This trial started November 24, 2003 and is ongoing.

February 23, 2004
 

Do you get confused about who's who? 
Double check info on the lawyers.

I wasn’t able to watch most of the day, but luckily Noel Brady, of King  County Journal, has provided us with a handy overview of witness “Johnny” Siayed’s testimony.  Apparently, this family relative (Atif’s second cousin on his mother's side) testified that he thought it was strange that Rafay wanted him to oversee the sale of the family house, that it was weird that Rafay didn’t notify him of his whereabouts, and that he did not attend the funeral for his murdered family.  Yes, very strange indeed.  Of course, you also have to take into consideration the fact that Atif was staying at a Bellevue motel, in Bellevue Police custody.  And though he was told he could contact family members, he did not have their phone numbers (anyone out there in Trial Diary-land know their second-cousin's phone number off the top of your head?), and the motel room apparently had no phone.  Furthermore, Atif didn’t know about the funeral because his extended family (who planned it) couldn’t contact him: they did not know where he was.

            When I walk into the courtroom this afternoon, it’s during a break.  The defense attorneys are clustered in the back, standing with whom I soon find out is Detective Thompson. I sit down and wait for the session to resume.  I can’t help but notice that everyone appears to be in a fantastic mood today.  I think this is the most jovial I’ve ever seen the group; even hat lady is chatting away with a friend!  This is totally unprecedented, because not only have I never seen hat lady talking with anyone, but the word around the courthouse is that she’s not exactly friendly...or completely sane.  The defense attorneys are laughing and talking with a blonde court clerk, Mrs. Reed.  They’re talking about parenthood (Mrs. ‘s family recently expanded by one grandson), and Jeff shares an old Bill Cosby story.  Veronica is on the phone regarding a problem with her refrigerator.  Apparently, it pops open of its own accord.

James walks by Song and Jeff and says “What else do we need to talk about?”  They too begin talking and laughing.  Officers bring in the defendants, who get situated after the usual tie and belt adjustments.  An officer jokes with Burns, something about him and his pencils.  Burns smiles.  As the break continues, Song chats with one officer, Veronica with another.  Rafay and Burns chat with their defense lawyers from time to time.  I continually wonder why Burns and Rafay don’t speak with each other more.  Their silence seems to make sense during session- it couldn’t help to look to chatty and too at ease in front of the jury- but this was still the case when the jury wasn’t present. 

When Judge Mertel enters, James and Jeff approach him to resolve a number of issues that must be addressed before testimony is heard from Detective Thompson.  This is a discussion that takes 1/2 hour, and isn't finished when it ends.  I can't make out everything that's said- something about a polygraph reference, a reference to "crossing the border on foot," and Jeff asks to exclude witness Thompson's explanation of visiting Canada to determine why AR & SB left (at least I think this is what he says...).  Konat argues that this last piece shouldn't be excluded because the defense originally entered it.  Veronica concurs with Jeff, but Judge Mertel ultimately allows the reasoning to be mentioned in front of the jury.  They move on to discussing a document of phone records from Bellevue Police Department: Jeff doesn't think the actual document will be used, because Detective Thompson will mention it in testimony anyway.  Robinson says he will probably not call a witness to admit this document.  Guards are talking, changing posts, next to me.  I'm not hearing/understanding all of this discussion up front.  Konat mentions "another David Burns issue." 

Judge Mertel wants to bring the jury in so no more of their time is wasted before they have to end for the day.  All agree that the rest of the issues must be dealt with eventually, but they will ask Thompson questions that don't involve the unresolved points.  The jury enters, and Judge Mertel swears in Det. Thompson of BPD.  Konat starts, beginning with Thompson's first visit to the scene of murders.  Thompson seems really relaxed, and open; exuding a vibe of honesty.  Thompson explains that he was at home, in bed, when he got the call.  When he arrived on the scene, others like Haroldson and Gomes were there, and Lt. Mott was in charge of the investigation (but I believe I hear Thompson say he was the "lead investigator).  He heard of/about SB & AR upon arrival.  He knew they were being taken care of by police (as in, held in a secure location), so he didn't concern himself with them at that time, but instead prepared a search warrant affidavit for the Rafay residence in his car.  Thompson went into Rafay home at 5 am, with the other investigators.  At that time, Thompson was most concerned with the crime scene being secure.  He says he knew he'd be talking to SB & AR later, because that is the protocol for serious crimes.  All he knew about the case before he went inside the house was that SB & AR had said there was a woman in the basement, that it was AR's family, and that it might have been a murder-suicide.  (Please note: Thompson's observations and comments were all in response to questioning by James Konat).

Thompson shares his observations about the house.  He begins with the family room where Basma was found: boxes everywhere, no furniture, appeared someone was either moving in or out; scattered things everywhere, desk drawers pulled out.  He says the bathroom was neat and tidy, plain; same with the laundry room.  He took note of the cars in the garage.  Upstairs, he looked in the living room and dining room.  He noted that the VCR appeared missing, and the back sliding door of the family room was open.  The dishwasher was open; there was one plate on the dining table.  He noted blood drops in hallway, and noted the upstairs rooms and bathroom.  Then he describes what he found in the master bedroom: blinds closed, the room darkened, thick with smells- a horrific scene, strikingly violent.  Tariq was there; Thompson looked at his body from both sides.  No gun was found to support the murder/suicide theory, and Thompson says once he got a chance to view Tariq, he could tell it was obvious a gun had not inflicted the damage. 

Two teens come in and sit in my bench.  They are vaguely affectionate as they sit there, watching for a good twenty minutes.

In 1994 Thompson moved to Crimes Against Persons Unit, so it sounds like he was pretty new to this type of police investigation (homicide cases).  He says he hadn't seen anything that horrific before, and shares another detail of his initial findings in the house: the discovery of vomit behind Basma's door, where she was found.  He continues with more details: the glass door in Tariq's room was open 6-8 inches.  The kitchen sliding glass door was open 2-3 feet.  After looking through the house, Thompson met with Lt. Mott and Det. Gomes, and they decided to interview the witnesses.  They interviewed them separately, with Atif going first.  Thompson says it was NOT an interrogation.  He says he never raised his voice, called names, used profanity, pounded table, or anything along those lines.  Atif was not cuffed.  A request was made to AR to give up his clothes, because he had worn them inside the crime scene, and they may contain evidence.  AR declined, so Thompson had to take his them.  Burns apparently gave his willfully.  Thompson says he "wants to think he was neutral" going into the interview, that he was not initially suspicious.  He says he WAS suspicious after talking with AR though, because: a) He walked in, saw his mom, and didn't do anything, just said she "was dead" b) He heard his sister moaning but didn't check on her; this was a "flag" to Thompson.  c) Atif noticed that his walkman was missing- a third flag, "in the midst of the carnage and all."  I notice Burns is continually writing on or looking at some lined notebook papers.  The writing is all on in columns on the left side.  It could be lists, recipes, or perhaps lengthy sonnets.  The trial breaks for the day.