by Tracy Brown
“When did you notice a change?”
“About two days later, he started saying curse words that I had never heard him say before.”
Teresa frowned. “What kinds of words?”
Louis thought back to that day and sighed. “Shit, fuck, bitch. Words like that.”
“Was he just saying those words or was he directing them at anyone in particular?”
“He was just saying them, sitting on the floor playing with his toys and saying them.”
“And how did you respond to that?”
Louis looked at Nahla again. The truth was she had insisted that he spank Shane for using such foul language. Louis had been hesitant to do so, since he rarely even saw his son. He hadn’t wanted to spank him and make him upset. “At first, I warned him that if he kept saying those bad words that I was gonna spank him.”
“Did that work?”
He shook his head. “He kept doing it, almost as if he was challenging me. So I went over to where he was sitting on the floor and I pulled him to his feet and started to spank him on his butt.” Louis felt himself getting choked up at the memory of that horrible night. “But then he started to cry—hard! He was sobbing and he was screaming, begging me not to hurt him back there.”
Teresa allowed Louis a moment to compose himself as he dabbed at his eyes with a tissue. She knew it had to be difficult for him to remember that night.
“What was your reaction to that?”
Louis took a deep breath. “I tried to pick him up and get him to stop crying, but he just fell into a ball at my feet and kept crying, begging me not to hurt him. So I scooped him up off the floor and sat on the couch with him, rocking him. I asked him what was wrong, what he meant by ‘don’t hurt me back there’… he told me that a bad man hurt him back there.”
Misa was crying now and Camille leaned forward and handed her sister a tissue. The judge glanced at her and asked if she needed to take a recess, but she shook her head. She wanted to get this part over with as quickly as possible. It was horrible hearing the details of what had been done to her son.
“Did you ask Shane who the bad man was?” Teresa asked.
Louis nodded. “I kept asking him that. But he wouldn’t tell me. He said that the bad man would hurt him and hurt his mommy if he told anybody. I told him that I would never let anybody hurt him again, but he was petrified. He just kept promising that he was gonna be good, begging me not to send him back home, telling me that he didn’t want to play those games anymore.”
“Games?” Teresa asked.
Louis shrugged. “I had no idea what he was talking about. So I calmed him down, got him dressed, and I took him to the doctor.”
Teresa looked at her notes and nodded. “What did the doctor tell you?”
“He confirmed that my son had been sodomized. He told me he was obligated to report it to the authorities. So we sat there in the doctor’s office and called the police. We tried to call my ex-wife to find out what she knew, tried calling my sister-in-law and got no answer. So I filed the report and gave them my statement. I took my son home with me and kept trying to get in touch with his mother.”
“When were you able to contact her?”
“She called to speak to Shane later that night. It was the first time she had called to check on him since I picked him up three days earlier.” Louis wanted the jury to know what a terrible mother Misa had been. “And I told her what happened to my son on her watch.”
Teresa looked at Louis like he had a lot of nerve. “On her watch, Mr. Crowley?”
He nodded. “Exactly!” Now he was angry. “On her watch,” he repeated.
“Is it true that my client asked to speak with Shane and you refused?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Did she sound upset?”
“She was crying, but I didn’t give a damn. It was her fault.”
“You felt that your ex-wife had sodomized him?” Teresa asked for clarification.
“No,” he said. “But she was supposed to be taking care of him and she allowed it to happen.”
“How about you, Mr. Crowley?” Teresa asked. “Didn’t you have a responsibility to Shane, as well?”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t the one who was leaving him for days at a time with whoever would babysit him!”
“Did you ever think that if you had been there for your son more often that Misa may not have been forced to leave him in the custody of others?”
Louis fought back tears. He wasn’t about to let this bitch turn the blame on him. “She wasn’t forced! She could have stayed home and took care of Shane instead of running off—”
“The way you did?”
“OBJECTION!”
“Sustained.”
“Isn’t it possible that Misa was out searching for happiness the way that you ran off in search of the same thing years ago? Is it possible that perhaps she was out looking for a way to complete the family structure that you tore apart when you upgraded to a new child-free life?”
Louis was tearing up now.
Teresa took the opportunity to go in for the kill. “Is it true that when you delivered the blow to my client that her son had been molested, that you further traumatized her by telling her that she and her family would never see your son again as long as you were alive?”
“I did say that,” he admitted.
“And did you threaten to kill my client?”
“I was upset.”
“Did you threaten to kill my client?”
“Yes,” Louis said reluctantly.
The courtroom hummed with chatter and Misa stared at Louis, watched him reliving the worst day of their lives.
“So after hearing about her son’s molestation, being told that she would never see him again, and having her life threatened, how did my client respond?”
Louis shrugged. “I was mad so I hung up on her. She kept calling back so I turned the ringer off.”
“Why did you do that?”
“I had said everything I needed to say to her. I wanted her to get to the bottom of who tortured my son and then we could talk.”
“So what happened then?”
“Then she came over to my house demanding to see Shane.”
“And did you let her see her son?”
Louis stared at his hands. “No.”
Teresa stared down at Louis. “Didn’t you curse at my client, calling her a slut, a whore, and a myriad of other names before spitting on her?”
“I didn’t spit on her. I missed.”
Some people in the courtroom snickered then and Judge Felder ordered silence.
“And she left at that point?”
Louis nodded. “Yes.”
“When was the next time you heard from your ex-wife after that?”
He looked at Camille. “I got a phone call from my sister-in-law Camille. She told me that Misa had killed Steven, that she suspected he was the one who had hurt my son.”
“And what was your reaction?”
He shrugged. “It didn’t change what happened to Shane,” he said. “The damage has been done.”
Teresa moved closer to Louis and spoke sympathetically to him. “How is Shane’s mental state today?”
Louis sniffled a little, wiped his nose. “He has nightmares. He wakes up crying and it’s hard to get him to go back to sleep sometimes.” He took a deep breath. “But he’s coming along. My mother helps me take care of him. I hate being away from him.”
Teresa smiled encouragingly. “And he visits with his mother twice a week, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And how is his demeanor after those visits? Is he sad, withdrawn, angry?”
Louis hated to admit the fact that Shane never came home that way. “Actually, he usually comes back happier than he was before he left. I think he enjoys seeing his mother.”
Teresa was happy to hear him acknowledge that. So was Misa.
“Mr. Crowley, I commend you for stepping up to care for your son at a ti
me like this. It can’t be easy for you to help him recover from such a traumatic experience.”
Louis thanked her, told her that it was very difficult to know that his son had suffered. He dabbed at his eyes, clearly hurting for Shane.
“Do you feel guilty, Mr. Crowley?”
Louis looked at Teresa and frowned, prepared to deny it.
“Do you feel guilty, knowing that you had all but abandoned your son in the process of leaving your wife; knowing that you hadn’t been there for him in the months and years prior to the abuse? Do you ever think about what you may have done to prevent this from happening to Shane?”
Louis nodded. “Yes.”
“Do you think your ex-wife was justified in killing Steven Bingham?”
“Objection!” The prosecutor was on his feet.
“Your honor, I’m seeking to establish that Mr. Crowley has had an epiphany today. That perhaps he no longer sees his ex-wife as solely responsible for what happened to their son.”
Judge Felder seemed to think about it for a moment. Then he grunted, “Overruled.”
Teresa was thrilled. “Mr. Crowley, do you think your ex-wife was justified in killing Steven Bingham?”
Louis pictured Shane’s sweet, innocent face and thought of the terror he had suffered at some grown man’s hands. He looked then at Misa and realized she had killed Steven in order to get some kind of justice for what had been done to Shane. And he had to admit that if he had been in her shoes—if he had had any idea who may have hurt his child—he would have done the same thing she had.
He choked back a sob and finally felt some of the anger he had toward Misa abate.
“I think she did the right thing,” he said honestly. “And if I had been in her shoes I would have done the same thing.”
The courtroom erupted in bedlam and Misa couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. As Teresa stated that she had no more questions and returned to her seat, Misa locked eyes with Louis and knew that his mind had been changed. Finally, he felt her pain. She was grateful and squeezed Teresa’s hand when she sat down beside her. For the first time since her trial began, Misa felt hopeful that she might walk away a free woman.
Order in the Court
Ms. Thomas raised her right hand and swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. As Shane’s social worker, she was here today to describe how he had been affected by the trauma he’d suffered.
Teresa had already questioned the doctor who’d examined Shane, making the determination that the child had been abused. Dr. Ahmed had delivered graphic testimony, saying that Shane had suffered excruciating tears he couldn’t have caused himself. Dr. Ahmed had testified that the injuries described in Shane’s medical report were consistent with being sodomized by an adult male, resulting in anal lacerations. He also noted that Shane later developed an abscess slightly smaller than a golf ball—consistent with being assaulted.
Today was Ms. Thomas’s turn to deliver equally difficult testimony. She adjusted her glasses on her nose and watched as Teresa walked in her direction, smiling.
“Ms. Thomas, you have been monitoring the progress of little Shane Crowley throughout this entire ordeal, is that right?”
“Yes, I have.”
“And can you describe for the court how you found the child on the first day you visited with him?”
Referring to her notes, Ms. Thomas went back to the day in early January when she’d met Shane for the first time. “The child was in the custody of his father when I saw him for the first time. He was clean, well fed, and his surroundings were suitable, but he was clearly traumatized.”
“How so?”
“He was withdrawn. He clung to his toys more than what is typical for a child his age. He was sucking his thumb, which I learned later was not something he had been doing prior to that. And he was crying, more like whining, for his aunt.”
“Even while he was being cared for by his father, he was still asking for his aunt Camille?” Teresa toyed with the pencil in her hand as she asked the question.
“Yes,” Ms. Thomas confirmed.
“Is that normal behavior, or does it suggest perhaps that Shane wasn’t very familiar or even very comfortable with his father?”
“It was my understanding that Shane didn’t have a consistent relationship with his father prior to being placed in his custody. In fact, I came to understand that the child didn’t have a consistent relationship with either parent.” Ms. Thomas felt sorry for the little boy handed around like a burden nobody wanted. “So, while he felt comforted to some extent by his father, he was still longing for the familiarity of the aunt he loves so much. Coupled with the abuse he suffered, the separation from his aunt was causing the child more distress.”
“I see,” Teresa said. “Did you express that to Shane’s father?”
Ms. Thomas nodded. “I did. However, Mr. Crowley was unwilling to contact Mrs. Bingham to tell her that her nephew had been asking for her extensively.”
“And why did he refuse to call his sister-in-law?”
“Objection,” the DA interjected. “The witness can’t be asked to explain someone else’s decision.”
“She can if Mr. Crowley expressed his reasons to her, your honor.” Teresa prayed that the judge sided with her.
“Overruled.”
Teresa smiled. “Ms. Thomas, can you tell us why Louis Crowley refused to contact his sister-in-law to tell her that Shane was asking for her?”
Ms. Thomas shot a glance at Louis and saw him sneering at her. But she was under oath so he could give her dirty looks all day as far as she was concerned. “He said that he blamed Mrs. Bingham just as much as he blamed his ex-wife. He faulted that entire side of the family for what happened to Shane, and he said that he didn’t trust any of them around his son.”
“And what was your reaction to that?”
“Well,” Ms. Thomas began, talking with her hands for emphasis, “I asked him if he felt that one of them had personally abused the child. He said that he didn’t believe so, but that since it happened under their watch, they were all responsible. I told Mr. Crowley that the child’s best interests were the important factor, and that all visitation with him would be strictly supervised. I told him that it would be beneficial to Shane if he were able to see his aunt at least once in order to establish some sense of normalcy in his new surroundings. But he refused, at least at first.”
“And when did that change?”
“When the court ruled that the child’s mother could have supervised visitation with him, we agreed that it would be best to conduct those visits at the maternal grandmother’s house as opposed to Mr. Crowley’s residence.”
Teresa frowned. “Any particular reason for that?”
“Well, for one thing, the maternal grandmother’s home was familiar and safe. It was a place where he could visit with his mother, grandmother, and his aunt at the same time. And that proved to be very beneficial for the child.” She glanced at Louis again. “But another factor in our eventually arranging to conduct the visits at the maternal grandmother’s home was Mr. Crowley’s contention that he needed some ‘alone time’ with his girlfriend.” Ms. Thomas used air quotes as she said “alone time,” indicating that those were Louis’s exact words.
The courtroom buzzed with conversation as she said it. Teresa pounced on the opportunity to turn the tide in their favor.
“So, Mr. Crowley admitted to you that wanting alone time with his girlfriend was a factor in allowing the visits with Shane’s mom to take place elsewhere?”
“Yes.”
The judge had to bang his gavel to get the courtroom back under control. Louis looked like he wished he could dig a hole and crawl inside. All eyes were on him.
“So is it fair to suggest that he was more concerned with his girlfriend’s happiness than his son’s safety at that point?”
“Objection!”
“Sustained.”
Teresa moved on. She’d made her point. �
��And what did you observe during Shane’s visits with his mother and her family?”
“At first, he was unwilling to interact with his mother at all. He ran from her. I observed that Misa seemed equally reluctant to initiate conversation with the child. When I arrived at the grandmother’s house with Shane, Misa was a little standoffish, perhaps waiting for her son to come to her. But he wasn’t willing to do that.”
“Did that initial visit end without the two of them interacting?”
Ms. Thomas smiled a little as she recalled that day. She shook her head. “No,” she said. “I urged Misa to coax Shane out of his seclusion. Eventually she found a very effective way to get Shane to come around. She pulled out toys of his and told a story about each one. In the end, Shane was hanging on to her for dear life and I almost hated to end the visit.”
Teresa was pleased to hear that. “And in subsequent visits, how has Shane responded to his maternal family?”
“He has bonded with his mother, often crying when it’s time for us to leave. He also exhibits pure excitement whenever he sees his aunt Camille.” Ms. Thomas looked at her notes. “Although, lately, with his aunt’s pregnancy becoming more and more obvious, he is exhibiting some jealous behavior toward her, which is typical of a child whose mother is expecting.”
Teresa seemed confused. “But Camille is not Shane’s mother.”
Ms. Thomas nodded. “Yes, I know. However, our investigation has concluded that Mrs. Bingham cared for the child perhaps just as often as his mother did. And in a situation like that, it is natural for the child to feel some apprehension at the prospect of a new baby taking their place or pushing them out of the picture.”
“And aside from that, Shane has been excited and happy to see his mother and her family?”
“Yes, he has.”
Teresa nodded. “With regard to the sexual abuse, what has Shane told you?”
Ms. Thomas clasped her hands together. “Well, with a child Shane’s age it is often difficult to get them to explain in words what was done to them. So we use dolls to have the child demonstrate what happened and that is what we did with Shane.”