by Fred Rosen
Sitting front row left was Carole Brandon, a private investigator who carried her .38-caliber police special in a designer handbag. Brandon, who had done the investigative work on the case for Brian Donerly, looked for all the world like a central casting version of a Floridian female PI—pageboy blond, blue-eyed, with a dynamite figure elegantly encased in a designer suit.
I sat front row right, next to Mike Mahan, the intense beat reporter for the Tampa-St. Pete Times. With the exception of a few people who straggled in to kill time, we were the only regulars throughout the trial.
In front of us were two long tables facing each other from opposite sides of the courtroom. At the table on the left sat Christopher Wyant, a pale teenager wearing a “Miami” T-shirt and blue prison pants. His close-cropped hair came down to a widow’s peak over his forehead. It was the first time I’d seen him in person, and I was surprised at how young he looked.
Next to him was his attorney, Brian Donerly. Gray-haired and bearded, he wore a rumpled blue suit, white shirt, and a cranberry-and-blue paisley tie. Strewn on the table were various boxes, files, and folders containing legal documents.
Sitting at the opposite table were Ron Hanes, the intense prosecutor, dressed in a dark suit, shirt, and tie, and his assistant, Sandra Spoto, a lovely woman who favors Ann Taylor designer suits. Spread out on their table appeared to be an identical set of legal papers, plus some official-looking law books in mock leather bindings.
The jury, which had taken a mere few hours to pick, sat in the jury box behind Hanes and Spoto. Predominantly white, it consisted of seven women and five men, with one man and one woman as alternates.
The judge, Barbara Fleischer, sat high up on the bench in her regal black robes. A petite woman, she has short, dark hair in a severe cut that makes her look a lot like Leona Helmsley.
Below Fleischer were the court clerk, who would take down notes of all the proceedings, and another clerk who kept a record of all items entered into evidence. Dressed in official-looking green jackets, the bailiffs were scattered about the courtroom. As for witnesses, they are not allowed into the courtroom until they are called to the stand.
Hanes rose and walked to the lectern that faced the jury. He opened his notes, gazed down at them, looked up, and began his opening argument.
“On November 29th, 1992, there was a plan to murder Grady Stiles, Jr. On that night, a little bit after 11 P.M. on Sunday, Christopher Wyant was standing outside the Stiles home. He’s an important part of the plan.
“He has a thirty-two-caliber automatic pistol with a loaded clip and he’s waiting for his signal. Grady Stiles, Jr.’s, wife leaves, goes outside. Harry Glenn Newman, Mr. Stiles’s stepson, also goes outside,” Hanes continued in clear, measured tones. The jury gazed at him in rapt attention.
“Chris Wyant takes out the gun, steps into the trailer as Grady Stiles sits there. He has no chance. No chance. But he sees his killer. He shouts at him, yells at Wyant. He’s seen Wyant around there; he’s a friend of his stepson’s.
“At that point, Christopher Wyant takes the gun and blasts the first bullet into the brain of Grady Stiles and then fires again and again and again. Two bullets lodge in the man’s brain, killing him.
“Christopher Wyant has held up his end of the bargain. It was a plan. The plan had been in the works for several weeks. How to accomplish it and where? Those decisions had to be made. But one thing is consistent throughout. Christopher Wyant chose to take part in it.
“Conspiracy is the case before you. Christopher Wyant shot Grady Stiles, Jr., in the back of the head. He is a born killer.
“You’re going to hear about his premeditation,” Hanes continued. “About his opportunity to reflect on what he’s going to do. [The plot] was weeks in the planning.
“Grady Stiles, Jr., you will hear, was a carnival attraction. He was known as Lobster Boy in the carnival because he had no legs, and hands that never developed. That’s the life he led. You will hear that in order to travel, he used a wheelchair. That was his means of transport. He had no chance when Christopher Wyant walked in with a loaded gun.”
I couldn’t help thinking of Jack Layne’s entry into the house in Pittsburgh and the reception Grady had given him.
“Harry Glenn Newman, Jr., had approached Wyant weeks before. He told him that Grady Stiles, Jr., was abusing us. ‘No problem, I’ll do it,’ [says Christopher Wyant].
“The first plan is to murder Grady Stiles outside the Showtown lounge in Gibsonton. The plan was for Teresa Stiles to wheel Grady Stiles out of the bar and Wyant would come up and shoot him and make it look like a robbery. They don’t go forward as Grady Stiles only goes there in daylight.
“The second plan is to murder him in the home and make it look like a robbery and burglary. [Christopher Wyant] breaks in, takes his wallet, and the police run around and figure it out. That’s the plan [they] go forward with.
“There’s an opportunity to reflect on what he’s about to do. Christopher Wyant as well as Teresa Stiles and Harry Glenn Newman had some major problems with their plan.
“Number one, within two weeks before the murder, a gentleman you’ll hear from, Marco Eno, is living on the property in another trailer in a corner of their lot. He’s been living there for a couple of weeks.
“The second problem is it’s supposed to look like a robbery so the police don’t concern themselves with family members. The key was to take the wallet. He couldn’t find it. It was left in Mr. Stiles’s pants. That leads them to Christopher Wyant’s third problem, which is an attempt to involve others a half a block away.
“Richard Waller and Ann Butterworth lived in a trailer park a few seconds away. Wyant was trying to get Waller involved in the plan. He originally wanted him to pick him up at Showtown after the murder. Now, he wants him to give him an alibi, [to say] that Christopher Wyant was in his trailer all night.
“You’ll also hear from Ann Butterworth, who’ll tell you that Christopher Wyant tried to get Waller involved. The day of the murder, a few hours before, Harry Glenn Newman and Christopher Wyant come to her house. They’re giggling about what is about to take place.
“Where does Christopher Wyant run when the murder takes place? Two trailers away from his mother’s home to the Butterworth trailer. Waller and Butterworth will say that when he gets there, they see the gun. Chris hides it in Butterworth’s trailer and they will tell it’s not easy to testify against Christopher Wyant. He was their friend at one time.
“Christopher Wyant tells them at the door, ‘I did it, I shot him in the head.’ He held up his end of the bargain. Butterworth and Waller are supposed to be the alibi.
“The next day, Christopher Wyant involves Dennis Cowell when the cops are down there. Wyant goes back to the trailer and gets the gun out of the space where he’d hidden it. He gives it to Dennis Cowell. Cowell hides it in the bushes. While this is going on, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department focuses on the involvement of the Stiles household. That leads them to Christopher Wyant, Ann Butterworth, and Richard Waller, and to the gun recovered by the Sheriff’s Office.
“A firearms expert will testify [that] the bullets found in the Stiles home, and the ones removed from Stiles’s brain, all match.
“At the conclusion of the evidence, you will be convinced that Christopher Wyant conspired with [Teresa Stiles and Harry Glenn Newman, Jr.] to carry out the murder of Grady Stiles, Jr., and you’ll see the horrific results.
“At the conclusion, I’ll ask you to find him guilty of what he planned. What he has done.”
Hanes gathered up his notes and took a seat.
“Brian?”
Donerly looked up at Fleischer, then got up from his chair and started fidgeting around. He shuffled over to the lectern.
“All the evidence will come from that stand,” Donerly said in a gravelly voice, pointing at the witness-box. “All Christopher Wyant asks of you is that you give that evidence your careful attention and your best judgment.
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p; “The judge told you during jury selection not to form a fixed opinion [during the presentation of evidence]. Mr. Wyant asks you to keep an open mind.
“Mr. Hanes tells you about a plan while not a great one. You will hear a whole lot about the crime scene, about how Mr. Stiles was shot in the back of the head. There are two witnesses from two different directions who heard arguments. There’s nothing in the state’s [version] of the [murder] plan about arguments.
“In the state’s view, Christopher Wyant is a hired killer. That’s the first discordant note. I ask you to listen to the details. Richard Waller told nothing the first time police questioned him. The second time, he [says] he took medication, [but] remembers some things.
“Ann Butterworth has a detailed recollection. Listen to it carefully. See if there aren’t the wrong number of shots and other discrepancies.
“You’ve been told a gun was recovered from a fourth individual, Dennis Cowell. I believe you’ll find Mr. Cowell’s name appears on the gun receipt that was bought a few days before. These are among the things I ask you to look for.
“When the trial is over, I’ll have no hesitation in asking you to find Mr. Wyant not guilty of both charges.”
Donerly fidgeted, and walked back, looking at his investigator Carole Brandon with a shy smile.
With the opening statements over, it was time for the state to begin their direct examination.
Hanes stood.
“The state calls Marco Eno.”
The door to the courtroom opened and the bailiff led Eno inside. Eno had a black Fu Manchu beard, speckled with gray, grown to a sharp point on his chin. He wore jeans down over his hips, and a T-shirt. Evidently, the style of dress in Tampa’s courtrooms leaned toward the casual.
Eno stood before the bench and took the oath. Then he climbed up and took his place in the witness-box, while Hanes positioned himself at the lectern, directly in front of the witness stand, but twenty feet back. Under the rules of evidence, attorneys cannot approach witnesses, unless they have something they want them to examine. Whatever points they want to make must be done with their voice; their physical presence can not be used to intimidate the witnesses.
“Whose property did you live on?” Hanes began behind the lectern.
“Grady Stiles’s,” Eno answered.
“How long did you know him?”
“I knew Grady a few years. I worked for him in the year of 1992.”
“Did Mr. Stiles have a stepson?”
“Harry Glenn Newman.”
“And what was Mr. Stiles’s show business name?”
“The lobster man. Lobster Boy. That was his nickname.”
“How many carnival shows did he run?”
“Grady and Teresa ran the human oddities show. Tyrill and Cathy ran the animal oddities show. Donna and Joe ran the gorilla show.”
“How long were you on the road together?”
“April to the beginning of November. That’s the season.”
“You mentioned the gorilla show. What is that?” Hanes asked with curiosity.
“It’s where a lady changes into a gorilla.”
The jury didn’t even crack a smile. They listened intensely, especially juror number two, who leaned forward in her seat.
“And how did Mr. Stiles get around?”
“In a wheelchair.”
Hanes then introduced as evidence photographs of Teresa, Grady, and Glennie, and aerial shots of the neighborhood and the trailer where they lived. The idea was to put a face to the names, and give the jury an appreciation of their living conditions.
“Mr. Eno, would you tell us what you remember of the night Mr. Stiles was murdered?”
“A little after eleven, I heard some yelling. Grady kept yelling, ‘Son of a bitch, get the fuck out,’ a couple of times. Then things went quiet. A little while later I heard four shots. I thought it was someplace else in the neighborhood. I went outside and saw someone leave. I got back in the trailer, got my shoes on, and went to the other trailer where the rest of the family was. I asked them if they heard the shots. They said yes, they heard the shots. We went in the house and found Grady’s body.”
“How long from the time you heard the shots to the time you came out?”
“I opened the door to see if anyone was in the backyard. It was a couple of minutes before I came out.”
“And you saw someone leaving the Stiles trailer?”
“Yes.”
“Describe that person to us.”
“He was wearing a black jacket, he was about five seven with brown hair.”
“What about the family members?”
“They were already outside the trailer. Teresa, Grady, Tyrill, and Cathy had the door open. ‘Oh no, it might be Grady,’ Teresa said.”
“What did you find when you went in the house?”
“Grady was dead. I found the bullet holes in the back of the head.”
“Then what did you do?”
“I ran out the front door and ran into the [neighboring] house on the right. I told ’em, ‘Call 911, somebody’s been shot.’”
“Did any family members go into the home?”
“They came in after me. I was the first one in.”
Hanes strode to the prosecution table and reached out his hand. Spoto handed him a photo. It was the murder-scene photograph of Grady slumped in his armchair, the bullet holes a graphic red in the back of his head.
He showed the shot to Eno, who identified it as Grady, and then Hanes went to the jury box. He passed slowly in front of the jurors, giving each of them a long, hard look at Grady Stiles’s death. The jurors tried to suppress their emotions but juror number seven, an elderly man in a suit jacket, grimaced.
Hanes gave the shot to the court clerk, who marked it into evidence. The same procedure would be followed for all subsequent photographs and diagrams presented during the trial.
A moment later Hanes was back at the lectern.
“Mr. Eno, when was the next time you saw the man who left the trailer that night?”
“The next time I saw him was on the news. After he was arrested. I recognized him from the way his hair is done in front. I’d seen him before, when he was with Glenn.”
“Mr. Eno, do you see that man in the courtroom now?”
Marco Eno looked over at Chris Wyant.
“He’s sitting there wearing a ‘Miami’ T-shirt with his attorney.”
Chris Wyant didn’t move. He looked bored. His left hand held his mouth in a pensive pose.
“I have nothing further.” Hanes sat down.
Donerly stood. Holding his notepad under his right arm, he ambled over to the lectern.
“Didn’t Teresa once ask you to kill Grady?” Donerly asked.
“Up in the fair season in Massachusetts.”
“What was your response when she asked you to kill Mr. Stiles?”
“Shock. She said they were tired of being hurt themselves.”
“No further questions.”
What was Donerly up to? Standard defense practice is to try to cast doubt on an eyewitness’s identification of the accused.
“Mr. Eno, you’re excused,” said Judge Fleischer. Eno walked quickly out of the courtroom.
There followed two witnesses whose purpose it was to set the scene: the paramedic who responded to the 911 call; and the deputy who also arrived to answer the call.
Later, Sgt. Charles Phillips of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department, one of the supervisors, testified, “After the victim was removed from the scene, the victim’s [step]son, Mr. Newman, made jokes. He asked me to order Danishes for the family to eat.”
Sharon Sullivan, the crime-scene technician on the scene, testified next. After explaining the nature of her job—sketching the crime scene, taking relevant measurements and photographing it—she identified photographs that Hanes put in evidence that she had taken at the scene. They included an open carton of Pall Mall cigarettes with bloodstains splattered across the logo; a
hole in the ceiling of the trailer where she removed one of the bullets; and a picture of a bullet recovered from the trailer’s north bedroom. The jury was then shown a detailed floor map of the trailer that showed the location of the rooms, and where the body was lying when the police arrived.
Detective Laurie Eagan, a crime-scene detective, testified that on November 30, the day after the homicide, she went to the medical examiner’s office and viewed the postmortem. She took photographs of Grady on the autopsy table and collected two bullets that had penetrated his brain, samples of scalp hair, and his underwear.
Another crime-scene technician testified that no prints had been recovered at the scene, that several hundred dollars were recovered in Grady’s wallet, and that Grady was holding a cigarette in his claw.
Throughout the testimony of the crime-scene technicians, Donerly had very few questions on cross. Apparently, he was not going to dispute their findings.
“The state calls Richard Waller,” Hanes intoned.
The bailiff led in Richard Waller, a tall, sad-looking young man with slicked-back black hair. He wore black jeans and a blue-patterned sports shirt.
“Mr. Waller, where do you live?” Hanes began.
“I live in a trailer park with Ann Butterworth.”
“How far are you from the Stiles trailer?”
“We’re two hundred feet away from Grady’s home.”
“Do you know Christopher Wyant?”
“Yes.”
“What’s he wearing [now]?”
“I reckon a Miami Hurricanes T-shirt.”
“How’d you meet Christopher Wyant?”
“I met Chris through Ann. Chris used to go over and hang out two to three times a week. We considered him a friend.”
“Did there come a time when you had discussions about killing someone?”
“We had three or four discussions about a murder.”
“When was the first?”
“About four months prior to Grady being killed, maybe a little less.”
“What was discussed?”
“He just said a friend of his wanted a job done, someone killed. Me and Ann didn’t pay any attention to it. He has a friend who wants something done to his father.”