The Trial II

"Mr. Jake, please put your right hand on this Bible and swear to this court that you will say the truth and nothing but the truth.", the prosecutor said.

"I swear by God, that I will say the truth, nothing but the truth."

"Mr. Jake, where were you on the evening of 23rd March this year, from around 5 pm?"

"I was on my way home from work."

"When you arrived home, what was the situation?"

'Objection your honor! The prosecutor is leading the witness', shouted Marcus as he stood up from his seat.

The judge replied with a firm voice, "Objection overruled. The prosecutor may rephrase the question."

" Mr. Jake, when you arrived home was everything okay?"

"Actually no, my door was wide open so I walked into the house towards the bedroom, to check if my girlfriend was in because we had agreed to meet that day"

"When you got to the bedroom, was she there? "

" She was in there with another man in a very compromising situation." The crowd in the court gasped in shock with undertones of murmuring here and there.

"Mr. Jake, would you clarify what you mean by the compromising situation?"

" They were partly naked having sex."

" That must have been tough on you Mr. Jake, seeing your girlfriend in such a position. Was there anything amiss?"

"Yes, the man on top of her was not moving. So when she pushed him over I realized it was my father and he was bleeding from his chest area. When I checked for his pulse, he was already dead."

" You must have been heartbroken to be cheated on by your girlfriend with your father. Mr. Jake is your girlfriend in this court?"

"Yes! There she is!", he said pointing at me with an accusatory finger.

"That is all your honor. Allow me to present to the court evidence 1A, the murder weapon. Thank you, your honor."

The judge asked if the defense would wish to cross-examine the witness, to which Marcus obliged.

Marcus began, " Mr., Jake how long have you known Miss Sabrina?"

" 8 years"

"And in that period would you describe her as an immoral lady?"

"No. On the contrary, she is morally upright and ..."

" Mr. Jake, what about your father? Would you describe him as morally upright?

" Objection your honor, the council is leading my client," objected Jake's lawyer.

" Objection sustained. Counsel, can you please ask another question.", the judge said.

" Did it occur to you that maybe, your father was sexually assaulting her?" It was at that moment that it occurred to him that maybe, just maybe Sabrina was the victim. I now recalled her horrified face, how she zoned out when she slid my father's body over. She was so scared out of her wits. Only someone who had gone through a traumatic experience would look the way she did that day. He was at war with himself but only time would tell. A moral fight between protecting his girlfriend who might probably be the victim and avenging his father who was murdered brutally.

" Objection your honor! The defense is postulating ideas to trap my client", the prosecutor shouted.

" Objection sustained. The defense may ask the witness another question.' the judge said.

Marcus continued," Mr. Jake, when you saw Sabrina on your bed, blood-stained, how would you describe her reaction?

" She looked scared, distraught, shaken ..."

" That would be all your honor"

The presiding judge then continued the session by calling on the prosecutor to bring his second witness on the stand. The prosecutor called upon the government pathologist, Dr. Lucas who carried out the autopsy on Mr. Jacob's body. He confirmed that he was killed by stabbing using a sharp object. Also, there were signs of struggle against his body. And his genitals were covered with blood not from the stab wound but of different DNA. When Marcus cross-examined the pathologist, he had only one question, ' Doc, did you by any chance test this blood found on the genitals of the deceased?"

You could tell how proud the pathologist was about his job by how confidently he answered," Yes, I did. It belonged to one Ms. Sabrina Zawadi. Also, it showed it was vaginal blood with a mix of urine"

Marcus concluded by saying." Thanks, doc. That will be all"

Then the court went on short recess.