McCabe Trial: Testimony of Bridget McCabe
OOC: I know these are way belated, but they'll all be up soon...
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *clears her throat* Your Honor, my next two witnesses are detectives with the NYPD, however their flight has been delayed. The People would like to call a different witness for the time being.
Judge Stevens: As long as the defense has no objections.
Riley Toth, Esq.: *shakes his head* The defense has no objections.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: The People call Bridget McCabe.
*Bridget McCabe is called up, sworn in*
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Ms. McCabe, how do you know the defendant, Sean McCabe?
Bridget McCabe: *Irish accent* He's my brother.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Do you live with him?
Bridget McCabe: No--we have before, but he got a new apartment a few months ago.
ADA Connie Rubirosa : Does he ever visit?
Bridget McCabe; Before he was arrested, yes'm. He'd play with my son, Colin.
ADA Connie Rubirosa : And where is your son, Colin, Ms. McCabe? *even*
Bridget McCabe: *sniffs* 'e's in a foster home.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Why is that?
Bridget McCabe: They took 'em, those police officers.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Why did the police call Child Protective Services, Ms. McCabe?
Bridget McCabe: I left 'im alone while I stepped out. I didn' mean any harm.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: How old is your son, Ms. McCabe?
Bridget McCabe; He's just now two.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: And you left him alone. A two year old. While you were doing what? *doesn't bother hiding the annoyance in her voice*
Bridget McCabe: I had some errands to run.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: What errands, Ms. McCabe?
Bridget McCabe: I hadda go talk with my brother.
ADA Connie Rubirosa : And you couldn't bring your son with you? I thought you said he spent time with his uncle regularly.
Bridget McCabe: It's not safe--to take him where Sean lives.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: And why is that?
Bridget McCabe: He hangs out with the wrong crowd.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: What did you go talk to your brother about that night, Ms.McCabe?
Bridget McCabe: I told him the police came round lookin' for him. An' that I wanted my van back.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Your van?
Bridget McCabe: He borrowed my van and hadn' brought it back.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Would that be a *description* van?
Bridget McCabe: *nods*
Bridget McCabe: Yes.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: And when did he borrow it?
Bridget McCabe: The day of June 22nd. Said he had some work ta do.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Did he often borrow your van for....work, Ms. McCabe?
Bridget McCabe: Sometimes...
ADA Connie Rubirosa : Your Honor, at this time the People would like to move into evidence People's Exhibit A2. *holds several photographs*
Judge Stevens: Any objections from the defense?
Riley Toth, Esq.: No, your honor.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *displays one of the photos over the overhead--a picture of Bridget McCabe's van* Is this your van, Ms. McCabe? *motions to the license plate* Your license plate number there?
Bridget McCabe: It is, yes.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *nods* Were you aware, Ms. McCabe, that your van was recovered and matched to tire treads found at the scene of the crime?
Bridget McCabe: Yes'm.
ADA Connie Rubirosa : Your brother's fingerprints were also found all over the van--did you know this?
Bridget McCabe: Yes--he used it for his work.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *flat* Right. His work. Were you aware of the nature of his work, Ms.McCabe?
Bridget McCabe: He tol' me it was better if I didn' know the things he got into.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: And why would he tell you that?
Bridget McCabe:...some of it weren't...all legal.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Bridget, what did your brother tell you when you warned him about the police that night?
Bridget McCabe:....he said....it would all be alright....'n that we'd have money for Colin's birthday. He said we'd go on a real vacation.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Did you get a call the next day about money?
Bridget McCabe: *reluctant* Yes'm.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Was it from someone you knew?
Bridget McCabe: No, ma'am.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Who was it from, Bridget?
Bridget McCabe: A man said he knew my brother. Said my brother had completed work for him. N' that since my brother didn' have a bank account, the money would go into mine.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: What else did he say, Bridget?
Bridget McCabe: He said I had to wait to put it in my account. Till the police backed off my brother.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: How much was the cash he gave you, Bridget?
Bridget McCabe: $17,500.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Did he say anything else?
Bridget McCabe: No.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Your Honor, the People would like to introduce into evidence the People's Exhibit B3. *holding papers*
Judge Stevens: If the defense has no objections...
Riley Toth, Esq.: No, your honor.
Judge Stevens: Go ahead.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *again puts them on the overhead* For the record, this is the June account balances for a small business owned by Dallas Strickland. Ms. McCabe, on what day did the man call you and arrange for you to receive the cash?
Bridget McCabe: June 24.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *highlights an area of the statement* Can you please read me the withdrawals from this business account for the day of June 24, 2007?
Bridget McCabe: $17,500--in cash.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *nods* No further questions, your Honor.
Judge Stevens: Mr Toth, your witness.
Riley Toth, Esq.: *gets up, starts to walk over*
Riley Toth, Esq.: Did the man who called you ever give you his name?
Bridget McCabe: No, sir.
Riley Toth, Esq.: So you don't know without a doubt that the man who called you was indeed Dallas Strickland?
Bridget McCabe: That's who they said it was. They said he said he was.
Riley Toth, Esq.: They?
Bridget McCabe: *nods* The lawyers, the police....
ADA Connie Rubirosa:*clenched teeth*
Riley Toth, Esq.: So they -told- you it was Dallas Strickland, but you never met him, nor do you know for a fact that it was him you spoke to on the phone?
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Bridget: Uh-huh...
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *looks over, pissed, whispers something to Peluso*
Riley Toth, Esq.: Now, you stated in earlier testimony that your brother borrowed the van frequently for work?
Bridget McCabe: Yes.
Riley Toth, Esq.: You also stated that the area where your brother lives in is not necessarily a safe neighborhood?
Bridget McCabe: Yes, it’s' not.
Riley Toth, Esq.: Has your van ever been stolen or broken into while it was in your brother's care?
Bridget McCabe: Not that I know of, no.
Riley Toth, Esq.: Had you heard about similar occurences happening in the neighborhood---not necessarily with your brother, but with any of his neighbors?
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Objection, Your Honor--relevance?
Judge Stevens: *waits for Riley to answer*
Riley Toth, Esq.: Goes towards the possibilty that the van was not in Mr. McCabe's custody when the crime was committed.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *eyeroll* Does the defense have another suspect in mind?
Riley Toth, Esq.: Not exactly---but it does go towards reasonable doubt.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Purely speculative.
Riley Toth, Esq. : Not unlike Ms. McCabe when the prosecution lead her to assume that Dallas Strickland was the man who called her?
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Your Honor, Dallas Strickland's financial records are not the issue here.
Judge Stevens: *getting annoyed* No, they're not, but Mr. Toth has a point. Please repeat the question for the witness, Mr Toth.
Riley Toth, Esq.: *turns back to the witness* Ms. McCabe, had you heard about similar occurences happening in the neighborhood---not necessarily with your brother, but with any of his neighbors?
Bridget McCabe: I--I don't know.
Riley Toth, Esq.: *nod* Why did you consider the neighborhood where your brother lived a bad neighborhood?
Bridget McCabe: Drug dealers...people roamin; the streets at all hours.
Riley Toth, Esq.: So it wouldn't surprise you if any kind of crime, such as a robbery, were to have occured in that area?
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Objection, speculation.
Judge Stevens: Sustained.
Riley Toth, Esq.: Withdrawn. *starts to go back to his seat* Nothing further.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Redirect, Your Honor.
Judge Stevens: *Nods*
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *gets back up, goes over to the well*
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *looks at the jury, and then at Bridget* Ms. McCabe, to your knowledge, was your van operated by anyone other than your brother during the times he borrowed it?
Bridget McCabe: No.
ADA Connie Rubirosa : What neighborhood do you live in, Ms. McCabe?
Bridget McCabe: *gives an address*
ADA Connie Rubirosa: That's not very far from your brother's neighbhorhood, is it?
Bridget McCabe:...no.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: What makes your neighborhood so much safer than his, Ms. McCabe? *thinks a moment* Strike that--let me rephrase. Ms. McCabe, do you live in a safe neighborhood?
Bridget McCabe: Safer than my brother's....
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Your brother who only lives a few blocks away....*nods* How much safer? Very much? A little?
Bridget McCabe: I--*looks a little confused*--I don't know for sure.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Has your car ever been vandalized?
Bridget McCabe: No.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: No further questions, Your Honor.
Judge Stevens: Re-cross, Mr Toth?
Riley Toth, Esq.: No, your honor.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *clears her throat* Your Honor, my next two witnesses are detectives with the NYPD, however their flight has been delayed. The People would like to call a different witness for the time being.
Judge Stevens: As long as the defense has no objections.
Riley Toth, Esq.: *shakes his head* The defense has no objections.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: The People call Bridget McCabe.
*Bridget McCabe is called up, sworn in*
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Ms. McCabe, how do you know the defendant, Sean McCabe?
Bridget McCabe: *Irish accent* He's my brother.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Do you live with him?
Bridget McCabe: No--we have before, but he got a new apartment a few months ago.
ADA Connie Rubirosa : Does he ever visit?
Bridget McCabe; Before he was arrested, yes'm. He'd play with my son, Colin.
ADA Connie Rubirosa : And where is your son, Colin, Ms. McCabe? *even*
Bridget McCabe: *sniffs* 'e's in a foster home.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Why is that?
Bridget McCabe: They took 'em, those police officers.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Why did the police call Child Protective Services, Ms. McCabe?
Bridget McCabe: I left 'im alone while I stepped out. I didn' mean any harm.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: How old is your son, Ms. McCabe?
Bridget McCabe; He's just now two.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: And you left him alone. A two year old. While you were doing what? *doesn't bother hiding the annoyance in her voice*
Bridget McCabe: I had some errands to run.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: What errands, Ms. McCabe?
Bridget McCabe: I hadda go talk with my brother.
ADA Connie Rubirosa : And you couldn't bring your son with you? I thought you said he spent time with his uncle regularly.
Bridget McCabe: It's not safe--to take him where Sean lives.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: And why is that?
Bridget McCabe: He hangs out with the wrong crowd.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: What did you go talk to your brother about that night, Ms.McCabe?
Bridget McCabe: I told him the police came round lookin' for him. An' that I wanted my van back.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Your van?
Bridget McCabe: He borrowed my van and hadn' brought it back.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Would that be a *description* van?
Bridget McCabe: *nods*
Bridget McCabe: Yes.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: And when did he borrow it?
Bridget McCabe: The day of June 22nd. Said he had some work ta do.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Did he often borrow your van for....work, Ms. McCabe?
Bridget McCabe: Sometimes...
ADA Connie Rubirosa : Your Honor, at this time the People would like to move into evidence People's Exhibit A2. *holds several photographs*
Judge Stevens: Any objections from the defense?
Riley Toth, Esq.: No, your honor.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *displays one of the photos over the overhead--a picture of Bridget McCabe's van* Is this your van, Ms. McCabe? *motions to the license plate* Your license plate number there?
Bridget McCabe: It is, yes.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *nods* Were you aware, Ms. McCabe, that your van was recovered and matched to tire treads found at the scene of the crime?
Bridget McCabe: Yes'm.
ADA Connie Rubirosa : Your brother's fingerprints were also found all over the van--did you know this?
Bridget McCabe: Yes--he used it for his work.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *flat* Right. His work. Were you aware of the nature of his work, Ms.McCabe?
Bridget McCabe: He tol' me it was better if I didn' know the things he got into.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: And why would he tell you that?
Bridget McCabe:...some of it weren't...all legal.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Bridget, what did your brother tell you when you warned him about the police that night?
Bridget McCabe:....he said....it would all be alright....'n that we'd have money for Colin's birthday. He said we'd go on a real vacation.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Did you get a call the next day about money?
Bridget McCabe: *reluctant* Yes'm.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Was it from someone you knew?
Bridget McCabe: No, ma'am.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Who was it from, Bridget?
Bridget McCabe: A man said he knew my brother. Said my brother had completed work for him. N' that since my brother didn' have a bank account, the money would go into mine.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: What else did he say, Bridget?
Bridget McCabe: He said I had to wait to put it in my account. Till the police backed off my brother.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: How much was the cash he gave you, Bridget?
Bridget McCabe: $17,500.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Did he say anything else?
Bridget McCabe: No.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Your Honor, the People would like to introduce into evidence the People's Exhibit B3. *holding papers*
Judge Stevens: If the defense has no objections...
Riley Toth, Esq.: No, your honor.
Judge Stevens: Go ahead.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *again puts them on the overhead* For the record, this is the June account balances for a small business owned by Dallas Strickland. Ms. McCabe, on what day did the man call you and arrange for you to receive the cash?
Bridget McCabe: June 24.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *highlights an area of the statement* Can you please read me the withdrawals from this business account for the day of June 24, 2007?
Bridget McCabe: $17,500--in cash.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *nods* No further questions, your Honor.
Judge Stevens: Mr Toth, your witness.
Riley Toth, Esq.: *gets up, starts to walk over*
Riley Toth, Esq.: Did the man who called you ever give you his name?
Bridget McCabe: No, sir.
Riley Toth, Esq.: So you don't know without a doubt that the man who called you was indeed Dallas Strickland?
Bridget McCabe: That's who they said it was. They said he said he was.
Riley Toth, Esq.: They?
Bridget McCabe: *nods* The lawyers, the police....
ADA Connie Rubirosa:*clenched teeth*
Riley Toth, Esq.: So they -told- you it was Dallas Strickland, but you never met him, nor do you know for a fact that it was him you spoke to on the phone?
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Bridget: Uh-huh...
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *looks over, pissed, whispers something to Peluso*
Riley Toth, Esq.: Now, you stated in earlier testimony that your brother borrowed the van frequently for work?
Bridget McCabe: Yes.
Riley Toth, Esq.: You also stated that the area where your brother lives in is not necessarily a safe neighborhood?
Bridget McCabe: Yes, it’s' not.
Riley Toth, Esq.: Has your van ever been stolen or broken into while it was in your brother's care?
Bridget McCabe: Not that I know of, no.
Riley Toth, Esq.: Had you heard about similar occurences happening in the neighborhood---not necessarily with your brother, but with any of his neighbors?
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Objection, Your Honor--relevance?
Judge Stevens: *waits for Riley to answer*
Riley Toth, Esq.: Goes towards the possibilty that the van was not in Mr. McCabe's custody when the crime was committed.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *eyeroll* Does the defense have another suspect in mind?
Riley Toth, Esq.: Not exactly---but it does go towards reasonable doubt.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Purely speculative.
Riley Toth, Esq. : Not unlike Ms. McCabe when the prosecution lead her to assume that Dallas Strickland was the man who called her?
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Your Honor, Dallas Strickland's financial records are not the issue here.
Judge Stevens: *getting annoyed* No, they're not, but Mr. Toth has a point. Please repeat the question for the witness, Mr Toth.
Riley Toth, Esq.: *turns back to the witness* Ms. McCabe, had you heard about similar occurences happening in the neighborhood---not necessarily with your brother, but with any of his neighbors?
Bridget McCabe: I--I don't know.
Riley Toth, Esq.: *nod* Why did you consider the neighborhood where your brother lived a bad neighborhood?
Bridget McCabe: Drug dealers...people roamin; the streets at all hours.
Riley Toth, Esq.: So it wouldn't surprise you if any kind of crime, such as a robbery, were to have occured in that area?
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Objection, speculation.
Judge Stevens: Sustained.
Riley Toth, Esq.: Withdrawn. *starts to go back to his seat* Nothing further.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Redirect, Your Honor.
Judge Stevens: *Nods*
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *gets back up, goes over to the well*
ADA Connie Rubirosa: *looks at the jury, and then at Bridget* Ms. McCabe, to your knowledge, was your van operated by anyone other than your brother during the times he borrowed it?
Bridget McCabe: No.
ADA Connie Rubirosa : What neighborhood do you live in, Ms. McCabe?
Bridget McCabe: *gives an address*
ADA Connie Rubirosa: That's not very far from your brother's neighbhorhood, is it?
Bridget McCabe:...no.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: What makes your neighborhood so much safer than his, Ms. McCabe? *thinks a moment* Strike that--let me rephrase. Ms. McCabe, do you live in a safe neighborhood?
Bridget McCabe: Safer than my brother's....
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Your brother who only lives a few blocks away....*nods* How much safer? Very much? A little?
Bridget McCabe: I--*looks a little confused*--I don't know for sure.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: Has your car ever been vandalized?
Bridget McCabe: No.
ADA Connie Rubirosa: No further questions, Your Honor.
Judge Stevens: Re-cross, Mr Toth?
Riley Toth, Esq.: No, your honor.