It’s been a couple of weeks since we began the evidence in this case. Nuttall said this opening statement is not evidence. It’s an opportunity to give the jurors a preview, thumbnail sketch of what he expects the evidence to show and what he expects certain testimony to be. Sometimes, he said, he’s wrong about what he expects. Generally he knows what will happen, but sometimes people provide different testimony than he expected. There’s a dynamic in this case, he said, people should keep an open mind. Nuttall said, in this case, 9:45 a.m., he doubts that any of the jurors will be in a situation like this again. Plain and simple, he said, it’s a horrible tragedy and every tail of tragedy is different. There are lots of tragedies in this world. Nuttall said he has a lot of respect for the fact that Mr. Schuster is dead and his client his wife is charged with his murder. She’s accused of killing him for financial gain. His mother who’s in the courtroom, Nutall has a lot of respect for that. Larissa Schuster’s mother and father are sitting in the audience, Nuttall has a lot of respect for them. They’re all involved in this tragedy, and now there’s this trial where Larissa Schuster is the focal point of it, and everyone should have the utmost respect for her in this civilized preceding. The preview is something that has no script. Jurors will hear what he’ll present through witnesses, the whole story, the real story. 9:49 a.m. Because he respects all these people, he knows it will hurt some of them, when they hear what happened here. The truth is the truth, what really happened is what really happened. You can’t make up the truth. The jurors will hear far more in the presentation in the defense’s case than they heard in the prosecution’s case. His presentatioin will last days. He’ll spend half of today previewing what he’ll present.
This was a very important investigation. He’ll talk about the person who is on trial. He’ll talk about the deterioration of a marriage. And he’ll talk about the background of a marriage. Larissa Schuster, was born on a farm in the midwest, small family farm. She was taught by excellent parents to work hard, take pride in what you do, be considerate of others. She was raised with Christian beliefs and values, that was part of her life. She was a happy and normal child. One thing was prominent in her’s and her family’s life, and that was the importance of family. Jurors will hear about a girl who was very nieve, because she had expectations of others, that sometimes others could not fulfill. She had a natural love of being with other people. She loved animals. She was nurturing. She had animals including dogs, cats and pigs. She was an “A” student, she was popular, she was well liked, she was an all-state basketball player, she showed horses with her grandparents. When she was able to drive, her nature was to go to work and volunteer in a local hospital. As she grew up, there was never any question that she would further her education and go to college, and havea fruitful life. Nuttall said her life was not easy. She worked through college. She had her moments of self-doubt. She wasn’t entirely confidant all the time. She perservered. She finished college and graduated with honors. She did well. She had an unsavory relationship with a man she lived with and trusted, but then she met and married Tim Schuster. Larissa Schuster will tell you herself that in her being, family was everything, she loves all of her family members. She understands, she wanted to love and trust her husband. 9:58 a.m., she did love her husband. The bottom line is that love did not live. It didn’t survive. You’ll hear some about the deterioration of that relationship where she had expectations as a human being, she wanted to trust, she wanted love back, and it didn’t happen. The jury has already heard how that all deteriorated. They married before Larissa Schuster graduated college. They loved eachother. She was happy to be marrying Tim. She wanted to be married to him. He was a registered nurse. They worked together. She accepted a position in Columbia, Missouri perhaps, with ABC Labratories, doing contract research for the pesticide industry. They’re marriage was surviving. They still had problems, but she recognized this was her family. Kristin was born in 1985. The biggest and best thing that ever happened to her, was having that child. She’ll testify that this was her family, good, bad or indifferent. She loved Tim in spite of their differences. She wanted it to work. In 1990 her son was born, Tyler. Before that, another major thing occurred in Larissa Schuster’s life. By then, they had been married about eight years. She’ll talk about that she never felt good enough for Tim. He would belittle her. He reminded her of circumstances that she shared with him, that existed prior to his marriage. She didn’t make as much money as him. In 1989, something almost as good, happened in her life, that next to having her children was very good and meaningful for her. She was asked because of her work ethic, to take a job as laboratory manager for Pan Am in California. This was important. Despite her self-doubt as to her worth, her insecurities, she was making it in the world. So the couple moved to the Valley, Fresno, where Tyler was born. She accepted her new position. It was exciting for all of them. It was a new life for all of them. It was a wonderful life she envisioned. Their lives were goin g to be fruitful. This was her hope and this was her dream. Looking at where we are today, in contrast to that dream, almost unbelievable. 10:06 a.m. The 1990s for Larissa and Tim was one of mixed emotions, contradictions and frustration. Jurors have already heard a little of it. They’ll hear in more detail. As a family they attended church, raised kids, took them to church. Everything on the surface, trying to live and do good and admirable things, the problem was the interior of the marriage. The aggression that had persisted before in Missouri, that led Larissa to believe she was less than valued, manifested itself in more ways as the children were being raised, working, and Larissa wanted her marriage to survive. Jurors will hear for good or bad, Larissa Schuster is and was a loving, physical woman. The intimacy in terms of the marriage was important to her. 10:09 a.m. She will say even with the criticism, and the demeaning attitude that her husband exhibited toward her, that nonetheless, she had appreciated the warmth of their intimacy in the early years of their lives together. She will testify for whatever reason in the early 1990s that intimacy, that warmth, that love was withheld from her. She would try to talk about it, and deal with it, but that she would not have anything recipricated from her husband. She wanted that intimacy that he didn’t seem to care about. 10:10 a.m., Then there were the children. It became apparent to her, that even though she was working hard, that she had commitments at work, that she took very seriously. Even though he was working hard, her husband would not deal with their emotional situations. She became the disciplinarian without any assistance from him. She did expect a lot of other people, including her employees. She was a task master because she took the responsibility seriously. She knew she was responsible for the preservation of another person’s business. At home, she expected her children to behave in a certain way, behave as she did as a child. In terms of her nievity, she expected that her husband would love her and care about her because that’s what a husband does. That he would not avoid responsibilities as a husband, and not withold the physical love of what she believed their life ought to be. She was not ashamed to ask for all of those things. But there was nothing, and yet in spite of that, for many years because family was so important, she tried to maintain. Even though in reality, her imbitions in life were really modest, after 20 years or so of hard work, building relationships, her involvement in the chemical industry, she was recognized as competant and self-driven. She was able to start her own business. She was considered one of the top in the country. Her clients respected her, liked her, because she was good at what she did. It wasn’t just the work, it was the relationship. So what happened here? In the 2000s, the good marriage on the surface, was terrible on its interior. 10:18 a.m. This business of not having a loving relationship was cold. There was no love and no warmth. They didn’t even want to look at eachother anymore. Whatever love and passion that had existed, or mutual affection, had disappeared. 10:19 a.m. Hostility took its place. Larissa Schuster told Timothy Schuster she wanted a divorce. She called him names she regrets. The names stemmed in large fact to to her feeling that he couldn’t love her as a husband. It got ugly. They seperated because she told him that she didn’t want to be with him anymore. They were living in a home that they had purchased which had cirumstances. She loved the home, but she didn’t need the home. They extended themselves to buy this home, but it didn’t help. It didn’t help with anything. It was an empty house in terms of their relationship. This beloved daughter who meant so much to Larissa, became a rather horrible disciplinary problem. 10:21 a.m. This was all going on at the same time, and she wasn’t receiving any help from her husband in dealing with her problems, it caused her to hate him. A friend of Larissa’s will testify, because she knew the couple for years. Originally they appeared to be happy, but as time went on, they were not uncivilized or hateful toward eachother, but things had changed. Her name is Ellen M. She’ll talk about how in 2002 and 2003, she met with Larissa. Larissa told Ellen about things Timothy Schuster was doing. She hated Tim. This is not a script. Good, bad or indifferent. It was in the throws of hatred. He wouldn’t move out. He would not accept what she unfortunately wanted, what it had come to. She’ll testify he wouldn’t communicate with her about plans to move from the house. So she wasn’t allowed to move on with her own life. She would see him nightly in a room keeping track of everything in a journal. She eventually stole it from him.
It's been a couple of weeks since we began the evidence in this case. Nuttall said this opening statement is not evidence. It's an opportunity to give the jurors a preview, thumbnail sketch of what he expects the evidence to show and what he expects certain testimony to be. Sometimes, he said, he's wrong about what he expects. Generally he knows what will happen, but sometimes people provide different testimony than he expected. There's a dynamic in this case, he said, people should keep an open mind. Nuttall said, in this case, 9:45 a.m., he doubts that any of the jurors will be in a situation like this again. Plain and simple, he said, it's a horrible tragedy and every tail of tragedy is different. There are lots of tragedies in this world. Nuttall said he has a lot of respect for the fact that Mr. Schuster is dead and his client his wife is charged with his murder. She's accused of killing him for financial gain. His mother who's in the courtroom, Nutall has a lot of respect for that. Larissa Schuster's mother and father are sitting in the audience, Nuttall has a lot of respect for them. They're all involved in this tragedy, and now there's this trial where Larissa Schuster is the focal point of it, and everyone should have the utmost respect for her in this civilized preceding. The preview is something that has no script. Jurors will hear what he'll present through witnesses, the whole story, the real story. 9:49 a.m. Because he respects all these people, he knows it will hurt some of them, when they hear what happened here. The truth is the truth, what really happened is what really happened. You can't make up the truth. The jurors will hear far more in the presentation in the defense's case than they heard in the prosecution's case. His presentatioin will last days. He'll spend half of today previewing what he'll present.

This was a very important investigation. He'll talk about the person who is on trial. He'll talk about the deterioration of a marriage. And he'll talk about the background of a marriage. Larissa Schuster, was born on a farm in the midwest, small family farm. She was taught by excellent parents to work hard, take pride in what you do, be considerate of others. She was raised with Christian beliefs and values, that was part of her life. She was a happy and normal child. One thing was prominent in her's and her family's life, and that was the importance of family. Jurors will hear about a girl who was very nieve, because she had expectations of others, that sometimes others could not fulfill. She had a natural love of being with other people. She loved animals. She was nurturing. She had animals including dogs, cats and pigs. She was an "A" student, she was popular, she was well liked, she was an all-state basketball player, she showed horses with her grandparents. When she was able to drive, her nature was to go to work and volunteer in a local hospital. As she grew up, there was never any question that she would further her education and go to college, and havea fruitful life. Nuttall said her life was not easy. She worked through college. She had her moments of self-doubt. She wasn't entirely confidant all the time. She perservered. She finished college and graduated with honors. She did well. She had an unsavory relationship with a man she lived with and trusted, but then she met and married Tim Schuster. Larissa Schuster will tell you herself that in her being, family was everything, she loves all of her family members. She understands, she wanted to love and trust her husband. 9:58 a.m., she did love her husband. The bottom line is that love did not live. It didn't survive. You'll hear some about the deterioration of that relationship where she had expectations as a human being, she wanted to trust, she wanted love back, and it didn't happen. The jury has already heard how that all deteriorated. They married before Larissa Schuster graduated college. They loved eachother. She was happy to be marrying Tim. She wanted to be married to him. He was a registered nurse. They worked together. She accepted a position in Columbia, Missouri perhaps, with ABC Labratories, doing contract research for the pesticide industry. They're marriage was surviving. They still had problems, but she recognized this was her family. Kristin was born in 1985. The biggest and best thing that ever happened to her, was having that child. She'll testify that this was her family, good, bad or indifferent. She loved Tim in spite of their differences. She wanted it to work. In 1990 her son was born, Tyler. Before that, another major thing occurred in Larissa Schuster's life. By then, they had been married about eight years. She'll talk about that she never felt good enough for Tim. He would belittle her. He reminded her of circumstances that she shared with him, that existed prior to his marriage. She didn't make as much money as him. In 1989, something almost as good, happened in her life, that next to having her children was very good and meaningful for her. She was asked because of her work ethic, to take a job as laboratory manager for Pan Am in California. This was important. Despite her self-doubt as to her worth, her insecurities, she was making it in the world. So the couple moved to the Valley, Fresno, where Tyler was born. She accepted her new position. It was exciting for all of them. It was a new life for all of them. It was a wonderful life she envisioned. Their lives were goin g to be fruitful. This was her hope and this was her dream. Looking at where we are today, in contrast to that dream, almost unbelievable. 10:06 a.m. The 1990s for Larissa and Tim was one of mixed emotions, contradictions and frustration. Jurors have already heard a little of it. They'll hear in more detail. As a family they attended church, raised kids, took them to church. Everything on the surface, trying to live and do good and admirable things, the problem was the interior of the marriage. The aggression that had persisted before in Missouri, that led Larissa to believe she was less than valued, manifested itself in more ways as the children were being raised, working, and Larissa wanted her marriage to survive. Jurors will hear for good or bad, Larissa Schuster is and was a loving, physical woman. The intimacy in terms of the marriage was important to her. 10:09 a.m. She will say even with the criticism, and the demeaning attitude that her husband exhibited toward her, that nonetheless, she had appreciated the warmth of their intimacy in the early years of their lives together. She will testify for whatever reason in the early 1990s that intimacy, that warmth, that love was withheld from her. She would try to talk about it, and deal with it, but that she would not have anything recipricated from her husband. She wanted that intimacy that he didn't seem to care about. 10:10 a.m., Then there were the children. It became apparent to her, that even though she was working hard, that she had commitments at work, that she took very seriously. Even though he was working hard, her husband would not deal with their emotional situations. She became the disciplinarian without any assistance from him. She did expect a lot of other people, including her employees. She was a task master because she took the responsibility seriously. She knew she was responsible for the preservation of another person's business. At home, she expected her children to behave in a certain way, behave as she did as a child. In terms of her nievity, she expected that her husband would love her and care about her because that's what a husband does. That he would not avoid responsibilities as a husband, and not withold the physical love of what she believed their life ought to be. She was not ashamed to ask for all of those things. But there was nothing, and yet in spite of that, for many years because family was so important, she tried to maintain. Even though in reality, her imbitions in life were really modest, after 20 years or so of hard work, building relationships, her involvement in the chemical industry, she was recognized as competant and self-driven. She was able to start her own business. She was considered one of the top in the country. Her clients respected her, liked her, because she was good at what she did. It wasn't just the work, it was the relationship. So what happened here? In the 2000s, the good marriage on the surface, was terrible on its interior. 10:18 a.m. This business of not having a loving relationship was cold. There was no love and no warmth. They didn't even want to look at eachother anymore. Whatever love and passion that had existed, or mutual affection, had disappeared. 10:19 a.m. Hostility took its place. Larissa Schuster told Timothy Schuster she wanted a divorce. She called him names she regrets. The names stemmed in large fact to to her feeling that he couldn't love her as a husband. It got ugly. They seperated because she told him that she didn't want to be with him anymore. They were living in a home that they had purchased which had cirumstances. She loved the home, but she didn't need the home. They extended themselves to buy this home, but it didn't help. It didn't help with anything. It was an empty house in terms of their relationship. This beloved daughter who meant so much to Larissa, became a rather horrible disciplinary problem. 10:21 a.m. This was all going on at the same time, and she wasn't receiving any help from her husband in dealing with her problems, it caused her to hate him. A friend of Larissa's will testify, because she knew the couple for years. Originally they appeared to be happy, but as time went on, they were not uncivilized or hateful toward eachother, but things had changed. Her name is Ellen M. She'll talk about how in 2002 and 2003, she met with Larissa. Larissa told Ellen about things Timothy Schuster was doing. She hated Tim. This is not a script. Good, bad or indifferent. It was in the throws of hatred. He wouldn't move out. He would not accept what she unfortunately wanted, what it had come to. She'll testify he wouldn't communicate with her about plans to move from the house. So she wasn't allowed to move on with her own life. She would see him nightly in a room keeping track of everything in a journal. She eventually stole it from him. It was a journal that was more or less stalking every move she made. She was amazed that this is what it had come to.

The morning break was called.

When Nuttall opening statement resumed, he displayed pages about of Timothy Schuster's journal. He said she found the journal after the journal writing went on for a while. That's when she realized the extent to which he was going to go, to defeat her going on with her life. We're now dealing with the operative time period. What happened after that period. At some point Dr. Miles Estner is a psychiatrist who will testify in the case. Part of his evaluation of Larissa after she was arrested, to give an expert opinion during the operative period. He went over her medical history. Up until 2000, 2001, she was a very healthy person, then her mental and physical health deterioriated because of the stress related to the marriage. 10:53 a.m. It was an interuption in her ability to care for her children and her business. He interfered with what she was trying to accomplish in every aspect of her life. In July 2002, the relationship was at rock bottom. Timothy Schuster, who was indeed a voluntary irritant to his wife, Nuttall's not trying to unduly demean him, he moved out. There was a mediation regarding custody in July 2002. Larissa's mother was there, Larissa and her two children were there. It had to do with the issue of who would have custody of Tyler. At that time, it was essentially resolved with Tyler remaining in the sole custody of Larissa, and at some point visitation would be allowed if and when Timothy moved out. The next day, the whole family minus Timothy flew to Missouri to visit her family. That's when he moved out and didn't tell her. He cleaned the family home out. While she was gone, without any discussion, no talking about the division of property. He took community property that was both of their's and property that was her's. She believed he was trying to get back at her. When she returned from Missouri, she was livid. Jurors heard the actual telephone calls she made to him, which in large part, came from what she viewed as his betrayal of her again with respect to simply taking all the property. She'll testify her family, what her grandmother had given her was important. She went nuts. She let him have it. She called him names which came from his lack of sexuality, and lack of participation in his children's lives. 10:59 a.m. Those calls that Timothy Schuster saved, ended in November 2002, Thanksgiving time. The last seven or eight calls occur on one day. This is symbolic that she requests six or seven times, that he have Tyler call her. He never does. It amounts to an escalation of that hostility. He's interfering with the substance of her life, her kids. During the year 2003, matters became particularly exaserbated. There's constant strife over the issues of the divorce. The issues don't seem to end. There are threats over custody. He wants $1 million, for his 50 % share in her business. These are threats made to her. She'll testify at one point, she offered to have him buy her out. Kristin at that time was in Missouri with her grandparents in Clarence, Missouri. She was having the shame problems with the grandparents as she had in California. There was a big blowout. Kristin wanted to move out. Larissa packed up on a moment's notice, got Tyler, and they left to go to Missouri. Timothy Schuster didn't want Larissa to take Tyler. He called police and accused her of kidnapping. She was questioned by police. This was the escalation of hostility that was going on in April 2003. This is what the case is about, did she participate in the killing of Timothy Sc huster. 11:04 p.m. Let's talk now about the real story. The jurors heard the name James Fagone. They heard a little bit about him in the prosecution's case. Nuttall says the evidence will show Fagone killed Timothy Schuster. 11:05 a.m. Nuttall said he's not allowed to tell the jurors exactly why, how, because he doesn't know. He won't tell who was with him, if anybody. He can't tell where it happened, because he doesn't know and she doesn't know exactly, or even when. 11:06 a.m. Those questions still exist in the case, that in the process of presenting the defense's case, he'll talk about the investigation by law enforcement, as it related to the killing of Timothy Schuster, and determining who the perpetrators were. James Fagone, as Larissa knew him, was the son of friends of the Schusters. The factual context of how they met was related to Longenberger baskets. It's a multi-level marketing program. They're high quality baskets. Timothy Schuster and the Fagones were involved in this. Larissa Schuster wasn't active in the basket thing, but she was sensitive to it. She'll talk about her love for her husband, and will testify that this basket activity was important to him. This was something that he valued. This was before this latter period of time. He was going to throw a basket party for the peoplein the neighborhood, she helped him with planning the party. She made cookies and passed out flyers. He was looking forward to it. She wasn't really part of it. The day came for the party, and she and Tyler left while the party was to take place. Nobody had showed up. She will tell the jurors how badly she felt for him, because of her feelings that she didn't want him to suffer. This was what was expected of a wife, to help out. That's just part of the whole piece, but it tells you, you don't want harm to come to your family no matter what. 11:12 a.m. James Fagone came known to her. He worked for her at the lab for a while. He didn't like it. After about six months, he was having some difficulties in his own life. He was kind of lazy. He didn't have a whole lot of righteous ambition, yet he was available, and he got along with Larissa and her son. He'd do yard work, watch the dog, help around the house. He took Tyler places. Tyler was 10, 11, 12 years old. He loved James Fagone. She let her beloved son who she cherished ride on a motorcycle with James, she worried, but she trusted James with her child. This was the James Fagone she knew. She didn't really know a whole lot about him. 11:14 a.m. During 2002, 2003, in hindsight she'll say, "I probably should have been more careful about what I talked to him about." She shared with him because he was around. She talked about the frustrations and anger she had for Tim. She told James that Tim wanted to take Tyler from her. Time and time again, she told James how Tim would interfere with her trying to properly raise Tyler and Kristin. She vented to James. She didn't know that James had a dark side to him. 11:16 a.m. She doesn't know where this came from, because it wasn't until after the arrest that we learned he had friends that he had talked to where he would say things about hurting Timothy Schuster. He would tell these friends that he wanted to hurt him in various ways because of the way he treated Larissa, from his perception. He said he was an ___hole. One friend said, when he was talking to police, James Thornbugh, after Larissa's arrest, "James wanted to chloroform some guy and rob him." The police asked when he said that. He said it was mentioned a couple of months before Timothy Schuster's murder. Thornburgh then mentioned the boss' husband was _icking her around. Another friend of Fagone, said to the officers, Fagone mentioned that his boss didn't want her boss to be involved in her life anymore, and he was thinking about planting drugs on him. A third friend said Fagone wanted him, Hasheesh, to tazer some guy in the neck and knock him out. And then Fagone reportedly said since he knew the guy, he couldn't do it himself. This is the side Larissa Schuster didn't know about James. She talked too loosely about how much she didn't like her husband. There's another important circumstance in this case. It stemmed from the idea, that she always feard in terms of, by summer 2003, she was in very bad emotional shape. She was taking a lot of medication. She felt hateful toward her husband. Her daughter and her relationship erupted. There was a horrible incident that ocurred in Missouri, because the daughter wouldn't abide by the rules of the grandparents. It created a horrible division between Larissa and her daughter. Larissa's mother will testify, that they talked daily. Larissa will say everyday she was worried about her daughter. The only worth-while relationship that existed then in her life, was her relationship with her son. Their relationship had always been good. She'll testify that in her world, the business was going fine, but she was not going to let anything interfere with her relationship with her son, and more importantly his happiness and well-being. Mr. Schuster kept saying he was going to try and take Tyler away, was not acceptable. She had planned a trip in July 2003, for Tyler, not based on what she wanted, but what he wanted. This divorce wasn't easy for Tyler either. She believed he deserved this trip. She still loves her kids more than anything. She wanted this trip for Tyler. It was a big deal for him. He saw the biggest waterpark in the country, in San Antonio, Texas. That's where he wanted to go. They wanted to go to Six Flags and the Alamo. Usually in the summer he would spend about a month with his grandparents on their farm. She was then going to go to her class reunion. They'd fly to St. Louis, her parents would pick them up. Then they were going to go to Disneyworld, because they both wanted to go. It was a very big deal to him. Larissa's fear in early July, that Timothy Schuster would do something to keep her from taking Tyler. He didn't want her to take him to Missouri, and called police. This trip was a major event in her mind. She worried about it. Something happened that you would think would ease her mind. On July 9, 2003, Timothy Schuster didn't show up for his exit interview. She was supposed to sign an order prepared by Timothy Schuster's lawyer, allowing for the trip. Nuttall displayed the court order for the jurors.

Court recessed for lunch

Court resumed at 1:35 p.m. Nuttall reminded jurors that he left off at an important moment. It deals with the prosecution's chronological case. It's based on the concept that is applicable in this type of litigation, is the fact that the truth that the facts and the truth don't change. The facts are the facts, whether they're good or bad. 1:36 p.m. Larissa Schuster is going to testify under oath to the facts and the truth that what she's going to testify to, created in her a rash of emotion. Under oath she'll testify that in the light of day, and in hindsight, she made some very bad decisions. 1:38 p.m. She'll testify that in a way they weren't even decisions, because they weren't thought out. She'll testify in many ways, her being, after hearing what she had heard, and then having to know what she was led to know was like a bad dream, light a nightmare you don't wake up from. 1:39 p.m. It was like wondering what to do, but not knowing how to make the decisions. She was scared, exhausted. She'll say she was like sick to her stomach. She had difficulty sleeping. She doesn't know in what order these thoughts kept coming into her mind. She thought should she call the police, and then she thought she can't because they'll arrest her because of her lie. They won't believe her. 1:40 p.m. If they arrest her, she won't be able to go on the trip with Tyler. She didn't want to disappoint her son. She'll acknowledge she wasn't thinking at the time. It was a blur in many ways. Knowing that she's a suspect comes through. She doesn't even care they're going to follow her. 1:41 p.m. SHE KNOWS SHE'S IIN A TERRIBLE SITUATION, A DAY FROM HELL SO TO SPEAK, WHAT DOI DO NOW. This all happened in the early morning hours of the 12th. She told James how she's horrified by what she hears about where he is. She told James, "that can't be, it can't be." 1:42 p.m. She told him he was to get him away from there. She now believes she should have called the police, but she didn't think they would believe her. Those are all thoughts that go through her head. The morning comes, and this is the day. She remembers certain specific things that occurred. She'll talk about the myriad of emotions that went through her that day. She wasn't the same as she was the day before. She was physically exhausted. She had made the decision somehow that she was going on this trip no matter what, and she was going to do whatever she could, lie, know she was being followed, people tapping her phone, she didn't care. She went through almost everything the prosecution said she did. She lied. James had moved the body to the lab. She didn't think that was possible, because she heard from Tammy. She participates in 1:45 p.m. She's testifying to the bad of the truth, not the good of the truth. She's accepting her responsibility of participating in a very unexplainable moving of a dead body. She had to do it that day, if she didn't there was no trip. She'll testify as best she can to the details to the chronology as to how that happened, and how she in a way, didn't care. If she was thinking right, if James did what he said he did, and take the body out of the storage locker, it would have to be found. She'll testify she knew on that day, that someday she'd be arrested, and she didn't care. She was going to go on that trip, because she didn't want to disappoint her son. She didn't want him to know what happened to his father. She'll talk about the cleaning materials, and what that was all about. Indeed the scenario will be relatively consistant. She will testify that she expects criminal sanctions for what the law allows for what she did of aiding in the disposal. There was an objection that this is legal argument. The objection was sustained. 1:49 p.m. Nuttall said the evidence will not show, there is no one to testify where the killing took place or completely who participated. They don't know. They also don't have testimony as to how it happened, or even where. Larissa Schuster will testify that she didn't ask James to explain himself. In the case, the defense will have testimony to suggest law enforcement, not necessarily the coroner's office, with their resources, might have investigated this case more fully based upon the finding that we will assert should have been acknowledged. To that end, jurors have already heard from Dr. Gopal. Nuttall said he doesn't know what happened, but he believes the evidence will reveal that Gopal told a detective that the body of Timothy Schuster may have been transected. 1:52 p.m. That is, it was cut in half or dismembered at some point. There's a forensic pathologist who will testify, Dr. Paul Herman, who will testify that it is unlikely based upon his expertise, that that acid in the barrel destroyed the upper half of that body. 1:53 p.m. He'll say from an expert point of view, it's illogical to think that when the acid makes a decision, it eats from the top down. It generally goes from the outside in. He wasn't able to examine the body, because it was cremated prior to his involvement in the case. He was able to view photos. He said, there may have been a severance at the T-10 vertebrae level. That is consistant with what Gopal said to the detective. The point he will make is that in terms of investigation, into the perpetration of the murder of Timothy Schuster, and who was involved. The investigator should have realized there was a total separate crime scene, a bloody one at that. 1:56 p.m. Had they saw fit to do such an investigation, it would have been probative, of who aside from James Fagone may have been involved. Nuttall said he doesn't know what the answers are, but he believes law enforcement should have acted further to see what the answers might have been. The case is unique to itself. It is what it is. He thanked the jurors for listening to the preview. He encouraged them to look at the evidence with an open mind. Roger Nuttall finished his opening statement at 1:58 p.m.