Just making sure I understand correctly. So the 8-9 witnesses slated for tomorrow, will likely be various LE officers from different agencies? In other words, it would be highly unlikely SO (for example) will testify?
Sorry to ask questions which have already been asked, I'm playing catch-up on all this. Also, if only two witnesses appeared in the KB case, what's the difference in this case?
IMO, the biggest difference here is that in the Frazee case, the prosecutor had a cooperating
key witness (KK) that was first solicited by Frazee to kill the victim, and when she didn't follow through, Frazee killed Kelsey himself and called on KK to clean up the crime scene and help destroy the evidence. The information provided by the key witness is no doubt what narrowed Frazee's preliminary hearing down to one day versus multiple days.
The two witnesses called to testify (Woodland Park Police Officer and CBI Agent) were able to describe the investigation process, cadaver dog search, play recorded interviews with the defendant, provide accounts from other witnesses, and present to the court, details obtained from several search warrants including surveillance videos and phone data (calls and locations) for the defendant, victim, and the key witness. CBI Agent also described how KK walked them through the crime scene, transporting the body, and how they corroborated her story.
The prosecutor subpoenaed one more witness, Frazee's mother, but when she was called to testify against her son, her attorney advised the court that she would be invoking the 5th Amendment and the Judge ultimately dismissed her subpoena and she was removed from the courtroom. The prosecutor wanted the mother to testify what time Frazee arrived home for Thanksgiving dinner and describe the tall fire on her property when the victim's body was burned. In dismissing her subpoena, the judge cited that the preliminary was not the time to call the mother to testify and the prosecution could enter this information by other means or witness.
Another key moment for me was when the defense cross-examined the Woodland Park Police Officer on the technology used for the cell phone tower pings tracking the defendant and the victim's phones. Officer described the rural area towers and service but said he was not a cell phone expert. IMO, this was a good example of getting the information on the record without bringing in the trial witness (i.e., cell phone experts can easily take up 2 full days at trial).
At the end of the day, despite objections from the defense that the prosecution did not offer direct evidence that Frazee was present for Kelsey's murder, the judge ruled there was enough evidence for him to stand trial.
ETA: It's possible that one or more of the 8 witnesses on the list is somebody LE (i.e., the prosecution) has not been able to interview. The subpoenaed witness might also invoke their 5th Amendment right not to testify. Can't wait until Monday morning!
