Commonwealth v. Ruell
Client:
First Assistant District Attorney Renee L. Steese
Assistant District Attorney Michael Cahillane
Northwestern District Attorney’s Office
Northampton, MA
Case Summary:
In the fall of 2006, Nathan Ruell of Ware, Mass. was arrested for arson, burglary, and the murder of 83-year-old Rose Martowski, who lived less than a mile away from Ruell. After arresting Ruell for a different, uncharged burglary, the police took a voluntary DNA buccal swab of Ruell’s mouth while he was in custody. Ruell’s DNA matched the DNA found on a single Camel cigarette left at Martowski’s home the night of the murder, which solidified the police’s suspicions that Ruell was involved.
The Challenge:
An issue present in many murder cases, as it was in the Ruell trial, was effectively submitting into evidence photos of the victim’s autopsy and photos of the victim at the scene. We knew that we needed to find a way to circumvent anticipated objections as well as show the true value of the photos.
The geography of the town of Ware, MA was particularly important to show the proximity of the defendant to the victims. The jury needed to understand that the crimes committed followed a pattern, theme, and were all linked geographically.
One of the most important pieces of evidence was the DNA analysis of over 130 tested people, which was compiled in a packet that was not easily read or understood. We knew that we needed a quick and efficient way of conveying complicated DNA information to the jury.
Among the evidence there were two audio and one video interview of the defendant conducted at the police station as well as one 911 call going into evidence. The interviews had transcripts that were very inaccurate and the 911 call did not have a transcript at all, which raised possible credibility and communication issues.
Finally, the historical courtroom was not adequately equipped for the use of technological equipment and multimedia presentations. Also, while Assistant District Attorney Cahillane elected to run the presentation himself, he needed someone else to run the presentation during two days that he conducted direct witness testimony.
The WIN Solution:
- Autopsy and Scene photos: Knowing that autopsy and scene photos of a murder victim are often objectionable, we helped the District Attorneys pick the most important photos that were then allowed into evidence after a pre-trial hearing. Using the medical examiner’s own notes, drawings, and autopsy photos, we put together a medical presentation that simultaneously showed a photo and highlighted the location of the victim’s injuries for the jury during the medical examiner’s testimony.
- Geography and Relationships: We created a scene reconstruction of the town of Ware using Satellite that could zoom in and out of aerial photographs of the town and diagrams or schematics of key locations. The interactive diagram also contained numerous photos from the crime scenes accessed by arrows on the aerial views that oriented the jury to important locations. We even used some of the photos from the diagrams to create posters put into evidence.
- DNA Evidence: We created a never-before-seen custom DNA presentation tool called, "Helix," that compared over 130 different DNA suspect samples on one screen to the sample found on the Camel cigarette left at the murder victim’s home. The DNA presentation visually showed the undeniable link of Ruell to the cigarette and greatly simplified the normally daunting DNA information analysis.
- Audio and Video: We digitized and formatted the audio/video provided by the prosecution using Echo before heavily proofreading the transcripts or creating them from scratch. We then synchronized the digital audio with the digital transcripts so that the jury could listen and read along in order to maximize their understanding of the content.
- Equipment and Trial Assistance: Among the equipment that we brought into the courtroom was a personal 20” LCD monitor for the judge to simultaneously view the presentation that the jury saw on a 52” LCD monitor. These two individual displays worked in conjunction with the District Attorney’s Office projector and a WIN Interactive power switcher panel that allowed the presenter to easily switch between pieces of equipment. We professionally shipped, placed, and connected the equipment in the courtroom when the trial began and broke it down efficiently as soon as the trial ended. In addition to our multimedia services, we provided the personal service of having a Litigation Consultant attend the first few days of the trial and run the presentation while an Assistant District Attorney questioned witnesses.
