Police officers, roommate testify
The prosecution’s third day of direct examinations in The People of the State of New York v. Brian T. Shaw put three professionals from the Syracuse Police Department and Shaw’s former roommate on the stand Thursday.
Shaw, a former Syracuse University student, has been charged with the second-degree murder of Chiarra Seals, the mother of his 4-year-old daughter, and endangering the welfare of a child. Judge Joseph E. Fahey presides over the case.
When Fahey began the session for the day, Celeste Shaw was sitting in her usual spot in the second row of wooden benches, directly behind her son. The left side of the courtroom, where Seals’ relatives usually sit, was more empty than usual.
Members of Seals’ family slowly trickled into the courtroom during the first testimony.
The prosecution presented several exhibits from Shaw and Seals’ apartments, while chronicling the events of March 23, 2005, and how Seals’ body was discovered. The defense questioned the reading of Shaw’s Miranda rights.
Syracuse Police officer Martin Judge, a crime scene technician, was the first witness to testify. Assistant District Attorney Michael Spano asked Judge to recall events of March 24, 2005.
Judge said he was assigned to survey 545 Columbus Ave. and the surrounding area to collect evidence. Through his investigation, Judge said he collected a bed sheet, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt from a garbage can at 541 Columbus Ave.
Spano then showed Judge Exhibit 31, a photo of 541 Columbus Ave.; Exhibit 32, a photo of the bed sheet in the garbage can; Exhibit 33, a T-shirt in a plastic bag; Exhibit 34, a bed sheet from the garbage can and Exhibit 35, a pair of jeans. Judge confirmed through his investigation he found the sheet, T-shirt and jeans.
Defense Attorney Thomas Ryan examined the exhibits as well. Ryan objected to exhibits 32 to 35, saying they were unnecessary and not relevant to the case.
Spano argued the sheet perfectly matched with those found in the crib of Seals’ son, Omari Jr.
Ryan objected, saying, ‘He’s testifying.’ Fahey called a five-minute recess.
When court resumed, Fahey had made a decision regarding exhibits 32 to 35, and concluded there was no connection between the pair of jeans and the case, but all of the other items could be used.
‘The sheet is clearly admissible,’ Fahey said.
The second professional to give testimony was Detective Patrick Boynton of the Syracuse Police Department. Boynton took over questioning Shaw for Detective Eric Carr at about 2 a.m. on March 24.
Before Boynton went into the room to speak with Shaw, Carr told Boynton he had already read Shaw his Miranda rights, Boynton said.
During the cross-examination, Ryan asked Boynton if he had read Shaw his Miranda rights, and Boynton said he had not, because he was relying on the fact that Carr had already administered them to Shaw.
During the direct examination, Boynton said he questioned Shaw primarily to locate Seals.
‘My main intent when I was back in there was to locate Chiarra Seals,’ Boynton said. ‘As soon as he told me where it was, we turned and went out of the room.’
Boynton said Shaw revealed the location of Seals’ body after chronicling the events of his day.
‘When he was talking, he was very animated, and he would move his hands around a lot,’ Boynton said.
The only significant fact Boynton added to Shaw’s account of the day was that Shaw told Boynton he tried chest compressions on Seals, but could not resuscitate her.
Boynton said Shaw added that while headed to his 6 p.m. class, he reached under his shirt and threw away his ripped ‘wife-beater’ in a trash can outside Sims Hall.
After Shaw’s class, he returned home, got the suitcase, placed Seals in it and left the suitcase behind a detached, two-car garage on Avondale Place, Boynton said.
Boynton said once he arrived on the scene, he could see the suitcase in the alley from his car. He exited the car, approached the suitcase, turned it on its side and unzipped it.
‘I could see that there was a black female, tucked in the fetal position, inside,’ Boynton said.
Detective Steve Kilburn, who worked the midnight shift on March 23, gave the final testimony of the day.
Kilburn was part of the last of the three sets of detectives to question Shaw during his six to seven-hour interview at the police station.
When court resumed after the lunch recess, Shaw’s former roommate Ronald Hanerfeld took the stand.
Hanerfeld gave a brief history of how he and Shaw met as freshmen on the cheerleading squad, later becoming roommates and fraternity brothers.
On the night of March 23, Hanerfeld said Shaw didn’t behave any differently toward him or any of Hanerfeld’s friends who were hanging out at the house for the night.
Hanerfeld said he asked Shaw what he was doing with a suitcase and Shaw replied that it was a friend’s suitcase. He left the house around 9:30 p.m., which Hanerfeld said wasn’t out of the ordinary.
A while later, Hanerfeld’s fraternity brother, who he referred to as ‘Big John,’ called, asking where Shaw was. ‘Big John’ told Hanerfeld police had contacted him, and were looking for Shaw.
‘Big John’ had taken a picture of Shaw and Essence for a photography project, Hanerfeld said. Seals had a copy of one of the pictures, with ‘Big John’s’ name and e-mail address on the back of it, in her apartment.
Hanerfeld said Shaw had returned to the house around 10 p.m. and was in the shower was ‘Big John’ called. Hanerfeld told Shaw police were looking for Seals and testified he recommended Shaw call Seals. Shaw did just that, leaving a voicemail on Seals’ phone.
Hanerfeld said Shaw then contacted police, who picked Shaw up at the house five to 10 minutes later, so Shaw could speak to detectives at the Criminal Investigation Department.
The trial will resume today at 9 a.m. at the Onondaga County Courthouse in downtown Syracuse.
Published on February 2, 2006 at 12:00 pm