Chapter 18

As I stood there in silence, I was stunned but at the same time relieved. Finally, Rachel was now going to have to face the consquences of her actions... I couldnt wait and Monday wouldnt come fast enough for Me...

After an agonizing weekend of waiting, Monday finally arrived and that morning I was in court sitting there listening as the court bailiff came in and announced that Judge Harry Waters would be presiding in court and that W/we were to all rise for Him as He entered.

Judge Waters was a man that demanded respect in His court room and didn't take kindly to those that caused a commotion in His court room and today was no exception. Roy Jarvis had already warned Me the kind of Man that Judge Waters could be and when He took control of His courtroom in His aggressive manner, it wasnt too much of a surprise. He looked around the court and said to E/everyone in the courtroom in a loud booming voice." You may all be seated. Before we get started I see that the media is here. Well, I have no problem with anyone from the press being here but I want to make things perfectly clear. There will be no cameras or tape recorders in this courtroom during the proceedings of this court case. This is not a trial. It is a hearing to establish whether the accused, Rachel Diamond is able to stand trial. Anyone from the media that is caught with anything other than a note pad and pen will be asked to leave and charges to your media offices will be in place. I also want to make sure that until this entire matter is resolved, none of whats said here today will be released to the public. Anyone who is caught doing that will be up on charges and the media office you are from will be libel. Its uncertain whether we will have this case wrapped up in a day or a week but it nothing will leave this courtroom until it is concluded. Contrary to what some believe, the court of public opinion doesnt have a place in my courtroom and no one will force My hand in this matter."

He then turned to Wendall Warren, the prosecutor representing the county and said." Is that clear Mr. Warren?"

Wendall Warren was a balding man with beedy eyes and glasses. He looked at the judge and gulped and said. " Yes your Honour. That is very clear."

Judge Warren looked at him and said. " Good! I'm glad we have an understanding. Don't kid yourself Mr. Warren, I'm well aware that the leak in the case against Rachel Diamond for the supposed killing Kimberly Walker and the alleged assault on David Vale was your doing despite how you have tried to pretend otherwise. There will be no more of that during the rest of those proceedings. If there is, you will be held responsible. Is that clear?"

Wendall Warren, now beat red looked at the judge and was about to protest and he saw the cold look Judge Waters gave him and just said. " Yes, your Honour, its very clear. There will be no more leaks of any kind."

Judge Waters nodded and said. " Good! Now to carry on with the proceedings. I will explain to all of you what will happen and how things will run in these proceedings. There will be no jury and there is no plaintiff. This again is just a sanity hearing to determine if Mrs Diamond is able to stand trial. If it is determined that she is to stand trial, then evidence will be presented at a later time with Mrs Diamond having her legal counsel here and if there is suffiecient evidence to warrant a trial, we will convene in yet another session and begin trial proceedings. However, since this is a hearing to determine the sanity of Mrs Diamond, the proceedings will be under my control and if necessary or if Mr. Warren needs any clarification on anything then he will be allowed to ask any questions necessary to help him get the answers he needs so he can be informed and keep his office informed. Unless that happens, I will be asking all questions. While this is going on, I do not want any comments made from anyone during this proceeding because if there is, anyone caught doing so will be asked to leave.Once the questions I ask are answered, I will then deliberate and make my decision on whether there is enough evidence to determine whether Mrs Diamond is sane enough to stand trial. With that being said, we will now proceed witb the hearing."

Judge Waters then looked at Wendall Warren and said. " Mr Warren do you have the list of witness for this case handy?"

Wendall Warren said to the judge." Yes I do Your Honour." He then handed a copy to the bailiff who then took it over and gave it to Judge Waters.

Judge Waters looked at the list and then read the first name on it and said" Would Dr. Morton Orwell please take the stand."

Dr Orwell a tall man in his late fifties or so approached the bench and then placed his hand on a bible held by the bailiff and took an oath to tell the truth and was then asked to take a seat. Judge Waters then asked him his first question. " Dr Orwell, for the past week or so you have been treating Mrs Rachel Diamond. Have you not?"

Dr Orwell replied. " Yes I have Your Honour."

Judge Waters looked at his notes and then asked" I understand that when Mrs Diamond was brought in the night of the alleged crime she is accused of that she was unresponsive. In fact, she was in a catatonic state. Is that true?"

Dr Orwell replied, " Yes Your Honour she was."

Judge Waters in order to speed things along then suggested. " Dr. Orwell, can you please tell us about your findings please so I can get an idea of Mrs Diamond's state of mind if you are able to?"

Dr. Morton Orwell then nodded his head and said. " Yes Your Honour I can. When Mrs Diamond was brought in she was totally catatonic and at first she was not responding at all until yesterday actually. At the present time Rachel Diamond is suffering from a severe emotional trauma. From the tests and other assesments I've made this emotional trauma has been caused by many years of both physical and emotional abuse."

Judge Waters then asked. " Dr Orwell could the trauma of the abuse caused her to lash out at someone and possibly attempt to kill them or indeed kill them?"

Dr Orwell nodded and said. " Yes Your Honour its very possible. However, it would depend on the circumstances and how high there emotions were running at the time of the act."

Judge Waters then asked. " Dr Orwell, is Rachel Diamond capable of standing trial if there is sufficient enough evidence to have a trial.?"

Dr Orwell took a deep breath and said. " No Your Honour, in my professional opinion. I do not believe she could at this time. Your Honour, may I speak freely in order to help you make your decision?"

Wendall Warren stood up and then said. " Objection Your Honour. The witness has already answered the question. There is no need for any elaboration on anything."

Judge Waters looked at Wendall Warren and said" Objection overruled. Sit down counsellor as this is not a trial. This is an information gathering quest and I think Dr Orwell's professional opinion could help make my decision. After all you do want me to make a decision based on all the facts I have at hand don't you?"

Wendall Warren nodded and took his seat and said. " yes Your Honour."

Judge Waters then said" Good then stop your grand standing and let Dr Orwell speak. I will decide if and when he needs to stop." Judge Orwell then told Dr Orwell to proceed.

As I sat watching, I had to chuckle. Wendall Warren seemed anxious to make a production of his law school talents but because of the way the trial was set up to progress. Wendall Warren like the rest of us was here as a spectator more or less and it was clear he wasnt happy to not have the opportunity to make a name for himself.

As he sat down, he was beat red from embarrasement as it had happened twice now and it was now clear to him, Judge Waters meant business and would not tolerate any sort of Perry Mason antics in his courtroom.

Dr Orwell then proceeded to explain about Rachels state of mind." As it stands right now, Rachel Diamond is responsive but its a complicated situation. Rachel Diamond has been continually abused most of her life and because of that trauma now suffers from whats known as Multiple Personality Disorder or as some call it, Dissociative Identity Disorder. This is in most cases seen in cases involving sexual or any sort of other physical abuse. To clarify, when the mind has to deal with something it cant handle such as being sexually abused. The mind may fragment and in order to protect a person, create another personality to help them cope with whatever trauma they are dealing with as they themselves are unable to cope with it. In this case, Rachel has been both sexually, physically and emotionally abused."

Judge Waters then said" Doctor, are you telling this courtroom that Rachel Diamond has another personality inside her? In other words that she is actually someone else at this point?"

Dr Orwell nodded and said. "Yes Your Honour. it is true. Rachel Diamond believes she is an 18 year old teenager named Mandy."

As I listened to the doctor, I was jolted by what He said. Mandy was actually the name that Rachel used while turning tricks while she was on the streets for Me as she never gave her johns her real name.

Judge Waters then asked another question. " Doctor, have you spoken to either Rachel or Mandy about the night of Kimberly Walker's death?"

Dr Orwell nodded and said. " Yes Your Honour I have. Mandy denies killing Kimberly Walker and claims that Rachel was responsible for her death. However, because of the nature of the crime, I must tell you that Mandy did admit to killing Leo Diamond."

Wendall Warren jumped up and said. " Objection Your Honour this case is not about Leo Diamond this is about Kimberly Walker."

Judge Waters looked at Wendall Warren and said. " Actually this case is not about Kimberly Walker or Leo Diamond. This is actually about Mrs Diamond's state of mind and unfortunately, the death of Leo Diamond or anyone else she may have harmed or killed has everything to do with establishing her state of mind. Your objection is overruled."

Judge Waters immediately ignored Wendall Warren and said to Dr Orwell." Doctor, because there was an admitted crime that took place, the doctor/patient confidentiality clause in your oath doesnt apply. So can you tell me if she told you why she killed her husband Leo Diamond?"

Dr Orwell nodded and said. " Yes she did. The night that Leo Diamond was killed Rachel had gotten a hold of some documents that contained proof that Leo Diamond under false pretenses paid a doctor off to say that due to injuries she suffered from an old beating that she had from a former boyfriend she had, she was unable to have children. In fact, Rachel was pregnant with her boyfriends child and Leo Diamond paid off the doctor to abort it and then say she could no longer have any due to the injuries. Rachel had actually been told that the injuries had caused a miscarriage. She had no idea that she had ever had an abortion. Leo Diamond had actually paid the doctor to do a hysterectomy so it would never be possible for her to ever have children... None of this she was ever told. Earlier that day, the day she had decided to kill her husband, she had gone to see a doctor that her husband hadnt known about to have an examination to find out why she couldnt have children, as Leo Diamond used the excuse of her being unable to conceive as an excuse to beat her. The night that Rachel found out, it was too much for Rachel to handle and when Rachel couldnt handle it, Mandy was created and killed Leo Diamond."