THE 911 CALL

On Friday, June 23, the jury—and the packed courtroom—heard the tape of the dramatic 911 call Mick Fletcher made in the moments after his Leann had been shot. The prosecution had fought against its being played in front of the jury and entered into the court record. It was Townsend's contention that not only was the tape dramatic for its content, it was drama of the theatrical variety—Fletcher was playing a role, a role that Townsend could not challenge directly because the accused had not, and was not going to, take the stand.

The tape, Townsend argued in a motion before Judge Cooper, was a way for Fletcher to, in effect, testify without the burden of cross-examination. Cooper took the motion under advisement, but on Thursday had announced that she would allow it and that it would be played in open court on Friday.

Months after the trial was over, she consented to explain her ruling involving what was arguably the most important piece of evidence presented at the trial. Cooper has a well-deserved reputation as a judge who seldom makes an appealable error of law, and she explained that her decision to allow the tape was one in a series of precautions she took along the way to reduce the chances of a guilty verdict, should one come down, being overturned.

"My ruling was by the book," she explained.

With Mick being unavailable for cross-examination about the tape, it fell under the category of hearsay, which is normally prohibited in trial proceedings, but for whose allowance there are a number of exceptions. One of the more prominent of these is if the hearsay is a so-called "excited utterance," most notably in the case of a dying man or woman, the presumption in law being that a dying person is more likely than not to be telling the truth. Whether he or she is or isn't is still a matter for the jury to decide, but the exception to the hearsay rule at least gets it into the record.

While Townsend had argued against the admission of the tape, he would later acknowledge is was a pro-forma objection, that he had little expectation of winning the point. Cooper listened to the tape in her chambers with her court reporter, Karen Hollen, who produced a transcript. And then she allowed its admission, later explaining that Michigan case law and precedent were clear on the issue, and that to keep the 911 call out of the proceedings would have opened the door in case of a guilty verdict.

"Jeez, I wish I could tell you my impression of it," she said of the tape. "But it came under the definition of an excited utterance and if you don't let it in, it's an appealable issue. It doesn't matter if I think it's an excitable utterance, but: Does it come under the definition?"

So, Townsend lost his motion, and Legghio gained the right to enter the tape, as dramatic a four minutes as anyone could remember in this or any courtroom. Later, during their deliberations, the jurors would listen to it several more times, as well as read along with the printed transcript.

Spectators sat transfixed, most of them staring at Fletcher as, for the first and only time in the trial, they would hear the voice of the man accused of killing his wife and unborn child—and not just killing them, but shooting her in the back of the head with a Smith & Wesson seconds after depositing a load of sperm in her vagina.

The court seemed to hold its collective breath as the tape began. The Miseners and their relatives fought to hold back sobs, their gasps and sniffling audible against the keening, wailing voice of the distraught man on the tape. Either truly distraught, on the verge of hyperventilating throughout, or—as Shelly Smith of Channel 7 might have described it—an actor giving the performance of a lifetime, with his life in the balance.

911

Fletcher: "Eh, eh, eh. Oh." (The "ehs" that appear on paper to the ear were more like a series of high-pitched, quickly grunted "EEs"; most of what Fletcher said should probably have been re-created on paper in capital letters, to better capture the seeming urgency and the panic sound in his voice, but it was not. In a novel, nearly all of what Fletcher would say would take an exclamation point, as well.) 911 dispatcher: "Hazel Park 911 Emergency."

Fletcher: "Heh, heh, heh." (Louder, more desperate-sounding than the previous "ehs," sounding like someone not on the verge, but in the midst, of all- out hysteria.) "My wife. Heh, heh. She just shot herself in the head. Oh."

Dispatcher: "I'm sorry. I can't understand you. Can you calm down, please?" Fletcher: "My wife shot herself. Oh."

Dispatcher: "Okay. Your boy shot himself?" Fletcher: "My wife."

Dispatcher: "Okay. I can … Okay, and where is this at?" Fletcher: "23757…"

Dispatcher: "Okay." Fletcher: "Hazelwood."

Dispatcher: "Okay. We'll get the ambulance en route." Fletcher: "Oh, my God."

Dispatcher: "Are you sure you're the only one there alone with her?" Fletcher: "Yes. Yes. We'd, we'd just, oh."

Dispatcher, apparently to ambulance crew: "Woman shot herself at 23757 Hazelwood."

Fletcher: "Oh. Oh. Oh."

Dispatcher: "Okay. Where is she? Is she…"

Fletcher: "She's on the floor. We were … We were … She was sitting on the bed. I went to the, into the bathroom. I come back out … Oh."

Dispatcher: "Okay. She's in the bedroom?"

Fletcher: "She's on the floor. There's blood all over. Oh, my God."

Dispatcher: "Is she breathing? Can you tell if she's breathing?" Fletcher: (Loud, quick panting.)

Dispatcher: "Can you tell at all?"

Fletcher: "There's nothing. She's on her face. Should I roll her over?" Dispatcher: "Okay."

Fletcher: "I'm going to roll her over. Oh, sweetheart. Oh, oh, oh my God."

Dispatcher: "We have cars coming. We have cars on the way. Is there anybody else in the house with you?"

Fletcher: "No, I'm alone. My daughter's at her parents' house." Dispatcher: "Okay. Where, where's the weapon at this time?" Fletcher: "It's lying on the floor. It's in the…"

Dispatcher: "Lying on the floor?" Fletcher: "It's on the floor." Dispatcher: "Okay."

Fletcher: "It's on the floor." Dispatcher: "Okay."

Fletcher: "Oh. Honey. Honey. Oh, oh, oh. Jesus, it's right through her head." Dispatcher: "Okay. We're on the way. Okay?"

Fletcher: "Oh. Okay."

Dispatcher: "We should be there shortly." Fletcher: "Honey. Honey."

Dispatcher: "If you panic, you can just stay on the line with me." Fletcher: "I'm here."

Dispatcher: "Okay. Until the police get there."

Fletcher: "The gun is … Should I put the safety on the gun?" Dispatcher: "No. Just leave it alone. Okay? Do not touch the weapon." Fletcher: (Panting)

Dispatcher: "Okay. The officers will secure the weapon. Please don't touch anything in the room."

Fletcher: "Oh, sweetheart." Dispatcher: "Okay?" Fletcher: "Oh, my God."

Dispatcher: "Is the front…" Fletcher: "Oh, my God."

Dispatcher: "Sir, is the front door unlocked so we can get in?" Fletcher: "Yes. Yeah, it's open."

Dispatcher: "Okay."

Fletcher: "It's open. Oh, my God. It's all over. Oh, oh, sweetheart." Dispatcher: "Okay, sir. I know this is hard for you, but you need to help me.

You have to calm down a little bit."

Fletcher: "What can I do? What can I do?"

Dispatcher: "Just relax and wait till the officers get there. Okay? Again, if you can't see her breathing or anything, just step out of the room. Okay? And let the officers come in and help you. Okay?"

Fletcher: "She's half naked. We, we were gonna be…" Dispatcher: "I'm sorry. What's that, sir?"

Fletcher: "She's half naked. Should I cover her?"

Dispatcher: "That, just don't touch anything in the room. She's fine. It's fine. Okay? Just leave her the way she is so we can get there and the medical team can assist, okay?"

Fletcher: "Okay."

Dispatcher: "Okay. Is she on any medications or anything?" Fletcher: "Not that I know of."

Dispatcher: "Not that you know of?"

Fletcher: "Not that I know of. Oh, jeez, there's blood on me."

Dispatcher: "Okay. There should be a car rolling up. Let me know when they show up, okay?"

Fletcher: "Okay. Oh, oh, oh, God. Oh, please help me."

Dispatcher: "Just take, just take some deep breaths. Come on. Relax. You've got to relax. I know it's hard. It's okay. Slow down. Slow down. Come on."

Fletcher: (Panting.) "Why? Why?"

[Note: The questions, and one to follow, seem to be rhetorical, of the Fates or God, not of the dispatcher.]

Dispatcher: "Should be there in just a moment. Just try and relax a little bit."

Fletcher: "Why?"

Dispatcher: "Okay? So you can help us out 'cause we're going to need to talk to you. Okay?"

Fletcher: "Yeah." Dispatcher: "Okay."

Fletcher: "My God. Oh, my God."

Dispatcher: "We've got the ambulance en route."

Fletcher: "Eh, eh, eh, eh … How could she do this? How could she do this?" Dispatcher: "I don't know."

Fletcher: "Oh, oh."

(Interruption as dispatcher says something to police at the front desk.) Fletcher: "Oh, my God. I can't believe this."

Dispatcher: "And you say you have kids, also, but they're gone?" Fletcher: "I've got a little three-year-old girl."

Dispatcher: "Okay, and she's gone? Okay? There's no one else in the house?"

Fletcher: "No." Dispatcher: "Okay."

Fletcher: "I have a three-year-old girl."

Dispatcher, talking to police: "Talking to her husband." Fletcher: "Jesus."

Dispatcher: "Did you hear a gunshot go off, sir?" Fletcher: "Well, yeah. I came outta the john…"

Dispatcher: "Okay. Were you arguing at the time, or any problems?" Fletcher: "No. Not at all. She was … We just got back from the firing range.

That's why we had the gun out." Dispatcher: "Okay." Fletcher: "And…"

Dispatcher: "You just got back from the gun range today?"

Fletcher: "Yeah. We were just there. Just. We had the gun out, and … Oh, my God."

Dispatcher: "Okay. Okay. Like I said, don't touch anything in the room,

okay?"

The next voice on the tape is officer John Heisler of the Hazel Park police, who has arrived at the scene and is talking to the dispatcher: "Who's the caller?"

Fletcher, responding to the dispatcher's last request: "I'm not, I can't even be in there."

Hazel Park officer, Sgt. Craig Fowler, is heard on the tape, talking to Heisler: "The husband is inside the house."

Fletcher: "There's a cop here, now."

Dispatcher: "He's in there, now? Can you see him? Okay?" (Fletcher steps outside.)

Heisler: "We're out with him."

Dispatcher: "They're there with you, okay, sir? Okay, hang up and talk to them. They're there with you, okay, sir? Okay? Hang up and talk to them."

Fowler: "Step out front, sir." Fletcher: "Thank God." Dispatcher: "Step outside."