Courtroom Demonstration on Physical Fitness

Are you physically fit?

I would think so.

Do you, do you exercise?

I do.

You... Do you lift weights?

I do.

Okay.

Would you be willing to help in a demonstration?

Well, I, I could, sure.

Wonderful.

Do you see that desk that Mr. Vonderheide and Ms.

Padaris is, are sitting at?

Yes.

The height of that desk is thirty inches.

Okay.

Okay.

Uh, a few months back,

the state's, uh,

the state went and measured the height of the Toyota,

and they measured that it was twenty-eight inches from, uh, from the

ground to the rear bumper.

So, uh,

if you swing the tailgate down, that would add a few more inches.

I would say closer to four inches. So

I would say that that's a pretty good analog, maybe a little bit less, of the

height that somebody would have to lift a person to

load it on to the Toyota tailgate.

Now, we have a Gorilla Cart in evidence right

now.

What I propose we do is that we take that Gorilla Cart, we ask for

a volunteer that's approximately a hundred and ninety, a hundred and ninety-five

pounds to get into that Gorilla Cart, and I would like you to

lift that Gorilla Cart with that person onto that desk.

And Your Honor, I object to this, uh, demonstration that the defendant is asking

for. Uh, first of all, the relative strength

capabilities would be relevant to Dr.

Kosowski as it relates to this time period back in March twenty-first of two

thousand twenty-three.

It would not be relevant to this detective who's testified here today.

I'm not sure where you're going to find a one hundred and ninety-pound volunteer to

climb into this Gorilla Cart to volunteer to be put on the table here today in this

courtroom, so I would object to the, uh, this demonstration as having been

directly .

All right. All right, I'll sustain the objection,

but you made your point.

I don't think I have, um-

Well-

-Your Honor. Um-

I think you have, so, um,

you may continue with your cross-examination.

Your Honor,

their theory is that I took

a hundred and ninety-five pound person in a

cart and somehow lifted th-those two weights

together and loaded it onto the back of a truck.

He's telling, he's telling you that I committed murder,

and he's trying to kill me

for it. All right? That is their theory.

The least, the least, uh, that they have to

do is show me that this is plausible.

Now I,

because of my career, I know what it's like to transfer a

hundred and

ninety-five pound people all the time because I transfer people

from OR desk or OR tables to gurneys all the time.

All right? If your theory is real,

you should have no problem lifting that cart up with a hundred and

ninety-five person onto that desk.

Now, please.

All right. I understand your argument, and I'll take it into

consideration, but we're not gonna have

that type of demonstration in

the courtroom. All right? So you may continue with your

cross-examination.