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Eleventh Story About The Trial, Part I
Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009
Dear Family and Friends,
All of a sudden, the trial was over. It was Monday afternoon, 2-1/2 weeks after jury selection and commencement of the trial. The prosecution rested and so did the defense. No defense witnesses on the stand, just closing arguments.
District Attorney Michael Lucas, after months of preparation and weeks of diligence and long hours, told the jury that the "various inconsistencies in taped statements made by Yarbrough to Steubenville police officers in 1999, including giving a false name and false address, are indications of his consciousness of guilt."
He also pointed to Terrell's taped statements to the Pennsylvania State Police that he would receive a payment of $200 for acting as a lookout, telling jurors that greed was a motive.
"Brian Muha and Aaron Land were killed for $200. That's all their lives were worth to him," Mike Lucas said while pointing to Terrell.
"You can do what Andrew Doran couldn't do. Take that hood down, take that handkerchief away and expose the killer of Brian Muha and Aaron Land," Mike Lucas said with conviction and a seriousness that told all in the hearing that he takes his pledge to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law as a sacred duty, and rightly so.
Mike Lucas went on to say that Terrell was so heavily involved in the murders that he took Brian's rosary and wore it around his neck at the time of his arrest, like a trophy.
"These were the actions of
a cold-blooded killer," he said.
And I agree. A
cold-blooded killer. I wonder about that moment when Terrell put Brian's
rosary around his neck. Was he laughing with Nathan as he did so, having
just killed two innocent human beings? Did he put it around his neck
cavalierly, maybe touching the crucifix to make it hang straight?
Terrell's DNA mixed with Brian's DNA on Brian's rosary. Forever linked. It
helped identify him as a killer. Would it one day identify him as a child
of God?
It seems to me time stood still for just that moment, when Terrell picked up Brian's rosary. Heaven and hell were watching, both wanting him to put Brian's rosary around his neck. I can just see the devil cackling at that moment, thinking he made a mockery of God. What a fool. God will not be mocked. The devil should have known what Terrell didn't know yet: his flippant, irreverent act could be transformed into the instrument of his conversion. The power of the prayers prayed on that rosary and many other rosaries could be his salvation.
And I wonder: what were Brian's and Aaron's first words to their Heavenly Father? Did they ask God to "help them"? Help those two in darkness: the darkness of the early morning of May 31, 1999 and the darkness of the evil in their souls? At that very moment, when they were at their worst, when they had just murdered two innocent boys, did God claim them for Brian and Aaron's sakes? For their own sakes? Yes, of course He did. Will they respond to God's grace? That's our prayer. The thousands of rosaries prayed since Brian and Aaron died are not in vain so the devil has nothing to laugh about. God uses all prayers for good. Let's keep hoping and praying that Terrell and Nathan respond.
The gun used to painfully kill two sweet boys gave one short moment of twisted pleasure. The $15 Terrell took from Brian's pocket, the bank cards, even the Blazer: those things mean nothing to Terrell now. But the rosary is the physical symbol of our meditation on our Lord's life, death and resurrection: His Mercy. That, I hope, will haunt Terrell until he gives in.
Love and prayers,
Rachel