Good morning everyone. As you may know, my name is D.A Zacharie Haywood and I am here on behalf of my client, Cole Grey. Thank you all for your attention to this matter. My client Mr. Grey has been accused of murdering his own father and today at this moment, I’m giving you my last and only shot to prove that this young man is not guilty.

     

     Now, I bet you’re wondering, well if Mr. Grey didn’t kill his father that night, then what really happened? Well, gentlemen here's what I think happened. Cole just simply went to buy a rare knife at a pawn shop. He then supposedly shows off the knife to his friends. He later goes home and gets into an argument with his father, and heads out to the movies, between this time he ends up losing the knife on his way to the movies. During the time the boy is at the movies, someone comes to the boy’s house, takes a blade and stabs the father right in the chest. When Cole comes home, he finds his father dead and handcuffs around his wrist. During the crime scene, Cole was questioned about going to the movies. Now some of you may ask, well if this boy really went to the movies, then how come he couldn’t recall any details about the movie. However, putting yourself in Cole’s place, if you came home to find your dad dead, or even another family member, wouldn’t you be devastated? possibly even under great emotional stress? Do you possibly think you or anyone could remember such details under such circumstances? Now tell me, how could a little boy like him, possibly focus on details about a movie if the person that’s dead on the floor is his own father. Earlier, the clerk of the pawn shop claimed that the murder weapon was rare and that there was no other place you could find that knife. However, that specific knife was found elsewhere, so if you think about it, Cole couldn’t have possibly been lying about his knife falling off his pocket because it could have been a knife that was similar to the murder weapon but was not it.

     

     Our two witnesses in the case were Mr. Fletcher and Ms. Campbell. Mr. Fletcher said and I quote, “when I heard a thud, I got up from the bed and walked to the door and found Cole running down the stairs.” He claimed that happened in about 15 seconds. Now let’s state the facts here, how can an old man who drags one leg when he walks possibly get from his bedroom to the front door in 15 seconds, just in time to see the boy running down the stairs. From the old man’s bed to his bedroom, it is about twelve feet. Additionally, the length of the hall is forty-three feet. To exactly trace his steps, the old man had to get up from his bed, walk twelve feet, open the bedroom door and walk forty-three feet to open the front door, all in 15 seconds, with a limb. This is surely not possible given the fact that the old man walks very slow. On top of all that, in an experiment we took, we saw that it had to at least take forty-two seconds, to get to the front door. Mr. Fletcher also said that he heard Cole say “I’m going to kill you” before the murder took place. However, that had to have happened while the el train was passing by because of our other witness, Ms. Campbell said she saw the killing through the last two cars of the passing train, so therefore Mr. Fletcher must have heard that phrase while the train was passing by. We all know that when trains pass by, they tend to be very loud and some people claim they can’t even concentrate on the noise. Given the facts stated, how can we actually be sure that Mr. Fletcher is telling the truth, or that it was Cole who really screamed, “I’m going to kill you.”

     

     Our second witness, Ms. Campbell says she was having a hard time sleeping when she glanced out the window and supposedly saw Cole stabbing his father in the chest. However, everyone who wears glasses knows that glasses leave dark marks on your nose. During the time of Ms. Campbell's statement, I noticed those same marks, so it’s safe to say that Ms. Campbell wears glasses. We all know that at night people don’t wear glasses because it could bend the frames or damage the lenses and no one wants to wake up with broken glasses so it’s also safe to say that Ms. Campbell probably didn’t wear her glasses that night. Now, you tell me, how could it be possible for someone to witness a murder if their blind without their glasses. Yes, it’s possible she could have had her glasses on at night, but let’s not mix possibilities with judgment. Even if she had her glasses on, let’s not forget, she was trying to go to sleep, so how can someone with sleepy eyes see at least 100 feet away at night and be sure of the person that killed the father.

     

     The stab wound found in the father was positioned in a downwards motion. If we look at the boy’s height, he is at least 7 feet shorter than his father. If you were to pay attention to any of this, it would seem more reasonable that the boy would have stabbed upwards because that would have been the only stabbing position that would have given the boy an advantage to hurt the father and doing it that way would be less of a trouble. If Cole stabbed downwards, it would have taken more time because he would have to change the position of his hands. If you’re trying to kill someone, you wouldn’t take the time to quickly change your hand position because you would already be too late. Given the way you use a switchblade was second nature meaning you just flick the blade upwards, why would the boy do it the wrong way unless he didn’t even do it. Also, if the boy really did it, why would the boy come back to the crime scene. Even if it’s to get back the murder weapon, anyone would know that going back there would just increase your risk of getting caught.

     

     The state has not produced one speck of evidence to the effect that the crime Cole Grey is charged with ever took place. It has instead relied on the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination but has been contradicted by both me and hopefully you the people of this court. Therefore, I say that the defendant is not guilty, but someone out there possibly is and I am confident that you gentlemen will review this evidence you have heard and come to a decision which is to give the verdict of not guilty. I, D.A Zacharie Haywood, ask that in the name of justice, you please do your duty and grant this boy the freedom he deserves. I rest my case. Thank you.