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THURSDAY, Feb. 9, 2006 |
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4:54 p.m. AKST: Day two of deliberations ends
The jurors file in, looking decidedly more tired than yesterday. The judge instructs them to avoid media coverage and sends them home for the night.—Harriet Ryan
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4:41 p.m.
Rachelle Waterman, her father and lawyer arrive at court for what we expect to be the judge's evening admonition to the jury to avoid media coverage. Asked how they've been passing the 15 hours of deliberations, the defense lawyer, Steve Wells, says they've been doing Internet quizzes and playing rummy. Who won in rummy? "I did," the teenage defendant says triumphantly. —Harriet Ryan
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2:11 p.m.
Nothing from the jury since yesterday afternoon. Judge Patricia Collins is keeping busy with other cases. The judge runs a tight ship. No surprise from a former commercial fisherwoman. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a degree in international relations, the judge worked briefly in a New York City office and then headed to Alaska, where she found work on a salmon boat on Kodiak Island. After law school at Gonzaga (Go Zags!), she opened a private practice, but continued to fish part-time, simply because she enjoyed it. Is this state wild or what? Learn more about this exciting career from fisherman Dennis Watson, who is also the mayor of Watermans hometown.—Harriet Ryan & Harry Swartz-Turfle
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12:10 p.m.
Is there an indication of a split in the jury? No, I'm not talking about the Waterman verdict.
We saw a deliveryman from Bullwinkle's, a downtown eatery, show up at the Juneau courthouse with a pair of pizza boxes hoisted on his shoulders. Jurors apparently ordered two pizzas for lunch. They ordered a large deluxe pie, but held the onions. On the other pizza a large veggie pie they added garlic. This jury might be divided on the issue of fresh breath.—Harry Swartz-Turfle
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11:11 a.m.
Rachelle Waterman went there with friends to get her mind off her mother's murder. It was the site of her first date with freshman-year boyfriend Kelly Carlson. It's where sophomore-year boyfriend, Ian Lendrum, still works. Junior-year boyfriend (and alleged murder accomplice) Jason Arrant believed her stalker, a man he knew only as "rat boy," was employed there.
From all the testimony about Papa's Pizza, you'd think it's the only place to dine in Craig. In fact, there are two establishments that serve dinner in Waterman's tiny hometown: Papa's and another pizzeria, Zat's. Zat's didn't get a single shout-out from the witness stand, however.
"Everybody comes to Papa's," the owner, Ken Owens, said this morning as he prepared to open for the lunch crowd. He said his customers are following the case "pretty closely," but he's focused on business, including a hot-selling new menu item: Texas Ranch pie.
"It's chicken, bacon, ranch and fresh tomatoes with mozzarella," he says.—Harriet Ryan
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9:00 a.m.
Waterman's private investigator, "Tres" Lewis, arrives at the courthouse, setting off a minor stir among reporters. Another note? A verdict? A deadlock? No, he says, he is here on another case. Sigh. Anyone who has ever waited out a verdict knows it is nerve-wracking, but Lewis may have it extra bad, thanks to his New Year's resolution to quit smoking. He gave up the 30-year habit during the ramp up to the trial and has stuck it out despite the long hours and stress of the trial. "I haven't cheated. It's smelled good a few times, but I haven't cheated," he says. —Harriet Ryan
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8:30 a.m.: Day two of deliberations begins
Jurors resume deliberations. Stay tuned.—Harriet Ryan
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WEDNESDAY, Feb. 8, 2006 |
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4:59 p.m. AKST: Day one of deliberations ends.
Jurors file in. "I understand you want to go home. That's fine," the judge says. She admonishes them not to talk about the case over night and sends them on their way. They seem a little bit tired, but are smiling as they leave. Day one, no verdict.—Harriet Ryan
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2:33 p.m.
One note with two questions from the deliberation room. The first asks for a definition of "intended." Judge Collins says she will send a note back echoing the definition of "intentionally" a definition the jury already has. A person acts intentionally, the instruction reads, when her "conscious objective is to cause that result." The second question asks if all 12 jurors have to agree on the elements of each crime or "is the majority sufficient?" All 12 must agree on each element, the judge writes back.
The questions indicate some dispute in the jury room. Interestingly, the questions are signed by Juror No. 3, not the two female jurors who penned the first note.
Neither Waterman nor her father show much reaction to the questions, and they rush out of the courthouse as soon as the hearing is over.—Harriet Ryan
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Noon
If Rachelle Waterman is convicted, she would most likely serve her time at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center (pictured), a prison in the Anchorage suburb of Eagle River. The facility is home to 289 women and a dwindling population of 78 men. "We're becoming an all-female facility as the population grows in Alaska," said assistant superintendent Amy Rabeau.
Waterman, who clashed with her parents over her curfew, would be required to rise at 6:30 a.m. and turn in for the night at 10 p.m. Rather than a cell, she would be assigned a room and a roommate. She and the roommate would have keys to their room and be responsible for cleaning it. Inmates are required to work. The most common jobs are kitchen staff, maintenance and sewing, Rabeau said. Waterman could take college classes, but she would have to pay for them. Hiland has its own version of grounding administrative segregation. Inmates who violate the rules are kept in solitary confinement 23 hours a day. If Waterman is sent to Hiland, her blog would stay dormant. The facility does not provide inmates Internet access. —Harriet Ryan
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11:21 a.m.
Rachelle Waterman is used to the waiting game. Because of the harsh, vast landscape here, towns are isolated and high school athletes like Rachelle regularly travel long distances to play games. During an interview with us, Craig High School Principal Doug Rhodes went over an especially busy schedule his current basketball players have. "In a 10-day period, they'll be in school two hours," he said. While we wait for a verdict, watch video of Rachelle playing volleyball, courtesy of KTUU.
—Harry Swartz-Turfle
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10:50 a.m.
So what does the defense do while they wait for the verdict? "We pace and we talk about anything that's not related to the case and anytime the phone rings, your gut tightens up into a tiny little icy ball," defense attorney Steve Wells explains.—Harriet Ryan
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10:30 a.m.
Just got a look at the note. It was signed by Juror No. 5 and Juror No. 8. Co-forewomen, perhaps? —Harriet Ryan
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10:19 a.m.
The note, signed by two jurors, reads, "Can we have the police interview CDs with Jason and Brian and we would like the timeline papers the defense attorney used and made on the easel?" Neither the interviews nor Wells' timeline were admitted as evidence and cannot go back to the jury room, Judge Collins says. She sends a note to jurors conveying that. She points out to the lawyers but not to the jury that some of Radel's and Arrant's statements were played as part of their testimony and the jury can request to listen to them in that context, but not separately.—Harriet Ryan
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10:14 a.m
"Doc" Waterman's been located and is on his way. In the meantime, the judge discloses the contents of another note received in the last few minutes: Jurors want colored flags and Post-It notes. The judge sends the office supplies into the jury room. We're still waiting to find out what the first note was about. Stay tuned.—Harriet Ryan
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10:05 a.m
There's a note from the jury. What does it say? We're going to court to find out. Rachelle Waterman and her lawyer rush over from their investigator's office. The DA comes down from his office in the courthouse building. "Doc" Waterman isn't here yet and the clerk wants to know if the defense wants to wait for him to arrive. "I'm not going to take a position on that," defense attorney Steve Wells says.—Harriet Ryan
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9:00 a.m.
It's time to introduce the jury. There are seven women and five men. For the full scoop, check out the jury profile chart.—Harriet Ryan
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8:30 a.m.: Day one of deliberations begins
Deliberations begin, we think. We don't know for sure because jurors are not brought into the courtroom, but rather go straight into the jury room. Judge Collins rolls on with other cases.—Harriet Ryan
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Blog: Feb. 6 through Feb. 7, 2006 » |
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Alaska teenager Rachelle Waterman, who cast herself as a rebellious bad-girl on her blog, is accused of conspiring with two ex-boyfriends to have her mother killed.
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Love Letters
This series of letters from Jason Arrant show an obsessive, sexually-charged relationship. Readers' discretion advised.
Lauri's Letter
Before she was brutally murdered, Lauri Waterman reached out to her daughter Rachelle in this handwritten note.
'My Crappy Life'
Unedited excerpts are highlights from a blog Rachelle Waterman maintained on livejournal.com, where she posted 150 journal entries.
The Indictment
Rachelle Waterman is charged along with ex-boyfriends Brian Radel and Jason Arrant with murder, kidnapping and other assorted charges.
Police Interview
These six excerpts from Rachelle Waterman's police interview reveal the teen's changing story.
Juror Questionnaire
Prospective jurors had to answer this series of questions.
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