I was therefore happy that I had her therapist who was going to testify on her behalf. He was going to explain to the jury about BPD and tell them exactly the reason why my client would be act so horribly.
I just had to take a deep breath and listen to Ella‘s testimony and jot down notes as fast as I could. I didn’t really know what she was going to say, because I could not get a deposition from her, because that’s how it works in California. You cannot depose parties prior to a criminal trial, not unless the party wouldn’t be available in trial. I personally thought that that was a terrible rule, but that was the rule in California, so it was what it was.
“Okay, so you were privy to an exchange between Marina and Lawrence, where Marina was humiliating and hostile,” Jenna said. “Is that right?”
“Yes, well, what can I say. This is not necessarily something that was out of the ordinary, from what I understood. Anyhow, that night, Lawrence was not saying a whole lot. I could tell, just by looking at him, that -“
I was on my feet. “Her answer is veering towards speculation, because it sounds like she’s about to state what she thought what Lawrence was thinking in his mind. And I would like to preclude that from happening. So, I would like for your honor to direct the witness not to state that she knows any kind of motivation in Lawrence‘s mind that night.“
“Sustained.“ The judge looked at Ella. “Ms. O’Neil, please limit your testimony to actual words that you heard that night between Ms. Vasiliev and Mr. Murphy. And please do not try to speculate on what either party that night might’ve been thinking about the other. Please limit your testimony to the concrete evidence that you saw that night between the two of them as far as how they felt about each other.“
Ella looked a bit confused, but I think she understood. “OK. Well, I can just tell you that Lawrence did not say much that night. Marina was doing all the talking. She was angry, judging by her words to him. And I don’t really know exactly why she was angry. I just know that she was.“
“And what did she say to him, besides what you testified to earlier?”
“She said that she wished that he was dead. In fact, she said that several times. I wish you were dead. I wish you were dead. I must’ve heard that at least five times that night.”
“And what were you doing while all this was happening?” Jenna asked.
“Wishing I was someplace else. Wishing the floor would open up and swallow me whole. I had no idea that I was going to be getting into such a viper’s nest. Lawrence was a good friend of mine. He was my father’s partner from way back when. I’ve known him since I was a little girl. And I’ve been away for a number of years, living on the East Coast, so I had not seen him in a while. I was anxious to see him that night. So that’s the reason why I decided not to leave. In fact, I thought that he probably would want my company, because Marina was treating him so terribly all through the night. Otherwise, I probably would have begged off. I probably would’ve said that I had something to do, a headache, anything to get away from there. But, I stayed. And now, I’m kind of glad I did, because I can now testify in court about exactly what I saw that night. What I heard that night.“
I was going to have a tough time cross-examining this woman. Marina told me what she was going to say, and, apparently, everything that she was saying about what Marina said to Lawrence was 100% correct. I didn’t know that Marina hated her husband so much, and I really didn’t know why.
I mean, I knew why she hated him now. I just had no clue exactly why she hated him back then. Except for the fact that, obviously, the demon came out that night. The demon that Marina just cannot control.
“OK, so you witnessed her telling Lawrence several times that she wished that he were dead. Did you hear any kind of threats from her to him?“
“Yes. I did. I heard her say to him several times, ‘just don’t forget the fact that I have a gun.’ She said that twice. I have to admit, I was extremely frightened about her saying that to him. And then he finally had enough. He talked to her about taking that gun away from her.“
I knew that that was not hearsay, because that particular comment was not being used to prove the truth of the matter asserted. It was being used as proof that Lawrence did not want the gun in the house, and that Lawrence was going to try to take it away from her, but it did not prove that she actually used that gun.
Nevertheless, I decided to go ahead and object anyways for the record, which was the way that you preserved objections for any further appeals. “Objection, hearsay,“ I said, getting into my feet.
“Overruled.“ Judge looked at the witness, and nodded her head. “You may proceed.“
“Yes, he finally stood up for himself. He finally had had enough. He told her that he was going to get that gun away from her, and she said back to him that he couldn’t get it away from her, because he didn’t know where it was. She had hid it. And then she started talking to him about all the lovers that she was taking, most of them female. Which was weird, I thought. By this time, Lawrence had sat back down, and he wasn’t looking at either me or Marina at this time. I felt sorry for him, and I was going to have to talk to him later about what he was going through.
“So, are there any other statements that you heard from Marina to Lawrence at night?“
“Well, at some point, she seemed to have calm down. Just all at once, it seemed like she was a different person. It was the strangest thing. It’s like she didn’t even know that the other person existed. The other person who was screaming and yelling and threatening and accusing and saying those horrible things just disappeared. It was like a switch was flipped, she was nice as pie. In fact, she asked me if I wanted some pie. I didn’t want any pie, because what I saw at that dinner party earlier, it made me sick to my stomach. I just could not understand why the good man that I grew up with, the man that was like a second father to me, why he would put up with such abuse. And that’s what it was, abuse. That’s the only word I can use to describe it. It was verbal abuse, and she was threatening him with a lot more than that.“
“So what did you think in your mind when you found out that Lawrence was murdered?”
“What do you think I was thinking? Obviously, the first thing that I thought was that Marina did it. Then I read in the papers that she was arrested for his murder, and I wasn’t all that surprised.”
I looked over in Marina, and she was studying her nails. Then she looked at me and smiled. I didn’t know if that smile was the smile that told me that she was going to find this woman after the trial and strangle her, or it was a smile that told me that the good Marina was back, sitting next to me, patiently listening to this woman and not reacting.
Either scenario would not have surprised me at this point.
I knew that I was going to have to cross-examine her, and cross-examine her hard. She had done a lot of damage to Marina. I knew that by looking at the jury. They were staring at her, and they had as much hatred in their eyes as Ella had for her. It didn't help that Marina was looking at the jury with a smug smile on her face. Again, I could not tell what that smile meant. Was that smile a sign of the bad Marina thinking yeah, I did it. What are you going to do about it? Or if it was a sign of the good Marina, trying to persuade the jury that she was not that kind of a person? She was not the kind of person who would attack her husband in front of a longtime friend, at a dinner party, and make Elizabeth Taylor in Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf look like not a wolf, but a pussycat?
Again, I didn’t know the answer to that question. I only knew that I had work to do, and I had to do it quickly.
Chapter 36
Jenna ended her direct exam of Ella, and it was time for my cross.
"Ms. Neil, you stated on direct that you watched an abusive conversation between my client and her husband, Lawrence. Is that correct?"
“That's correct. Obviously that's what I was saying on direct. I don't really understand why it is that you're asking me this question."
"Ms. O’N
eill, I will ask the questions, and I would ask that you do not interject. Now, you also stated on direct that you heard my client talking to Lawrence, in a stern voice, telling him, among other things, that she wanted him dead.”
“Yes, that that was my testimony."
"Now, you also heard her talk about the fact that she had a gun, and that Lawrence finally had enough, and stated that he was going to get that gun away from her. Now, my question to you is - did you go to law enforcement about this?"
"No. I did not."
"But, you stated on direct that you were concerned about his well-being, correct?”
“Yes. That's what I said. And that's what I meant. I was very concerned for his well-being."
“But you were not concerned enough to actually tell anybody in law enforcement about this, isn't that right?"
"Yes, that’s correct.”
“Why is it that you did not go to law enforcement after you witnessed my client threatening her husband, your good friend?”
“Because I thought it was just a fight between a husband and wife. Or, rather, a wife verbally attacking her husband. As I said, Lawrence didn’t fight back, except for when she was talking about that gun.”
I went over to the jury and I looked right at them as I asked her the next question. “OK, so your testimony is that you did not go to law enforcement because you were just watching a squabble between a husband and wife. Because if you really thought that my client was going to kill her husband, you would have gone to the police, wouldn’t you have?”
“Not necessarily. I mean, I had no proof that she was going to do something to him.”
“You didn’t think that she was going to do anything to him?” I asked in a voice that said that I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “She was talking about a gun, she was talking about how she wanted him dead, and you didn’t feel it like that it was appropriate to go to the police and tell them that you thought that Lawrence was in danger?”
“No. I just thought it was just words.”
“Oh, so you thought it was just words. Are you telling the court that you thought that you were just witnessing idle words?”
I was doing what I knew that people hated about defense attorneys. I was taking her testimony and deliberately misconstruing it. I knew what she meant. I knew that she probably didn’t go to law enforcement, because nobody would in that position. Most people in that situation would just watch people like that and automatically think that they were just blowing off steam. You only realize later on that, when one of the people ended up dead, you were watching something much more serious. Yet, I was going to make the fact that she did not go to the police an important part of my counter-narrative.
“Right, I just thought that they were just hurtful words.”
“You thought they were just words. Just words. You didn’t believe that Lawrence was in danger that night, did you?”
“Well, I thought he might be. I mean-”
“No, you did not think that he was in danger that night. If you would’ve thought that, you would’ve called the police.”
Ella took a deep breath, and then she looked over at Marina, and then at me. Now, the hatred that was burning in her eyes was directed at me, and I welcomed that. It meant that I was getting to her.
She was quiet for a second. She knew that she was defeated, and I knew that I had drawn blood. That’s what I wanted to do.
I had to neutralize this person, because if I didn’t, the jury was going to decide that it was all she wrote. They were going to decide that my client killed her husband, even before I was able to put my evidence on.
“I should have gone to the police. I should’ve told the police that Marina had a gun, and that she was going to use it on her husband. I guess maybe if I would’ve done that, he would still be alive. I guess it’s my fault that Lawrence is dead. I guess that’s what you’re saying, isn’t it?”
“No. I’m simply stating that your testimony on direct made it sound as if you really were concerned about Lawrence’s well-being that night. All I’m saying is that it’s not accurate that you were genuinely concerned about his well-being, otherwise you would’ve done something about it. That’s the only thing I’m trying to say.”
I cross-examined her for another twenty minutes, and then I sat down.
I looked over at Marina, who is still smiling that enigmatic smile. I had no idea what she was grinning about, but maybe she was just going to her happy place.
Jenna put on other witnesses who were along the same vein as Ella. Through witness after witness, the nature of Marina’s relationship with Lawrence was clear. He was cowardly, submissive to his wife. He took her abuse, and he didn't seem to fight back. Granted, I knew exactly why he was taking her abuse. I knew why he was not fighting back.
It was because he knew something that she didn't. All those years, he knew the reason why he was with her.
It was guilt. Plain and simple. Guilt.
That was the reason why he put up with her. Because he felt partially responsible for how she was. It was why he took her abuse and did not fight back. It was why he spent most of his life trying to get her help through one therapist after another.
He wanted to save her.
Because he knew that he was partially responsible for breaking her in the first place.
It was why he learned everything he could about Borderline Personality Disorder, and what caused it.
After all, he responsible for what Dr. Weber had done. Dr. Weber worked for him and he was the CEO. He was responsible for what his company did.
Did Lawrence always know what Dr. Weber was doing? No. I figured that out by looking at the emails between the two men. I knew that when Dr. Weber was doing what he was doing, Lawrence had no clue about it.
I also knew one other thing.
For years and years, Lawrence had no clue that Marina and Oksana were not the only ones.
Chapter 37
The prosecutor's case went on for another few days, as witness after witness testified about the relationship that they saw between Marina and Lawrence. By the end of it, I knew that we were in trouble. Nevertheless, I had to plug on. It was up to me to ensure that the jury knew the truth about what had happened
After three days of hell, the prosecutor finally rested, and it was my turn to put on evidence.
I really only had a few witnesses that I wanted to call. The first witness was Marina herself. Then I was going to call Brock.
And then, I was going to call Dr. Weber. He was going to be my star witness. Because, I had no doubt in my mind that he was responsible for killing Lawrence.
And I was going to prove it.
So, when it was finally time for me to call my witnesses, I called Marina first.
She was going to have to tell the jury exactly why it was that she was treating her husband that way. She was going to have to explain about her diagnosis, and how she could not control it. She had to convince the jury that she was just blowing off steam and she would never hurt her husband. And she was going to have to be convincing, because, right at that moment, the members of the jury were glaring at Marina as if she was the Anti-Christ.
I got on the stand, she was sworn in, she stated her name, and I got work. “Now, Ms. Vasiliev, do you understand why you’re on the stand right now?”
She cocked her head at me, and I kind of knew that she was not the devil. She was not Malphas or whatever it was she called her demon. I hoped and prayed that she stayed that way. Then again, I knew that the bad part of her could come out at just anytime. I was afraid of that happening.
“Yes, I do understand why I'm here,” she said with a nod of her head. “The prosecutor thinks that I killed my husband. I have to admit, that after hearing some of those witnesses, I don't blame the state of California for thinking that. I don't blame the jury for thinking that. I was awful to him."
"Well, before we get into that, I’m going to ask you a few other questions. Can you tell me a l
ittle bit about your background, about your early childhood?”
Jenna was on her feet. "Objection, I don't see how this is relevant."
I rolled my eyes. "Obviously, it's relevant. Her background will explain why she has a personality disorder that she can’t control, and in return, will also explain exactly why she treated her husband the way that she did.”
And that was another witness that I was going to call - an expert witness about BPD. I needed the therapist to testify about her treatment, and how borderlines feel about themselves. How they project the hatred for themselves on the other people. That was the main thing that I needed the court to know - the hatred that Marina had projected upon Lawrence was actually hatred of herself.
"Objection overruled," Judge Watts said. "Miss Vasiliev, you may answer the question."
Marina looked unsure of herself. "I was born in the old Soviet Union. Leningrad, now known as St. Petersburg. I was orphaned at a very young age. Or at least I thought I was orphaned at a young age."
I told her about her mother several months ago. When she found out about Olga, Marina refused to see her. She could not bear the thought that her mother had sold her. She told me that a part of her understood her mother doing what she did. She understood that her mother thought that she could not take care of her and Oksana, and that they were all going to die of starvation, if she didn't do something. But the fact that her mother got so much money for her, and that she came to America, that was what really pissed her off. She was also furious that her mother didn’t care enough about her to make sure that she found a good home. Her mother should have questioned Dr. Weber more, and she should have insisted that she meet both adoptive families for her and Oksana. Or, even better, Olga should have insisted that she and Oksana stay together. Olga should have done something, anything, to make sure that Marina was not left at an orphanage.
By Reason of Insanity Page 18