Trial Thread 7 May 2012 - Closing Arguments, Defense then the Crown

[Macright]

Speaking of the back seat, noticed that Derstine conveniently skipped over that entirely.

MOO

he did make some mention of it...JMO

 

[otto]

"Defence lawyer Dirk Derstine says the Crown's case against his client Michael Rafferty hinges on "unbelievable" testimony from Terri- Lynne McClintic and the rest of the evidence is "circumstantial."

What's he suggesting ... that circumstantial evidence doesn't count?

 

[Macright]

So you've already decided that if he is found guilty that an injustice will have been served? <modsnip>.

just to clarify...<modsnip>...I do not think he kidnapped...raped...or murdered TS....I do believe he helped with the coverup and the disposal and of course hid those facts from LE until he was arrested...I do not know if at that time he related this to LE because it has not been mentioned...


respectfully....JMO JMO...

 

[Dmman]

yeah OK Mom...this trial is all because of TLM ruining your life???

...what about the life of precious lil 8 yr old Tori Stafford??

I'm Praying for JUSTICE too----> for the brutal MURDER of Tori Stafford and in my justice Rafferty will remain behind bars

jmo

I cannot even bring myself to comment on his mother...I probably would be banned from here

I will say this: I am a mother to an 8 yr old son. I will start praying harder that I am raising him to be of good morals & judgement. I hope he's of good character & has the strength to never be duped by the likes of TLM.

Good grief!! I feel like I'm sitting on my hands here & biting my tongue like never before!

 

[otto]

"He suggested that his client would never have gone into a Home Depot to purchase a hammer to murder Tori Stafford since he knew there were tools in the car."

Not true. He wanted to be sure that the murder weapon could not be traced to him, which is why he didn't use his own hammer and when he purchased a new one for the murder, he made sure that it was not in his hometown of Woodstock.

"He says Rafferty's connection to Mount Forest is not relevant since any rural area could have been used for the crime."

The location is relevant since he drove to that secluded location - and he was familiar with that location through previous work contracts.

MR semen and Victoria's blood got mixed together during clean up? What was he doing during clean up for that to happen?

ref: http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/raffertytrial/2012/05/07/19725376.html

I'm not buying it.

 

[nursebeeme]

In my opiinion, the Crown has to put something together tomorrow that makes sense and is supported by real evidence, not speculation and conjecture, that proves MR is guilty. After today, I think the jury will choose to disregard all of TLM's testimony.

Nobody will want to vote for conviction of such serious charges, based on testimony from such an unreliable witness.

The Crown knew they had a problem with TLM from the outset, and have tried to mitigate the damage, but Derstine has brilliantly brought TLM's credibility as the main issue in the trial.

It is an issue the Crown is probably loathe to defend.

JMO.............

bbm: I certainly hope it is all those things.. but that being said, this is the closing argument.... the Crown has already presented its' evidence... while it is helpful that their closing pack a punch what is important is the evidence they have already laid out to the jury... I can look back on quite a few cases I have followed that the closing sputtered out.. but in the end what really matters is the evidence and the jury being adults of able mind able to fit all the circumstantial pieces together.

moo

 

[Flowercb]

Am logging off for a while but would just like to point an observation out to my fellow sleuthers. I know I have been off in some of my posts and for that I appologize. However I just want to add because someone adds "respectfully" or "JMO" before a post does not make the post not rude.

I agree. However, sometimes when each of us has a different opinion it can't help but sound rude because is sounds like we are questioning someone's opinion. Disagreeing with someone questions their theories/view points so it can appear rude when it is a difference of opinon.

This is a really touchy subject too, a child was murdered, so people are passionate about it. I believe MTR is fully guilty and I don't want him to go free and there are others who believe he is not guilty so you see how that can get a person going.

But, I agree that sometimes we reach too far into the "snarky" jar instead of the candy jar. MOO.

 

[Kittymama]

What a ridiculous defence Derstine put on today. He was all over the place, he contradicted himself a few times, and if memory serves me correctly, he even lied about some of the things that happened on the stand. I wish I had made notes of them, as now I can't remember what they were.

If the jury falls for this, I will be very disappointed.

 

[otto]

There was a pic earlier of his mom and brother that was found on his camera...it was released with the others back a month or so ago.

Thank you. It always helps to put a face to the name.

 

[Hello_Kitty]

just to clarify...<modsnip>...I do not think he kidnapped...raped...or murdered TS....I do believe he helped with the coverup and the disposal and of course hid those facts from LE until he was arrested...I do not know if at that time he related this to LE because it has not been mentioned...


respectfully....JMO JMO...

If he is found guilty it is because the jury deemed the evidence showed that he was guilty. Yet in that statement you said you would think that an injustice has been served, which to me means you don't trust our justice system. <modsnip>.

 

[Hello_Kitty]

What a ridiculous defence Derstine put on today. He was all over the place, he contradicted himself a few times, and if memory serves me correctly, he even lied about some of the things that happened on the stand. I wish I had made notes of them, as now I can't remember what they were.

If the jury falls for this, I will be very disappointed.

I thought the same and made a comment how weird and disjointed his statements were. I've never followed a trial before, but something tells me this isn't the way it should have been.

I really felt sorry for Derstine. I think this might be one case he will lose. If I thought his defense was good, I would be honest and say so.

 

[Flowercb]

I don't know what you all think about this but I think MTR's mother speaking to the media today and making herself visible today was a defense strategy. She got her message out there about her son being innocent without being put on the stand. Seems too coincidental that it was done on the day of the defences closing statements.MOO.

 

[Dmman]

I don't know what you all think about this but I think MTR's mother speaking to the media today and making herself visible today was a defense strategy. She got her message out there about her son being innocent without being put on the stand. Seems too coincidental that it was done on the day of the defences closing statements.MOO.

I, 1 million % agree!!!

 

[Hello_Kitty]

What other business did either one of them have to be in Mount Forest?

See that's what I don't understand. Derstine said that if he wanted to kill someone he wouldn't go as far as where he went. Derstine however, forgot to mention that they had to go to Guelph to get the drugs, and maybe in Guelph there just wasn't a suitable place to kill a little girl, so they went somewhere MTR knew, like freaking 50 minutes north of Guelph totally in the opposite direction of Woodstock.

Actual time is:
1 hour 5 mins
65.2 km

 

[Dmman]

I have every bit of faith that the Crown will tie the evidence & witness testimony together tomorrow perfectly! It will allllll make perfect sense tomorrow. On all 3 charges!

 

[Macright]

I don't know what you all think about this but I think MTR's mother speaking to the media today and making herself visible today was a defense strategy. She got her message out there about her son being innocent without being put on the stand. Seems too coincidental that it was done on the day of the defences closing statements.MOO.

not sure I follow your logic here as the jury do not watch TV nor do they read news reports and I believe they are the ones that decide his fate...so not sure how the mother "out there would help the case"...those that believe MR is quilty will continue to believe that and those that don't will continue to believe that and we don't get to make the final decision on his fate....just saying....JMO JMO....I don't think the fact that his mother is out there will sway anyone...but it will dispel untrue rumours that because she didn't make an appearance before that she had disowned him....good on her to continue to support her son....JMO JMO RS has been out there all along and even though I feel for the poor guy it doesn't change how I feel over this case....JMO

 

[Macright]

See that's what I don't understand. Derstine said that if he wanted to kill someone he wouldn't go as far as where he went. Derstine however, forgot to mention that they had to go to Guelph to get the drugs, and maybe in Guelph there just wasn't a suitable place to kill a little girl, so they went somewhere MTR knew, like freaking 50 minutes north of Guelph totally in the opposite direction of Woodstock.

Actual time is:
1 hour 5 mins
65.2 km

He did mention that MR had to pick up his drugs that day....he didn't leave that out in fact I don't believe he left much out...he added things we have not been privy to before....JMO JMO

 

[Ardy]

I don't know what you all think about this but I think MTR's mother speaking to the media today and making herself visible today was a defense strategy. She got her message out there about her son being innocent without being put on the stand. Seems too coincidental that it was done on the day of the defences closing statements.MOO.

Possible, but I doubt it.

RS was interviewed today as well. If TM wanted to give an interview the press would have been there as well.

Although, previously I would have thought the defense had enough to do without cruising forums..............there was some commentary today that had me scratching my head wondering............where did I hear that before?

JMO.............

 

[Alison]

I was one of the ones who thought it was very telling that MR's mother was not in court. Another poster suggested she was hiding from the media, and they were quite correct. I feel bad for this woman (not as bad as I feel for TS family). No one would want to believe this of their child. I am sure as I said before, she is a whirlwind of emotions. Even though she believes he is inocent, I am sure she is embarassed at the moment to have others know he is her son. However while I have empathy for the women, I think she should prepare herself because he is going to go to prison. For how long? We do not know (and it probably won't be long enough).

 

[Alison]

Possible, but I doubt it.

RS was interviewed today as well. If TM wanted to give an interview the press would have been there as well.

Although, previously I would have thought the defense had enough to do without cruising forums..............there was some commentary today that had me scratching my head wondering............where did I hear that before?

JMO.............

Yes I agree Ardy some of the closing sounded really familiar to others posts...