Washburn V. State

The evidence presented to myself and the other juror's proves that Tyrone Washburn is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the murder of his wife, Elena Washburn. On March 12, 1979 Elena Washburn was strangled in the living room of her family's home. Her body was then dragged to the garage, leaving a trail of blood from the living room to the place it was found. Her husband, Tyrone Washburn, found her in the family's garage on March 13, 1979 at 1:45 A.M. When officer Dale Chambers arrived at the scene he found her lying face down in a pool of blood. The solid evidence in this case proves only one person, Tyrone Washburn, is guilty of murder.

We were presented with many facts that all pointed to Mr. Washburn as the murder. In the house all of the entrances were thoroughly inspected by authorities, and they found no sign of ransacking. "[They] examined all the locking mechanisms, all the doors and windows. In [their] opinion there was no evidence of any forced entry" (P.81). When police looked for fingerprints, "They were all of the Washburn family and the maid" (P.81). There was no trace of an outside party; somebody usually in the Washburn house committed the murder. While in the living room, an officer found a drop of blood. The evidence technician was called the next night to run some tests. "He sprayed the living room carpet with luminol. It is a luminous spray, and when it comes in contact with blood it illuminates" (P.82). To both men's surprise the whole living room was illuminating. After spraying further the men found a trail from the living room through the kitchen to the garage. In the closet the men found a wet mop, which was tested for blood and also came back positive. Somebody tried to clean his or her bloody mess, and try to save himself. The physical evidence proves the killer was somebody who was familiar to the Washburn household.

The circumstantial evidence further proves only Tyrone Washburn could be Elena Washburn's murderer. The morning of Elena's death began just like every morning at the Washburn residence. "[Tyrone] and the children went out to his VW and got in the car . . . When he got in the car with the children he remembered a report he needed . . . So he went back to look for it while the children waited in the car" (P.84). He was inside the house for approximately ten minutes, which is more than enough time to murder his wife. Witnesses say Tyrone was at school all day except for a half hour break for lunch, during which his whereabouts are unknown. Around the same time witnesses say they saw Tyrone driving away form is home. We believe Washburn went back home to move the body and clean up his mess. During the autopsy the doctor found traces of lividity and drag marks indicating the body had been moved well after the time of death. "Next to the body was a trash can tipped over on its side. Beside the can were several lamb chop bones, an empty milk carton, and an empty doughnut bag;" (P.81) exactly what Mr. Washburn reportedly had for dinner. When asked if he took out the trash that night he first said that he had, then corrected him-self saying that he had not. He also made a statement to the insurance investigator, "I didn't look in the garage because I knew she was there the whole time" (P.85). There is enough solid and circumstantial evidence to clearly point Tyrone Washburn as the murder.

During the trial the defense presented us with some facts that would try to prove Tyrone Washburn's innocence. "A police criminologist, Pat O'Malley, Testifies he inspected Tyrone Washburn's body the day after his wife's body was discovered, but could find no scratch marks or blood" (P.83). Elena Washburn trusted her husband. They had been married for quite a while and had two children together. She would have no way to prepare her self for a fatal attack. By the time she realized what was going on it was to late, Tyrone Washburn was in full control. It