The Melaswen Paradox (Read 329,595 times)

[heroicmuse]

Charlie didn't learn the first rule of cross-examination: never ask a question you don't know the answer to. I loved that Rafe didn't fall into any of his traps.

I can't wait for Joy to testify.

I'm glad Shawn has an airtight alibi. Hopefully Roman can move on to more viable suspects now.

Great chapter André DiMera.

[krw627]

I'm sure Belle will her brought into questioning for Maisie's murder, sad well.

Charlie is asking all the right questions, not his research is put, at best.

[mae00]

I'm glad Cynthia and Jason left early. Sounds like the rest of the evening went smoothly.

I'm glad Shawn won't be on the case but I'm really surprised that Roman has already called him out as a suspect. I'm glad his story is pretty solid. He had more interest in keeping Maisy safe than to kill her since Maisy could identify who she was working for.

Ugh. Charlie is like fingernails on a chalkboard. I hope Joy is unfazed by him and her testimony is as strong as Rafe and Sutton's. I really hope she nails the final nails in his coffin.

[André DiMera]

Wednesday - 6/8

SALEM COURTHOUSE
Joy was in the middle of giving her testimony. It mostly consisted of her involvement in the case against Charlie, as well as the events leading to his arrest.
JOY: …and until today, that was the only interaction we had ever had.
BELLE: Is there any doubt in your mind that Charlie Dale committed these crimes on his own?
JOY: None. Based on all of the evidence, it was Charlie, and just Charlie.
BELLE: No more questions, Your Honor.
Belle sat down.
FITZPATRICK: Defense?
Charlie walked over to Joy.
CHARLIE: Miss Wesley, did you or did you not get into my cab under false pretenses?
JOY: Could you define false pretenses, please?
CHARLIE: The witness will please answer the question.
FITZPATRICK: I’m sure the witness would be happy to answer once you have defined false pretenses as she has asked.
Charlie sighed.
CHARLIE: In this situation, it means did you enter my cab with the intent to deceive me?
JOY: Not necessarily. I got into your cab intending to arrest you.
CHARLIE: You could have arrested me at any time from the moment you first saw me, yet you waited until…I mean, you waited. Why is that?
JOY: As I explained earlier in my testimony, I was part of a stakeout mission to arrest you. I was being coached by my superiors on what to say and do so we could arrest you.
CHARLIE: Isn’t that technically entrapment?
JOY: No, it’s a stakeout. We had all of the evidence we needed to arrest you, we were just waiting for the right moment. Entrapment would be if I had encouraged or told you to commit a crime, committed the crime myself but made it look as though you had done it, then arrested you for said crime.
CHARLIE: But it was still a set up.
JOY: It was a legal tactic used to arrest a person who committed a crime.
CHARLIE: Why did you do it?
JOY: As I said earlier, we had all of the evidence to arrest you. CCTV footage showing you at the scene of the first crime at the time we believe it occured, your fingerprints on the body of the fifth victim.
CHARLIE: So, it was a set up, then.
Judge Fitzpatrick banged her gavel.
FITZPATRICK: Mr. Dale, you are going in circles and severely testing my patience. The witness has already answered your question, please either ask a new one or wrap it up.
CHARLIE: Do you think I’m guilty?
JOY: Yes. Absolutely.
CHARLIE: Interesting. No more questions, Your Honor.
Charlie sat down.
FITZPATRICK: Do you have a rebuttal, Mrs. Brady?
BELLE: Not at the moment, Your Honor.
FITZPATRICK: Then, Miss Wesley, you may stand down. Thank you for coming today.
Joy left the stand.
FITZPATRICK: Mrs. Brady, your next witness.
Belle stood up.
BELLE: Thank you, Your Honor. I call Charlie Dale to the stand.
There was complete silence. Everyone stared as Charlie casually made his way up to the stand. He smiled at the audience as he was sworn in.

[tghca]

Charlie may have lost his own case and he doesn't even know it. Joy more or less with her testimony sank Charlie but Charlie being so smug is being called up to the stand by Belle but Charlie can't lie. The evidence is all there and not to mention he is under oath. So if he even tries to lie, it is perjury.

I wonder if Charlie will try to fake a mental breakdown to get off by reason of insanity? Wouldn't put it past him

[heroicmuse]

If Charlie is smart, he'll plead the fifth on everything. But he's too smug to do that.

Joy did well. Why on Earth did Charlie think she would day she didn't think he was guilty?

Great chapter André DiMera

[lumiforeverandalways]

Charlie is making me lose my patience as well

Charlie is certainly not winning his case

Why on Earth would Charlie think Joy is on his side

Great chapter André DiMera

[Kpatch]

Charlie seems to know the law as well as Belle does. He asked good questions, albeit repetitive. His testimony should be interesting.

[André DiMera]

Thursday - 6/9

SALEM UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
Claire sat up as the door to her hospital room opened.
CLAIRE: Aunt Mimi!
MIMI: Hey, Claire Bear!
Mimi and Claire hugged.
CLAIRE: It’s good to see you!
MIMI: You too! I would’ve stopped by before now, but I just got to town before last night’s reunion.
CLAIRE: It’s okay. I’m glad…you’re here.
MIMI: Me too. How’re you doin’, kid?
CLAIRE: Okay, I guess. A lot…better than I was.
MIMI: Yeah, your Mom was telling me a bit about that. I’m so sorry you had to go through all that, honey.
CLAIRE: Thanks. How are you?
MIMI: I’m good. Glad to be back in town and see my best friend and her family. And I plan to be in town for at least a couple more days.
CLAIRE: That’s awesome! Maybe you’ll…be here when I finally…get released.
MIMI: Well, I hope so. I’m not sure exactly how long I’ll be staying, but I’m sure it’ll at least be until then.

SALEM COURTHOUSE
BELLE: Mr. Dale, I’m sure you’ve heard the evidence that has been presented against you. The crime scene photos, the testimony given by officers who investigated this string of murders. Having had that all laid out in front of you, what do you have to say?
Charlie took a deep breath and considered.
CHARLIE: I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to get me to say that I’m guilty. But I’m not guilty. You have all of this evidence, but it doesn’t prove that I’m guilty. At best, it proves that I was there on the night of the first murder and that I had touched the last victim.
BELLE: And what do you have to say about this?
Belle walked over to her desk and picked up a file.
BELLE: Your Honor, I present Exhibit C.
She handed the folder to Judge Fitzpatrick, who opened it and looked at its contents.
BELLE: These are photos from a gore website on the Dark Web. They were obtained by the Salem Police Department following Mr. Dale’s arrest. Out of respect for the victims and their families, I ask that only you and Mr. Dale be permitted to look at these right now, the jury will be able to look at them during deliberation.
FITZPATRICK: A perfectly reasonable request, which I am happy to agree to.
BELLE: For the moment, suffice it to say that these pictures not only place Mr. Dale at the scene of the crime, but on more than one occasion show him performing certain acts.
Judge Fitzpatrick handed the folder to Charlie, who looked it over.
BELLE: Mr. Dale, can you confirm or deny that you are featured in some of these photos?
CHARLIE: I am, yes.
BELLE: Look at the URL at the top of those pictures, have you visited that website before?
Charlie hesitated.
CHARLIE: I don’t recall.
BELLE: So, that’s not a no? It’s possible that you may have visited this website before?
Charlie took a deep breath and drank from his cup of water.
CHARLIE: It is certainly possible, however, I don’t recall.
BELLE: After Mr. Dale’s arrest, the police received a warrant to search Mr. Dale’s dorm room, including his electronics. On his laptop, they found copies of these photos. How did those photos end up on your laptop?
CHARLIE: I don’t recall.
BELLE: Do you recall where you were on the night of October the 31st 2021 between 8 and 8:20 p.m.?
CHARLIE: Yes, I do.
BELLE: Where were you that night at that time?
CHARLIE: Salem University.
BELLE: Can you be a little bit more specific, please? What part of Salem University?
CHARLIE: I arrived at the girl’s dormitory at about 8, I left about 20 minutes later
BELLE: Charlie Dale, did you murder Meadow Cole?
Charlie Dale sighed and took off his glasses.
CHARLIE: Yes.
In the audience, several people sat up. Meadow and Johnny grabbed each other’s hands. Allie drew a sharp breath. Ricky put an arm around her.
BELLE: Did you murder Rayne Gilmore?
CHARLIE: Yes.
BELLE: Did you murder Lydia Moore?
CHARLIE: Yes.
BELLE: Did you murder Tara Reynolds?
CHARLIE: Yes.
BELLE: Did you murder Mandella Morales?
CHARLIE: Yes.
Allie let out a noise that sounded like a small sob. Ricky gently rubbed her back. Sofia and Javier took each other’s hands.
BELLE: Did you take pictures of them both during and after the murders?
CHARLIE: Yes.
BELLE: And finally, did you distribute said pictures on the Dark Web?
CHARLIE: Yes.
Belle took the folder back from Charlie and handed it to the jury foreman.
BELLE: Do you have anything else to say?
Charlie chuckled.
CHARLIE: You did it. You actually got what you wanted. I did it.
BELLE: Are you saying that your confession here was false? Remember, you are under oath.
CHARLIE: Oh, I know. And no, I’m not gonna perjure myself, I told you the truth. Yes, I murdered those five girls. Yes, I took pictures of them and shared them online. But, to go back to your previous question, I certainly did have something to say. However, I think that can wait until closing arguments.
BELLE: I just have one more question: why? Why did you do it?
Again, Charlie chuckled.
CHARLIE: I know what you want me to say. You want to hear that I’m sick. You want me to blame it on the fact that my father was a weak man who abandoned his family, that my mother was abusive. But that’s not true. I had a great upbringing, a very lovely childhood. I did what I did because I wanted to.
BELLE: No more questions, Your Honor.
Belle returned to her seat.
CHARLIE: So, tell me, Your Honor, do I get to question myself now?
FITZPATRICK: Mr. Dale, I have tried to be patient, but you are coming perilously close to being held in contempt. Do not give me a reason to do so. Thank you for your testimony, you may stand down.
Charlie stood up and returned to his table.
FITZPATRICK: Mrs. Brady.
Belle stood up.
BELLE: Mr. Dale was my last witness, Your Honor.
FITZPATRICK: Very well, then. Mr. Dale?

[heroicmuse]

I don't know what Charlie thinks he's going to get out of confessing but I'm glad he did.

I love that Mimi has a relationship with Claire.

Great chapter André DiMera

[Kpatch]

Being held in contempt is going to be the least of Charlie's problems. But I get a sense that he has figured out a way to make this into a mistrial. I don't think he'll get away with that but he's going to try.

[lumiforeverandalways]

What does Charlie think he is going to get the charges dropped on the grounds of insanity?

About time he admitted to what he did what a relief for everyone

[tghca]

Charlie thinks he really really thinks he is going to get off by reason of insanity well think again. The evidence is overwhelming and he confessed while under oath. There's no way out now. If the judge rules in Charlie's favor and he somehow gets off, Charlie will end up dead one way or the other because one of the victims' family members could kill him. He has no shortage of enemies in this town. But also anyone who is anyone really could kill him should he get off.

[mae00]

Boy Charlie nearly confessed there with Joy. I was really hoping he would so that we wouldn't have to endure much more of this trial.

I don't like that he confessed while on the stand. I think that he's up to something and knows how to get out of it. I hope it's to late to plead insanity and that whatever stunts he pulls, the judge and jury don't fall for it.

[fluffysmom]

I hope Charlie does find a way out of this.