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Einhorn to Testify in Trial
Aired October 10, 2002 - 14:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Former hippie guru Ira Einhorn is on trial in Philadelphia, charged with murdering his former girlfriend, Holly Maddux, 25 years ago. And tomorrow, he's expected to take the witness stand in his own defense.
CNN's Jason Carroll is covering the trial -- Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Kyra, a lot of people are waiting to hear what Ira Einhorn is going to have to say when he ends up testifying and taking the stand.
Einhorn is accused of killing his former girlfriend, Holly Maddux, back in 1977, putting her body in a trunk, and then storing it in the apartment they once shared, all because she wanted to end their relationship.
The defense called several witnesses, who claim they saw Maddux several months after she was reported missing. They also called a psychic to the stand, who says that Einhorn called her and wanted her to use her powers to try and find Maddux.
They also called forensic experts, who say that it is not likely that Maddux's body decomposed in the trunk, possibly suggesting that she was killed somewhere else.
Einhorn is expected to testify that he was framed for the murder by the CIA, because he says, he had knowledge of some sort of a secret mind-control weapon that they were putting together.
Maddux's sisters came out a little earlier, and they had a lot to say about this theory, a theory that one local radio station called "the X-Files defense."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEG WAKEMAN, VICTIM'S SISTER: I expect as way-out-of-stuff as we can all imagine. I'm hoping to get to at least the top layer of the conspiracy theories.
BUFFY HALL, VICTIM'S SISTER: I hope he enjoys making a complete ass of himself, because that's what I anticipate he's going to do. I don't know of one person who ever, certainly in the last five years, has ever approached me with anything remotely resembling a comment that they believed anything Ira said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: The prosecution has already wrapped up its side of the case.
One of the most powerful moments was when they called one of Ira Einhorn's ex-girlfriends, who said that when she tried to end her relationship with Ira Einhorn, he hit her over the head with a coke bottle, and then tried to strangle her.
The defense attorney, William Cannon, called her testimony -- quote -- "devastating" -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Jason, meanwhile, take us back. What's he been doing with his life? And how did authorities finally get to him? He got married and tried to live a normal life, didn't he?
CARROLL: Well, basically, what he did was, he fled the country, and for many, many years, he lived throughout Europe. He lived in Ireland. Then, when he was discovered there, he moved to England; then moved to Sweden, met a woman there, a woman by the name of Annika, married this woman. They then moved to France, where they lived for quite some time.
Ira Einhorn spent many, many years trying to fight extradition. As you know, he was tried in absentia back here in the U.S. The French government does not recognize cases tried in absentia, and they only agreed to the extradition terms once the U.S. agreed to grant him a new trial.
PHILLIPS: What type of work did he do, Jason?
CARROLL: I'm sorry, one more time?
PHILLIPS: What type of work did he do?
CARROLL: Ira Einhorn -- that's an interesting question. In terms of the type of work he used to do, he was really a new-age type of guru, at one point a college professor teaching new-age types of theories. He had a huge following back in the mid-'70s. A lot of people following some of his new-age type of ideals, which is why he was such a popular type of figure back in the mid-'70s.
PHILLIPS: Well, he may be going into another new age after this trial.
Jason Carroll, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired October 10, 2002 - 14:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Former hippie guru Ira Einhorn is on trial in Philadelphia, charged with murdering his former girlfriend, Holly Maddux, 25 years ago. And tomorrow, he's expected to take the witness stand in his own defense.
CNN's Jason Carroll is covering the trial -- Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Kyra, a lot of people are waiting to hear what Ira Einhorn is going to have to say when he ends up testifying and taking the stand.
Einhorn is accused of killing his former girlfriend, Holly Maddux, back in 1977, putting her body in a trunk, and then storing it in the apartment they once shared, all because she wanted to end their relationship.
The defense called several witnesses, who claim they saw Maddux several months after she was reported missing. They also called a psychic to the stand, who says that Einhorn called her and wanted her to use her powers to try and find Maddux.
They also called forensic experts, who say that it is not likely that Maddux's body decomposed in the trunk, possibly suggesting that she was killed somewhere else.
Einhorn is expected to testify that he was framed for the murder by the CIA, because he says, he had knowledge of some sort of a secret mind-control weapon that they were putting together.
Maddux's sisters came out a little earlier, and they had a lot to say about this theory, a theory that one local radio station called "the X-Files defense."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEG WAKEMAN, VICTIM'S SISTER: I expect as way-out-of-stuff as we can all imagine. I'm hoping to get to at least the top layer of the conspiracy theories.
BUFFY HALL, VICTIM'S SISTER: I hope he enjoys making a complete ass of himself, because that's what I anticipate he's going to do. I don't know of one person who ever, certainly in the last five years, has ever approached me with anything remotely resembling a comment that they believed anything Ira said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: The prosecution has already wrapped up its side of the case.
One of the most powerful moments was when they called one of Ira Einhorn's ex-girlfriends, who said that when she tried to end her relationship with Ira Einhorn, he hit her over the head with a coke bottle, and then tried to strangle her.
The defense attorney, William Cannon, called her testimony -- quote -- "devastating" -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Jason, meanwhile, take us back. What's he been doing with his life? And how did authorities finally get to him? He got married and tried to live a normal life, didn't he?
CARROLL: Well, basically, what he did was, he fled the country, and for many, many years, he lived throughout Europe. He lived in Ireland. Then, when he was discovered there, he moved to England; then moved to Sweden, met a woman there, a woman by the name of Annika, married this woman. They then moved to France, where they lived for quite some time.
Ira Einhorn spent many, many years trying to fight extradition. As you know, he was tried in absentia back here in the U.S. The French government does not recognize cases tried in absentia, and they only agreed to the extradition terms once the U.S. agreed to grant him a new trial.
PHILLIPS: What type of work did he do, Jason?
CARROLL: I'm sorry, one more time?
PHILLIPS: What type of work did he do?
CARROLL: Ira Einhorn -- that's an interesting question. In terms of the type of work he used to do, he was really a new-age type of guru, at one point a college professor teaching new-age types of theories. He had a huge following back in the mid-'70s. A lot of people following some of his new-age type of ideals, which is why he was such a popular type of figure back in the mid-'70s.
PHILLIPS: Well, he may be going into another new age after this trial.
Jason Carroll, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
