About the Trial

As has been stated, the criminal trial of Commonwealth of Virginia v. John P. Bloxham was this last week. On Thursday, the jury found John guilty of murder in the first degree (which is really hard to get!), and on Friday recommended that he be sentenced to 35 years in prison. The actual sentencing is scheduled to take place on May 16, 2008.

The trial started Monday. Mom testified that day, as did some emergency responders, residents of the neighborhood where it happened (including the wonderful Mrs. Kim Miller), and the medical examiner. The ME’s testimony was especially hard to listen to because it detailed everything that happened to my brother’s body that night, both from the assault itself and from medical intervention while they were trying to save him. It was also hard just knowing that so many photographs of Todd’s body were being displayed in open court, though thankfully the spectators didn’t get much of a view. (I did get some recompense on Wednesday, though, when photos of John’s body -- taken the night of his arrest to show his complete lack of physical injuries, in contradiction of his claim of self defense -- were also displayed in open court. That I didn’t feel bad about at all!)

Most of Tuesday was spent with a single witness on the stand, Detective Anderson from Crime Scene, who detailed all the forensic evidence that was gathered, how it was gathered, who each item was sent to, etc. etc. That was grueling and tedious, and I didn’t stay in the courtroom to hear all of it. (It did give me renewed appreciation for the judge and jurors who had to sit alertly through everything the entire time!) Finally, at about 4pm or so, they put Carrie on the stand. She did a great job testifying, but again, it was hard for her and for us reliving the events of that night.

On Wednesday morning, Carrie returned to the stand for cross-examination by the Defense. John’s two attorneys, by the way, were both remarkably sleazy in ways I won’t even try to enumerate. Incidentally, they were not court-appointed, meaning John paid for their services himself, and they charged him a good three to four times what any other private defense attorney in the county would have charged. But they knew John had assets, so they went for it. (I think they and John clearly deserved each other!)

Anyway, Carrie weathered her cross-examination well, but I'm sure it was hard on her. After she was done, her roommate Cheryl Smith testified. Then Detective Shillingford from Homicide took the stand. He was the lead investigator on the case and was absolutely brilliant.

At some point, there was also a toxicologist who testified about some of the lab work done on tissue samples taken during the autopsy. The Defense had been claiming that my brother attacked John in a “drunken rage” that night. (Right. Todd had never tasted an alcoholic beverage in his life.) They were basing this claim on the fact that the labs showed he had a blood alcohol concentration of a whopping .03%. The toxicologist showed that although there was alcohol present in the blood, there wasn’t any in the viscous humor, meaning the alcohol in his system didn’t get there by consumption. Rather, it was the result of postmortem ethanol formation which took place while his body sat for a few days awaiting autopsy. The Defense had this information all the time, but they never did have any compunction about twisting facts.

Somewhere in there, a DNA expert also testified to establish that some of Todd’s blood was found on a glove found in John’s house. I don’t remember when he took the stand, though. (Maybe Wednesday?)

Finally, the prosecution rested and the Defense called its two witnesses. The first one was John himself, who let us all know what a selfless and virtuous person he is, faithful in his religion, a pillar of the community, yadda, yadda, yadda. He was also, evidently, quite athletic. He even described -- and I quote -- the “scissors action” he did with his arms to deflect the blows my Herculean brother was supposedly hurling at him with lethal force. At one point, when Katie Swart (our prosecutor) asked him why he put the gun in his fanny pack to begin with, he looked kind of nonplussed and responded, “Because it fit.” (Listening to him was creepy and surreal -- he is such a piece of work!)

The second witness for the Defense was one of the police officers present for the initial interrogation the night John was taken into custody. He had made a number of edits to his notes, and the Defense wanted to point one of them out (just one). Namely, they wanted the whole world to know that at one point Detective Shillingford “told” John something rather than “asking” him. Within the context of the entire interrogation, which had lasted for hours and contained an enormous amount of information, that one edit was meaningless. The Defense had no interest in asking the officer why he’d made the edit, or asking him to comment on the interrogation itself. After that, the Defense rested.

Closing arguments were given Thursday morning. Katie’s was eloquent and to the point. The Defense’s was ridiculous and shameful -- according to them, the whole business was one big conspiracy on the part of the entire law enforcement community to implicate an innocent man. Oh yes, and their other “point” was that Todd wasn't an important person to begin with, so his loss really didn't merit so much fuss. The jury deliberated for about seven hours -- quite possibly the longest seven hours of my life! They came back with the verdict, and we were all walking on air after that. Carrie’s brother Josh put it well when he said, “Each breath is a lighter breath, each step is a lighter step.” I can’t describe the relief we felt. For us, this wasn’t about revenge, but about keeping Carrie safe from an obsessed sociopath who should never again be allowed back on the streets. Knowing he was convicted and would be sent to prison was a major load off our minds!

On Friday morning, we convened for impact statements. I went first -- it was my first time testifying under oath before a jury -- then Dad, and then Mom. Then John went. He talked about all the ways his life has been hard and why the jury should be lenient (true to form, everything was about him). Then, only when prompted by his attorney, he apologized to Carrie, to my parents, and then to me. (Hearing him say my name and turn to face me was creepy enough -- I wish he’d just left me out of it!) Not surprisingly, his entire statement was contrived. He said the apology was long overdue and that he’d have given it much sooner if the legal proceedings hadn’t prevented him from discussing the case. (Translation: If I hadn’t been spending all these months trying to get away with murder, I would have been free to say I was sorry sooner.) Fortunately, my family and I are intent on forgiving him, gradually, as we’re able to let go aspects of our pain here and there -- but if anything, we’ll forgive him in spite of his apology, not because of it. The best way I can characterize his performance is as an unpleasant waste of time we had to listen to.

After our statements, attorneys from both sides spoke, the judge gave the jury some more instructions, and they went out to deliberate. A couple of hours later, they came back with a recommendation of 35 years. The final sentencing hearing was scheduled for May 16th. In the meantime, we’ll be gathering more victim impact materials to submit to the judge.

There are so many people who have been so wonderful, helping and supporting us through this whole saga. I can’t possibly name everyone, but I do want to give special thanks to the following people who were instrumental in this week’s success: Detective Steven Shillingford and the rest of the police force of Fairfax County. It was evident in court that they are a dedicated, competent, and highly professional organization. Huge thanks also to Katie Swart (Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney), Mrs. Kim Miller (the good samaritan who assisted my brother in his last moments of consciousness, and who relayed his vital message about who had shot him), Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, all the other experts who testified, Judge Charles J. Maxfield, Jeannie Kuley (our wonderful VWAP counselor), and... dah dah dah... the jury! They were a very special group of people who did a great job discerning truth from falsehood.

As a side note, it turns out our jury foreman was Mark V. Rosenker, Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, who reports directly to President Bush. I would imagine he’s sat through many hearings in his lifetime, and I’m sure he was instrumental in guiding the jury members to their decision. Thank you, Mr. Rosenker!

Here’s a brief snippet about the case from the newspaper: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/14/AR2008031404014.html

And with that, before this post gets any longer, I’m ending here!

Love,
Lisa

Jury's Recommended Sentence

The jury has recommended a sentence of 35 years for John Bloxham according to a news media report.

The Trial is Over and Thanks

The jury came back with a verdict this afternoon (Earlier than I expected). John Bloxham has been found guilty of 1st degree murder. The jury will meet tomorrow back in court to recommend a sentence to the judge. The actual sentencing, as I understand things, will take place in a few weeks and it will be given by the judge.

I thank all of the witnesses, law enforcement personnel (including the forensic people), and those in the Commonwealth's prosecutor's office who have worked and/or helped in bring out the truth and the circumstances of Todd's murder.

I thank the jury for their work in listening to both sides (prosecution and defense) and for making a decision, which I believe is the correct one. Being on a jury is a thankless duty where one is tasked to make an often times difficult and/or emotional decision, yet still based on fact, in my opinion. Of course I've never had the opportunity to be on a jury, so I really don't know what it is like. I can only speculate.

I thank those with the victims/witness assistance program in Fairfax County for the support they have given to my family and friends.

I thank the judge for being fair to all involved. Although I was not present for the trial, from what I have heard it was handled fairly.

And finally, I thank Todd for being a great brother, friend, and roommate. He is a good example of one who lived a Christ-like life. And he is missed.

The Trial is Underway

Today is the 3rd day of the trial. It will likely at least until Friday. There has been some talk that it may go into next week too. But I'm not really sure how long it will go on.

As for the verdict, one never knows how a jury will decide. However I believe that it will end in a conviction.

I thank everyone who has prayed for those who have been involved with this case (It has been hard for a lot of people). The world is a better place because of the blessing and miracle of prayer.

A Happy Thought

As the trial draws nearer, I sometimes feel pain from old wounds that I had hoped were healed. I suspect I'm not alone in this. So, I thought it would be a good time to share a happy thought:

The surest way to find real happiness is to focus on those things that matter more than your own happiness.