The prosecution rests; Ford will testify says defense
NORWICH – The defense says accused murderer George Ford Jr. will take the stand Friday.
Defense Attorney Randel Scharf told reporters outside the Chenango County Courthouse Wednesday that Ford would testify in his own defense tomorrow.
The announcement came just an hour after District Attorney Joseph A. McBride told Broome County Judge Joseph F. Cawley that the people were resting in the case. McBride called 21 witnesses since he began presenting his case Feb. 2.
After McBride rested his case, Scharf tried unsuccessfully to have the charges against his client dismissed.
“The prosecution’s case, judge, is replete of evidence of intent. There isn’t any evidence that George Ford intended to commit murder when he caused the death of Shyanne Somers. And that’s simply because he didn’t intend to kill her,” he said.
The 44-year-old Ford is charged with the July 2007 slaying of his 12-year-old neighbor, Shyanne Somers, who was supposed to baby-sit his two-year-old son so he could return to a graduation party.
After picking up the girl at around 11:30 p.m. July 7, 2007, Ford’s wife, Cindy, decided against returning and Ford then allegedly left with the girl to bring her home. Ford said he took Somers to see some horses he kept on Will Warner Road and accidentally ran over the girl while turning his pick-up truck around.
The prosecution claims that a GPS tracker in Ford’s truck, evidence found at the scene and at an abandoned seasonal residence just up the road prove that the defendant lied to police and murdered the young girl.
Another factor in the case is that Ford did not arrive at the hospital with the girl until several hours after the incident.
“Judge, he left her there. Not because it was good for her, because it was good for him. Because now to prevent him from getting in trouble, he had to come up with a story as to what happened,” said McBride yesterday.
In his effort to get the case dismissed, Scharf reminded the court that medical examiner Dr. James Terzian, who performed the autopsy, still to this day could not classify Somers’ death as a homicide. He also said that the time of her death supported Ford’s story as much as it did the prosecution’s.
Scharf also said the accident reconstruction evidence was not definitive and lacked the ability to show intent.
“The accident reconstructionist who carefully examined the scene on Will Warner Road said he couldn’t tell, couldn’t say, if it was a homicide or any other type of accident because he said he’d have to know what was inside of George Ford’s head,” said Scharf.
Scharf went on to add that the GPS evidence also could not show intent.
“It doesn’t account for human emotion. It doesn’t account for what’s in somebody’s mind. It just depicts where the GPS tracking key was located. It doesn’t say what somebody felt or thought or what their intentions were. And it’s 40 something feet off the road,” he said.
“(Ford) made a promise to the father of this child that he would take this child straight from the father’s house to his house and nowhere else to baby-sit, and as soon as he left the driveway, judge, he broke that promise,” replied McBride to the defense’s motion to dismiss.
McBride said the GPS evidence showed Ford’s truck never even crossed the site of Shyanne’s death until 3:03 a.m.
“He stayed on that scene for approximately 26 minutes, created some false evidence with tire marks to justify what he had done. And then he meandered around Chenango County and Madison County so he can come up with a story or get the courage to lie about what he had just done – never thinking once what any responsible adult would do in an accident, which is take that child for care, get 911 and take care of her. He didn’t do that, judge, because it was no accident,” he said.
“Mr. Ford brings this child to the hospital in a manner where he’s not trying to hide anything. He’s bringing her, he’s producing her. And that, I respectfully submit to the court, doesn’t amount to a consciousness of guilt or evidence of guilt,” said Scharf.
McBride said the fact that police found evidence at the abandoned seasonal residence and that Ford was at the location with the girl for three hours amounted to a recipe for murder.
“Whatever happened there in that three hours was inappropriate and wasn’t what this defendant was supposed to be doing with that young child,” McBride said. “We also know that when he’s up there, he has cocaine in his system and that he has a hypodermic needle up there with his blood in it.”
McBride added, “And that GPS shows, second by second, that he was under control when he was traveling down Will Warner Road and he slowly, slowly came upon the young girl and intentionally made a left into that bank to kill her to prevent her from speaking about whatever happened on Will Warner Road.”
“The evidence that’s present, the physical evidence that’s present in the road, the observations people made of the scene, the observation people made of the truck and of the evidence associated with the remains of Shyanne Somers, all conclude one thing: She wasn’t murdered. And because of that reason, because there is no evidence of homicide or intent, this prosecution should be dismissed and it should be ended right now,” said Scharf in his final remarks.
Cawley denied the motion.
State Police toxicologist expert Stephen T. Jodush testified earlier yesterday that Ford’s blood was positive for cocaine that was probably consumed “six to 12 hours prior to the blood being drawn,” he said.
Under cross-examination, Jodush said the amount taken was not quantified, saying no scientific study had been done on a proper threshold for impaired levels of cocaine use.
“It isn’t like alcohol where .08 is the legal limit with volumes of research and study behind it,” he said.
Court will resume Friday at 9 a.m. with the defense presenting its first witness. Scharf said he expected he would probably finish his arguments Friday, but could say for sure.
Court is closed today in observation of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.
Ford has waived his right to a jury trial, electing instead to have the verdict decided solely by Judge Cawley. Ford is currently being held at the Chenango County Correctional Facility without bail. If convicted of second degree murder, he could face a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison.
Defense Attorney Randel Scharf told reporters outside the Chenango County Courthouse Wednesday that Ford would testify in his own defense tomorrow.
The announcement came just an hour after District Attorney Joseph A. McBride told Broome County Judge Joseph F. Cawley that the people were resting in the case. McBride called 21 witnesses since he began presenting his case Feb. 2.
After McBride rested his case, Scharf tried unsuccessfully to have the charges against his client dismissed.
“The prosecution’s case, judge, is replete of evidence of intent. There isn’t any evidence that George Ford intended to commit murder when he caused the death of Shyanne Somers. And that’s simply because he didn’t intend to kill her,” he said.
The 44-year-old Ford is charged with the July 2007 slaying of his 12-year-old neighbor, Shyanne Somers, who was supposed to baby-sit his two-year-old son so he could return to a graduation party.
After picking up the girl at around 11:30 p.m. July 7, 2007, Ford’s wife, Cindy, decided against returning and Ford then allegedly left with the girl to bring her home. Ford said he took Somers to see some horses he kept on Will Warner Road and accidentally ran over the girl while turning his pick-up truck around.
The prosecution claims that a GPS tracker in Ford’s truck, evidence found at the scene and at an abandoned seasonal residence just up the road prove that the defendant lied to police and murdered the young girl.
Another factor in the case is that Ford did not arrive at the hospital with the girl until several hours after the incident.
“Judge, he left her there. Not because it was good for her, because it was good for him. Because now to prevent him from getting in trouble, he had to come up with a story as to what happened,” said McBride yesterday.
In his effort to get the case dismissed, Scharf reminded the court that medical examiner Dr. James Terzian, who performed the autopsy, still to this day could not classify Somers’ death as a homicide. He also said that the time of her death supported Ford’s story as much as it did the prosecution’s.
Scharf also said the accident reconstruction evidence was not definitive and lacked the ability to show intent.
“The accident reconstructionist who carefully examined the scene on Will Warner Road said he couldn’t tell, couldn’t say, if it was a homicide or any other type of accident because he said he’d have to know what was inside of George Ford’s head,” said Scharf.
Scharf went on to add that the GPS evidence also could not show intent.
“It doesn’t account for human emotion. It doesn’t account for what’s in somebody’s mind. It just depicts where the GPS tracking key was located. It doesn’t say what somebody felt or thought or what their intentions were. And it’s 40 something feet off the road,” he said.
“(Ford) made a promise to the father of this child that he would take this child straight from the father’s house to his house and nowhere else to baby-sit, and as soon as he left the driveway, judge, he broke that promise,” replied McBride to the defense’s motion to dismiss.
McBride said the GPS evidence showed Ford’s truck never even crossed the site of Shyanne’s death until 3:03 a.m.
“He stayed on that scene for approximately 26 minutes, created some false evidence with tire marks to justify what he had done. And then he meandered around Chenango County and Madison County so he can come up with a story or get the courage to lie about what he had just done – never thinking once what any responsible adult would do in an accident, which is take that child for care, get 911 and take care of her. He didn’t do that, judge, because it was no accident,” he said.
“Mr. Ford brings this child to the hospital in a manner where he’s not trying to hide anything. He’s bringing her, he’s producing her. And that, I respectfully submit to the court, doesn’t amount to a consciousness of guilt or evidence of guilt,” said Scharf.
McBride said the fact that police found evidence at the abandoned seasonal residence and that Ford was at the location with the girl for three hours amounted to a recipe for murder.
“Whatever happened there in that three hours was inappropriate and wasn’t what this defendant was supposed to be doing with that young child,” McBride said. “We also know that when he’s up there, he has cocaine in his system and that he has a hypodermic needle up there with his blood in it.”
McBride added, “And that GPS shows, second by second, that he was under control when he was traveling down Will Warner Road and he slowly, slowly came upon the young girl and intentionally made a left into that bank to kill her to prevent her from speaking about whatever happened on Will Warner Road.”
“The evidence that’s present, the physical evidence that’s present in the road, the observations people made of the scene, the observation people made of the truck and of the evidence associated with the remains of Shyanne Somers, all conclude one thing: She wasn’t murdered. And because of that reason, because there is no evidence of homicide or intent, this prosecution should be dismissed and it should be ended right now,” said Scharf in his final remarks.
Cawley denied the motion.
State Police toxicologist expert Stephen T. Jodush testified earlier yesterday that Ford’s blood was positive for cocaine that was probably consumed “six to 12 hours prior to the blood being drawn,” he said.
Under cross-examination, Jodush said the amount taken was not quantified, saying no scientific study had been done on a proper threshold for impaired levels of cocaine use.
“It isn’t like alcohol where .08 is the legal limit with volumes of research and study behind it,” he said.
Court will resume Friday at 9 a.m. with the defense presenting its first witness. Scharf said he expected he would probably finish his arguments Friday, but could say for sure.
Court is closed today in observation of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.
Ford has waived his right to a jury trial, electing instead to have the verdict decided solely by Judge Cawley. Ford is currently being held at the Chenango County Correctional Facility without bail. If convicted of second degree murder, he could face a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison.
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