Courts » After a few brief testimonies, the doctor’s defense rested its case on Thursday.
Provo • Martin MacNeill’s defense attorneys called only four witnesses Thursday to bolster his claim that he did not kill his wife, relying on short testimonies from MacNeill’s co-worker and his child’s kindergarten teacher to back his alibi theory — that he was at work at the time of Michele MacNeill’s death.
Jim Van Zant, who worked with the Pleasant Grove doctor at the Utah State Developmental Center, said that between 11 a.m. and noon on April 11, 2007, he saw Martin MacNeill leaving work to pick up his then 6-year-old daughter from kindergarten. He said he didn’t notice anything unusual at that time.
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An hour or two later, Van Zant said Martin MacNeill called him, saying he "was doing a code on his wife."
Michele MacNeill was found unconscious in her bathtub on April 11, 2007 by her 6-year-old daughter, Ada MacNeill. The child was sent by her father to a neighbor’s house to get help, and eventually Michele MacNeill was pulled from the bathtub by a neighbor and Martin MacNeill. The two attempted CPR before medical crews arrived.
Those medical crews also attempted to perform CPR and other life-saving efforts before Michele MacNeill was taken to American Fork hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Linda Strong — Ada MacNeill’s teacher — was also called to the witness stand Thursday, where she verified that kindergarten was released around 11:30 a.m., and that Martin MacNeill picked up Ada at about that time.
According to phone records, Martin MacNeill called 911 at 11:46 a.m. and 11:48 a.m. that day.
Utah County Attorney’s Office investigator Jeff Robinson had previously testified that the drive from Martin MacNeill’s work to his Pleasant Grove home took about five minutes, going about 30 mph.
Defense attorneys also brought in ergonomics expert and industrial hygienist Brett Besser, who told the jury that it would have been difficult for Martin MacNeill to have lifted his wife from the bathtub by himself. Using a courtroom tub to show the body position he "assumed" Michele MacNeill may have been in, Besser said, "I would say, at those levels, it’s highly unlikely that someone would be able to do that [lift the woman out.]"
He added: "It’s not to say it’s impossible, but it would be quite a lift."
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During cross-examination, Deputy Utah County Attorney Sam Pead attacked the sources Besser used to come to his conclusion, saying most of the literature Besser relied on dealt more with workplace safety and injuries, not whether someone had the strength"capability" to do the lift.
Martin MacNeill did not take the witness stand in his own defense.
Before resting their case earlier Thursday, prosecutors recalled Martin MacNeill’s former mistress, Gypsy Willis, to the witness stand, and asked her to read a number of love letters the two exchanged in the fall of 2009 while they were incarcerated in federal prison for identity theft.
"You are worth everything I go through to get you back in my life," Willis read from a letter sent to her from Martin MacNeill.
The prosecution claims 57-year-old Martin MacNeill’s affair with the younger woman was the motive for the Pleasant Grove doctor to allegedly kill 50-year-old Michele MacNeill.
Willis, 37, testified Thursday that although she and Martin MacNeill obtained a marriage license in July 2007, they never were officially married.
"Very shortly after 2009, we were indicted and separated," she testified, but said they had lived together and held themselves out to be married for several years before their arrests.
Martin MacNeill pleaded guilty to identity fraud and was sentenced in 2009 to spend four years in a federal prison for using his adopted daughter’s Social Security number so that Willis — who also went to prison — could open bank accounts under a false name.
While Willis read a handful of letters sent to her from Martin MacNeill, the man appeared to become emotional, wiping a tear from his eye.
"Know that I love you and have loved you from the day we met," Willis read from Martin MacNeill’s letter.
Willis testified that she never told him that, from her perspective, the relationship was over.
Next Page >Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Provo • Martin MacNeill’s defense attorneys called only four witnesses Thursday to bolster his claim that he did not kill his wife, relying on short testimonies from MacNeill’s co-worker and his child’s kindergarten teacher to back his alibi theory — that he was at work at the time of Michele MacNeill’s death.
Jim Van Zant, who worked with the Pleasant Grove doctor at the Utah State Developmental Center, said that between 11 a.m. and noon on April 11, 2007, he saw Martin MacNeill leaving work to pick up his then 6-year-old daughter from kindergarten. He said he didn’t notice anything unusual at that time.
Photos
View photo gallery (15 photos)
Jessica Miller tweets from courthouse
An hour or two later, Van Zant said Martin MacNeill called him, saying he "was doing a code on his wife."
Michele MacNeill was found unconscious in her bathtub on April 11, 2007 by her 6-year-old daughter, Ada MacNeill. The child was sent by her father to a neighbor’s house to get help, and eventually Michele MacNeill was pulled from the bathtub by a neighbor and Martin MacNeill. The two attempted CPR before medical crews arrived.
Those medical crews also attempted to perform CPR and other life-saving efforts before Michele MacNeill was taken to American Fork hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Linda Strong — Ada MacNeill’s teacher — was also called to the witness stand Thursday, where she verified that kindergarten was released around 11:30 a.m., and that Martin MacNeill picked up Ada at about that time.
According to phone records, Martin MacNeill called 911 at 11:46 a.m. and 11:48 a.m. that day.
Utah County Attorney’s Office investigator Jeff Robinson had previously testified that the drive from Martin MacNeill’s work to his Pleasant Grove home took about five minutes, going about 30 mph.
Defense attorneys also brought in ergonomics expert and industrial hygienist Brett Besser, who told the jury that it would have been difficult for Martin MacNeill to have lifted his wife from the bathtub by himself. Using a courtroom tub to show the body position he "assumed" Michele MacNeill may have been in, Besser said, "I would say, at those levels, it’s highly unlikely that someone would be able to do that [lift the woman out.]"
He added: "It’s not to say it’s impossible, but it would be quite a lift."
story continues below
During cross-examination, Deputy Utah County Attorney Sam Pead attacked the sources Besser used to come to his conclusion, saying most of the literature Besser relied on dealt more with workplace safety and injuries, not whether someone had the strength"capability" to do the lift.
Martin MacNeill did not take the witness stand in his own defense.
Before resting their case earlier Thursday, prosecutors recalled Martin MacNeill’s former mistress, Gypsy Willis, to the witness stand, and asked her to read a number of love letters the two exchanged in the fall of 2009 while they were incarcerated in federal prison for identity theft.
"You are worth everything I go through to get you back in my life," Willis read from a letter sent to her from Martin MacNeill.
The prosecution claims 57-year-old Martin MacNeill’s affair with the younger woman was the motive for the Pleasant Grove doctor to allegedly kill 50-year-old Michele MacNeill.
Willis, 37, testified Thursday that although she and Martin MacNeill obtained a marriage license in July 2007, they never were officially married.
"Very shortly after 2009, we were indicted and separated," she testified, but said they had lived together and held themselves out to be married for several years before their arrests.
Martin MacNeill pleaded guilty to identity fraud and was sentenced in 2009 to spend four years in a federal prison for using his adopted daughter’s Social Security number so that Willis — who also went to prison — could open bank accounts under a false name.
While Willis read a handful of letters sent to her from Martin MacNeill, the man appeared to become emotional, wiping a tear from his eye.
"Know that I love you and have loved you from the day we met," Willis read from Martin MacNeill’s letter.
Willis testified that she never told him that, from her perspective, the relationship was over.
Next Page >Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.