The show did mention that the witness that saw Suzanne at Phelps Gate also saw a well dressed blond man about 10 feet behind Suzanne. Was this new information or had you mentioned this before?
This was first brought to light in the Vanity Fair article. Here is what was said on CNN's Burden of Proof show about it:
Ron, there is an identification that was made by a witnessed who claimed the night of the murder that she saw a blond Caucasian wearing glasses, and then later saw this James Van de Velde on television, and said: You know, that's the guy. Is that a good identification?
RONALD SULLIVAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It's a problematic identification because it's potentially suggestive. She didn't pick Mr. Van de Velde out of a lineup. She didn't pick him out independently. Rather, it was after she saw him on TV in the context of being called a suspect in the murder that she said that, well, this looks like the guy that I saw that night.
Also, contrast that with another witness who said that she saw a small red car leaving the scene, not a big red jeep, like Professor Van de Velde had. And, when shown a picture of the professor, said that's absolutely not the person that was driving the car that apparently fled away from the scene of the crime.
So it's a problematic ID at best.
COSSACK: John, as a prosecutor, what do you do with an ID like that?
BENZAN: Well, you have to test it. You have to put the witness to the test. You test her ability to perceive, the angle from which she saw the person, and what she went through that day to make sure that if you are going to use that at trial that it's something that is going to stand and it is going to be good evident. So you put the witness to the test.
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In general, it's hard to believe, IMO, how anyone could have stalked Suzanne that night. The walk from her apartment to Phelps Gate is through locked gates, between buildings, and across streets. If someone had followed her from her apartment, wouldn't their car also be parked near it? How would the stalker then get Suzanne back to his car?
- Jeff |
