Lange Guides Jury Through Crime Scene
SANTA MONICA, Oct. 31 (Noon) -- Court recessed after the 10:00 a.m. break because an alternate juror became ill. Retired Det. Tom Lange, who supervised the murder investigation, is currently on the stand.
The plaintiffs have been using Lange to guide the jury through the crime scene. With the courtroom lights dimmed to provide better viewing of the photographed exhibits, Lange has pointed out blood drops and bloody shoe prints at Nicole Brown Simpson’s condominium.
Some of the photographs have been so graphic that one juror seemed to turn away and a few others took deep breaths. Frederic and Kim Goldman, Ronald's father and sister, put their heads in their hands and did not look up at some of the exhibits. Nicole Brown Simpson's parents were not in court.
As Lange's testimony progressed, it became more likely that the plaintiffs would limit their questions to his work at the crime scene -- a possible shift in strategy. The plaintiffs could have used Lange’s testimony to introduced Simpson's taped statement to Lange and Det. Philip Vannatter the day after the murders. However, that now appears to be unlikely, and the plaintiffs will probably introduce Simpson's statement when he takes the stand. The statement did not come into evidence during Simpson's criminal trial.
Simpson's own testimony has provoked a bit of controversy here. Defense attorneys said today that because of Simpson's pending child custody case he would be unavailable to testify from Nov. 12 through the end of the month. However, an attorney for Lou and Juditha Brown, who are currently caring for the children, said a deal could be worked out to allow Simpson to take the stand.
Court is scheduled to resume at 1:30 p.m. with Lange still being examined by Fredric Goldman’s attorney Edward Medvene. It is unclear if the alternate juror's illness will affect the rest of today's proceedings. The juror -- a white male who seems to be in his 30s and works in desktop publishing at a law firm -- reportedly changed blood-pressure medication recently and felt faint. He was taken from the courthouse to the hospital in an ambulance.
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