59th/Admiral shooting trial update: Defendant’s family testifies

As WSB continues covering the trial of the Alki 18-year-old charged with murdering the 33-year-old man he says sexually abused him for years, the defendant has concluded his testimony, and members of his family have taken the stand. Read on for today’s report from our courtroom correspondent:

By Rachel Gabrielle
West Seattle Blog contributing reporter

As the King County Superior Court trial in the 10/13/07 59th/Admiral shooting case continues, the defendant finished his testimony today. (WSB is not identifying him because of the contention that he is a victim of childhood sexual abuse.)

What we learned from him today is that he doesn’t remember much about his actions after the shooting that killed 33-year-old Francisco Bailey-Ortiz. He described the few hours afterward as a blur and reminded the court that, as he testified yesterday, he was intoxicated at the time. The defendant testified that he and his mother learned of Bailey-Ortiz’s death the day after the shooting, at the office of his lawyer in Bellevue.

Next, the defense called the defendant’s mother to the witness stand.

She testified that she had stayed with the defendant’s father for about the first four years of her son’s life. When they split, the father moved to Michigan and only saw his son during the summer. At one point, his mother met a man with whom and she and her son subsequently moved in. That man’s son, around the same age as the defendant, soon moved in with them as well, and the two boys became friends.

The defense presented pictures of the block they all lived on in Long Beach, California. From the opposite side of the street, a photo showed the proximity of the condo they shared to the Shell gas station where Bailey-Ortiz worked, which is where the defendant met him. The two were on the same block.

The defendant’s mother said her son had been a happy, normal boy who loved basketball, video games and skateboarding. She testified that she would often send her son down to that Shell gas station to get things like milk and bread (sometimes with her boyfriend’s son), and had no idea anything out of the ordinary was happening.

At one point the defendant’s mother started noticing her son was going out more, staying out later, giving her attitude — and then, she said, he flat out stopped communicating with her. She often smelled alcohol on his breath, but could never get any straight answers out of her son.

When it came time for the defendant to spend the summer with his father, who had recently moved to Oregon, his mother decided that he’d be staying there and didn’t tell him until the summer was almost over. “I just wasn’t understanding him,” she testified, going on to say that she thought the boy’s father would provide a better life for him.

When the defendant found out that he would be staying in Oregon, he was upset and told his mother that she “didn’t love him,” something that Bailey-Ortiz had repeatedly told him.

The defendant’s mother knew her son was having a tough time in Oregon; she and her boyfriend decided to move to Seattle with the kids. They moved a few times in Seattle, but ended up at a house in West Seattle. The mother recalls her son’s cell phone ringing a lot. Sometimes she heard him say things like “quit calling me.”

She testified that once they moved to Seattle, her son looked miserable and depressed and at one point, at his request, she got his cell-phone number changed. Once in Seattle, the defendant’s mother said, her son wasn’t even hiding alcohol bottles anymore, and said she would see them in his room. His mother said, “I was consumed by my own personal problems,” and never sought help for her son’s drinking. At about this time, the defendant’s mother broke up with her boyfriend, and she moved to an Alki-area apartment with her son.

The defendant’s mother noticed her son’s demeanor getting worse in October of 2007. “He just seemed very, very unhappy,” she said, and he told her he was drinking to ease his pain. She recalls her son telling her, “You haven’t been in my shoes, you’d have to be in my shoes to understand.” His mother testified that he would go into the bathroom and cry and try to cut himself. The defendant had told his mother a few times that he was suicidal, and that’s when she called a psychiatrist. His mother requested that her son see the doctor alone, but for unknown reasons, the doctor wanted his mother in the room. She testified, “The discussion wasn’t productive; they talked about clothes and hats.” She remembered that her son was very upset about that visit and told her, “You don’t love me.”

The day of the shooting — October 13, 2007 — the defendant’s mother remembered getting home from work between 2 pm and 3 pm and seeing her son with a glass of alcohol. She testified that she heard his phone ring; he told her he was going out but would be right back. She said that about an hour later, her son came home looking horrified, red-faced and crying, saying that they had to leave, because “he’s going to kill us.”

They got in the car, she testified, and drove around West Seattle while the defendant told his mother about some of the abuse and about the shooting. Too confused to call 911, his mother called a lawyer instead. She also had her son’s cell-phone number changed that night.

The next day, the defendant surrendered to police at the lawyer’s Bellevue office. The following week, police searched the defendant’s room and collected two boxes of alcohol bottles that were submitted into evidence today. Detectives wanted to take a family computer that was missing from the home, but never did because it was in for repair. The defendant’s mother also said that her son was rarely on the computer.

The defendant’s father gave much shorter testimony today. Visibly upset on the stand, the father revealed that he also knew his son was depressed and felt that no one loved him. He said that he saw his son cry a lot and even saw him try to cut himself with glass. He testified that he knew his son drank a lot and that he often grounded him for it. The defendant would tell his father that he got the alcohol from friends.

He also testified that he knew the defendant’s mother sent him $20-$40 here and there, but that he always seemed to have more in his pocket. The defendant’s father said that his son’s cell phone rang a lot, and that at one point he heard his son say “I wish he’d stop calling me.” Thinking he could help, his father even spoke to Bailey-Ortiz on the phone twice, asking him how old he was, and asking him to stop calling. His father remembered getting a call from his son in October 2007, in which he sounded extremely sad and wanted to visit the family in Oregon.

Next, three friends of the defendant testified. The first, a 19-year-old woman who was the defendant’s girlfriend in Oregon, testified that they are still and always have been very close friends. She spoke highly of the defendant, saying that he was the only one to get a standing ovation during their 8th grade graduation. She said she had met Bailey-Ortiz once, and said she could always tell something was wrong with the defendant, but that she couldn’t get him to open up. She also said she got the impression that the defendant felt betrayed by his parents. She testified that during her one encounter with Bailey-Ortiz, he seemed agitated and nervous, and uncomfortable around other people.

The second friend to testify was the son of the defendant’s mother’s former boyfriend (often referred to as the defendant’s stepbrother). The “stepbrother” had met Bailey-Ortiz on many occasions with the defendant. He also received alcohol and cigarettes from Bailey-Ortiz and even went to a motel once with him and the defendant. He testified that he was “very surprised” when he first saw Bailey-Ortiz in Seattle, but that Bailey-Ortiz never spoke to him, only to the defendant, even though he saw him a lot and accepted alcohol from him.

The “stepbrother” had even been to one of Bailey-Ortiz’s residences in Seattle and spent the night there once with the defendant there as well. He testified that the morning after they had spent the night, he saw what looked like “hickies” on the defendant’s back and asked what they were, but never got an answer.

Finally, another female friend of the defendant’s took the witness stand. Four years older than the defendant, she said she first met him through her younger sister, who asked her once to give them a ride. She said that her first impression of the defendant was that “he seemed like a really warm kid,” and also testified that it seemed like he needed guidance. She would call him a lot and asked if he was going to school. They talked often and said he always seemed like there was something bothering him. With tears in her eyes, the witness said that she knew the defendant was suicidal and that she always did her best to help him.

With the exception of once showing his “stepbrother” the gun that Bailey-Ortiz had given him, the defendant’s friends all testified that they had never seen him with a gun, and that he had a reputation for being a “peaceful” person — the one who broke up fights, stood up for others, and got standing ovations.

The defense is expected to finish with its witnesses tomorrow and rest its case.

Previous coverage:
10/13/07: Day-of coverage of the shooting
10/13/08: Trial begins
10/16/08: Jury selection continues
10/20/08: Jury seated
10/21/08: Testimony begins
10/22/08: Testimony continues
10/23/08: Prosecution rests its case
10/27/08: Defendant takes the stand

L. I. October 29, 2008 (12:26 am)

Great reporting. Very thorough.

I am disturbed by some of the prior comments to earlier coverage on the case by individuals who could not seem to grasp the reality of the story.

The molester spent years psychologically manipulating a vulnerable boy into believing his parents would abandon him, and that they didn’t care for him. He reinforced this feeling of isolation over and over again through several years, supplementing the psychological tricks with frequent offerings of alcohol to the boy, keeping him in near constant intoxication. The boy’s family moved several times to different states, as they tried to change the boy’s environment and improve his crippling depression and thoughts of suicide.

The molester followed, stalking the boy. His depression at its worst, the boy attempted to finally stop the abuse and tell the molester to quit contacting him. As a symbol of his attempt to convince the molester to leave him alone for good, he took back the gun the molester had given him, so he could have rid himself of everything associated with the abuse. In the car, the molester’s attempts to coerce the boy into succumbing to abuse were unsuccessful. The boy wanted to be left alone for good; the molester would not have it. A fight struck out in the car. The boy wanted to get out of the car and run, but his seatbelt momentarily trapped him. In his peripheral vision, he saw the molester reach under his seat where he kept his guns. In a panic, the boy envisioned the molester shooting him in his back as he got out of the car, and he fired to his left as he tried to escape from the passenger door. He ran off in a daze, and told his mother and close friend. Soon after, he turned himself into police. Police had no reason to link him to the crime, and no evidence that he was involved, but he assured them that he was responsible for the shooting and that he wanted to turn himself in.

These are not the acts of someone with evil intent. These are not the acts of a dangerous person with no morals. Standing at trial nearly a year after the incident, the boy has finally turned 18. He is baby-faced, and about 5’6” and 150 pounds. He was smaller at the time of the shooting, more than a year ago. He was far smaller when the molestation began at 12 years old.

The molester was 33 years old. He was 5’11” and 222 pounds. His face in photographs presented in court was intimidating and hard. That moment, when the boy feared for his own life, there was no escape. The boy stood no chance at defending himself in hand to hand combat.

If there is any justice in our criminal court system, this boy will finally be set free. Not only was he victimized during the most formative years of his youth, but he is being revictimized by the legal system.

The defendant reached his 18th birthday behind bars in an adult prison. His family had no way of affording the half million dollar bail. This boy should be finishing high school. He should be running track and playing basketball for the school team like he used to. He should be taking the SATs and thinking about who he’s going to ask to prom. He should be buying his first car, and applying to colleges. He should not be punished for appearing vulnerable to a sexual predator.

WSB October 29, 2008 (1:03 am)

Thanks for the well-written comment! One data point, just because I have been following the case through court documents over the year since the shooting happened — some months back, his bail was reduced to $200,000. Still nothing like what the defense had been seeking, but it was cut from that initial $500K (and the jail register to this date still shows the $200K amount) – TR

family friend October 29, 2008 (6:47 am)

Yes – a well written comment. It’s good to see there is still compassion out there. The sexual molester got what he deserved. Too bad the mother was “consumed with her own personal problems” to see what her son was going through.

rachel gabrielle October 29, 2008 (12:25 pm)

just one point, the defendant is not 5’6″. I am in the courtroom every day, a few feet away and I am 5’9″ and he is at least my height. 150 pounds, maybe yes.

L.I. October 29, 2008 (12:43 pm)

Thanks for the dollar correction, WSB. I did not see the reduction of bail in the documents I read. I will point out, however, that $200,000 bail is no less of a burden than a half million dollar bail to the family. The reduction had no practical effect, as the family is still precluded from covering the amount, and the boy continues serving time needlessly for a justifiable act.

I think after the fact, you can look around for individuals to “blame” for the abuse going on so long unnoticed. But also keep in mind that it’s not always a function of neglectful parenting. Many victims of sex abuse are so shamed about what they have been subjected to that they are immobilized from letting others know about the abuse. They also may try to protect their friends and family by taking on the pain of the abuse for themselves, and hiding it from everyone else. This is not to say that sex abuse victims should be encouraged to keep quiet! On the contrary, parents and children alike should be educated on the signs of sexual abuse and the importance of reporting it.

But this boy’s shame and fear of the societal response to him as a victim of abuse kept him from telling. Many times the victim’s truthfulness is questioned (as evidenced by some of the disgusting responses to earlier reports on the story and on many sexual abuse stories). Oftentimes, molestation apologists will claim molestation is easy to claim and that there are hoards of false reporters, masking their motives as “protecting” the name of those accused of sexual abuse.

This is completely ignorant of the fact that sexual abuse victims (especially those who are male) are highly stigmatized and shamed in society. Their masculinity and sexuality is questioned. They are blamed for bringing on the abuse, or somehow wanting it. When they finally get the courage to talk about their abuse, they are accused of being liars. THESE are the reasons that sex abuse victims don’t come forward. THESE are the reasons sick people get away with abusing children for so many years. THESE are the people to blame for the prevalence of sexual abuse.

L.I. October 29, 2008 (12:47 pm)

Thank you for the height correction. I wrote ‘about 5’6′” because he did not seem like he could be any taller than that from my visual estimation. But if he is indeed 5’9″, that makes him less stocky than my description would intimate.

His weight was mentioned by defense counsel.

family friend October 29, 2008 (1:16 pm)

Boy, he must have had a growing spurt since I saw him last. I last saw him early 2007 and late 2006 and he wasn’t that tall or that heavy. Just goes to show what prison can do to you. He was certainly just “a kid” when the abuse started.

L.I. October 29, 2008 (1:59 pm)

It’s very likely he’s undergone growth spurts in weight and height even in the last year. He’s only 18 now, and from what I know, boys can continue growing until they are 20 (and that’s just height!) I have a younger brother who has grown easily a foot taller in the last six months.

AJP October 29, 2008 (3:40 pm)

L.I. your comments are very valid. Sexual abuse absolutely destroys people, and all the classic signs are in this story: broken family situation, child craving attention, shame, defensiveness, withdrawl, substance abuse, cutting.

Parents really do need more education. I know a lot of people don’t think it could happen to their kids, and it’s so horrific, it’s easier to pretend it’s the kid’s fault and they are “going through a phase”. This is very sad.

Sorry, comment time is over.