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American Morning

Sniper Trials: Case Against Muhammad

Aired October 31, 2003 - 8:05   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In the sniper trial, it was a tough day for witnesses and jurors. Graphic evidence and testimony heard yesterday against John Allen Muhammad brought some of the jurors to tears.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve is live for us in Virginia Beach this morning, Jeanne, good morning.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. John Muhammad showed no visible emotion as gut-wrenching testimony and evidence was offered about the murder of Linda Franklin in a Home Depot parking lot. A 911 call made by her husband, William, was played in the courtroom. He was close to hysteria. His voice so high pitched because of the panic that the dispatcher at first thought he was dealing with a woman.

You can hear him sobbing. You can hear him wailng in the course of the tape. Franklin was not in the room while that tape was played. He had offered some earlier testimony about how he heard a noise that he thought was a piece of lumber falling on the pavement and felt something spray his face, which he only later realized was the blood of his wife.

A police officer testified about coming to the scene and finding William Franklin kneeling by the side of his wife's body with his head buried in her stomach wailing. His wife lay there dead, of course.

Daughter Katie (ph) also testified. She was five and a half months pregnant, was woken up in the middle of the night, told her mother had been killed. She said, "I just remember screaming and throwing myself on the bed."

She maintained her calm throughout her testimony, except at one juncture, when she was shown a smiling photograph of her mother. Her voice caught as she said, "That's my mom."

Today we expect the testimony to turn to the shooting of Conrad Johnson. He was a ride-on bus driver.

That's where it goes today. Soledad, back to you.

O'BRIEN: Jeanne, so much emotional testimony. How has the demeanor of John Allen Muhammad been in the courtroom all this time?

MESERVE: He's very attentive. He's clearly paying attention to the witnesses. He appears to be looking at the photographs. Most of the time I can only see his back. He did walk up to the bench a couple of times for conferences. When he turned around and came back, though, we did get a straight-on look at his face and he betrayed absolutely no emotion.

The same could not be said for the jurors. At least two jurors were reduced to tears by that 911 call. There's a third juror who averted her face when some very graphic photographs were put up. These are photographs of Linda Franklin's injuries, both at the crime scene and on the autopsy table.

Now, the defense fought vigorously about having those photographs and the 911 tapes introduced. They said they were prejudicial, they were unnecessary to the case. So they lost in almost every case. One crime scene photo was kept out in the end -- Soldedad.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Jeanne Meserve for us this morning. Jeanne, thanks.






Aired October 31, 2003 - 8:05   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In the sniper trial, it was a tough day for witnesses and jurors. Graphic evidence and testimony heard yesterday against John Allen Muhammad brought some of the jurors to tears.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve is live for us in Virginia Beach this morning, Jeanne, good morning.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. John Muhammad showed no visible emotion as gut-wrenching testimony and evidence was offered about the murder of Linda Franklin in a Home Depot parking lot. A 911 call made by her husband, William, was played in the courtroom. He was close to hysteria. His voice so high pitched because of the panic that the dispatcher at first thought he was dealing with a woman.

You can hear him sobbing. You can hear him wailng in the course of the tape. Franklin was not in the room while that tape was played. He had offered some earlier testimony about how he heard a noise that he thought was a piece of lumber falling on the pavement and felt something spray his face, which he only later realized was the blood of his wife.

A police officer testified about coming to the scene and finding William Franklin kneeling by the side of his wife's body with his head buried in her stomach wailing. His wife lay there dead, of course.

Daughter Katie (ph) also testified. She was five and a half months pregnant, was woken up in the middle of the night, told her mother had been killed. She said, "I just remember screaming and throwing myself on the bed."

She maintained her calm throughout her testimony, except at one juncture, when she was shown a smiling photograph of her mother. Her voice caught as she said, "That's my mom."

Today we expect the testimony to turn to the shooting of Conrad Johnson. He was a ride-on bus driver.

That's where it goes today. Soledad, back to you.

O'BRIEN: Jeanne, so much emotional testimony. How has the demeanor of John Allen Muhammad been in the courtroom all this time?

MESERVE: He's very attentive. He's clearly paying attention to the witnesses. He appears to be looking at the photographs. Most of the time I can only see his back. He did walk up to the bench a couple of times for conferences. When he turned around and came back, though, we did get a straight-on look at his face and he betrayed absolutely no emotion.

The same could not be said for the jurors. At least two jurors were reduced to tears by that 911 call. There's a third juror who averted her face when some very graphic photographs were put up. These are photographs of Linda Franklin's injuries, both at the crime scene and on the autopsy table.

Now, the defense fought vigorously about having those photographs and the 911 tapes introduced. They said they were prejudicial, they were unnecessary to the case. So they lost in almost every case. One crime scene photo was kept out in the end -- Soldedad.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Jeanne Meserve for us this morning. Jeanne, thanks.