9:30 am
Trial is supposed to begin at 10:30am... so far 8 people have arrived
The court room is oddly comfortable. It's a small space, with approximately 50 seats. Spectators are seated in movie theater-like chairs. The walls are surrounded with vertical wood-finished boards. The clerk of the court is a middle-age woman, brown hair to her shoulders. She wears a magenta shirt. So far no attorneys, no jury, no judge, no Galareka.
9:45 am
Galareka Harrison arrives accompanied by two officers (bailiffs). She is wearing a black jacket with a white collar shirt underneath and black pants. Her hair looks black, and is tied back with the pony tail reaching the middle of her back. She has her the front of her hair split down the middle, then tied at the sides, joining in with her pony tail. She sits. Begins to swivel back and forth in her chair. Their is a smug look on her face. So far shows no emotion. Two officers and possible an attorney crack jokes about the clerk of the courts shirt. G.H. laughs. Attorneys soon follow. G.H.'s attorneys are two Anglos: one female, one male. Female is possibly in her 40's. She has blond hair that grows past her shoulders. Short bangs. She is wearing a white shirt and is skinny. The male is probably in his late 40's. Has a blend of gray and blond hair. He's wearing a tan shirt and olive pants.
9:57 am
Evidence is being presented to the clerk of the court. Mia Janelle Henderson's family arrives. Dad is wearing a black suit. He escorts an elderly grandma dressed traditionally with. Mom is wearing a black jacket with a green and blue mixed-print skirt. S.D. gets up and gives everyone hugs. More family arrives. Court room is quiet. Only whispers can be heard.
10:00 am
We get moved to the back row to make room for M.J.H.'s family.
!0:03 am
Only 18 seats remain.
10:20 am
G.H. is talking with her attorneys and is SMILING
10:24 am
Everyone in the back two rows is moved out of the courtroom so we can "...make room for the jury." Apparently the jury selection has not been finalized and they need to bring in 26 jurors and from that 14 have to be picked. A older Anglo woman approaches me in the lobby/waiting area. She tells me that she was under the impression that the jury was picked yesterday (September 10th 2008) We are told that the trial would not proceed until 1:15 pm.
1:07 pm
We enter into the courtroom and sit down. G.H. is brought in. Bale if uncuffs her. She sits alone. Clerk of the Court chats with the bailiff as we wait. Only 12 seats remain.
1:11 pm
G.H. casually looks at her nails. Still swiveling back and forth. Still no sign of emotion.
1:15 pm
The female defense attorney walks in carrying an open brown box approximately 12x6 inches. All attorneys are now present.
1:18 pm
Defense attorney speaking with the plaintiff's attorney. They laugh. Judge arrives. Everyone rises.
1:19 pm
Defense attorney speaking to judge. There is some dispute between a witness who is not present. the Defense wants the judge to send a court order for Witness to appear. Judge says she can't court order an interview but she can order a deposition. She calls the attorney general on speaker phone and leaves a voice mail.
There is a heavy silence as we wait for the jury to enter.
1:28 pm
Jury enters. The judge is giving instructions from the jury, reading from a notebook. Some of the rules are:
A. Keep an open mind
B. Don't discuss case
C. Avoid contact with lawyers, parties, witness', spectators.
1:32 pm
ALL SEATS ARE FILLED
1:43 pm
Judge reads the charges:
- First degree murder
- This requires proof of another person's death
- Must be premeditated
- Forgery
- intent to commit forgery
- Taking the identity of another
- intent to obtain of use the identity of another person. State has to prove that the defendant did this.
Count 1: 1st degree murder
Count 2: Forgery
Count 3: Forgery on September 8th, 2007
Count 4: Forgery on August 27th
Count 5: Taking the identity of another on August 28th
Defendant pleads NOT GUILTY IN ALL CHARGES
1:58 pm
Prosecuting attorney gives her opening statements. She says Mia Janelle had an approximate total of 23 stab wounds with 14 of those in her back. Her catcard was stolen and somebody had cashed a $500 dollar without her consent. Janelle and J.B. find Galareka's wallet on a desk. Inside it were two other checks from Mia Janell's check book. That night, M.J.H. stayed with L.Y.
On the evening of September 4th, Jordan Begaye had dinner with Mia at Chipotle. Around 10:45 pm, he said goodnight to her. This would be the last time he ever saw her alive.
The morning of the murder, Galareka Harrison would give several stories to explain what happened to Mia Janelle Henderson.
Story 1:
Galareka came back to her dorm and found Mia with another "man". The "man" gave M.J.H. a knife and told her to stab Galareka.
Story 2:
Galareka said Mia let her cash the checks. She now says the she made up the man story. She has confessed to stabbing her, but says it was in self defense because Mia had tried to stab her first.
While G.H. is being interrogated by the police, detectives searching her dorm room find a letter that appears to be a suicide note. It's written from Mia's point of view. It says that " I'm Mia Henderson and I can't live with myself because I have accused my roommate of false things" and it says due to this,"I" (being Mia) must end "my" life.
After being questioned about the letter, Galareka admits that she typed the note at the science library. Another witness named Yolanda Nez says while driving Galareka home, Galareka bought a knife and said it was for class. Eventually, G.H. admits that she stabbed Mia with that knife.
2:09 pm
Defense attorney gives his opening statements. He states that the lawyers are not giving evidence. He says that all the facts come from the witness stand. Then he goes on to describe the First Year Scholar program at the University of Arizona. He says that Mia had an opportunity to travel with London Young. Before school even started they wanted to be roommates. He quotes, "This case is a tragedy." The jury has the hardest job. The residential assistant has knowledge of some of the facts, goes on to say that Galareka had a "...deep, significant wound to her leg." He says the note that was written would not be believable as a suicide note.
2:24 pm
Opening statements are now over.
2:26 pm
The first witness, Officer Xaviera, is sworn in and takes the stand. He has been a University of Arizona police officer for just under 6 years. He is a patrol supervisor. On September 4th, his usual shift would have been from 8:30 pm to 6:30 am. At 5:46 am on the morning of September 5th, he received a high priority call. There was a reported stabbing in the Gram-Greenlee dorm. 3 officers immediately responded. He parked South of Greenlee dorm while another officer parked west of the dorm. [The prosecuting attorney is showing Officer Xaviera a picture of Gram-Greenlee dorm. He is describing the exits and entrances and where he parked his car.] He says that he enter through the southeast corner of the building. In order to enter into any dormitory, you need a catcard. All UA police officers have one. Once he got into the dorm, he didn't know which room the stabbing occurred in. He was in the "Greenlee" side. As he was running up the stairs to the second floor, he ran into the Residential Assistant. She told him where the incident occurred. [He says that he arrived on scene at 5:48 and that it took him another minute "or two" to find the right room.] There was a female lying on the floor between dorm 247 and 251. She was crying, possible from pain. He quotes, "...not overally hysterical." The female on the floor is identified as Galareka Harrison. He entered into room 247 and saw another female on the floor. She was in the fetal position on her knees and arms. Her head was face down on her knees. Her shirt was pulled forward.[Female later identified as Mia Janelle Henderson]The RA tells him that she was not responsive and had no pulse. She was not breathing. He calls for the paramedics. Then he went to check on Galareka to make sure she was conscious. She was so he went back to Mia, but to double check her pulse but she still didn't have one. Next, he instructed Officer Nelson to make sure the hallway was secured. Once the paramedics arrived, there wasn't enough room for him in the dorm so he stepped out. The paramedics did try to resesitate her, but was still non-responsive.
Galareka was taken out to the ambulance first. Mia was taken 5-7 minutes later. The paramedics put Mia in a sheet and placed her in the ambulance. He says that G.H. appeared to be fine. He couldn't tell if she was upset or in pain. [Picture of the murder scene is presented to the Officer. I couldn't bear to look at it. Sorry.]
After returning to the scene, he says there was a bloody knife on the floor. There was also plastics and other items left behind from the paramedics. He was the only supervisor on scene. None of the other students came out of their dorms. He was relieved at 1:00 pm. The patrol officers didn't take pictures of the scene. He says that there are "appropriate people" to do that.
2:49 pm Prosecuting attorney is done. Defense attorney proceeds to question witness.
The prosecution asks if Officer Xaviera heard G.H say anything. He didn't hear her say anything and now says that she WAS hysterical. Mia was approximately 18 inches-2 feet away from the knife. There was an obvious struggle. He couldn't tell the details. He didn't collect any evidence. He was in charge of who came in and out of the scene using a crime scene log. This is a log where the person who enters has to sign their name, write the purpose of them being there, what time they arrived and what time they departed. He says that there was blood in the hallway but no blood in the bathroom. He didn't take a formal statement from the RA nor did he interview any of the students.
3:00pm Witness steps down and there is a 20 minute recess.
3:38 Court resumes. Witness 2 is sworn in (Officer Casella). He takes the stand.
Officer Casella also works for UAPD. He has been a corrpal field officer since July of 2008. He started with the police department in 2000.
On the morning of September 5th, he arrived at work at 5:30 am. He got dressed and heard a call on the radio about the incident. He told the officers that he was on his way. Granted access through the use of his own catcard, he entered the dormitory. He was instructed to remain stationed at the door and restrict access. [The defense shows him the same picture of Gram-Greenlee dorm. He describes where he was stationed by the South door facing the courtyard.] The only people he allowed into the dorm was the Tucson Fire Department.
Once G.H. was loaded into the ambulance, he volunteered to follow it in his patrol car. Once they arrived at UMC, he followed the paramedics into the trauma bay and observed Galareka's leg wound. Then he, "...let the medical people do the medical stuff." He estimates that her laceration was about 1 inch deep, and had reached the bone. For the remainder of his patrol at the hospital, he divided his attention between Mia Janelle Henderson and Galareka Harrison.
He watched as Mia was wheeled into the trauma bay. She was covered in blood. Tucson Fire Department attempted several chest compressions. Officer Casella could see what was going on in both bays, although Mia was completely surrounded now by medical personnel. Tragically, Mia was pronounced dead at 6:32 am. She had several stab wounds on her cheek, neck, and back.
Galareka was now summoning Officer Casella to come speak with her. She motioned with her hand for him to come over. She appeared to be upset and crying. He went over to where she was sitting and she told him that the cuts were in self-defense. He noticed several bite marks on top of her right hand. This is the story she told him:
Mia came at her with a knife and was already bloody. G.H. tried to deflect it and that's where the cuts on her hand came from. Them Mia tried to hold her down so Galareka tried to kick the knife away, which is when she cut her calf muscle.
During this story, Officer Casella said he emphasized the fact that Galareka didn't HAVE to talk to him. The cut on her leg is still open at this point. He doesn't know the exact time when it was stapled but said it was "quite some time." Eventually, she was taken into another room and stapled up. The Dr. who stapled her wound found a hair in her cut. He gave it to Officer Casella and he gave it to another detective. After being attended to, Galareka asked Officer Casella what is was like to be a police officer and she wanted to become a police officer some day.
Overall, Officer Casella said he spent the majority of his day with Galareka, from 6:12 am-4:50 pm, except for the hour and a half when he was with Mia. Again states that Galareka DID NOT appear to be in pain or distress.
4:01 pm Defense now proceeds to question.
Defense asks why the conversation about G.H. wanting to be a police officer was not in the police report that Officer Casella had written. Also wants to know why "calm and not crying" was not important enough to be in the police report either. Officer Casella said it's his job to only report the facts.
Defense asks what happened to Galareka after she left the hospital. At 4:50pm, Officer Casella escort G.H. to the UA police department. He put her in a "prisoner's chair". This chair is designed to look like the backseat of a patrol car where the prisoner is cuffed with their hands behind their back. There is a strap that comes across the legs. There is another that come across the shoulders. At the PD, Galareka is still in a hospital gown.
Witness 3 called to stand. Jordan Begaye is sworn in.
Jordon is 18 years old and is a sophomore at Northern Arizona University. He knew Mia for 6 years. [Defense showing picture of Mia to the jury] He previously attended U of A and ASU. While at U of A, he was a member of the First Year Scholars Program and stayed in Greenlee dorm. He met a girl named Londyn Young who was already close friends with Mia. He spent time with Londyn fairly often. Mia moved into her dorm the same day that he did and he met Galareka the first week of school. He estimates that he saw her a total of three times. Each time, he spent about 10 minutes with her.
One night, (either the 28th or the 29th) Mia, Jordan, and Londyn were studying in Mia's room. Galareka came into the room around 9:00 pm or 10:00 pm and placed her wallet on the study desk. Galareka only remained in the room for a few minutes and then left. Mia found her catcard in Galareka's wallet. Folded around the catcard was Mia's social security card. He says the card was sticking out of the wallet and that they noticed that it was Mia's picture. They called Londyn and went to look for an RA. It took them three tries to find an RA because their RA wasn't available. The 2nd RA said she was off duty. The three of them went into the Gram dorm and finally found an RA named Kevin. Once they told him what they had found he reacted like he didn't know what to do. He called 911 and was then transferred to UAPD. An officer eventually met them on the first floor of the dorm. Mia told him the whole situation. The three of them went up to her room. No one was in there. The Officer asked where the wallet was and how it was positioned. He then went to look for Galareka. 1-2 hours later the officer returned and instructs all three of them to leave the room. He told them that he had talked to Galareka and that she had confessed to stealing Mia's catcard, her SS card, and three checks. He instructed Mia to stay with a friend so she chose to stay with Londyn.
The next day Mia used Jordan's computer to write three letters. One was sent to the Dean, one to Residential Life and one to 1st year scholars. For the three day weekend, (Labor Day weekend) 4 student's, including Mia and Jordan, went back home to Tuba city in another friends truck.
On Tuesday, September 4th, Jordan was done with class at 5:00 pm. At 7:15 pm he met with Mia outside of her dorm and the two of them went to eat at Chiptole. Afterwards they went running around 9:25pm. Then the two of them went back to Mia's dorm. Galareka's belongings were still in there although she was not physically there. Jordan left at 10:00 pm.
Around 5:55 am, Jordan heard commotion that sounded like foot steps. There were a lot of cops outside and he tried contacting Mia but couldn't get through. He received a text regarding Mia and ran out. He was escorted to UMC, where he learned that Mia was pronounced dead. He was then interrogated by the police.
Galareka was taken out to the ambulance first. Mia was taken 5-7 minutes later. The paramedics put Mia in a sheet and placed her in the ambulance. He says that G.H. appeared to be fine. He couldn't tell if she was upset or in pain. [Picture of the murder scene is presented to the Officer. I couldn't bear to look at it. Sorry.]
After returning to the scene, he says there was a bloody knife on the floor. There was also plastics and other items left behind from the paramedics. He was the only supervisor on scene. None of the other students came out of their dorms. He was relieved at 1:00 pm. The patrol officers didn't take pictures of the scene. He says that there are "appropriate people" to do that.
2:49 pm Prosecuting attorney is done. Defense attorney proceeds to question witness.
The prosecution asks if Officer Xaviera heard G.H say anything. He didn't hear her say anything and now says that she WAS hysterical. Mia was approximately 18 inches-2 feet away from the knife. There was an obvious struggle. He couldn't tell the details. He didn't collect any evidence. He was in charge of who came in and out of the scene using a crime scene log. This is a log where the person who enters has to sign their name, write the purpose of them being there, what time they arrived and what time they departed. He says that there was blood in the hallway but no blood in the bathroom. He didn't take a formal statement from the RA nor did he interview any of the students.
3:00pm Witness steps down and there is a 20 minute recess.
3:38 Court resumes. Witness 2 is sworn in (Officer Casella). He takes the stand.
Officer Casella also works for UAPD. He has been a corrpal field officer since July of 2008. He started with the police department in 2000.
On the morning of September 5th, he arrived at work at 5:30 am. He got dressed and heard a call on the radio about the incident. He told the officers that he was on his way. Granted access through the use of his own catcard, he entered the dormitory. He was instructed to remain stationed at the door and restrict access. [The defense shows him the same picture of Gram-Greenlee dorm. He describes where he was stationed by the South door facing the courtyard.] The only people he allowed into the dorm was the Tucson Fire Department.
Once G.H. was loaded into the ambulance, he volunteered to follow it in his patrol car. Once they arrived at UMC, he followed the paramedics into the trauma bay and observed Galareka's leg wound. Then he, "...let the medical people do the medical stuff." He estimates that her laceration was about 1 inch deep, and had reached the bone. For the remainder of his patrol at the hospital, he divided his attention between Mia Janelle Henderson and Galareka Harrison.
He watched as Mia was wheeled into the trauma bay. She was covered in blood. Tucson Fire Department attempted several chest compressions. Officer Casella could see what was going on in both bays, although Mia was completely surrounded now by medical personnel. Tragically, Mia was pronounced dead at 6:32 am. She had several stab wounds on her cheek, neck, and back.
Galareka was now summoning Officer Casella to come speak with her. She motioned with her hand for him to come over. She appeared to be upset and crying. He went over to where she was sitting and she told him that the cuts were in self-defense. He noticed several bite marks on top of her right hand. This is the story she told him:
Mia came at her with a knife and was already bloody. G.H. tried to deflect it and that's where the cuts on her hand came from. Them Mia tried to hold her down so Galareka tried to kick the knife away, which is when she cut her calf muscle.
During this story, Officer Casella said he emphasized the fact that Galareka didn't HAVE to talk to him. The cut on her leg is still open at this point. He doesn't know the exact time when it was stapled but said it was "quite some time." Eventually, she was taken into another room and stapled up. The Dr. who stapled her wound found a hair in her cut. He gave it to Officer Casella and he gave it to another detective. After being attended to, Galareka asked Officer Casella what is was like to be a police officer and she wanted to become a police officer some day.
Overall, Officer Casella said he spent the majority of his day with Galareka, from 6:12 am-4:50 pm, except for the hour and a half when he was with Mia. Again states that Galareka DID NOT appear to be in pain or distress.
4:01 pm Defense now proceeds to question.
Defense asks why the conversation about G.H. wanting to be a police officer was not in the police report that Officer Casella had written. Also wants to know why "calm and not crying" was not important enough to be in the police report either. Officer Casella said it's his job to only report the facts.
Defense asks what happened to Galareka after she left the hospital. At 4:50pm, Officer Casella escort G.H. to the UA police department. He put her in a "prisoner's chair". This chair is designed to look like the backseat of a patrol car where the prisoner is cuffed with their hands behind their back. There is a strap that comes across the legs. There is another that come across the shoulders. At the PD, Galareka is still in a hospital gown.
Witness 3 called to stand. Jordan Begaye is sworn in.
Jordon is 18 years old and is a sophomore at Northern Arizona University. He knew Mia for 6 years. [Defense showing picture of Mia to the jury] He previously attended U of A and ASU. While at U of A, he was a member of the First Year Scholars Program and stayed in Greenlee dorm. He met a girl named Londyn Young who was already close friends with Mia. He spent time with Londyn fairly often. Mia moved into her dorm the same day that he did and he met Galareka the first week of school. He estimates that he saw her a total of three times. Each time, he spent about 10 minutes with her.
One night, (either the 28th or the 29th) Mia, Jordan, and Londyn were studying in Mia's room. Galareka came into the room around 9:00 pm or 10:00 pm and placed her wallet on the study desk. Galareka only remained in the room for a few minutes and then left. Mia found her catcard in Galareka's wallet. Folded around the catcard was Mia's social security card. He says the card was sticking out of the wallet and that they noticed that it was Mia's picture. They called Londyn and went to look for an RA. It took them three tries to find an RA because their RA wasn't available. The 2nd RA said she was off duty. The three of them went into the Gram dorm and finally found an RA named Kevin. Once they told him what they had found he reacted like he didn't know what to do. He called 911 and was then transferred to UAPD. An officer eventually met them on the first floor of the dorm. Mia told him the whole situation. The three of them went up to her room. No one was in there. The Officer asked where the wallet was and how it was positioned. He then went to look for Galareka. 1-2 hours later the officer returned and instructs all three of them to leave the room. He told them that he had talked to Galareka and that she had confessed to stealing Mia's catcard, her SS card, and three checks. He instructed Mia to stay with a friend so she chose to stay with Londyn.
The next day Mia used Jordan's computer to write three letters. One was sent to the Dean, one to Residential Life and one to 1st year scholars. For the three day weekend, (Labor Day weekend) 4 student's, including Mia and Jordan, went back home to Tuba city in another friends truck.
On Tuesday, September 4th, Jordan was done with class at 5:00 pm. At 7:15 pm he met with Mia outside of her dorm and the two of them went to eat at Chiptole. Afterwards they went running around 9:25pm. Then the two of them went back to Mia's dorm. Galareka's belongings were still in there although she was not physically there. Jordan left at 10:00 pm.
Around 5:55 am, Jordan heard commotion that sounded like foot steps. There were a lot of cops outside and he tried contacting Mia but couldn't get through. He received a text regarding Mia and ran out. He was escorted to UMC, where he learned that Mia was pronounced dead. He was then interrogated by the police.
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Hey everyone...you can leave your comments on what you think here....just no cuss words please
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