Cross-Examination of Prosecution Witness ~Ms. Vera Arenas~

Cross-examination of witness: Ms. Vera Arenas

Representing the accused: Ms. Lucia Moretti, Esq.

Representing the State: Mr. Dragan Rajic, Esq.

Q: Ms. Lucia Moretti

A: Ms. Vera Arenas

In Full:

Q. Good morning, Ms. Arenas. Would you prefer I addressed you as Ms. Arenas or Vera?

A. Good morning. Vera is fine.

Q. Thank you. Now, Vera, I’m sorry to be blunt, but isn’t it true that you were present in the same room when your husband died? The living room of the house that you and Dr. Kane co-owned, to be exact?

A. That’s correct.

Q. May I ask why? It’s just, you testified earlier that you two were separated.

A. Well… two reasons. First to collect some of my belongings. Clothes, jewelry, that sort of thing. And second… to talk to Toby about proceeding with the divorce.

Q. Hm. And do you remember what time you arrived at the house?

A. Not exactly, but it was after I had dinner, so… probably around 7 PM or thereabouts.

Q. I see. Was Dr. Kane aware of your visit?

A. Yes. We texted about it the day before. He didn’t object.

Q. What about Mr. Reisch? Did he know you were going to the house?

A. No.

Q. Why not?

A. Well… I didn’t tell him. The two of us weren’t in contact at the time, and besides, there was no reason to.

Q. So, am I correct to understand that neither you nor your husband knew that Mr. Ezra Reisch would come to your house on the night of October 20th, 2024?

A. Yes.

Q. The fact that all three of you, despite living in three separate addresses at the time, ended up in the same living room at around 8:30 PM on October 20th—that was just a big coincidence?

A. (pause) I suppose ‘coincidence’ is one way to put it, but maybe not such an unlikely one… given the history between us.

Q. Eloquently put, Vera. This ‘history’ you refer to, of course, my learned colleague Mr. Rajic has already illustrated in painstaking detail, so I won’t get into it here. What I’m interested to know is what happened inside that living room after history or fate or what have you brought the three of you together. You were in the room when Dr. Kane died. You saw with your own eyes the moment the gun was fired. Is that right?

A. Yes.

Q. Who fired the gun?

A. Ezra. Mr. Reisch.

Q. I see. So, you would testify that Mr. Ezra Reisch—who, I don’t need to remind the jury, is the accused in this trial—fired the murder weapon that killed your husband. And you would testify as such because you saw it happen with your own eyes?

A. Yes.

Q. Thank you. Now, Vera, please help me clear up a bit of confusion on my part. I just find it a bit strange that the prosecution chose you as their witness, called you to the stand to testify, and yet, they didn’t ask a single question about what you saw—what you saw, of course, being that the accused fired the shot that killed the victim. Don’t you agree that it’s a little strange?

Mr. Rajic: Objection, your Honor. That’s a leading question if I’ve ever heard one.

The Court: Sustained. Ms. Moretti, please get to your point without leading the witness.

Q. Of course. Let me try a different tack, Vera. Tell me, to the best of your recollection, what happened in that living room. Start from wherever you think is appropriate and end with the gun going off. I know this is difficult. Take all the time you need.

A. (long pause) At first, it was just the two of them. Toby and Ezra. Around 8:30, I think, though I’m not 100% sure. They went in, and I was actually getting ready to leave, because… well, I’ll be honest, I didn’t think I wanted to be there when it all went down.

Q. When what went down?

A. Their… talk? Argument? I didn’t really know what to expect, but I knew it wouldn’t be anything good—anything I’d want to be a part of. This would’ve been… shortly after Toby and I had the divorce talk as well. That part actually went surprisingly well. Toby was more or less calm, and it seemed to me that we’d come to some sort of understanding.

Q. You say it was surprising. Why?

A. Well… I mean, you saw the texts. You saw how he can get. Toby is—was—an intelligent, wonderful, caring man whenever he was on an even keel, but the slightest provocation could set him on a dark path. And this… this wasn’t exactly ‘slight’.

Q. Did you believe his calmness?

A. I… excuse me?

Q. You said that, after the two of you discussed your plans for divorce, he appeared calmer than you expected him to. Did you believe that calmness to be genuine?

Mr. Rajic: Objection, your Honor. I don’t even know where to—I suppose speculation. Relevance.

The Court: Ms. Moretti, I’m also curious to know the purpose of your question.

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Ms. Moretti: The purpose is to paint a picture of the deceased’s state of mind at the time of the gunshot. As we know, the autopsy report pointed to clear signs of struggle prior to the fatal injury. Gunshot residue was found on all three individuals present at the shooting, as was all three sets of their fingerprints on the pistol grip. The prints recovered from the trigger were inconclusive. As we cannot rely on physical evidence to ascertain which of Mr. Reisch, Ms. Arenas, or the deceased himself ultimately pulled the trigger, we must look to circumstantial evidence to fill in the gaps of our knowledge. I believe that the deceased’s state of mind at the time of his death—which transpired shortly after conversing with his wife about their impending divorce, in the presence of the very man with whom his wife had an affair, and concurrent with his indefinite suspension from his professional duties—is circumstantial evidence that’s very much relevant to the case.

Mr. Rajic: Objection. Your Honour, it sounds to me as though Ms. Moretti is putting the wrong person on trial.

The Court: Overruled. I believe the defense has presented a reasonable basis for this line of questioning. Apologies for the interruption, Ms. Arenas, but yes, I’d like you to answer Ms. Moretti’s question. Go ahead.

A. I… I’m sorry, could you repeat the question?

Q. Do you believe that the calm attitude your husband displayed, in response to your request for a divorce, was genuine? Just what you believe. That’s all we need to know.

A. I did think it was genuine, but now… maybe I’m not so sure.

Q. Did you know he’d been drinking, even prior to your arrival?

A. Yes. I saw the empty bottles. I could smell it on his breath.

Q. And you proceeded with your talk anyway.

A. Is that a question? Yes, I proceeded with our talk. I can’t—couldn’t—just wait around forever. I needed to move on as much as he did.

Q. So, he was reluctant. He was inebriated. But he had the talk with you anyway, and he appeared to be calm throughout. If you now believe that some of it might have been an act, why do you suppose that is?

A. What do you mean?

Q. Was it for your benefit? For his own?

A. Maybe both. I suppose he did it to put on a brave face. To let us believe that we’d be okay—that the divorce was something we could get through.

Q. Or… do you think it’s possible that he put on that brave face because he knew he’d be okay—that the divorce or any of the stress surrounding it won’t be a problem for much longer?

Mr. Rajic: Objection!

The Court: Sustained. Ms. Moretti, I gave you some leeway earlier, but now I must warn you about taking it too far. Please rephrase the question or pursue a new line. Your choice.

Q. Of course. Vera, where were you before I interrupted you? You had the talk with Dr. Kane. He seemed to take it well, at least on the surface. He and Mr. Reisch were in the living room by themselves. Then what happened?

A. (pause) Toby and Ezra went into the living room. I went to the bedroom to collect my things and was getting ready to leave. Then I heard yelling. Glasses being smashed. Naturally, I rushed downstairs to intervene.

Q. Were you not worried for your own safety?

A. I… what do you want me to say? Of course I was, but I also wasn’t about to hide in the bedroom while Toby and Ezra went at each other’s throats.

Q. Of course. Please continue.

A. When I went in, the two of them were locked in a struggle. Toby was bleeding from one hand, the same one he was using to try and push a broken bottle into Ezra’s face. Ezra had his hands around Toby’s wrists and was holding him back. But I could see he couldn’t hold him for much longer. Toby’s… bigger, stronger than Ezra. I didn’t know what to do. I panicked. I grabbed the gun from my purse.

Q. Let me stop you again for a second. Did you always carry a gun?

Mr. Rajic: Objection, your Honor. Relevance.

The Court: Overruled. Ms. Arenas, please answer the question.

A. I… no, not always.

Q. When did you start?

A. (pause) Around the same time when I moved out. I just… didn’t feel as safe as I used to.

Q. Was there anyone in particular you were scared of?

A. No. (pause) No. Just a… general sense of unease.

Q. Of course. So, you went into the living room. You happened on Dr. Kane trying to glass Mr. Reisch. You pulled out your gun, which you’d started carrying about six weeks prior to the incident, then what happened?

A. I… pointed the gun at my husband. I pleaded with him to stop what he was doing.

Q. You ‘pleaded’ with him. Do you remember your demeanor or perhaps your tone of voice when you did that?

A. No. All I know is that I was scared—that I could barely see what was in front of me.

Q. Because?

A. Because of the tears. I was crying. A lot, I think.

Q. Of course. How did Dr. Kane react to you pointing a gun at him?

A. He was… absolutely beside himself with rage. Justifiably so, I suppose. He let go of Ezra immediately and came charging for me instead.

Q. He came charging for you, even though you were pointing a loaded gun at him. What was the distance between the two of you, do you think?

A. I don’t know exactly.

Q. Rough estimate?

A. Maybe… five, six feet?

Q. Fairly close. Maybe close enough for Dr. Kane to think he could get to you before you had the chance to fire?

A. I don’t know. Maybe? Or maybe he just thought that I didn’t have it in me. In which case, he would’ve been right.

Q. Maybe so. Please continue.

A. He charged in, grabbed me by the wrist, and wrestled the gun away from me. Quite easily, I might add. Like I said, he’s—was—strong.

Q. I see. What did Dr. Kane do with the gun once it was in his hands?

A. He ..(pause).. kind of just, looked at it? Almost like he couldn’t believe what he was holding in his hand. And… I don’t know what he was going to do with it next, but he never got to do it because Ezra came from behind and tried to fight the gun off Toby.

Q. ‘Tried to’? You mean he didn’t succeed?

A. Not… not at first, anyway. There was a brief struggle before the gun went off.

Q. Why do you think he did that?

A. Excuse me?

Q. Why do you think Mr. Reisch tried to take the gun away from Dr. Kane?

A. You want me to say it was in self-defense? That Ezra had no intention of killing Toby?

Q. I just want to hear your honest answer.

A. (pause) I honestly think he just wanted to protect me. I think he thought that Toby was about to turn the gun on me.

Q. Who fired the gun, Vera?

A. It was Ezra.

Q. You’re sure? You saw this clearly—even through your tears?

A. Yes. And yes.

Q. Okay. (pause) One last question, Vera. At any point during the evening, as an inebriated Dr. Kane and a somewhat frazzled Mr. Reisch went into the living room together, did it cross your mind at all that something like this might happen? You already mentioned your anxieties about a potential argument, but did you think it would escalate to violence of… such magnitude?

A. No. I wouldn’t have dreamed of it.

Q. Why not?

A. Why not? What do you mean why not? You don’t know them like I do. They’re not violent men. Neither of them. The only reason we’re in this mess is because I—oh god…

Q. (long pause) They were not violent men. You wouldn’t have dreamed of it. Even with all that you knew about Dr. Kane leading up to the incident, you didn’t think he was capable of violence?

A. What ..(pause).. are you ..(pause).. talking about?

Q. Even after you saw what happened at the lecture?

A. (long pause) I guess I didn’t think he had it in him.

Q. No further questions, your Honor.