Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 135696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
As testimony unfolded about what a happy family they were, how deeply the parents loved their children, and yes, each other, along with how creepy folks thought Sharon was, not to mention Lincoln being clear in his concerns about Sharon—and not in a hearsay way, some of them had text messages they’d saved all these years for this eventuality—things took a dramatic turn.
That turn was cataclysmic for Sharon after Truman and Kennedy took the stand.
Truman was forthright, believable, and when his emotion came, it was openly genuine and utterly gutting.
Kennedy, on the other hand, was a mess. But that wasn’t surprising. It too was clearly genuine, and you’d have to be dead for your heart not to go out to her at the family she loved being torn apart in that manner.
Jefferson was supposed to be the prosecution’s ace in the hole. However, it wouldn’t turn out that way.
Sure, he painted a picture of emotional terrorism that was diabolical and chilling. He testified as well to their happy family life, and even shared guilt that he let the things she said penetrate.
But he gave off the vibe of a thirty-year-old punk-ass kid who looked back at appalling actions that were the work of psychological control with more of an air of being pissed he had to deal with this situation, than taking any responsibility for his part in it.
The only reason this didn’t work in Sharon’s favor was that she was seeing where this was all leading. And instead of keeping a brave face, or entering into plea negotiations with the prosecution, she suddenly started acting out in what could only be an attempt to set up an appeal on the basis of mental incapacity.
And she did this, terribly unwisely, starting with Truman and Kennedy, both sympathetic witnesses.
She interrupted them, shouting things like, “You know your father loved me!” She would dissolve into loud wails. And once, she melted off her chair in a dead faint.
The judge cautioned her several times, and when she banged repeatedly on the defense table and chanted, “Liar, liar, liar,” at one point during Jefferson’s testimony, the judge paused proceedings for the afternoon to get her attorney to calm her down. He did this warning, if it happened again, she’d be charged with contempt of court.
No more outbursts happened after that, but she made faces, made a show of scribbling on a legal pad obsessively, and often whispered loudly in her (very beleaguered, I should say) lawyer’s ear.
The defense called both Sarah’s parents and sister to the stand, as well as Lincoln and Roosevelt’s parents.
Finally, the defense had the opportunity to put to the jury how bizarre and “despicable” the Whitaker’s way of life was and give the jury something to think on regarding Lincoln’s alleged jealousy.
It was a fatal mistake.
First, the jury had already heard about how this was untrue from plenty of others, all of whom were much more earnest and credible witnesses who knew and loved the family.
Second, the prosecution managed to get the litigation about the estate entered into evidence, and as such, when he had his shot at them, he made mincemeat of all five of them (particularly Sarah’s parents, who eventually came off as nothing short of religious zealots).
Sharon was the final one to take the stand in her own defense, and it was another mistake because her lawyer couldn’t hide how dead set he was against it, not to mention she was again histrionic. She tried to convince them she wasn’t there that night. Instead, a fourteen-year-old boy, with no motive to do so, killed his mom and uncle, and talked his father into confessing to the crime.
This last sounded absurd, and the way she related it made it seem even more so.
And why she deviated from the Lincoln Did It Theory, which was firmly established by Lincoln himself, and instead went after Jeff, was anyone’s guess. Although it did make her look like she had it out for Jeff, which was precisely what she should have avoided.
While she was testifying, it was openly apparent no one in that courtroom believed a word she said, not the spectators, and worse for her, not the jury.
Jefferson had been a punk-ass, but he didn’t seem like it was that bad he’d kill two members of his family, especially when he had zero motive to do so. And the only times there seemed honest remorse and discomfort were when he had to directly discuss anything about the murders or his dad.
Upon copious discussion, and Riggs supplying us with cocktails during it, Maribeth and I decided the true Sharon came out in her behavior and testimony, but she wasn’t crazy. You couldn’t be if you did the things you did in a calculated manner.
The prosecution summed up shrewdly, painting a horrific picture, shying away from the obsessive fan stuff and the part Sharon crafted that Jefferson played, and leaning into a woman spurned who then took her revenge on an, albeit alternative, but exceptionally happy family.