Chapter 12 - I Was Not On Trial
“Yes.”
My answer surprised defense.
No shame.
“What medication?”
“Sertraline prescribed by my obstetric provider.”
“You were experiencing emotional distress.”
“I had prenatal anxiety.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes.”
Then:
“You cried frequently.”
“Sometimes.”
“Had difficulty sleeping?”
“I was thirty two weeks pregnant.”
A few jurors almost smiled.
The judge warned tone.
Then defense:
“Mrs. Carter, you disliked Margaret long before incident.”
“Yes.”
“Wanted Daniel to move away.”
“We planned to move forty minutes closer to my mother.”
“You wanted less contact.”
“Yes.”
“Were you angry at dinner?”
“Yes.”
“Did you raise voice?”
“Yes.”
“Did you tell Margaret she had no right to your child?”
“I said my baby was not a tool and did not belong to her.”
Then:
“You stood quickly.”
“I tried to stand.”
“Moved toward Margaret.”
“No.”
“You cannot know what she perceived.”
“No.”
Good.
Then kitchen kick.
“No camera?”
“Not inside that room.”
“Only Mr. Carter claims he saw kick.”
“Robert saw.”
Then:
“You went outside.”
“I tried to get away.”
“Could you have tripped?”
“I was shoved.”
“Your back was to Margaret.”
“Yes.”
“So you did not see her hands contact you.”
“I felt them.”
Then video.
Defense could not erase.
They shifted to causation.
“You do not know which impact caused placental abruption.”
“No.”
“Could it have happened spontaneously?”
“My doctors said trauma caused it.”
“Not my question.”
Prosecutor objected medical speculation.
Sustained.
Then emotional.
“Mrs. Carter, you hate Margaret.”
I looked at her.
First time.
“Yes.”
Defense paused.
Maybe expected denial.
Then:
“You want her punished.”
“I want jury to know what happened.”
“That is not answer.”
“Yes. I believe there should be consequences.”
Honest.
Then:
“Could grief influence your memory?”
“Probably affects many things.”
“Could it affect this?”
“I remember her foot hitting me.”
Silence.
Then defense asked:
“Did Daniel threaten to kill Margaret?”
“Yes.”
“Do you consider that appropriate?”
“No.”
Daniel looked down.
“But it happened after I was bleeding on ground and she tried to reach me again.”
Good.
Then:
“Your husband violently shoved his mother.”
“He stopped her coming toward me.”
Then prosecutor redirect.
“Did anxiety medication make you deserve being kicked?”
Defense objected rhetorical.
Sustained.
Prosecutor reframed.
“Did your doctor ever tell you sertraline made you unfit to parent?”
“No.”
“Did you ever threaten Margaret physically?”
“No.”
“Did you fall before she touched you?”
“No.”
Then:
“What was last thing Margaret told you before police arrived?”
I looked at jury.
“Tell them you fell.”
No more.
I stepped down.
Outside courtroom I vomited in bathroom.
Daniel held hair.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Her lawyer.”
“That is his job.”
I knew.
Still.
Then obstetrician testified.
Placental abruption.
Severe.
Temporal association with blunt trauma immediate.
No significant spontaneous risk factors identified.
Could not specify which blow.
Defense specialist agreed exact causation not pinpointable but trauma sequence medically consistent.
Then neonatologist.
Ethan delivered with profound compromise.
Resuscitation unsuccessful.
I left courtroom during details.
Allowed.
No need prove love by listening.
Then prosecution introduced limited binder evidence.
Not every creepy page.
Only texts and draft concerns relevant to motive.
Tonight I am making Daniel choose.
Once Ethan is here she will control everything.
Move closer to her mother equals isolation.
The lawyer consultation itself showed attorney had told Margaret she lacked automatic rights and mental health treatment alone did not prove unfitness.
Margaret still built narrative.
Defense argued concern for grandson.
Prosecutor answered concern does not justify assault.
Then prosecution rested.
Defense would call Margaret.
Her lawyer advised? She had right. She chose.
I did not know whether terrified or relieved.
May you like
The next morning she took stand.
And for first time, she had to tell her story without controlling who interrupted.
