NJ - Costas 'Gus' Christofi, 55, shot to death, Alexandria Twp, 14 Feb 2002


Let's see ... Jayson Williams ~ Scott Peterson ~ and Kobe Bryant (for the prosecution) just to name a few high profile cases.

Is Jo-Ellan also representing either side of the Michael Jackson case? Anyone know?

Rum Tum
 
Rum Tum Tugger said:

Let's see ... Jayson Williams ~ Scott Peterson ~ and Kobe Bryant (for the prosecution) just to name a few high profile cases.

Is Jo-Ellan also representing either side of the Michael Jackson case? Anyone know?

Rum Tum


FOX just reported that Martha Stewarts jury has been selected and opening statements are in the morning. Apparently they were able to find 12 jurors without Ms. Dimitrius!
 
Anybody watching this on Court TV? Is there any reason whatsoever why this guy should be found not guilty?

He's just another overpaid spoiled celebrity who thinks the laws don't apply to him!
 
YES!! I have been following this case since day 1 on CourtTV and I am just fascinated! Jayson Williams seems like such a creep! The more I find out about him, the more I can't stand him. I really do think this was an accident but he IS guilty of reckless endangerment at least. I feel very sorry for Gus' family. Very sad.

d
 

Pepper & "D" ... my sentiments are in line with both of yours as expressed above.

Maybe mine go even a bit further .. as I was ready to convict this SOB as soon as I heard he purposely shot & killed his pet dog after losing a bet. Unfortunately, the jury will never hear much about Jayson's reckless and evil behavior prior to this incident.

Hopefully, the jury is intelligent enough to see beyond all of Billy Martin's bluster and are able to get to the heart of the matter. I hope Williams is convicted on all charges and goes to prison. He is not 'above the law' .. regardless of how he fancies himself.

Christofi deserved so much better than he received from this self-absorbed, reckless, controlling show-off. IF Williams is fooling the jury about who he is .. he certainly isn't pulling the wool over the eyes of the CTV viewers.

Praying for savvy intelligent jurors ....

Rum Tum
 
Does anyone remember when Oprah had Jayson on her show? It's been several years ago. At the time, he was raising his sister's children. She was murdered by her boyfriend. He seemed like a really nice guy. If you've discussed this before, I apologize. It's been a very long time since I posted at WebSleuths.
 
No, I didn't watch him on that show but I did know that he was raising them. I commend him for that but that in no way excuses what he did. I thought it was terrible what he did to his dog also. I'm only sorry the jury will not hear of that incident or hear what his blood alcohol levels were when he was tested.
It is such a shame how he treated Gus because he was a huge NBA fan and was really excited to be able to take the job driving for him. :(

d
 
Jasteph said:
Does anyone remember when Oprah had Jayson on her show? It's been several years ago. At the time, he was raising his sister's children. She was murdered by her boyfriend. He seemed like a really nice guy. If you've discussed this before, I apologize. It's been a very long time since I posted at WebSleuths.

WELCOME BACK JASTEPH! How are the kiddos?

I vaguely remember that show with Oprah and Jayson. Do you know who has the children of his murdered sister now?

Of course, I think that Jayson did this, intentionallly and with malice. I don't think he had foresight, however. I think he acted in the heat of the moment. If he hadn't had a gun, it would have been a fist fight at best.

Tragic case.
 
why no one started a thread about this. :waitasec:

I was starting to think we had NBA members here that would take offense and nobody wanted to open that can of worms. :chicken: Teeheehee

I disagree that he intentionally shot this man. No way. There is not motive whatsoever and no scenario that would make sense in an argument for intentional shooting. The prosecution would have pursued that path... GUARANTEED... if they had even one witness that himself believed the shooting was intentional.

Did he aim the gun at Gus? Absolutely. Did he intentionally pull the trigger? No one has made a compelling case for that theory. Did he know the gun was loaded? I'm not sure. But... did he know the gun was loaded, AND... intentionally aim it at Gus, AND... intentionally pull the trigger anticipating a shotgun blast that would blow a hole in a man he just met and had no motive to kill? No way. Jayson loved HIMSELF too much.

What troubles me about this case is the lack of the ability of TWELVE men to "do the right thing". I believe some of them were APPALLED. Some may have been in shock initially. I believe Victor, Jayson's brother who placed the 911 call, didn't even KNOW what happened. He took his brother's word at face value. I will truly be interested in seeing if he is called to testify.

Mostly though, I feel terrible sadness for Gus Christofi, and of course for his family left behind. He was a short, stocky, older man surrounded by tall athletic basketball players, a personal trainer, and much younger men. He was starstruck, brought a disposable camera in hopes of just getting a picture, and totally non offensive and non threatening to anyone. He handled himself completely professionally and I believe his better judgement told him to NOT go in that house. He was talked into entering the house by well meaning friends of Jayson that genuinely liked Gus. I think Gus gave in and went inside out of curiosity about the house, a desire not to offend the men that asked him to, and a need to feel that Jayson Williams was indeed the great selfless person portrayed by the press. Gus' experience at the restaurant had shown him otherwise. I think he felt that maybe Jayson did just have an odd sense of humor and that Gus would find that Jayson was really the great guy he'd read about. Gus was a huge sports fan and Jayson was a favorite local son.

I'm amazed at the real study in psychology that compelled all these men to cover for Jayson Williams, despite some of them KNOWING the police would be able to tell right away the story was not plausible. I believe some were genuinely good friends of Jayson who did not want him to get in trouble. I believe some really just wanted no part in getting involved with the whole incident and believed they were more likely to be left alone if they didn't "rock the boat". My greatest curiosity is in the actions of the Harlem Globetrotters who had no motive to cover for Williams, no need to feel as if their life would change significantly if he were held accountable, and no particular loyalty to him.

I anxiously await the testimony of Curly "Boo" Johnson who had no prior connection to Williams and job security with the Globetrotters. I believe he will tell the most compelling version of the truth.

As far as the dog shooting incident... NO ONE has substantiated that rumor at all. It was never noted as an incident when it supposedly happened, and no one can even swear he owned that dog. I'm inclined to believe this is an urban legend.

On the periphery, I believe Jayson Williams' wife is obnoxious, offensive, and certainly NOT an asset to him in any way. She either needs to stay home and watch the coverage on Court TV, or shut the hell up. And her website is a disgrace and a total defiance to the gag order.
 
Dang Babcat, why don't you tell us how you REALLY feel!! LOL ;) I agree with everything you said. I was watching today while some of the Globetrotters testified and they really didn't make credible witnesses. I'm not really sure how much they will help or hurt the case. I think they just really didn't want to get involved.

So, what do any of you think of Dean Bumbaco? Do you think he was credible?

d
 
Dean Bumbaco was the most credible witness to take the stand so far. He's a character for sure... but he's no dummy. Billy Martin underestimated what it would take to get under this guy's skin. For one thing he was the only one totally sober. That tends to lend credibility to his story. And he did not attempt to portray himself as a hero or good guy... and that adds to credibility.

The only two things that Bumbaco claimed that I doubted were:
1) He felt that Jayson was NOT joking at the restaurant. I disagree. This does not make his testimony false at all, because it has to do with how HE interpreted the incident. But I have friends who are like Jayson Williams and can look totally serious and be totally joking.

2) He said he went along with a cover-up plan because he felt his own life might be in danger. I had a hard time swallowing that. It seemed obvious that the shooting of Christoffi, no matter how stupidly negligent, was a mistake. The likelyhood that Williams would then start systematically gunning down every friend not willing to play the cover-up game seems to drip with problems in the credibility department. It seemed like a convenient excuse to reject any blame for the lack of aid administered to Mr. Christoffi. Most likely these men are embarassed and ashamed of how they behaved.

However... a few days later Kent Coluko would testify quite believably that he, too, was afraid for his life. This made me think twice about my original take on this issue.
 
I agree about Dean. I really liked the guy and he did come across as very credible. I also liked Kent Coluko and thought he was credible as well. I'm not really sure why they would think THEIR lives were in danger because I do think it was an accident but as I listened to some of the testimony today, I began wondering about the accident part! It was stated that one of the Globetrotters, Benjamin, saw that the gun was loaded and that Jayson did have his finger ON THE TRIGGER! But, like I said, I didn't think today's testimony was too credible.
And the fact that more than one person has testified that Jayson, immediately after the shooting, said "MY life is over!" makes me not like this guy even more! He could care less about Gus and the fact that he didn't even attempt to help the poor man is proof of that!
As for him just joking with Gus at the restaurant, he might have been, but he was still pretty rude IMHO!

d
 
sure, I think he should be found not guilty because he's "much more attractive" than OJ Simpson.

;) He's hopefully gone away for awhile.

PS: Did anyone see the interview done by Barbara Walters with him & his wife. Praise Jesus, Jayson almost walks on water the way they were talking.
 
River said:
WELCOME BACK JASTEPH! How are the kiddos?

I vaguely remember that show with Oprah and Jayson. Do you know who has the children of his murdered sister now?

Of course, I think that Jayson did this, intentionallly and with malice. I don't think he had foresight, however. I think he acted in the heat of the moment. If he hadn't had a gun, it would have been a fist fight at best.

Tragic case.

I too, believe it was a heat of the moment type situation. This is one case I really don't know a whole lot about. When I first heard about it I couldn't believe it was the same Jayson I had seen on Oprah. As for who is raising those children now, I have no idea.

River, my kids are doing great. How's everyone in your household??? I've been lurking around here for some time. Things are so busy now I can barely think straight.

Anyhoo, I'm trying to get caught up with everything you guys have been doing.
 
I've been watching the case and I think that he shot the limo driver on purpose. He was paranoid and freaking out about Gus being in his bedroom, took the gun out, cracked it, pointed it, and shot the poor man. He should be charged with 2nd degree murder instead of manslaughter. Williams was a time bomb who had already went off on a helpless dog. That is a symptom of being a psycho. In my opinion, he was not fit to be raising his sister's kids. Look what he's done to them now, and having loaded guns around is not safe. Williams had already been taunting Gus in the restaurant, then acting like a split personality telling him to stay and that "your'e one of the guys tonite". What a wacko.
 
I've been watching this trial from the beginning. I'm also an NBA fan. I even read Jayson Williams' book when it first came out. I liked the guy until I read his book. He picked on people in it too. Like he was better and smarter then the other ball players.

From all I have heard so far Jayson was very rude to Gus from the beginning. Like Gus was so far below him he didn't have to be nice to him.


I think he will be found guilty. I don't believe he meant to kill (or even shoot) Gus. I believe he knew the gun was loaded. He opened it and looked inside. Also they are his guns. He was being a show off plain and simple. He had a house full of people (some he didn't know very well), who had had some alcohol, as he had. The last thing he should have done was get out a loaded gun. Geez! What was he thinking? In that big house the only things he wanted to show people were his guns?

After he shot Gus he said "My life is over!" His life! What about Gus' life?

I don't understand why so many people agreed to lie. They knew what happened was wrong. None of them were even in trouble until they lied.

I haven't been to his wife's website. I am just not that interested in what she has to say.

I think the trial is going to be very interesting this week.

My heart goes out to Gus' family. The man went to work as usual.

Joanie
 
I really want to cry for Mr. Christoffi. It breaks my heart. Here he was, this regular guy, that even bought a disposable camera hoping to get pictures of these players because he looked up to them so much. Then he goes to the restaurant and gets treated so poorly. I do think Jayson was "joking" but it appears his jokes are often at someone else's expense. I was sold on the "just plain old joke" that Gus didn't immediately "get" idea, until Benoit Benjamin talked about the cruel things Jayson said about him that same night just to get a laugh. People who always must be funny at someone else's expense have deeper issues. It is an inborn, or more likely learned, insecurity that makes them bring others down in order to raise themselves up. At least in their own eyes. I don't think they even realize when others have caught on and find the practice offensive.

I think his friends did find his "humor" offensive. Most testified that they did, (some without actually coming out and saying so). But it seems it took putting them under oath to admit that Jayson was obnoxious. Why all the men went along with the bogus story, especially when JG testified that he told them "You have a better chance of winning the lottery every day than getting the police to believe he shot himself," is a real study in either psychology or sociology. I would not have been surprised if this had been a group of teenagers. I'm shocked because these were 30 something grown men.

I've tried to picture a scenario in which Jayson did this intentionally and I simply can't. I don't believe he meant to kill Gus. I don't know what he was thinking. Did he really think the gun was unloaded because he was so drunk? Did the gun really just go off when he flipped it up, as some defect of the gun, even though it had never done it before? Was the intent to scare the pants off of Gus so he wouldn't assume it was OK to follow the other men wherever they entered? I don't know if we will ever be sure what the truth is. But he had no motive to shoot Gus. He was so concerned about his own life and how it would change, even if he cared nothing about Gus. It is just such a tragedy.

I hear the trial is going to be postponed due to a death in the family of a witness or an attorney.
 
I was watching Dr. Henry Lee testify at the Jayson Williams trial. I was not very please with what I heard. I don't think he did a very thorough investigation. He did not even know Jayson's clothes were available or that Jayson did not have them on when he jumped in the pool. With what this man is paid I would expect a lot more from him. He evidently didn't even take the time to read any of the reports.

I realize that he often comes in after the fact. He gets to examine things after others have aready examined. But the 2 things I mention above are really big slips in my opinion.
 
I still don't even understand WHY this man was called in on this case to begin with! Everyone knows that Jayson did the shooting! What good did Dr. Lee do for either side?

d
 

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