Oral Expression

Alumnas: Faris, Rosario - Gaudio, Chiara - Gomez Barroche, Lara

Characters:
● Judge - Rosario
● Lawyers - Defendant (Chiara), Prosecution (Lara)
● Witnesses - The doctor (Rosario)
● Accused - The husband (Chiara)

Judge (Rosario) - Ladies and gentlemen of the Jury we will be treating the
Trial of Carlos Carrascosa against the prosecution. We call the defence to
give the opening statement.

Defendant Lawyer (Chiara) - Thank your honor, I will begin by stating some
facts. Today we gather in this courtroom in the name of justice. It surprises
me the fact that this man, who just lost his wife, is being tried here today as
the principal suspect. Imagine yourself, arriving home after meeting with
some friends, same as usual, and finding the woman you love in one of the
most horrible situations. Friends and family will tell you how much they loved
each other, and how devastated my client was to find his beloved in such
conditions. How could he have done such a thing? How, after years of a
wonderful marriage, could he commit such a crime? I´m telling you there´s
no way.

Judge (Rosario) - Having heard the Defendant Lawyer, now we will hear the
prosecution’s approach.

Prosecution (Lara) - Your honor and members of the court, we are here today
because Maria Marta Belsulce’s life was taken. The evidence speaks for itself.
Firstly, the entry wasn’t forced, nobody heard any scream or cries for help.
Maria Marta would never imagine that something like that could ever happen
in the hands of her own husband. We are here today to seek justice and
demonstrate that his husband, Carlos Carrascosa, is responsible for her
death. The truth will emerge from the facts and will point him as guilty.

Judge (Rosario) - After hearing both lawyers, we give the floor to the
defendant lawyer.
Defendant Lawyer (Chiara) - Let's start from the very beginning, the defence
would like to call the Doctor to the dock.

The Doctor (Rosario) - Good morning.

Defendant Lawyer (Chiara) - Good morning to you too Doctor, please tell us
what you saw when you first arrived at the scene.

The Doctor (Rosario) - When I arrived I found María Marta’s corpse in the
bathtub, giving the impression of a domestic accident, as if she had fallen
trying to get out. There were no signs of struggle or self defence trauma,
which would have been seen otherwise.

Defendant Lawyer (Chiara) - How much time did you spend examining the
scene? Were you in any kind of hurry?

Doctor (Rosario) - Not at all. I gave plenty of time analyzing the evidence.

Defendant Lawyer (Chiara) - Thank you doctor, just one more question
before I hand you over to the prosecution. In what state did you find the
crime scene? Did it seem manipulated to you? I don´t know, maybe some
things were out of place or missing.

Doctor (Rosario) - There was nothing that showed that the body could have
been moved or anything essential to the case could have been missing at
the crime scene.

Defendant Lawyer (Chiara) - Thank you very much, that's all.

Judge (Rosario) - After hearing the defence now we give the floor to the
prosecution lawyer.

Prosecution (Lara) - Before I start let me remind you that according to the
autopsy Maria Marta received 5 shots in her head but nobody noticed it. Not
the family, not the doctor, not the husband. Would you consider that as a
domestic accident Doctor?

Doctor (Rosario) - First of all, I was not present when the autopsy was
conducted. What I can say is that at the crime scene I didn’t notice anything
that led me to think of a murder. The position of the body didn't tell anything
different from a domestic accident, according to my expertise.

Prosecution (Lara) - So, you are saying that what the autopsy has shown is
not true?

Doctor (Rosario) - That’s not what I said.

Prosecution (Lara) - So, do you find the autopsy to be correct?

Doctor (Rosario) - At the moment, I could not say it wasn't.

Prosecution (Lara) - That’s all, thank you Doctor.

Judge (Rosario) - Doctor, you are dismissed. You may call the second
witness.

Prosecution (Lara) - At this point the prosecution would like to call the
husband.

The husband (Chiara) - Good morning.

Prosecution (Lara) - Is it a good morning? Was it a good morning when you

Defendant Lawyer (Chiara) - Objection your honor, these are not proper
questions.

Judge (Rosario) - Overruled

Prosecution (Lara) - Thank you, your Honor. So, Carlos. The verified timeline
shows that you only had three minutes to find Maria Marta after looking
around the house for her, take her out of the bathtub where you found her
unconscious and ask the masseuse to come into the house. How could you
explain it?

The husband (Chiara) - First of all, I knew she was taking a bath because she
had been playing tennis. So I didn't look around the house as you say, I just
went straight to the bathroom. When I found her, my first instinct was to
take her out because at first I thought she had drowned. I don´t know about
timing, I just know I did everything as fast as I could to help her.

Prosecution (Lara) - So fast that your friends were already making

The husband (Chiara) - All I know is that my friends were trying to help as
they could. They knew I wouldn't be up to make arrangements of any sort.
From the moment I found her I was in shock.

Prosecution (Lara) - You happened to have such good friends, thinking ahead
for you, especially taking into account that you had just lost your wife.
Testimonies given by your neighbours state that the Taylors were at home at
the time you said you had gone by and they weren't. Turns out, if you hadn't
actually gone by Taylor´s house, you would have had plenty of time to kill
your wife. Do you agree that if you had gone straight home, you would have
arrived at 18.52pm?

The husband (Chiara) - Yes, I would have probably arrived at that time if I
hadn't stopped by Taylor´s.

Prosecution (Lara) - Well, that´s the timeframe in which your wife was
murdered.

The husband (Chiara) - But that's not what I said…

Prosecution (Lara) - Thank you Carlos, that's all.

Judge (Rosario) - Now, the jury will deliberate about all the facts presented in
this court and will come back with the verdict.