

STATE'S ATTORNEY WILLIAM TANNER: Objection. Asked and answered. JUDGE HOWARD DORSET: Sustained.

HASTINGS: It was still night?

BEDFORD: It was still dark. It wasn't night. It was dark because of the storm. The clouds.

HASTINGS: And so the only light in the room came from the lamps?

BEDFORD: Yes, but I could see Charlotte.

HASTINGS: (motions toward diagram) Was the floor light on? The one in the corner?

BEDFORD: Yes. That one had been on all night long.

HASTINGS: What about the one on the night table?

BEDFORD: Yes, that one was on, too. Sib-Mrs. Danforth had turned it on just before she began the… the operation.

HASTINGS: Where was Sibyl standing during the operation? On which side of the bed?

BEDFORD: The far side. The side away from me.

HASTINGS: Here?

BEDFORD: Yes, sir.

HASTINGS: (presses a bright blue dot onto the drawing beside the bed) This is Sibyl. (Presses a red dot onto the drawing just inside the window) And this is you. Is this accurate?

BEDFORD: I think so.

HASTINGS: In other words, your wife was in bed, and the bed was between you and Sibyl.

BEDFORD: Exactly. From the window, I had an unobstructed view.

HASTINGS: (presses a yellow dot on top of the night table behind the defendant) And this is the light Sibyl switched on just before she rescued your baby?

BEDFORD: Yes.

HASTINGS: (presses a second yellow dot in the corner of the bedroom behind the defendant) And this is the light that was on most of the night?

BEDFORD: Right.

HASTINGS: Is it a bright light?

BEDFORD: No, it's soft. And it only had a low-watt bulb in it, which is why we used it for the birth. Mrs. Danforth wanted the lights to be low.

HASTINGS: And the lamp by the bed. Was that a bright light?

BEDFORD: In my opinion, it was. It was our reading light.

HASTINGS: Bright enough to cast a shadow?

TANNER: Objection. Calls for speculation.

DORSET: I'll allow it. The witness may answer.

BEDFORD: I guess.

HASTINGS: A hundred-watt bulb?

BEDFORD: Most of the time.

HASTINGS: Most of the time?

BEDFORD: If the bulb blew and we had a hundred-watt bulb in the house, that's what we'd use. If we didn't, we'd use the next best thing. Maybe a seventy-five-watt bulb.

HASTINGS: The night Veil was born, you had a hundred-watt bulb in that lamp, is that correct?

BEDFORD: Yes, I think so.

HASTINGS: It was intense?

BEDFORD: Yes, sir,

HASTINGS: (at State's diagram, presses a finger on the dot signifying Mrs. Danforth and a finger on the dot representing the lamp on the night table) And we're in agreement that this is the right spot in the room for the lamp, and the right spot for Sibyl?

BEDFORD: Yes.

HASTINGS: And the lamp was on?

BEDFORD: The lamp was on.

HASTINGS: Where was the shadow?

BEDFORD: The shadow?

HASTINGS: A lamp bright enough for reading will always cast a shadow. Isn't that right?

BEDFORD: I guess so.

HASTINGS: Well, Sibyl had a lamp with a hundred-watt bulb in it right behind her, and when she hunched over your wife-her upper body exactly between that lamp and your wife-there had to have been a shadow. Correct?

BEDFORD: It would seem so.

HASTINGS: The night your son was born-Veil-where would the light from the hundred-watt bulb behind Sibyl have cast its shadow?

BEDFORD: On the bed.

HASTINGS: Please look at the diagram of the bedroom. Where on the bed would that shadow have fallen? (Presses finger in middle of bed) Here?

BEDFORD: Probably.

HASTINGS: Where is my finger?

BEDFORD: On the bed.

HASTINGS: What part of the bed?

BEDFORD: The middle.

HASTINGS: What was in the middle of the bed the night your son was born?

BEDFORD: My wife, of course. It's where she lab-

HASTINGS: The shadow from the lamp fell on your wife?

BEDFORD: Yes.

HASTINGS: On her torso?

BEDFORD: I guess.

HASTINGS: Thank you. Do you remember what Sibyl was wearing that night?

BEDFORD: I think she was wearing a sweater and blue jeans. A heavy sweater.

HASTINGS: A ski sweater?

BEDFORD: I've never skied.

HASTINGS: But a heavy sweater?

BEDFORD: Yes.

HASTINGS: Do you remember what color it was?

BEDFORD: No, sir.

HASTINGS: (shows article of clothing to state's attorney and Judge Dorset; sweater is admitted into evidence) Your Honor, Defense's three for identification. Is this the sweater Sibyl was wearing?

BEDFORD: I think so.

HASTINGS: What color is it?

BEDFORD: Navy blue. And the snowflakes around the shoulders and collar are white.

HASTINGS: But it's mostly navy blue?

BEDFORD: Mostly.

HASTINGS: (shows sweater to jury and puts it on evidence cart) We've established that Veil was born sometime between six-fifteen and six-twenty in the morning. Correct?

BEDFORD: Correct.

HASTINGS: Did you sleep at all the night before?

BEDFORD: No, I did not.

HASTINGS: Had you napped the day before? In the afternoon, maybe?

BEDFORD: No.

HASTINGS: Do you remember what time you got up the day before? Thursday?

BEDFORD: Not exactly. But it was probably around six-thirty.

HASTINGS: So you'd been up all night when your son was born?

BEDFORD: That's right.

HASTINGS: In fact, you'd been awake for just about twenty-four hours.

BEDFORD: Yes.

HASTINGS: Were your eyes tired?

BEDFORD: I don't remember thinking they were.

HASTINGS: Might they have been?

TANNER: Objection.

DORSET: I'll allow it.

HASTINGS: After being awake for twenty-four hours, might your eyes have been tired?

BEDFORD: It's possible.

HASTINGS: Thank you. Now, you've told the court that you think you may have seen this bit of blood spurt, despite the fact that you were almost seven feet away when it happened. Am I correct?

BEDFORD: Yes.

HASTINGS: And despite the fact that your wife's stomach was covered in shadow. Correct?

BEDFORD: Yes.

HASTINGS: And despite the fact that you would have been seeing this blood against the backdrop of a navy blue ski sweater. Right?