California v. Markhasev
"The Ennis Cosby Murder Trial"
Once again, key state witness unable to identify Markhasev in lineup
June 23 (Court TV) -- Stephanie Crane, the prosecution's only witness who may have seen defendant Mikail Markhasev shortly before he allegedly killed Ennis Cosby, testified that although she saw the face of Cosby's killer, she was unable to identify Markhasev as the killer in a police lineup.
Crane was on the stand for about two hours as she told the court that she and Cosby were supposed to have dinner at her house on the night of his murder. Cosby called Crane from his cell phone while en route to her house and told her that he had a flat tire and needed her help in changing the tire on the dark road. Crane said she then drove to Cosby's location and offered her help because Cosby appeared to be alone.
According to Crane, it was freezing cold that night and raining slightly. She greeted Cosby and provided lights from her car so that he could fix the flat tire on his Mercedes. Crane said she retreated and stayed in her car while Cosby worked on his car because of the cold weather. Suddenly, Crane testified, a pale, thin man's face, whom prosecutors believe was Mikail Markhasev, confronted her at her car window. Crane also said her assailant had high cheek bones, a pointy nose, and wore a knit cap.
"All of a sudden, a man's face appeared in my window," Crane said. "He said, 'Open your door or I'll shoot.'"
Crane then said she pulled her car forward, thinking that if she shined her lights, the would-be robber would be scared off. When Crane returned to the scene, she could not see Cosby. She cried Cosby's name and said she saw the robber running away in the distance. Then, Crane said, she found Cosby lying prone in his own blood next to his car.
However, Crane admitted that although she saw the face of Cosby's alleged killer, she could not identify Markhasev as the killer when shown a police lineup shortly after his arrest. She picked another man who was nervous and crying and whose mannerisms appeared similar to the man who tried to rob her the night of the murder. And when shown a photo lineup in court, Crane again failed to identify Markhasev as the killer.
After Crane's testimony ended, a criminalistt, Susan Brockbank, testified that a hair from the knit cap found wrapped around the alleged murder weapon could have come from Markhasev. Brockbank took a hair sample from Markhasev taken after his arrest and compared it to the hair found in the cap found two months after the murder. Brockbank's testimony will continue when court resumes Wednesday morning. Other testimony also came from a convicted drug dealer, Gabe Drapel, who said that Markasev and his two friends, Eli Zakaria and Sara Peters, visited him at his home the night of the murder and left his house shortly after midnight. Drapel, who lived a short distance from the murder scene, said Markhasev might have been wearing a knit cap.
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