Cross Examination, Unabridged
Q: Mrs. B., you are a registered nurse, is that correct?
A: Yes
Q: Are you currently practicing as a nurse?
A: Yes
Q: As a nurse, how much time have you spent in a psychiatric setting?
A: During my eight week rotation, I spent 14 hours a week in a psychiatric hospital.
Q: And where were your clincal rotations held?
A: I was in a locked unit at the state hospital and also in the psych unit at M. Medical Center.
Q: OK! In the time that you knew Mr. B., how would you describe his mental health or emotional health?
A: I would say he was very volatile, but usually depressed. He would cycle up and down, but then, towards the end, he was very, very depressed.
Q: In your deposition, you stated that you Mr. B. was "very sick, more so than anybody else you've ever seen." Is this correct?
A: Yes
Q: Was Mr. B. able to function in regular activities of daily living?
A: In my opinion, he was not.
Q: Can you describe his mental or emotional condition prior to the events of May XX?
A: Yes. He was unable to sleep or eat. He had become very paranoid. He thought his phones were tapped and that someone was following him. He was unable to cope with any small frustration. He had no energy. He would say things like "I have no future." He was completely without hope. He was extremely volatile, and whatever I said seemed to set him off. It got to the point where I was afraid to say anything to him. But I felt the need to check on him daily, maybe more than once a day. I strongly suspected he was suicidal, although he denied it.
Q: You say you suspected that he was suicidal. What led you to suspect that Mr. B. was suicidal?
A: He started saying that he was "going away." He said he was going someplace far away and none of us would ever see him again. He said his life was too painful and that he couldn't exist in the current situation. I would ask him if he was talking about dying, but he denied it. In fact, he would become very angry when I asked, but I continued to ask. I felt it was a legitimate question, considering his history. But always you denied it. I wanted to believe you. That was my mistake.
Q: In the weeks leading up to the death of his wife, did you ever sense any anger towards her?
A: Yes, there were times when he seemed very angry with her. But not towards the end.
Q: What happened to make him angry?
A: Well... there was a time, maybe mid-March or so, when D. had a girlfriend. He was very happy during that time. J noticed his mood and she suspected he had a girlfriend. Suddenly she started telling him she was "sad and lonely." She asked him to come to her. I understood that to mean that they would get back together for sex, but not to reconcile in the sense of their marriage.
Q: What did you say?
A: I urged him to stay away from her. I thought it was a bad idea. I knew he was too fragile, emotionally, to go back to her. But then the girlfriend left him, and he went straight back to J. Remember? Remember how that made you feel? The more you got it on with her, the angrier you became. You knew it was wrong. And J, I'd like to ask you a simple question: Why? Why would you mess with this man? Why were you playing with fire? You knew his history, maybe better than anyone. Remember what you said to me? You said, "he'll never let me go." What did you think would happen, when you got over your "sad & lonely" time and you rejected him yet again? Don't get me wrong, J. I'm not saying you deserved what happened. I'm only asking you why you couldn't have been a little smarter.
Q: OK. On or about April 12, D&J's daughter, C., was committed to a psychiatric unit. Were you aware of this happening?
A: Yes, I was.
Q: What was D's reaction to his daugher's psychiatric problems?
A: While C was in the hospital, I think it was over about a week's time, D moved back to the family home. He and J were very supportive of one another and he felt very strongly that they should reconcile their marriage for the sake of the children. He attributed C's psychiatric problems to the fact that the family was broken up.
Q: What happened when C was released from the hospital.
A: J told D to go back home to his apartment. She didn't need him anymore.
Q: And then what happened?
A: This was about the time when he really started to nosedive. He was extremely despondent over the fact that C's hospitalization didn't result in the repair of his marriage. He started talking about "going away."
Q: What did you do?
A: I didn't know what to do. I suspected he was suicidal, but he wouldn't admit it. So I went to J. I talked to her several times about his mental status. I told her "something really bad is going to happen, but I don't know what it will be." I told her that he was planning to disappear, but that I suspected he was really suicidal. Thank God I did something. I didn't want to talk to J., I knew she'd be upset. But I did it for you. I did it for me. I knew I'd have to live with myself and my actions after...after what? I didn't know.
Q: What was her reaction to that information?
A: She was very angry. She said, "I always hoped, no matter what happened between us, that he would be there for the children."
Q: What was the outcome of your conversations with J?
A: I proposed that she and I go to his parents and tell them what was going on with D. I don't think J wanted to take the responsibility of getting help for D, but she didn't want to approach his parents for help, either. We never really came up with a good solution, other than to encourage him to get help, maybe take some antidepressants. J, do you remember that I asked you if you'd consider going to couple's counseling, not to reconcile, but to learn how to leave each other in a healthy way? "No" you said. "I would not consider that." I'm sure you had your reasons.
Q: OK. On the day of May XX, you had some email communication with both D&J, is that correct?
A: Yes.
Q: What did you say?
A: I emailed J to tell her that I was sorry for dumping this problem on her. I told her I didn't know what else to do. I said that I knew that D was extremely ill, but there was nothing more I could do to help him. I said that ultimately he would have to seek help, but I didn't know what it would take before he reached that point. I asked her to have lunch with me and I promised I wouldn't even mention his name. Because I liked you, J, I really did. I thought we could be friends, regardless of what happened to D.
Q: You also sent an email to D. What did you say?
A: I emailed D to let him know I was having lunch with J. I said it had nothing to do with him. I was afraid, by that point, that he would find out about our lunch date and become paranoid that I was plotting something, or that she was up to something.
Q: What was Mr. B's reply to your email?
A: He said, "maybe it's God's fucked-up plan that you should be there for J after I'm gone."
Q: And what time was this correspondence?
A: It was late in the afternoon just prior to J's death.
Q: Mrs. B. At any time leading up to the death of J.B., did ever suspect that she was in danger?
A: No, I did not. It never crossed my mind.
Thank you, Mrs. B., I have nothing further.
A: Yes
Q: Are you currently practicing as a nurse?
A: Yes
Q: As a nurse, how much time have you spent in a psychiatric setting?
A: During my eight week rotation, I spent 14 hours a week in a psychiatric hospital.
Q: And where were your clincal rotations held?
A: I was in a locked unit at the state hospital and also in the psych unit at M. Medical Center.
Q: OK! In the time that you knew Mr. B., how would you describe his mental health or emotional health?
A: I would say he was very volatile, but usually depressed. He would cycle up and down, but then, towards the end, he was very, very depressed.
Q: In your deposition, you stated that you Mr. B. was "very sick, more so than anybody else you've ever seen." Is this correct?
A: Yes
Q: Was Mr. B. able to function in regular activities of daily living?
A: In my opinion, he was not.
Q: Can you describe his mental or emotional condition prior to the events of May XX?
A: Yes. He was unable to sleep or eat. He had become very paranoid. He thought his phones were tapped and that someone was following him. He was unable to cope with any small frustration. He had no energy. He would say things like "I have no future." He was completely without hope. He was extremely volatile, and whatever I said seemed to set him off. It got to the point where I was afraid to say anything to him. But I felt the need to check on him daily, maybe more than once a day. I strongly suspected he was suicidal, although he denied it.
Q: You say you suspected that he was suicidal. What led you to suspect that Mr. B. was suicidal?
A: He started saying that he was "going away." He said he was going someplace far away and none of us would ever see him again. He said his life was too painful and that he couldn't exist in the current situation. I would ask him if he was talking about dying, but he denied it. In fact, he would become very angry when I asked, but I continued to ask. I felt it was a legitimate question, considering his history. But always you denied it. I wanted to believe you. That was my mistake.
Q: In the weeks leading up to the death of his wife, did you ever sense any anger towards her?
A: Yes, there were times when he seemed very angry with her. But not towards the end.
Q: What happened to make him angry?
A: Well... there was a time, maybe mid-March or so, when D. had a girlfriend. He was very happy during that time. J noticed his mood and she suspected he had a girlfriend. Suddenly she started telling him she was "sad and lonely." She asked him to come to her. I understood that to mean that they would get back together for sex, but not to reconcile in the sense of their marriage.
Q: What did you say?
A: I urged him to stay away from her. I thought it was a bad idea. I knew he was too fragile, emotionally, to go back to her. But then the girlfriend left him, and he went straight back to J. Remember? Remember how that made you feel? The more you got it on with her, the angrier you became. You knew it was wrong. And J, I'd like to ask you a simple question: Why? Why would you mess with this man? Why were you playing with fire? You knew his history, maybe better than anyone. Remember what you said to me? You said, "he'll never let me go." What did you think would happen, when you got over your "sad & lonely" time and you rejected him yet again? Don't get me wrong, J. I'm not saying you deserved what happened. I'm only asking you why you couldn't have been a little smarter.
Q: OK. On or about April 12, D&J's daughter, C., was committed to a psychiatric unit. Were you aware of this happening?
A: Yes, I was.
Q: What was D's reaction to his daugher's psychiatric problems?
A: While C was in the hospital, I think it was over about a week's time, D moved back to the family home. He and J were very supportive of one another and he felt very strongly that they should reconcile their marriage for the sake of the children. He attributed C's psychiatric problems to the fact that the family was broken up.
Q: What happened when C was released from the hospital.
A: J told D to go back home to his apartment. She didn't need him anymore.
Q: And then what happened?
A: This was about the time when he really started to nosedive. He was extremely despondent over the fact that C's hospitalization didn't result in the repair of his marriage. He started talking about "going away."
Q: What did you do?
A: I didn't know what to do. I suspected he was suicidal, but he wouldn't admit it. So I went to J. I talked to her several times about his mental status. I told her "something really bad is going to happen, but I don't know what it will be." I told her that he was planning to disappear, but that I suspected he was really suicidal. Thank God I did something. I didn't want to talk to J., I knew she'd be upset. But I did it for you. I did it for me. I knew I'd have to live with myself and my actions after...after what? I didn't know.
Q: What was her reaction to that information?
A: She was very angry. She said, "I always hoped, no matter what happened between us, that he would be there for the children."
Q: What was the outcome of your conversations with J?
A: I proposed that she and I go to his parents and tell them what was going on with D. I don't think J wanted to take the responsibility of getting help for D, but she didn't want to approach his parents for help, either. We never really came up with a good solution, other than to encourage him to get help, maybe take some antidepressants. J, do you remember that I asked you if you'd consider going to couple's counseling, not to reconcile, but to learn how to leave each other in a healthy way? "No" you said. "I would not consider that." I'm sure you had your reasons.
Q: OK. On the day of May XX, you had some email communication with both D&J, is that correct?
A: Yes.
Q: What did you say?
A: I emailed J to tell her that I was sorry for dumping this problem on her. I told her I didn't know what else to do. I said that I knew that D was extremely ill, but there was nothing more I could do to help him. I said that ultimately he would have to seek help, but I didn't know what it would take before he reached that point. I asked her to have lunch with me and I promised I wouldn't even mention his name. Because I liked you, J, I really did. I thought we could be friends, regardless of what happened to D.
Q: You also sent an email to D. What did you say?
A: I emailed D to let him know I was having lunch with J. I said it had nothing to do with him. I was afraid, by that point, that he would find out about our lunch date and become paranoid that I was plotting something, or that she was up to something.
Q: What was Mr. B's reply to your email?
A: He said, "maybe it's God's fucked-up plan that you should be there for J after I'm gone."
Q: And what time was this correspondence?
A: It was late in the afternoon just prior to J's death.
Q: Mrs. B. At any time leading up to the death of J.B., did ever suspect that she was in danger?
A: No, I did not. It never crossed my mind.
Thank you, Mrs. B., I have nothing further.
posted by Juanita at
6:24 PM
1 Comments:
You are pretty damned accurate in your recollection. I'm surprised you can remember so much. You did a great job up on the stand. A great job...
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