The Brass Verdict

details of the investigation out on direct examination. This worked in my favor. I thought the jury – and Julie Favreau confirmed this by text message – was getting bored by the minutiae of the testimony and would welcome a new line of questions.
    The direct testimony primarily regarded the investigative efforts that took place after Walter Elliot’s arrest. Kinder described at length his delving into the defendant’s marriage, the discovery of a recently vested prenuptial agreement, and the efforts Elliot made in the weeks before the murders to determine how much money and control of Archway Studios he would lose in a divorce. With a time chart he was also able to establish through Elliot’s statements and documented movements that the defendant had no credible alibi for the estimated time of the murders.
    Golantz also took the time to question Kinder about all the dead ends and offshoots of the investigation that proved to be ancillary. Kinder described the many unfounded leads that were called in and dutifully checked out, the investigation of Johan Rilz in an effort to determine if he had been the main target of the killer, and the comparison of the double murder to other cases that were similar and unsolved.
    In all, Golantz and Kinder appeared to have done a thorough job of nailing my client to the murders in Malibu, and by midafternoon the young prosecutor was satisfied enough to say, “No more questions, Your Honor.”
    It was now finally my turn and I had decided to go after Kinder in a cross-examination that would stay tightly focused on just three areas of his direct testimony, and then surprise him with an unexpected punch to the gut. I moved to the lectern to conduct the questioning.
    “Detective Kinder, I know we will be hearing from the medical examiner later in the trial, but you testified that you were informed after the autopsy that the time of death of Mrs. Elliot and Mr. Rilz was estimated to be between eleven a.m. and noon on the day of the murders.”
    “That is correct.”
    “Was it closer to eleven or closer to noon?”
    “It’s impossible to tell for sure. That is just the time frame in which it happened.”
    “Okay, and once you had that frame, you then proceeded to make sure that the man you had already arrested had no alibi, correct?”
    “I would not put it that way, no.”
    “Then, how would you put it?”
    “I would say that it was my obligation to continue to investigate the case and prepare it for trial. Part of that due diligence would be to keep an open mind to the possibility that the suspect had an alibi for the murders. In carrying out that obligation, I determined according to multiple interviews as well as records kept at the gate at Archway Studios that Mr. Elliot left the studio, driving by himself, at ten forty that morning. This gave him plenty of time to-”
    “Thank you, Detective. You’ve answered the question.”
    “I haven’t finished my answer.”
    Golantz stood and asked the judge if the witness could finish his answer, and Stanton allowed it. Kinder continued in his Homicide 101 tone.
    “As I was saying, this gave Mr. Elliot plenty of time to get to the Malibu house within the parameters of the estimated time of death.”
    “Did you say plenty of time to get there?”
    “Enough time.”
    “Earlier you described making the drive yourself several times. When was that?”
    “The first time was exactly one week after the murders. I left the gatehouse at Archway at ten forty in the morning and drove to the Malibu house. I arrived at eleven forty-two, well within the murder window.”
    “How did you know that you were taking the same route that Mr. Elliot would have taken?”
    “I didn’t. So I just took what I considered the most obvious and quickest route that somebody would take. Most people don’t take the long cut. They take the short cut – the shortest amount of time to their destination. From Archway I took Melrose to La Brea and then La Brea down to the ten. At that point I headed west to the Pacific Coast Highway.”
    “How did you know that the traffic you encountered would be the same that Mr. Elliot encountered?”
    “I didn’t.”
    “Traffic in Los Angeles can be a very unpredictable thing, can it not?”
    “Yes.”
    “Is that why you drove the route several times?”
    “One reason, yes.”
    “Okay, Detective Kinder, you testified that you drove the route a total of five times and got to the Malibu house each time