8:50am - I arrive earlier than usual.  Bob the Court Clerk is here, and me... and that is all!

On a white board behind the prosecutor's desk is written:

Phone # called
from motel rm.
(604) 921-8427
called 3x

8:57am- Still no one but Bob and me.  On the table where SB sits I glimpse a lonely tie - blue in nature. 

8:59am - Roger arrives.

9:00am - Officer Gomes arrives.  I'm assuming he's on the stand again today.  He pours some water from the pitcher.

9:03am - Song and Jeff arrive.  Jeff getting laptop set up.  Marc arrives.  Roger on phone.  Everyone else unusually quiet.

9:06am - Veronica arrives.

9:09am - SB & AR arrive.  SB in lavender shirt, gray pants.  AR in taupe pants and sweater.  One other spectator in courtroom now, a woman.  Judge enters.

9:10am - Roger arguing to the judge about what Song has been asking Gomes about other people's reports.  Roger says if Gomes says he hasn't read the report then Song should end her questioning there.  

Song says she is trying to impeach Gomes on details that he should have known if he is going to talk about what other police told him.  Judge called it the "impeachment rout" and sides with Song.

9:15am - Judge address all counsel saying we do not have unlimited time and so counsel should not ask questions more than once.  He uses, as an example, someone saying, "So did you pick up the knife?"  "Yes."  "Aha!  So you said before you didn't but now you say you did?"  Very Perry Mason.

Roger, who is a jovial fellow himself, somehow takes offense to this, as if he is being called out directly.  I don't believe he was being called out, because I've seen others do it much more than him.  I won't name names.  

Veronica states that Foote and McBride are not going to be called by the prosecutors so the defense will call them.  She says the prosecutors said in their opening statement that they would be called so the defense should get to ask questions pertaining to these two witnesses.

9:22am - Gomes takes the stand, jury files in, Song prepared to start her cross examination of this witness.

On the screen Jeff puts up a Power Point slide listing all the contact SB & AR had with the Bellevue Police Department (BPD) from the night of the crime until they left for Canada.

July 13 - Hand written statement taken at crime scene.
July 13 - At BPD - audio taped statement.
July 13 - At BPD - pictures and prints taken.
July 14 - Bellevue Park - taped statement with AR.

9:39am- James enters courtroom.  Song questions Gomes about whether he "promised" AR that he would contact his family.  In the taped statement at the Bellevue Park, AR said, "I thought you were going to contact my family," and Gomes said, "I never promised."  Song now asking him about a meeting that took place at noon on July 14th with other law enforcement personnel, and if he attended this meeting.  He says yes.  She asked if the phone numbers of AR's family was shared at this meeting.  He says he doesn't remember.

9:50am- Song now asking if Gomes told AR & SB that the funeral for AR's family was the next day.  Gomes says no, because he didn't know it at the time.

10am - Song is laying down foundation questioning about a Canadian informant.  Roger objects about seven times.  Six of those are over-ruled.  Gomes got information about a "Jesse Brar" from a Canadian Constable. Roger is peeved about this because he considers it hearsay.  Judge tells Song she is getting into an "iffy" area.  Gomes received a document from said constable which included info on the informant.  BPD went to Jesse's house Sept. 30th, 1994.  Jesse didn't open the door.  

Some of the questions Roger was unthrilled with were:

10:15am - Song finishing up her question of Gomes.  Says she wants to ask about the sound tests done at the Rafay home, to test what sort of weapon the neighbors might have heard the night of the murders.  Asking about an axe handle that was used on the drywall.  Gomes said neighbor "Sidell" said the sound he heard on the night of the murders was "more intense."  They tried the actual axe then, going into the drywall.  Sidell said this sounded more like what he heard.  Questioning by Song of Gomes ends.

10:20am - Break called.  Marc talking with Bob the Court Clerk about getting certain pieces of evidence ready for his cross-examination of Gomes.  All attorneys who are left in the courtroom seem happy and are joking around with each other.  Jeff and Song share a hug.  Two older men come in and sit down in the gallery.  Veronica and Marc talking about how long they want to live... not sure how we got on this subject!  Marc saying when he was in his 20's he didn't want to live to be an old man in his 40's.  Veronica is talking about how she doesn't want to make it to her 70's.

Noel from the King County Journal comes in and we chat about witnesses.  He had to run back out to feed the meter.  Random fact of the day... Noel is 34 and his b-day is right before mine.  This 15-minute break only lasted 20!  They are getting shorter.

10:42am- Judge enters.  Roger has an issue about Song's questions about Jesse Brar and about what info is going to be allowed in front of the jury.  This particular issue was ruled on "pre-trial" and Roger thinks Song's questions have gone beyond of the scope allowed by the previous ruling.  He said he is going to need time to prepare his re-direct if the judge is going to allow questioning that previously disallowed.  Judge Mertel says he doesn't think any of the questions DID go beyond the scope, except maybe the one about Gomes being afraid to visit Brar alone.  

10:49am- Gomes gets back up on the witness stand.  Jury files in.

11am - Marc questions Gomes about the timeline where he questioned AR.  Noel, who is sitting beside me, leans over and says that after a previous trial... the "Wilson trial," Gomes was voted "Best Dressed" by the press.  (Hi Hilary, yes I had to include that.)

Gomes is asked to read part of AR's statement to the BPD.  This is part of the very first audio taped interview.  When asked what he had for breakfast on the morning of murders:

AR - "Sebastian made French Toast... and... it's like... Sebastian doesn't make very good French Toast..."

People in court laugh.

They then went to Safeway and bought blueberries and Honey Wheat Berry Bread.  They went to Silver Platters in Bellevue (awesome CD store, best in the area) and on to Barns and Nobel, where they ate their blueberries.

The police asked him about the movie they claim they saw that night, "The Lion King."  AR said he didn't like it.  "It was a really bad movie."

11:30- Marc questions Gomes about the fact he kept saying, "I wanted to AR to contact his family about the murders, but he never would."  Marc would point out that AR said the phone book with all the family member's phone numbers was in the house, which was a crime scene, and AR was not allowed back in there.  Marc asks Gomes if Gomes offered to get the book for AR.  Gomes said, no, that it was not his "job" to get the book for AR. He said AR told him he didn't contact his family for three reasons: first - he didn't have their numbers, second - there was no phone in the motel room, third - Gomes had mentioned he might contact the family for him.  Gomes said, well there are pay phones on every corner, you could call information for the phone number, and brings up again that he never "promised" he'd call AR's family.  He said as far as he was concerned a family member had already been informed of the deaths - AR.  An it was now AR's duty to contact the rest of the family.

11:40am- Marc asked Gomes when was the first time he ever had to inform someone (in his capacity as a police officer) that someone in their family had died.  Gomes says when he was 25-years-old maybe.  "Was that difficult?"  "Yes, very," Gomes replies.  Marc asks him if it was unreasonable, then, that Atif - as a teenager, wanted help informing his family.  Gomes says no.

12:05pm - Questioning of Gomes by Marc continues.  AR leaning over and whispering to Veronica a lot during court today.  Sebastian is "working" on something.  He is a pencil on a stack of papers in his lap, so I can't see what it is.  He occasionally uses a big, pink school-like eraser and obsessively sharpens his pencil.  When break is called, I peeked and it is printing on lined paper.

12:10pm- Lunch break.

1:45pm- Veronica, Marc, James and Roger talking and joking with each other.  Doing play on words.  James asks to me if I'm getting all this down.  They were talking way too fast, so... no.  They are all in a very fun mood this afternoon.

Prosecution gives defense some documents relating to "pre-arrest silence."  I have no idea what that means.

1:50pm- About 15 students file into the courtroom.  The girl next to me says Judge Mertel talked at her school in one of her law classes and invited them to come watch the trial.  I give the two rows behind me the lowdown on who's who in the courtroom and pass around my cheat sheet about who IS who.

1:59pm- SB & AR brought in.  Both go for the water jugs.  James, Roger and Bob Thompson are joking around loudly at the prosecution table, but I can't hear it.  Some of it is visual and there is a lot of jumping around.

2:01pm- Judge enters.  Judge talking to Roger about the "pre-arrest silence" document and wants the judge to read it BEFORE Gomes takes the stand again.  Roger says the defense has give the jury the impression that the defendants were "entirely cooperative" with the BPD (I thought that was their job, I'm obviously missing something here).  About 20 more students file into the courtroom.  The place is as full as I've seen it since opening arguments.

2:04pm - Jury enters. Judge tells jury Gomes testimony will be interrupted while they take the testimony of some "out of town" witnesses.  James calls Ronald Smith to the stand, who is here from Los Angeles.  He is the Custodian of Records for Blue Cross California, who bought the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, where Tariq Rafay had one of his life insurance policies.

He says two checks were issued to Atif Rafay on 12-14-94 in the amount of $62,519.36 each.

2:10pm- James concludes questioning of Mr. Smith.  SB's team declines questioning of this witness.

2:11pm- Veronica questions Smith about who the checks were mailed to.  Smith can't say, says he doesn't know.  Veronica ends her questioning.  Judge dismisses Smith.  Quickest witness so far!

2:15pm- Bob Thompson brings in witness Joanne Haddad from the hallway.  Judge swears her in.  She is from Ontario, and is with Manufactured Life Assurance Company.  She says Tariq's life was insured with them for $225,000.00.

Says on 9-28-94 Atif requested a claim form from them.

On 10-14-94 they got a letter from his lawyer saying he had been appointed executor of the Tariq Rafay estate. 

2:30pm- Haddad says Tariq died without a will, so AR had to hire an attorney to help him become executor.  

2:40pm - She says their company had still not paid AR on 8-3-95, the date she says she was informed by Bob Thompson (BPD Detective) that AR had been charged with three counts of murder.  She says if AR is convicted someone else will have to file a claim with them.  If he is found innocent he will get the money.

2:43pm- James ends questioning of Haddad.  Break called.  I didn't get to stay to see the cross-examination of this witness.