Daniel Williams’ evidence made the outlook seem bleak for both the accused. The two defendants took their seats every morning and endured the intense scrutiny of the packed public gallery. Mark had worked his way through an entire notepad while Savannah was busy making friends with everyone. She joked with the prison officers and journalists, smiling a welcome as each familiar face arrived in court. She seemed to relax as every day passed and listened to the evidence with an expression of almost rapt attention. Mark was equally alert but seemed less impressed; frequently bowing his head to murmur to his lawyers and vigorously shaking his head when the evidence seemed particularly damning. He was absolutely determined not to go down without a fight and this would prove to be the fight of his life.
Chapter 13
The discovery of traces of the deadly poison, ricin, in Savannah Kingston's prison cell led to widespread media coverage. Ricin makes a perfect poison for various reasons. It has no antidote and cannot be detected in the victim. There is no telltale scent or distracting taste to alert the target and death is almost guaranteed. It's estimated that it would only require an amount of the pure poison which is the same size as one grain of salt to kill an adult human. It would take approximately one hundred grains of arsenic to produce the same result.
Add to this the fact that the castor plant is a popular decorative shrub and easily available. It's grown in gardens and is a popular house plant. The seeds can be purchased from any garden centre and they're widely available to buy online. The fact that something so deadly could be growing happily at the bottom of the garden is an attractive thought for the more homicidally inclined.
Ricin is estimated to be, gram for gram, around six thousand times more poisonous than cyanide and around twelve thousand times more potent than rattle snake venom. Once it gets into the blood it makes the red blood cells clump together and eventually burst as they die. Interestingly, ricin is successful in the treatment of cancer. It bonds with an antibody which can seek out the tumour cells, delivering the ricin to have its devastating effect on the tumour. However, a fatal poisoning with ricin means a slow and painful death with no hope of reprieve. Doctors are only able to assist the victims and make them as comfortable as possible.
The mention of ricin in open court was a major talking point throughout the country. Everyone was greatly anticipating the evidence which was about to be presented. The investigation into alleged conspiracy to murder was in full swing at that stage and the last thing police wanted was any public revelation to potentially hamper their inquiry.
The next stage in the dramatic saga began to unfold on the eighth day of the trial when Gerald Loftus, Mark’s barrister, began to speak. "The examination of the poison which was carried out by the Irish army was clearly not adequate as the contact lens case had to be sent to England for further analysis. The testing process in England involved the irrigation of the case; therefore it's unlikely there are any remaining traces for the Defence to have independently tested. The sample was destroyed and I was given no notice of the fact that this was going to happen."
"The correspondence between us and the State is the same," agreed Savannah’s barrister, Arthur Kiely.
"Ms. Kingston was entitled to have physical evidence maintained until the trial," the judge said. "There may have been a trace of ricin available and there was an obligation on the Prosecution to have made known to Ms. Kingston that there had been a preliminary positive result for its presence. It seems the court should rule that it is not permissible to have the matter of the ricin element adduced in evidence."
The judge's ruling left the entire courtroom in complete shock. The respective legal teams left the courtroom in a flurry and grouped together in the hall to discuss the effects which the ruling would have on the case. Police officers were beyond flabbergasted. They knew that if the ricin element was dismissed the jury would have to be discharged as they had been told about the ricin in the opening speech of the trial.
Mark spoke to his legal team outside the courtroom, before confidently strolling back to his seat moments later. He chatted to his lawyer and smiled and laughed with his defence team. Was this going to be his last day sitting in the dock? It certainly was beginning to look that way. The judge's ruling was crucial and he knew it. He seemed convinced that the ruling was about to go his way.
"It's my submission that the court should give me an opportunity to see definitively if evidence can be obtained from the laboratory in England. If there's material there which can still be examined I'll make certain applications," said Mr. Clifford, senior counsel for the Prosecution.
Judge Charles Enright agreed to the application and adjourned until the following morning.
"I would like to apply to the court for permission to call further evidence. I want to call Detective James Leary and three witnesses from the laboratory in England to give evidence. Detective Leary will deal with the circumstances in which the material was sent away and the reasons for it being sent," Mr. Clifford explained the next morning. "There were extraordinary and exceptional circumstances in this case. I want to be given the opportunity to be heard on this matter."
"The court does not want to exclude evidence by any party," Judge Enright replied. "The court will allow the evidence."
Detective Leary took the stand and told the court that he was the senior officer in charge of the investigation. He stated that he had been made aware by Scotland Yard that they had received confidential information to the effect that ricin had been transported from the United Kingdom to Ireland in a contact lens case. He said that a warrant had been obtained to search a cell at Mountjoy prison and the services of the army explosive ordnance disposal team had been sought. "I had no knowledge of ricin. I was made aware that this was a serious biological poison. There were hundreds of prisoners and staff at Mountjoy prison and the possibility of evacuating everyone was discussed. We were aware that there were serious health and safety issues involved. Eventually, we decided to carry out a search of Ms. Kingston's cell and this was done after lock-down. The army unit wore biological suits because of the toxic nature of the poison. The presence of ricin was confirmed but I was advised that I should seek further confirmation elsewhere. I went to England to get a conclusive report on the sample and they proved that it was indeed ricin. Micrograms of this substance are lethal if ingested in any way, so I was obviously very concerned."
"Were you not aware of the need to preserve evidence?" Mr. Clifford asked Detective Leary. "An extra swab could have been taken and preserved in Ireland."
"Considering the nature of the substance I was dealing with, I had concerns about keeping any of it here in Ireland."
"Why were no steps taken to ensure that the evidence sent to England would be preserved?"
"It was my understanding from the laboratory that they provide services to the English courts and what was necessary would be done correctly. The steps taken in this instance were the only steps open to me."
The court then heard from Ava Patterson of the laboratory in England who had carried out the work for the UK Home Office. "I was given some preliminary information that an exhibit had been seized in a prison and that it had been tested for ricin. I received a package and a contact lens holder was inside. I screened and X-rayed the package."
"What is ricin?" Mr. Clifford asked.
"Ricin is a lethal toxin which is derived from castor beans. It could be toxic if ingested, inhaled or injected."
Charles Finley, who was the manager of the laboratory, also advised the court that ricin was a chemical compound which was produced by castor beans.
"Is it toxic?"
"It's extremely toxic, one of the most toxic compounds."
"Can it kill?"
"It can kill someone stone dead."
"What did you do with the package containing the contact lens case?"
"I took it from Ms. Patterson and placed it in a safety cabinet. It was unpacked and irrigated."
When Detective Leary and
the scientists had finished giving their evidence to the court, Mr. Clifford addressed Judge Enright. "A highly toxic chemical was found. Detective Leary had serious concerns about it and he acted correctly on his concerns. If the police hadn't acted and some disaster had occurred in the prison there would have been a serious public outcry. Mr. McNamara was not charged when the search and subsequent tests were carried out and in such circumstances the Prosecution couldn't be said to be under any obligation to inform him that such tests were carried out. Your ruling does not and cannot apply to Mr. McNamara. Also, there are exceptional and extraordinary circumstances in relation to the other defendant, Ms. Kingston."
"I believe the Prosecution has taken several steps backwards by the evidence which they have presented here today," Mr. Loftus retaliated. "I'm not disputing the fact that ricin is a deadly substance but Mr. McNamara should have been made aware of the positive test results."
"My client has the constitutional right to a fair trial," Mr. Kiely spoke for his client, Ms. Kingston. "There are no grounds on which your Lordship should reconsider your ruling. The ricin element should not be allowed."
Everyone knew that the decision made by Judge Enright the following morning was going to be crucial in terms of whether or not the trial would proceed. A tension-filled courtroom listened intently as he made his judgment. "It appears to me that, considering the circumstances, the police acted quickly, urgently and expeditiously with the evidence which was obtained and performed the tests which were available to them. It was clearly not a right that any defendant had to be present when an original sample was taken. The court also finds that there was no deliberate attempt to deprive the individuals of the possibility to investigate or indeed to deal with the laboratory in England. The matter should be dealt with by the jury and they should be allowed to hear the evidence and possible conflicts that exist."
The relief from the Prosecution was palpable. There was no way they would have wanted to lose their entire case on a technicality and at such a crucial stage. They'd worked too long and too hard to let Mark McNamara and Savannah Kingston get away with their evil plan.
The jury was recalled and the evidence in the case proceeded. Scotland Yard Agent Julia Lawson took the stand next. She explained that she suspected Savannah Kingston was involved in the production of ricin when she visited her home in London. Agent Lawson was investigating an alleged extortion and as part of her investigation she had visited the home which Savannah had shared with her partner Daniel Williams. "I saw a drum of acetone on a shelf in the garage of the house. A blender and a coffee carafe, both containing white residue, were on the ground. I had previously interviewed Mr. Williams and it is my belief that the residue was ricin."
"Did you wear a warfare suit when you went to Ms. Kingston's home?" Mr. Kiely asked.
"No, I did not."
"You didn't wear any protective clothing when you went to investigate Mr. Williams’ claims. Don't you think that was rather peculiar in the face of such a deadly poison and considering how increasingly security conscious the world has become?"
"I didn't think that specialist clothing was necessary at the time," Agent Lawson glared at him.
Mr. Kiely turned to face the jury. "There is no evidence of any significant amount of ricin which could kill anybody. I put it to the court that there is no such evidence before you and the Prosecution repeating it does not make it evidence."
Chapter 14
A defendant in a criminal trial does not have to give evidence. It’s not up to them to prove their innocence. However, there had never been much doubt that when the defendant was Mark McNamara the defence would be lengthy and entertaining. The media hoped that one or both of the accused would take the stand. Mark made a great pretence of musing about whether or not he should speak. Although not quite as chatty as his co-defendant, he had struck up conversations with a few journalists. “Do you think I should give evidence?” he asked one reporter, still anxious about his public image.
“Well, everyone wants to hear your side of the story,” was the candid reply; anything else would have been a bare-faced lie.
“You're right,” Mark nodded decisively. “I think people would like to know what really happened.”
He was looking forward to having his day in court, when all eyes would be on him and he would be the centre of everyone's rapt attention; a position which he always relished. It was no surprise to Rebecca or the other women that he had decided to give evidence. He had maintained his demeanour of innocence throughout the trial and strolled around the grounds of the courts with his usual nonchalant, confident attitude. Outwardly, he seemed like he didn't have a care in the world and his body language portrayed this perfectly.
Rebecca knew that Mark was so twisted that he had quite probably convinced himself that he really was the innocent party! She had talked in detail with her psychiatrist, Brianna Moynihan, about her husband and had read extensively about sociopaths. Frighteningly, her husband seemed to fit the description; outwardly engaging and charismatic but deep down it was nearly always a ploy to get what he wanted. Sociopaths were described as being shells of people; often attractive and colourful on the outside but completely hollow inside. They knew how they should behave and were aware of the social norms but it didn't mean anything to them. Their entire persona was usually an act.
Mark's body language said it all. He seemed like coolness personified as he chatted daily to his legal team. His calm attitude drew curious glances from the onlookers in the courtroom. Most people were surprised to learn that this was the man who allegedly was "devils-revenge". He seemed so self-assured and fearless.
His moment finally arrived. It was three o' clock on the twenty fifth day of the trial when Mark McNamara's athletic figure arrived in the witness box. There was an imperceptible intake of breath as he stood up to take the stand. Those sitting in the back seats leaned forward, not wanting to miss a single word. Mark basked in the limelight. This was his moment and he was going to make the most of it.
He sat down and smiled at the jury, his muscular frame seemed even larger against the dark wood of the judge's bench. Holding a bottle of still water in one hand he leaned back in his seat and gazed around the room, relishing the fact that all eyes were on him. He fixed the microphone in front of him, tapped it and smiled at the jury before asking; "can you hear me?" It was the first of many smiles he was to bestow upon the jury that afternoon. He oozed confidence and charm and seemed very comfortable in his own skin.
He spent almost three hours in the witness box over the course of his two day examination. His exchange with his own lawyer was straightforward as he was led through an easy protestation of his innocence but the sparks began to fly when Mr. Clifford, for the Prosecution, began his arduous interrogation. Mark explained to him that he had been interviewed by the police on several occasions and had set out his position in great detail in letters to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Mr. Clifford had been chosen to handle the cross-examination for strategic reasons. It proved to be a prudent move as he had deftly navigated through the majority of the technical evidence and knew exactly how to handle Mark. The experienced barrister was more than a match for his charms and within minutes, as the proverbial line was drawn in the sand between them, Mark's smile faltered for the first time.
"Do your letters to the Director of Public Prosecutions represent the truth about what happened?" Mr. Clifford asked.
"Yes, the honest truth," Mark promptly replied.
"Did you solicit anyone to kill?"
"Absolutely not." He shook his head emphatically.
"Did you conspire with anyone to kill?"
"No, I did not."
"Did you send money to an address in England?"
"I accept that I sent money to the address which I was given but I didn't know anything about Savannah Kingston. I think if I was paying someone to kill someone else that it would be obvious to me it would be traceable. I had no idea that the poli
ce were investigating something like this; as far as I knew they were investigating a burglary at the office. The information I gave the police was regarding blackmail."
"What about the mysterious and elusive Henry Whitington-Smyth? The only reason you told your wife about him was because the office had been burgled and there had been an extortion attempt. You realised your plan had gone badly wrong."
"Henry was helping me to get some extra work. He has lots of contacts in the industry and I wanted to see what he could find before I told Rebecca about him. I was hoping to get some extra work so I could save enough money to take her away on holiday. We'd been going through a bad patch in our relationship and I wanted to try to make it up to her. It was supposed to be a surprise."
“Did you tell your wife that you were being blackmailed?”
Mark smiled wryly. “Not at first, no, I wanted to try to sort it out.”
Unfaithful (The Complete Trilogy) Page 31