Day Three: September 16th, 2008

10:19 a.m.
Courtroom is unlocked. We enter and sit down. Galareka Harrison enters. Today she wears a black suit. Her hair is down, very wavy like she had braided it the night before. It's weighed down with mouse, to give the appearance that her hair is wet. Both attorneys are present. No judge or jury yet. We were told in the hallway by Mia's dad that today will be the hardest day because the Medical Examiner will be the first to testify.

10:26 a.m.
Male prosecutor advises all spectators to remain calm and quiet during the presentation and description of Mia's body. If someone loudly cries or screams it could be a distraction to the jury. The jury would be focused on the audience's emotions than the evidence being presented.

10:31 a.m.
What appears to be a class of high school-aged teens enters the court room and sits down. There is about nine kids total. We are told that it's not unusal for a class to come in and observe a courtroom setting. The attorneys and judge are having a meeting at the judges stand. Galareka sits alone, playing with her pen.

10:36 a.m.
The judge warns the spectators about photos being presented, describing them as being very graphic. Any display of overwhelming emotions could result in a retrial.

10:37 a.m.
Witness, Dr. Wintson, steps in. He is wearing a navy blue jacked with a light blue undershirt and tan pants. Hanging from his neck is a red and white tie. He is an older, Anglo man, probably in his late 40's. He has brown hair with a receding hairline.

10:40 a.m.
Dr. Winston is sworn in. He obtained his medical degree from South Carolina University. He has been in Tucson since January of 2003. The main purpose of his job is to find the manor of death. In order to achieve this, he looks at the victims clothing, body, and documents injuries (internal and external). He also looks at all the organs of the neck, chest, and brain. He examined Mia, but wasn't called to the scene of the crime. He says she had numerous injuries on her body. The external injuries were sharp force injuries (meaning they occurred from something sharp i.e. a knife)
After his examination, he reported that Mia had 23 different areas of injuries. There were several to Mia's head, neck, and face area. She had a total of three stabs to the neck: 1 stab on the right, 1 to the base of the right, and 1 on the left cheek. She also had 6 incised wounds. The prosecution hands Dr. Winston a picture of these injuries. He holds the picture for the jury and points to and describes each injury. He clarifies that a "stab" is deeper than it is long. "incised" is longer than it is deep.Incised wounds are superficial wounds, meaning they are less than 1/8th of an inch deep. He says that Mia had 5 incised wounds to the left side of her neck. Internally, there was no major damage to her blood vessels or organs in the neck area. He also measured the depth of the wounds. The one on the right side of her neck was 2 inches deep.The other was 4.5 inches deep. The stab on her left cheek was 3 inches deep. The wound on the right side of her neck near the scalp line went front to back and then right to left. The stab on the base of her neck went from front to back and then downward.
The medical examiner reports that Mia had a total of 15 stab wounds on her back. [The prosecution is now holding a picture of these wounds and presenting it to the jury while the doctor points to each one a describes] On her left upper back their was a stab 1 1/4 inches deep. this went back to front and then upwards. On the left mid-back, there was a stab 1/2 inch deep. this went back to front. Again on the left mid-back, was a stab 1/4 inch deep. This also went back to front. Also on the left side of her back was a stab 1 inch deep which went back to front. In the same area was a stab 2 1/2 inches deep. This went back to front and hit her eight rib and penetrated her left lung. Another stab 1 3/4 inch deep also hit her left lung. A stab on her lower left back was 2 inches in depth. This went back to front and into her abdominal cavity, stabbing the upper pole of her spleen. There was one more stab on her left back that was 1 inch deep and went back to front. The Doctor states that he can't tell which wound was inflicted first.
On the upper part of Mia's right back was a stab 1 1/2 inches deep. This went back to front, and then left to right and upward. Also on the right side was another stab 2 inches in depth. This went back to front and penetrated the right lung. Another right back stab was 2 1/2 inches deep, went back to front, left to right, and down into the right lung. One stab on the right side was 7 1/4 inches deep, going back to front and stabbing the right kidney and right lobe of her liver. On the lower right side of her back was a stab 2 1/4 inches deep, going back to front and then upwards.
There was also a stab wound to the left shoulder about 1/2 inch in depth, going left to right.
Dr. Winston said it would be difficult to correlate what type of instrument was used. He cannot tell which knife caused these wounds. He also can't tell if there was one or multiple weapons. He did find blood in both chest cavities. he can't tell which wound(s) caused this. He is unable to determine her body position or position of attacker. He doesn't think any of these wounds were immediately fatal. Mia could've been conscious.
Mia also had several incised wounds on her body. ther was one on the right forearm, on on the right wrist, two on the right knee. Also on her knee were two abrasions. He classified this as a blunt force injury (i.e. if you fall on a rug, you get a rug burn.) The was also and abrasion on her right eyelid and 2 abrasion on her right eyebrow ridge. These all could've been caused in different ways.
Internal bleeding was caused by the puncturing of both kidneys, her liver, her lungs, and her spleen. Mia was also tested for ten or so different substance, including alcohol. All tests came back negative. There were NO substances in her body. Dr. Winston said her cause of death was multiple stab wounds.

11:26 a.m. The defense now questions the witness.

Dr. Winston can't tell which stab wounds occurred before or after Mia's death. 7 of the stabs hit her organs. He cannot tell whether she was struggling of whether there was a fight going on. The abrasions on her knees were consistent with a kneeling position. Her right chest cavity had 100 mL of blood. The left didn't have enough to measure. The Doctor didn't notice any internal bleeding from the lacerated spleen. He doesn't know how long it would've taken for her to die.
Blood spatter is how blood appears at a crime scene. The defense continues to ask questions about blood typing, buckle cells and hair samples. At the end of each question he keeps asking if these are NOT "sciencefiction or fantasy". A finger nail scraping was collected from Galareka, as well as a swab from her hand. Dr. Winston never saw the crime scene. He says Mia could've died within seconds of the first fatal wound being administered. He cannot tell how much force was used to inflict a wound. She did have deflated lungs.

11:45 Redirect

Wounds on hands and wrist could be described as defense wounds. Blood samples can tell who was at the crime scene. A DNA sample could also tell who was at the crime scene.

11:58 a.m. Witness steps down. Council meets with judge. It is now noon recess.

1:15 p.m. Courtroom was open from lunch recess. Galareka's family is present, about 5 people.
1:18 p.m. Galareka brought back into the courtroom.
1:33 p.m.
Defense asks that some evidence should not be used, including that ID of "catcard" from Ms. Valencia. They are now asking what was given back to officer Lopez when he made his report for August 27th 2007. Defense also asks that a script of Galarkea's testimony should NOT be given to the jury because it is their job to listen to the tape. Judge overrules and says some points may be unclear and the jury should be allowed to read the script of the tape.

1:47 p.m.
Officer Lopez is called to the witness stand. He has worked for the University of Arizona for four years and 8 months. He is a patrol officer. At 23:25 Lopez received a call at Graham-Greenlee dorm for a possible theft. Upon arrival, he made contact with Mia, On her report Mia siat "she found her cat card, Social Security card in her roommate's wallet." She also told him that a $500 dollar check was cashed without her knowing. Mia told the officer that he would find Galareka on the 3rd floor. He went up to find Galareka and asked her to step out for privacy. They went down to an empty room and Lopez read Galareka her rights. shortly after Galareka got emotional and said she did take Mia's Catcard and social Security card. She took Mia's cat card and her checks from her desk. She said she cashed the check in Mia's name at a bank on Speedway.
Galareka was in a study hall at NASA when a friend had left her wallet behind. Galareka took her wallet to use her ID. Galareka later showed Lopez the wallet she had taken from A. Valencia along with Mia's Cat card and social security card and her check book. Galareka returned $500 cash and tow check written out for $1000 and $2000. She says she didn't intend to cash them. Lopes took Mia's check book and cash for evidence. After collecting all evidence, Lopez briefly spoke to Mia regarding her case. He took the evidence for further observation.
On the morning of September 5th he heard the report that there was a possible stabbing at Grahm-Greenlee dorm at 5:55 a.m. Upon arrival he noticed Galareka on the floor and had made contact with her. He saw another officer in the room with Mia. He was told to be stationed at the EAst side of the dorm. He later went up to A. Valencia's room and took her wallet for evidence. He told her that it would be given back to her later.

DA now questions the Officer Lopez. The defense asks if any one was in the room with Mia while he was taking his report. He said,"No, but other's were in the hallway"
"Did you find anyone else's Catcard in Galareka's wallet."
"No"
"Do you know Londynn Young or Jordan Begay?"
"No, never"
Officer Lopez said he never told Mia that "This happens all the time, don't worry about it." He also said he never laughed at Mia about her case. He says his foucson was on Mia and Galareka.

2:25 Officer Lopez steps down. Analysia Valencia now takes the stand.

Analysia lived on the third floor of Graham-Greenlee dorm. She met Galareka in the first week of school during an "ice-breaker" exercise. A. Valencia occasionally saw Galareka campus and when she was wandering the third floor with friends. She had more contact with Galareka than with Mia. On the night of August 28th, 207 officer Lopez made contact with Ms. Valencia about some missing catcards. She noticed her wallet was missing after study hall at NASA. She made attempt to find her wallet by going to the lost and found areas. She was given information on what,when, where to report it. She couldn't report it until early Tuesday morning because the staff was not present.
On the 28th, she received a call from a female asking about her account at Wells Fargo. She states that "It's too early and to please call back later." She didn't give any information regarding her account. Thinking back she remebered going to study hall with Galareka. She doesn't recall Mia being present. Ms. Valencia was showed evidence such as the checks and cashed checks. She doesn't recall receving the checks from Mia and doesn't remember cashing a check at WElls Fargo. She showed her ID from the day it was taken.

2:42 p.m. Defense now questions witness

She remembers doing the ice breaker with Galareka. She saw her through out the early days of the school year. Seh reported that her wallet was missing and doesn't recall telling Officer Lopez about a phone call she recieved a 2:00 a.m. call about her account. While she was in study hall she left her bag beside her area and her wallet was inside a zipper. When she retuned it was open. She didn't geive Wells Fargo any information on her dorm room or her phone number. They didn't call her dorm directly.

2:53 p.m. Witness Detective Muraz called to the stand.

He has worked with the UA and Pima county as a detective. He worked with UA for 5 years. Recieved a call on September 5th to the Graham- Greenlee dorm for a murder case. The detective states that her showed up at the dorm and took a glance into the room where the incident had taken place. He then reported to the lobby for a briefing. Detective Muraz and another detective reported to UMC for evidence. Upon arrival he was briefed that Mia was already gone. He took pictures. He was told where Galareka was located but three others were already with her. So her interviewed one female and two males but didn't see Galareka until later in the morning. He reported back to the dorm and was told what had happened. He tool pictures and was taking samples of her palm. He spoke with Galareka about what had happened than was moved into another location for the use of the room. Both detectives had their own tape recorders and recorded the conversation with Galareka. Tow tapes should be about two hours and fifty minutes to three hours.

3:13 p.m. Afternoon recess

3:34 p.m. Judge returns. Jury returns shortly after.

Tape is played on Galareka's testimony from September 5th 2007. Rights are given to Galareka. Name, address and age is read. Little conversation between Galareka and detectives. Pictures of her had are already taken. Galareka states that when Mia reported on the. 28th that she wants Galareka to give up the money. Later, Galareka says she can't do it so Mia had threatened her to do it because she had a hand gun and said " I know where you live" and "I know your classes" and " I will watch every move you make" and "I'm not afraid of you." She said on Tuesday she was unpacking when Mia and some guy was in their room and she couldn't see because it was dark. She left it alone then she said she was about to leave but his guy pulled her back and sat her and Mia on the bed. He started talking to them and then he started telling them that he wanted them to take his life but they didn't want to. So he grabbed the knife and started to stab them but Galareka got away and ran to the hallway screaming for help. [cries out in emotion]
Detective asks her to start over from the beginning so she started from Friday. She left with her friend back to the reservation for a rodeo then she was hanging out with family and friends. She returned back to Tucson on Monday evening. She describes the evening. She says that when was hanging out with friends and they went to circle K by the stadium. She hung out with them all evening. She returned back to her dorm around 2 A.M. She noticed Mia in the room with some guy and they were talking than Galareka said she will be back later. But the guy in the room started talking to her. She described the guy as a tall and wearing black and a base ball cap. She couldn't see what his face looked like. As she was walking out her grabbed her and told her not to leave. She said "No" Then he got angry and threw her on the bed and said she has to stay. She wanted to get out but he started talking to them for about three hours. She didn't know what he was talking about. He got angry again and told Mia to take him but she didn't want to. So he threatened them saying he knows where they live and that he will stock them if they went to the cops. He would kill them both. Galareka told Mia to "just do it" and that they can't die. Mia said " I will do it" but she wouldn't take the knife.
He took the knife and grabbed Mia and started stabbing her numerous times. She was shouting out "ewww" then she tried to fight him off as Galareka got to the other side of the bed she tried to fight him as well but he turned on her then he hit her then she ran but she tripped over a tape or something dividing the tile and the carpet. He grabbed her leg and she tried pushing away and she got cuts on her hand. Then she got stabbed on the calf and she ran out but she had a hard time getting out. Finally she swung her door open. When she got out she ran to her friend Stacy nest door. She shouted out "Help!". Her RA came out and tried to help her but she went in to help Mia first then next thing she knows her leg collapsed and she fell to the ground.
[This story is repeated two more times]

The detectives back the story up to the problem between Mia and Galareka. Shes iad when school started that Mia would steal money from her. first it was $30 then Galareka started to hide money from Mia. But Mia would threaten her with a gun and say "Give me all your money". Galareka didn't know what to do when Mia would point the gun at her. She would sometimes hide money in a little secret hiding spot in her dresser then Mia would say "I know you have more" then Galareka said "No" . So Mia would pont the gun at her at her head and again say " I know you have more" then Galareka would give her more. The next day Mia gave Galareka her Catcard and siad "I need and iPod, go get me one". Galareka said I don't think I can because of the picture." but Mia said, "Do it now" then she said she wanted a black one but they didn't have any so Mia said get two little ones. Galareka said they were for her nieces. She gave Mia the iPod's and later Mia asked for a book. She didn't know why Mia couldn't go back and do it herself but Mia explained that this is the only way she wanted it done. Mia later told Galareka if she knew how to write a check and Galreka said she didn't know so she made Galareka call her mom.
The detective interupts and asks "What did Mia do with the gun?" Galareka says she doesn't know and it's probably still in the room. she doesn't know where in the room it is. Later, she said that Mia had taken Analysia's wallet and she wants to write a check out in her name. So Mia wrote out three checks, one for $500 and $1,000 and $2,000. The next day Mia threatened Galareka to cash the $500 check but Galareka couldn't do it.
[REMINDER: the information above is the testimony Galareka gave to the police on September 5th 2007. This is all from her point of view]