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SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FOR THE COUNTY OF VENTURA
COURTROOM 26 HON. JAMES P. CLONINGER, JUDGE
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA,
Plaintiff,
vs.
CARLO PARLANTI,
Defendant.
____________________________________
)))))))))))
No. 2002026651
REPORTER'S PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS
Thrusday, DECEMBER 08, 2005
APPEARANCES:
For the Plaintiff: GREGORY TOTTEN
District Attorney
BY: GILBERT ROMERO
Deputy District Attorney
800 South Victoria Avenue
Ventura, California 93009
For the Defendant: RON BAMIEH
Attorney at Law
Copies of this transcript are not certified and do not conform with the provisions of Government Code Section 69954(d) For certified Copy please contact :
Official Reporter 800 South Victoria Avenue Room 313 Ventura, California 93009
Official Reporter
800 South Victoria Avenue
Room 313
Ventura, California 93009
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| PETITIONER'S WITNESS | DIRECT | CROSS | REDIRECT | RECROSS |
| REBECCA WHITE | 57 | - | -- | |
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| EXHIBITS EXHIBITS FIRST REFERENCE RECEIVED 1 -Pictures 171 171 23 - Calendar 81 -25 - Diary 70 -26 - Diagram 74 - |
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VENTURA, CALIFORNIA; THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2005
Pag.1
A.M. SESSION
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VENTURA, CALIFORNIA; THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2005
A.M. SESSION
--oOo--
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THE COURT: We are on the record in the matter of People
versus Parlanti.
We have both counsel and the defendant here. We are
proceeding outside of the presence of any jurors. There are
some pretrial motions. There's a request for permission to
record and broadcast the proceedings from Mr. Wilson at KVTA
radio.
The defendant's position on this request is what?
MR. BAMIEH: Submitted.
THE COURT: People.
MR. ROMERO: I'm not sure what standing or what ground I
would have to object, but I -- I would object to that.
THE COURT: Mr. Wilson, did you want to be heard?
MR. WILSON: If there could be a compromise. If the
concern is the victim's testimony, I could agree to just do
the opening statements and closing arguments, if that would
alleviate any concerns.
THE COURT: Any objection to that?
MR. ROMERO: No.
THE COURT: All right. Permission is granted then to
KVTA to record the closing arguments and opening statements
only. Evidence in the trial can't be recorded, Mr. Wilson.
MR. WILSON: Okay, that's fine.
Pag.2
THE COURT: Let's go to the question of the People's
pretrial motions. We have two of them. First is the People's
request for an order excluding from evidence the current names
and addresses and telephone numbers of alleged victims.
Any objection from the defendant?
MR. BAMIEH: I have no interest in the address or
telephone numbers. Maybe their locations may become relevant
in terms of cross-examination on certain issues, but I don't
have any concern about the phone numbers at all except for to
establish maybe some cell phone calls at the time of the
incident or some telephone calls at the time of the incident.
I'm just trying to -- what I'm saying, the current telephone
number, I have no interest in. Their addresses, I have -- the
specific addresses, I have very little interest in. I just
need the locations of the cities for certain questions on
cross-examination in terms of who they had access to and who
they spoke to.
Third thing, about their names, I don't believe --
we have to call them by their names. I would object to that.
I also think -- these are allegations still. They are not --
nothing has been proven. I will treat them with the utmost
respect. I plan on getting into no areas that aren't relevant
to our defense.
However, I believe we should be calling them names.
If we start treating them in a way that leads the jury to
believe they are already acknowledged as victims and somehow
what they are saying has more credibility, I believe that's
prejudicial to my client.
Pag.3
THE COURT: Mr. Romero.
MR. ROMERO: I'm not sure I follow all of Mr. Bamieh's
objections. I think it's clear that there's no need to ask
them what their current address is or what their current phone
numbers are or what their current names are, and I understand
that the information that they had at the time that they were
dating Mr. Parlanti or at the time of the incident is
relevant.
So, I don't think there was any objection to my
motion, if I'm -- if I'm right.
THE COURT: Except as to names; although, those names are
already before the jurors, I think, by agreement.
MR. ROMERO: Right.
THE COURT: So, are you withdrawing your request to
shield names?
MR. ROMERO: No, I'm not, your Honor. The names that
were given to the jurors were the names that they had at the
time they were dating Mr. Parlanti. I believe several of the
witnesses since then have changed their names, and those names
are not before the jury.
THE COURT: I see. All right.
MR. BAMIEH: Well, just on that point, your Honor, I
think we may have an agreement, but I want to make clear -- is
that the jury then -- in terms of the names I need to call
them would be at the time relevant to this case. I don't need
to know what they go by now.
THE COURT: Okay.
MR. BAMIEH: However, the fact that they changed their
Pag.4
names cannot be used as evidence against Mr. Parlanti.
MR. ROMERO: Why not?
THE COURT: I am not being asked to sort out evidentiary
issues at this time, gentlemen. So, the motion is granted.
The witnesses are to be referred to by the names that they are
called as. In other words, one of them is Jody Flood, right?
MR. ROMERO: Correct, your Honor.
THE COURT: For example, if you call the witness and
identify her as Flood, she's to be known as "Flood" throughout
the trial.
MR. BAMIEH: On the e-mails, she has her other name,
Higgen -- Higgenbark (phonetic). So, I'm supposed to redact
those e-mails?
THE COURT: Once again, I'm not making decisions about
evidence. I can't decide in advance where the evidence is
going take all of us in the trial. If she's known by another
name on a piece of evidence, obviously that is the name that
she will be known by here for the purpose of that piece of
evidence.
MR. ROMERO: We can sort that out once she gets here as
to how we are going to deal with that.
THE COURT: The witnesses are not to be asked any
questions concerning their current addresses unless it's
precluded (sic) by the Court and not to be asked any questions
about their current telephone numbers unless it's precluded
(sic) by the Court. If I think that it's relevant at some
point during the trial, we will revisit that, and it will come
in or not, as needed, but for now, that's the way we will
Pag.5
proceed.
Let's go to the question of the admissibility of
statements of Ms. White to witnesses Reeves, Young, Tuck, and
Smith.
Any objection to these?
MR. BAMIEH: Yes, your Honor. All of them.
THE COURT: Mr. Romero, in going through your brief, page
9, that's where your summary -- summary of the offer of proof
is. As to Reeves, it's a statement, "During the week of
July 4th..." line 21, I don't know if that's a typo or what.
It must be. It says, "...in July of August."
Is that "or August"?
MR. ROMERO: Yes.
THE COURT: Is that going to be pinned down?
MR. ROMERO: Yes, your Honor. And the reason being is
that Mr. Young was interviewed in 2005 about an incident that
happened in 2002. And to the best of his recollections, that
is a time he recalled that conversation happened.
THE COURT: And then it's a little unclear to me. I
think I understand what the offer is as to the rest of the
statements, but on page 10, line 13, you state, "The evidence
will be limited to the fact that the complaint was made, the
identity of the perpetrator, and the circumstances surrounding
the complaint."
MR. ROMERO: That is correct, your Honor. My
understanding of the fresh complaint is that the witnesses
cannot testify to what they were told by the victim. I
included that information just to show that, in fact,
Pag.6
something was made, but my understanding is that is all that
can come in under that evidence exception, which is the fact
that a statement was made. She identified the perpetrator.
That's it.
THE COURT: And your objection is what?
MR. BAMIEH: Yes, your Honor. First of all, when he says
"the statement," what's the statement we are talking about
specifically? That would be my first.
And the second is this, your Honor. The evidence
that I have about the charged victim's statement, she denied
initially to the police telling anybody anything. So, if
these are fresh complaints... to be a fresh complaint, the
reason we offer it is to say that she complained prior to
talking to the police; to show that the incident did happen
because there was a delay in reporting, the relevancy factor,
as I understand it.
In these situations, we have no evidence that these
complaints occurred prior to her talking to the police because
the victim's statement to the police was that she didn't tell
anybody and was going to be physical evidence to establish
that she didn't tell anybody. So, the -- unless I have an
offer of proof that the day the statement was made prior to
the statement -- the police statement, then I believe the
relevancy is minimal, and I believe it should be excluded
under 352.
MR. ROMERO: I can lay that foundation with the victim
when she testifies on the stand as to who she talked to and
when without actually going into the details of the statement
Pag.7
and establish through her whether or not that was made before
she reported it to the police. If Mr. Bamieh has a statement
that she made to the police that's contradictory to what she
might testify, he's more than welcome to cross-examine her on
it.
THE COURT: All right. Any further argument?
MR. BAMIEH: No, your Honor.
THE COURT: My tentative determination is these
statements are admissible under the fresh complaint doctrine
if they are limited as the People intend to limit them, but my
preference is to conduct a brief hearing with each witness out
of the presence of the jurors to pin down exactly what the
statements are so I am satisfied that what is admitted does
not go beyond the bounds of the fresh complaint doctrine.
MR. ROMERO: Understood.
THE COURT: Because there is a very limited amount of
information that can come in before we run afoul on the
hearsay rule, but the fact that statements were made appears
to the Court to have some relevance to this case; particularly
in light of the unusual nature of the reporting, so... I think
they will come in assuming that they play out like I think
they will, but I want to hear them first before the jurors do.
MR. ROMERO: Understood.
THE COURT: Any other pretrial issues to be taken care
of?
MR. ROMERO: There is, your Honor. I would ask that all
witnesses, potential witnesses, be excluded from the courtroom
while other witnesses are testifying; and the second request,
Pag.8
that the victim be allowed to have a victim advocate sit next
to her in the witness stand while she's testifying.
THE COURT: In reverse order, any objection to the victim
advocate sitting with Ms. White?
MR. BAMIEH: Yes.
THE COURT: What grounds?
MR. BAMIEH: I think it's prejudicial. I think the
victim advocate can be in the courtroom, obviously. She can
sit in the courtroom, doesn't need to be on the witness stand.
Ms. White is not a child. The victim advocate -- the purpose
of that, to be there, to hold her hand, uhm, is unduly
prejudicial to my client. It's -- it's basically sanctioning
-- or the Court somehow is saying this woman has been
traumatized to the point that she needs some help, and our
defense is it's a fabrication.
THE COURT: What's the governing authority on what the
victim advocate can do in the trial?
MR. ROMERO: I believe... it's Penal Code Section 868.5.
THE COURT: 868.5?
MR. ROMERO: 868.5.
THE COURT: Pertaining to preliminary hearing, right?
MR. BAMIEH: For the record, your Honor, at the
preliminary hearing, she testified solo.
MR. ROMERO: I believe it applies to trials as well, your
Honor. And she has made the request today and prior to today
for the trial to have a support person with her.
THE COURT: Mr. Bamieh, exactly how is the defendant
prejudiced by having someone sit with the witness at the
Pag.9
stand; assuming that person does what victim advocates always
do, which is nothing?
MR. BAMIEH: Because it's -- why is this person treated
differently than all other witnesses?
THE COURT: I don't know that she would be.
MR. BAMIEH: Well, no other witness will be up there, as
I know it, with a support person. And we don't typically
allow people to go up on the stand with support people. So,
it's acknowledging tacitly at the very least that somehow this
woman has been traumatized and needs extra support, which
prejudices my client.
MR. ROMERO: Your Honor, I believe the spirit of the law
is that victims of sexual assault offenses, such as this, who
request the presence of a victim advocate, who might bring
some kind of --
COURT REPORTER: Could you speak up a little bit, please?
MR. ROMERO: Sure -- some kind of calming or soothing
quality to her so that she can testify, I believe that's what
the spirit of that penal code section is.
THE COURT: Well, I don't really follow the defendant's
argument that he is prejudiced in some way because there is a
person up there with this witness even if she is the only
witness who has such a person with her.
Why is a weakness on the part of a witness -- why
does that become a prejudice to the defendant?
MR. BAMIEH: Because the inference was that the weakness
was caused due to some trauma she received due to the hands of
my client.
Pag.10
THE COURT: Well, that may be an inference, but not the
only one that can be drawn.
MR. BAMIEH: It's the one that's most dangerous to my
client, and it's the one that concerns me. And at the
preliminary hearing, she testified by herself without problem,
and now when there's a jury present, all of a sudden when
there's a chance of prejudice that occurs, I just -- I believe
it's prejudicial to my client and should not be allowed.
THE COURT: I see. Any case authority on this,
gentlemen? Just skimming through the statute, it looks like
the People are correct; looks like that although the statute
is found that govern preliminary hearings, the legislator
talks there about juvenile proceedings that... wouldn't be
much reason to do that unless there was a statute that
generally covers all. This is a court proceeding. I'll take
a quick look at some authorities I have to refer to in
chambers before I decide that.
Any other pretrial issues?
MR. ROMERO: There was the issue of excluding witnesses.
And also, in my moving papers, I asked that the defense be
precluded from asking any questions regarding Ms. White's
commitment to a mental health facility, I believe, in the
early nineties.
THE COURT: That's true, you did.
Any theory of relevance or admissibility for any
mental health treatment on the part of White?
MR. BAMIEH: Uhm... that she is an unstable woman, who is
prone to exaggeration and has had extensive treatment for
Pag.11
mental health issues; will go towards her credibility.
THE COURT: Are you going to be calling a witness that
will offer some testimony that having been treated for a
mental health issue permits the inference that the person's an
unstable, incredible witness?
MR. BAMIEH: No, your Honor.
THE COURT: You would be inviting the jurors to speculate
on that point, wouldn't you?
based on the fact that the issues that occurred with her
former husband would be relevant in this case, and she made
allegations against him and then was committed to a mental
hospital. And so, the -- the inference would be that those
allegations were false as these allegations are false.
THE COURT: I see.
Further argument for the People?
MR. ROMERO: Submitted, your Honor.
THE COURT: What if the allegations in the earlier case
weren't false? How does it -- how does making the allegation
that in the prior instance the allegations were false prove
anything?
MR. BAMIEH: That she -- she's prone to make false
allegations against men in her life.
THE COURT: I'm asking you: What if they weren't false?
How do we determine they were false for purposes of this
trial?
the description of those events and their inconsistencies
Pag.12
establish they were false. And there's some statements that
relate directly to this case in terms of -- she knew what to
say to be considered a battered woman because after that
incident, she went to a battered women's shelter, and she got
fully educated on what the syndrome was and how to react and
how to behave.
THE COURT: I haven't heard a motion to exclude any
evidence that she was previously battered. The motion is to
exclude evidence that she was treated by a psychologist or
psychiatrist or an inmate of a mental institution at some
point. That's the motion. Not a motion to exclude some
evidence of some prior history on the part of the witness of
being a battered woman or allegedly so. So we are talking
about two separate things.
MR. BAMIEH: Also goes to the medication she was
prescribed and is taking, which may affect her testimony.
THE COURT: All right. Any other rationale for the
admission of this evidence?
MR. BAMIEH: That's the basis.
THE COURT: As to any medications that any witness may be
taking during the time of testimony or perhaps was taking when
some events occurred that the witness might be testifying
about, those could be quite relevant, and I'm not saying that
the witnesses can't be examined about those things.
My conclusion is I haven't heard anything that
satisfies me that getting into White's history of mental
treatment has any relevance in this case. Sounds like all it
would do is further allow the jurors to infer that a person
Pag.13
has been treated for mental problems; therefore, the person is
not a reliable witness. That inference does not necessarily
follow, in the absence of some sort of testimony from a
credible witness, such as an expert, who is reliable, showing
that that inference makes some sense. The jurors would just
be invited to speculate because the person had mental
problems, therefore, the person shouldn't be believed.
I'll revisit the question of the admissibility of
White's history of mental treatment if and when the time comes
once I'm satisfied that there would be some evidence that
would support the inference you would be asking the jurors to
draw, Mr. Bamieh, but until such time, you are ordered not to
go into it with the witness or any other witness.
As far as the motion to exclude witnesses, what's
the defense position on that?
MR. BAMIEH: Your Honor, the only witness we would ask
the Court to consider is Katia Anedda. A-N-N-E-D-A?
A-N-E-D-D-A. My client's -- she came from Italy to be with my
client. She's a significant other, and I believe she should
be allowed to be in the courtroom.
I know Mr. Romero recently gave her a subpoena. She
is going to back to Italy on the 11th. She would like to, at
least. And as to -- she doesn't speak much English here. So,
she's Italian, by the way, and there's no interpreter sitting
with her. It's not like she's going to garner much from the
proceeding, but to sit here for support.
THE COURT: Let me find out, first of all, if Anedda is a
witness the People are seeking to exclude. Is she?
Pag. 14
MR. ROMERO: She is, your Honor.
THE COURT: And she was subpoenaed by the district
attorney a couple of days ago here in court, right?
MR. ROMERO: That's correct.
THE COURT: What role would she play in the trial?
What's she expected to testify to?
MR. ROMERO: She is going to testify that she had
communicated with Ms. White before and after the charged
incident. And that after the charged incident, Ms. White told
her that she had been beaten by the defendant, and that
Ms. Anedda had contact with the defendant in Europe and talked
to the defendant. And it's going to the fact that the
defendant circumstantially knew -- by circumstantial evidence
that he knew that Ms. White had reported the conduct to the
police and did not return to the United States, did not make
any attempt to contact the police, and it goes to his
consciousness of guilt and his flight from the United States.
THE COURT: I see.
Anything else on question of whether the witness
should be excluded?
MR. BAMIEH: Yes, your Honor. This witness was not put
on the official witness list. We had no notice she was going
to be called. She flies to Italy (sic) in good faith, so she
could sit through the trial, and she's handed a subpoena the
day she shows up, which just -- in court of equity, it's just
not fair to her now to say that she flew all the way out here
to be with him and now we are going to exclude her.
Secondly, the relevance of her testimony in terms of
Pag.15
the hearsay statements from Ms. White to her about being
beaten, there's a question as to that. And also, drawing the
inference that somehow if my client was already in Italy and
knew there was allegations in the United States that he has a
duty to return to the United States, not knowing -- she said
lots of things, by the way, in her e-mails to Ms. Anedda. So,
that inference is to somehow justify a flight instruction is a
THE COURT: Let's stay with the issue at hand.
When do you expect to call witness Anedda in the
trial?
MR. ROMERO: Your Honor, I understand that she has to
leave by the 11th, and I intend to do my best to get her on
the stand before the 11th so that she can go back to Italy. I
can probably take her as soon as Ms. White is done.
THE COURT: All right. And there wouldn't be any
objection remaining and observing after her testimony is
concluded?
MR. ROMERO: If she is excused as a witness, no.
THE COURT: All right. Anything else?
MR. BAMIEH: No, your Honor.
THE COURT: The People's motion is granted. I'm
sympathetic to Ms. Anedda's situation. I understand she's
come a long way to attend the trial, but the integrity of the
fact-finding process of the trial is paramount, and she will
be excluded until after her testimony has been completed. And
I will ask the parties to do that as early as possible in the
trial so that she's able to attend as much of the trial as she
Pag.16
can so that she can accomplish the things she came here to do.
MR. ROMERO: Just on that note, your Honor, I did inform
Denise that Ms. Anedda -- actually, I think Denise informed me
that Ms. Anedda is going to need an Italian interpreter.
THE COURT: Right.
MR. ROMERO: And I believe Denise might have called and
made arrangements for next week.
THE CLERK: I did, your Honor. Monday, first thing in
the morning. That's the soonest.
THE COURT: Okay. Is Katia Anedda in court? Is that
you, ma'am? Would you, please, stand.
Ms. Anedda, I'm told you don't speak much English.
MS. ANEDDA: Little.
THE COURT: Probably a lot more than I do Italian.
MS. ANEDDA: No. I can read, but don't speak.
THE COURT: All right. I'm sorry to tell you this, but
you will be excluded. You will be forced to wait outside
during the trial.
Is there someone that can explain this to
Ms. Anedda for me?
MR. BAMIEH: Yes. The Italian Consul is here.
THE COURT: You are from the consulate, sir? Sir.
THE BAILIFF: State your name.
MR. BRASIOLI: Diego Brasioli. My name is Diego
Brasioli.
THE COURT: Mr. Brasioli, you are from the Italian
Consulate?
MR. BRASIOLI: I am the Consul General of Italy.
Pag.17
THE COURT: All right. I can see that you speak English
quite well. Would you mind explaining, please, for me to
Ms. Anedda the fact that I'm sorry that she can't attend the
trial, but that she will not be permitted to attend the trial
as a witness until her testimony is concluded, and the
earliest we can get an Italian interpreter here will be
Monday. So, it will be no sooner than that unless an Italian
interpreter becomes available to us sooner. We will be using
an official court interpreter, but if there's some other way
that the interpreting can be done before that time and the
witness can get on and off the stand, then we can do it
sooner, but we are making arrangements for an Italian
interpreter now.
And I'm sorry that's the ruling, but that needs to
be the ruling so that the trial is as fair and accurate as it
can be. And once she's no longer needed as a witness, she can
watch. If you wouldn't mind summarizing that for me.
MR. BRASIOLI: I will explain that.
THE COURT: Thank you.
MR. ROMERO: There is one other thing, your Honor, and I
was just reminded by my investigator, Leslie Robertson, who is
a potential witness, and she conducted many interviews of
witnesses on this case. I would like to have her designated
as my lead investigator because she will be coming and going
out of the courtroom assisting me in making sure witnesses get
here and scheduling, and I would like her to have the ability
to come and go as needed.
THE COURT: Any objection?
Pag. 18
MR. BAMIEH: I just want her ordered not to go to Hawaii
during the course of the trial.
THE COURT: And remain an employee of the District
Attorney's Office?
MR. BAMIEH: Yes.
THE COURT: Investigator Robertson, will be there any
issues in that respect?
MS. ROBERTSON: No.
THE CLERK: What's her first name?
MR. ROMERO: Leslie.
MR. BAMIEH: Your Honor, I'd also request Mr. Eugene
Thayer, who is working with me as my investigator. He's in
the audience.
THE COURT: You are asking he be allowed to remain as
well?
MR. BAMIEH: Yes.
THE COURT: He may also be a witness?
MR. BAMIEH: He may also be a witness.
THE COURT: Any objection?
MR. ROMERO: No objection.
THE COURT: Both investigators in the case can come and
go at will; not subject to the witness exclusion order.
Any other pretrial issues to take care of?
MR. ROMERO: No, your Honor.
THE BAILIFF: I have an issue, your Honor. I had an
interaction with the victim. She's exceedingly uncomfortable
seeing and being seen by the defendant. I have cautioned her
that the monitor will be adjusted where she can kind of
Pag.19
conceal herself from him and not have to make eye contact, but
I want the parties to be aware of that.
And Mr. Bamieh, if I sit there, will you be able to
see her if she sit -- are you good with this so you can see to
interview?
MR. BAMIEH: I'll move -- I'll adjust accordingly, I
guess.
THE COURT: Okay. Well, the fact is, the way the
courtroom is laid out, that screen is exactly where Marty
said, and your witness can sit wherever she likes.
You had asked, Mr. Bamieh, to be able to conduct the
images on this wall, and I said yes, but I see it's set up
over here.
MR. BAMIEH: Mr. Certa, from my office, is here, and I
don't know what Mr. Romero's intentions were.
THE COURT: Any issues with Power Point, folks? We're
already 15 minutes late. We have the jurors here. I want to
move this along.
MR. ROMERO: I'm not going to be using the Power Point in
my opening statement. I'll probably be using the ELMO during
my direct examination.
THE COURT: Okay. Any issues as far as using Power Point
during the opening statement? Anything to sort out
beforehand?
MR. ROMERO: I don't believe so.
THE COURT: Okay. Well, then let's get the projector
changed around. I want to take a look on the authorities of
witness advocates.
Pag.20
THE BAILIFF: Your Honor, unless these cords are long, I
think they have to come in.
MR. BAMIEH: I think they will be okay. I've done it
before. Yeah, we are fine.
///
(Off record.)
///
THE COURT: Okay. Back on the record, again, outside the
presence of the jury. And seems like the issue is really
answered -- hold it down, please, folks -- within the statute
itself. I overlooked it as I was skimming through it.
In 865.5, although it's buried among the sections
that govern preliminary hearings, apply to trials by its own
terms. So, I haven't heard anything that would cause me to
think that a victim advocate acting as they normally do would
really prejudice Mr. Parlanti.
The victim advocate, who is going to be with witness
White, is this an experienced individual?
MR. ROMERO: It is, your Honor. Her name is Mayela
Ramirez. She's in our office.
THE COURT: She's done this kind of thing before?
MR. ROMERO: My understanding, yes, she has.
THE COURT: Just a reminder, please, she's in no way to
participate other than to be present with White on the witness
stand, and I don't think we will have any issues.
MR. BAMIEH: Couple issues. Just -- well, how are you
going to describe the victim advocate to the jury? What --
you are not going to say anything?
Pag.21
THE COURT: I usually don't. Normally, the person
calling the witness would ask if the victim advocate can stay
with the witness, and that way the jury gets who it is. I can
do it or you folks can do it. Doesn't matter with me.
MR. BAMIEH: I would like -- I would like the Court to
explain to the jury that the penal code allows, in cases where
this allegation is made, for a charged victim, at the request
of her -- of the charged victim to come to court with the
victim advocate, who is an employee of the District Attorney's
Office.
THE COURT: Any objection to that?
MR. ROMERO: I have no problem with the law being told to
the jurors.
THE COURT: I have never given such an instruction
before. So, I'll just wing it.
MR. BAMIEH: Yeah.
THE COURT: So, you're going to be stuck with whatever I
say.
MR. BAMIEH: I trust you to comply with the law. So,
I'll be okay with that.
THE COURT: If you tell me what the law is, I certainly
will, but I'll just tell the jurors the penal code allows the
victim advocate be present at the request of the alleged
victim in a case of this type.
MR. BAMIEH: That's fine.
MR. ROMERO: That's fine.
THE COURT: Although, I may not be my usual, eloquent
self when I say that.
Pag.22
Okay. Any other issues?
MR. BAMIEH: If I understand the Court's order, she is to
be allowed to stay for opening or also excluded for opening?
THE COURT: Well, there was no discussion about that.
Ordinarily, a witness would not observe the opening statement.
Any objection, though.
MR. ROMERO: I would object to her being present at the
opening statement.
THE COURT: The whole purpose of exclusion is the witness
won't be influenced by testimony. I can see the witness might
be influenced by a description of the testimony of the
witnesses. So, Ms. Anedda will be excluded for opening
statements as well.
MR. BAMIEH: Okay.
THE COURT: Let's bring the jurors in and begin to work.
Marty, can you switch off the projector while I'm
talking with the jurors, please? Thanks.
///
(Prospective jurors enter the courtroom.)
///
THE COURT: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome
back. Sorry about the late start. We will try to keep those
to a minimum, but it couldn't be helped this morning.
We are back on the record now in the matter of
People versus Parlanti. We have all of our jurors, both
counsel and the defendant.
In a little while, we will commence with opening
statements and the presentation of evidence. Before we do, as
Pag.23
I mentioned yesterday, I will go over with you some of the
rules that we need to follow in the course of this trial. The
things I'm going to tell you are pretty straight forward.
They are also quite important; that everybody abide by them.
First of all, as I mentioned, members of the jury
are to have no contact or conversation with either counsel or
anyone that you know to be a witness for either side or
involved in the case in any way. It's okay to say "good
morning" or "good afternoon." Do not let it go beyond that
point. The parties -- counsel know they can't talk with you.
They won't talk with you. Just puts everybody in an awkward
spot if jurors are trying to talk with the lawyers or other
people, and they have to say, "I can't talk with you." Nobody
who is trying a case wants to appear to be rude to the people
who are deciding it, and you need to not create that kind of
situation.
The reason for this rule has to do primarily with
the law of evidence. The admission of evidence in the trial
is governed by a body of law found almost exclusively in
what's called the Evidence Code, appropriately enough. In
California, the Evidence Code is a codification by and large
of common law rules of evidence that have been applied in
trials for the last several centuries, both here and in
England.
The reason that those rules exist, the ones that
we're mainly concerned with in trial, has to do with the
reliability of information that you get as jurors to decide a
case. And the hearsay rule is a good example of that.
Pag.24
Hearsay is generally defined as an out-of-court statement,
which is offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted by
the statement itself. It's a fairly simple definition, but
it's -- can be difficult to apply sometimes to get your mind
wrapped around that in different situations.
Further, compounding the complexity of it, is the
fact that there are a myriad of exceptions to the hearsay rule
that are found in the Evidence Code. There are lots of
statements that even though they are made up out of court,
even though they are offered to prove the truth of what's
being said, they have been determined to be reliable enough
for jurors to consider in deciding a case. Doesn't mean
jurors necessarily will believe them, but they are admissible.
In other words, they can be considered by the jury.
If a juror were to go outside of court and talk with
people about the case in an informal setting, none of these
rules will be followed. In other words, we wouldn't be
applying the rules of evidence to the information the jurors
would be getting, and that conversation is a casual
conversation, either with counsel or somebody else that you
come into contact with that tells you that he or she knows
something about this case.
Also, one of the most important trial rights that a
party has in a case like this or any other is the right to
have these rules of evidence followed, the right to be present
in court while the jurors are receiving information about the
case, to know what's being offered, the chance to object if
what's being offered does not meet the rules of evidence,
Pag.25
okay. All of that would be brushed aside and be defeated if
the jurors were to talk to someone outside of the courtroom
about this case.
You can't really talk to somebody in the courtroom
about the case. You get your information to decide the case
from evidence received in court in the presence of both
parties so that they know what's being asked, what's being
offered, and they have a chance to object if they need to do
it. And that's the biggest reason for this rule.
There are lots of other rules in the Evidence Code
that we apply in a trial, things like privileges and whatnot,
that don't have to do with the reliability of evidence. They
have to do with the protection of relationships and
confidences and things like that. But the one we're mainly
concerned with in trial have to do with this reliability
checking process that we find in the Evidence Code. And so,
that adherence to that rule helps us to make sure that the
rules of evidence are followed.
One of my main jobs in the case is to apply the
rules of evidence to the case and rule on objections and
things like this. And while I'm on the subject of objections,
you need to understand that objections are just a shorthand
way of lawyers communicating with me, asking for a ruling on
whether a question is proper or whether an answer is proper or
whether an item of evidence is admissible, okay.
If you watch television and movies, we talk about
things a little bit in voir dire in the sense of technical
evidence, but also whenever you see a courtroom scene on
Pag. 26
television or in movie, the way they write it is clever
lawyers use the rules of evidence to interpose a timely
objection to keep truth from coming out. In other words, the
rules of evidence are used to kick dirt over the truth and
keep jurors from finding things out about a case they ought to
hear, right? Always makes for an interesting screen play.
And the judge usually sits there like a bump on a log. And
the judges are interesting in TV and movies. They have a role
to play; that they're dunderheads that sit there at the head
of the courtroom and watch what's all going on; may be the
only accurate thing that you see, okay.
But the fact is, in real life, in court, objections
are not a way of concealing the truth, okay. There's nothing
wrong with an objection. I don't want you to hold it against
a party if there is an objection. There will be some
objections in this trial. Bound to be. All right. Just like
there are bound to be some out-of-court statements that are
offered one way or the other. From talking with the lawyers,
knowing a little bit about the case, I expect that, okay.
An objection is just a request by the party for a
ruling from the Court on whether something is a good question,
whether it's a proper question, whether it's an answer which
appears to reflect, for example, that the witness has personal
knowledge about something that he or she is talking about, or
whether a piece of evidence meets the rules for admission. It
is not an effort to keep something from you that you ought to
hear. An objection is, instead, an effort to make sure that
what you are getting is what you ought to hear; that it meets
Pag.27
these tests that have been established and have withstood the
test of time to make sure the quality of the evidence you are
getting is good enough to be considered in the trial.
So, don't hold it against the lawyers if there is an
objection. You know, it's part of the job with lawyers to
object when they think they should. It's not an effort to
conceal anything from you. It's quite the opposite. It's an
effort to make sure what's admitted here in trial is the sort
of thing that ought to be heard by the jurors in deciding the
case.
Any questions about anything I've said? If you have
a question, feel free to ask.
Sometimes I over explain things. And I may be doing
that now, but my experience has been that if people understand
the reason for the rule, it's a lot easier to follow, okay.
In the same vein that I'm talking about, and I'm not speaking
to people outside of court about the case, you don't do your
own legal research about the case, you don't -- if you hear
evidence where things happen, you don't drive out to the
scene, look it over for yourself, that sort of thing. All
right.
The lawyers and I have actually already begun
working on jury instructions, and we will be working on them
throughout the trial off and on to make sure that I correctly
explain the law to you at the end of the case.
Sometimes, though, in a trial, jurors will hear a
term that they get interested in something they may not be
familiar with, and they may want to go look that up because
Pag.28
they get curious about it. Please do not do that. All right.
The reason that that's against the rules is not that we don't
want you to find out what's going on. As I said, we are
already starting to work on making sure that the explanation I
give you at the end of the case of the law is correct. The
problem with that is sometimes jurors will go out, and there
have been cases where they have done that, and they will do
their own legal research or other research, bring that in,
share it with the other jurors, and they are wrong, okay. A
murder case is a good example of that.
In a murder case, in almost all cases, except for
one kind that we don't need to be concerned with here, a jury
will be concerned with the presence of something called malice
aforethought. Malice aforethought is, generally speaking, an
element of the crime of murder, and without malice
aforethought, there is no murder; may be manslaughter, which
is another kind of unlawful killing, but not murder.
Well, a juror may hear that term "malice" and think,
"Well, you know, I wonder what that really means," and go look
it up. If you look up the word "malice" in a dictionary, it
will mean "hatred" or "ill will." You will see something like
that. If one person hates another has a feeling of malice.
But it will be a huge mistake to do that in a murder case
because the term "malice aforethought" has nothing whatever to
do with the emotional state of the killing. All right. It
has to do with a mental state, an intention unlawfully to kill
another human being. That's all.
Mercy killings are invariably murders to the first
Pag.29
degree. They always involve the presence of malice
aforethought because there is the intention unlawfully to kill
another human being. Mercy killings are done because there
are deep feelings of love or affection that exist between the
one who kills and the one who is killed, all right, but those
are murders. And for a juror to bring in a dictionary
definition of "malice" in a case like that, to think you have
to have that emotional state, would be a serious, serious
mistake, and that's one of the reasons we ask jurors not to do
that. You will get complete and correct jury instructions at
the end of this case that define all of these terms for you.
Please don't feel you have to go look them up for yourself.
Having said that, legal research is not rocket
science or, as my kids would say, not rocket surgery. If I
can do it, anybody can, but it's important that the jurors all
be working with the same information; that you not go out on
your own and sort of piecemeal this; that you work with the
information given to you by the Court, and it's a very strict
rule.
If the jurors were to violate the rules I've talked
about so far, talking to people outside the court about the
case or even talking with each other outside of court about
the case or deliberating on the case before it's submitted to
you or going out and researching things, it could cause a
mistrial. In other words, the case would have to be re-done.
It's a very wasteful process. Trials of this type are very
expensive. They are very taxing on everybody concerned. So,
please don't violate these rules. They are very important.
Pag.30
Any questions about it? All right.
I mentioned yesterday about taking notes. Marty
probably already passed out the note pads and pens. Yeah, I
see. Okay. You can take notes or not as you see fit during
the trial. Your notes are for your own personal use. Any
time you are not in the courtroom, your note pad needs to stay
on your chair because it's in the custody of the bailiff. And
the reason for that is because nobody gets to see what your
notes are all about unless you share it with them, okay. Your
notes only come into play if at the time you're deliberating
on the case, you want to talk to the other jurors about your
thoughts or impressions that you developed during the trial.
There is a downside to taking notes that you might
not have thought about if you haven't been through this
before, and it's this: If you're hunched over your note pad,
trying to scribble down kind of a verbatim record what every
witness says, it's very hard to look at the witness. At least
if you are like me, I can't read my writing even when I am
looking, but it's especially bad when I'm not, okay. And if
you are looking at your pad instead of looking at the witness,
you're depriving yourselves, as a juror, of the kind of
information that we all use, as people, to evaluate things
other people are telling us. One of your jobs as jurors is to
do that, is to listen and observe witnesses, take in what they
say. You do that a lot by looking at the people. So, please,
don't let your note-taking distract you from doing that. If
you don't take any notes at all, that's okay. If you take a
ton of notes, that's okay too.
Pag.31
At the end of trial, you will have the chance to
take your notes with you if you want. If you don't do that,
they will be shredded. Nobody gets to know what you think
unless you share that information with the other jurors.
Enough said about that.
Our court reporter, Ms. Sjoquist, is taking a record
of the trial as we go. My policy in working with jurors is
very straightforward. If you are deliberating on a case, and
you tell us that you need a readback of testimony to reach a
just decision, you will get it. So, please, don't feel that
there's any pressure on you to take notes because there isn't.
There's a record being made of everything every witness is
saying.
Having said that, we will ask you not to request
that unnecessarily because there's a great deal of time and
energy that's expended in preparing a readback, but the whole
reason for having a record is to have it as a tool for you to
use if you need it during deliberations. So, the note-taking
is something that you need to make sure that you understand
there's no pressure on taking notes, and certainly don't let
it distract you from the evidence in the case.
In just a minute or two, we will commence with
opening statements. That will be a chance for counsel to talk
to you and tell you what they expect the evidence to take you
here in this case. It's very important you understand that
statements of counsel are not evidence. It's important you
not confuse them with the evidence. That doesn't make them
unimportant because the statements of counsel can give you a
Pag.32
good head's up as to where we are going in this trial, and the
evidence, as it unfolds, will make more sense because you will
know where the parties expect to be taking you.
Counsel, do we have a stipulation that unless it's
otherwise brought to my attention, all parties are in their
places, and further, that the usual admonition will be given
in all breaks?
MR. BAMIEH: By the defense, yes.
MR. ROMERO: So stipulated by the People.
THE COURT: All right. Then Mr. Romero, you can make
your opening statement.
MR. ROMERO: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
THE JURY: Good morning.
MR. ROMERO: Before I start, I cannot stress enough or
emphasize that what I'm about to say is not evidence. This is
just an opportunity for me to tell you what I believe the
evidence is going to show at the trial. And I'm going to try
my best to present it to you in a chronological order.
However, that -- that may not happen completely because of
scheduling with witnesses, who will be coming out of the area.
And the best way I can analogize this to you is right now I'm
going to be giving you the top cover of a puzzle box where it
has the complete picture. You can see it, and then at the
trial, you may be given pieces a little out of order, but you
will know exactly where they fit by knowing the top cover of
the puzzle box.
Now, the evidence in this case is going to show that
the defendant is a very troubled man, who has -- who had an
Pag.33
understanding of love and relationships where his girlfriend
was required to worship him. She was required to pamper him
and literally, at times, to baby him.
Now, Ms. Rebecca White is not without her issues.
She is not without her shortcomings, but she brought to the
relationship -- she is an insecure woman, dependent on the
defendant, dependent on him for affection, dependent on him
for his love, and dependent on him for validation.
Ms. White loved the defendant. She loved him
blindly. And in so loving him, she put up with mental and
physical abuse throughout their relationship, and she did so
hoping that the defendant would love her more, hoping that she
could prove how much she loved him.
They met in Monterey in 2001, where they began their
relationship, and then they moved down to Ventura County and
moved into the Westlake area. And in that relationship, the
defendant dealt with his personal troubles by abusing her.
And Ms. White let him and, in fact, tried even harder to
please him.
And the abuse that the defendant inflicted was not
limited to emotional or physical abuse, there was sexual
abuse. And the abuse peaked on June 29, 2002. The defendant
that evening got drunk on wine, his drink of choice. He
slapped Ms. White. He pounded the back of her head into the
walls of their apartment. He kicked her on her ribs, and he
zip-tied her hands and her feet together, and he raped her
while she was zip-tied.
And why did he do this to Ms. White? Because the
Pag.34
defendant likes the power and control over his girlfriends.
He likes to exercise power and control over his girlfriends.
After that incident on June 29, 2002, did Ms. White
call the police? No, she didn't. Did she have an opportunity
to call the police? Yeah, she did. She had many
opportunities, but she chose not to. She chose to try and
stay in that relationship, but she thought about what she
might do because the defendant had never been that violent
with her before. And while trying to determine what to do,
she took pictures of herself of the injuries on her face, and
it was not until well over two weeks later that she reported
this incident to the sheriff's department. And she reported
it to the sheriff's department when the defendant had left on
a business trip to Gulfport, Mississippi.
Now, the defendant, through his employment, traveled
extensively for business. And on this occasion, when he left
to Gulfport, Mississippi, Ms. White believed that, while
there, he was going to be seeing another woman named Cecelia.
I believe her last name is Howells, and that he was probably
having a relationship with her, but that is nothing knew.
During her relationship with the defendant, she believed he
had been unfaithful, and that was part of their dysfunctional
relationship.
When Ms. White finally reported the incident to the
sheriff's department, she spoke to several deputies, and she
gave her statement several times. And the first day, I
believe, was July 18, 2002 that she contacted the sheriff's
department, and she gave -- she told them what happened to
Pag.35
her. I believe she told the initial deputy about two or three
times what had happened, and she was photographed by another
deputy, I believe a Jody Keller, and she had still two -- over
two weeks later, she still had some bruising on her. And you
will get those photographs, and you will get the photographs
that she took of herself.
She complained that two-and-a-half weeks later, her
ribs still hurt from where she was kicked by the defendant.
And in telling the deputies this on the first day she
reported, she got some dates confused. I think she initially
said the incident happened on July 6th. She went home and
looked at a calendar -- a calendar that she kept and realized
it was actually June 29th, and the very next day told the
deputies that she had made a mistake, that the incident
actually happened on June 29th, and that very next day, July
19, 2002, her daughter helped her move. They rented a car,
packed up her items into that rental car, and headed north to
Monterey where she had friends and where she initially lived.
She had a friend by the name of Kanika Smith, who
lived up in Monterey. And this friend worked for a medical
clinic called Doctors On Duty. And on July 22, 2002,
Ms. White went to Doctors On Duty for treatment, and she was
treated by a Dr. Troy Manchester. And she told Dr. Manchester
what happened, and Dr. Manchester took x-rays and found that
she did, in fact, have cracked ribs.
Again, what I am telling you is not evidence. The
evidence you will receive during the trial. That's just a
general outline of what I believe it's going to show, and I
Pag.36
want to conclude with this. When she testifies, you will see
that several years later, Ms. White still has unresolved
feelings for the defendant. Thank you.
THE COURT: Thank you, Mr. Romero.
Mr. Bamieh, you may make an opening statement.
MR. BAMIEH: Couple minutes to set up the Power Point,
please. And your Honor, I need to delete some things from the
Power Point, just if I have a couple minutes to do that.
THE COURT: How long do you think?
MR. BAMIEH: Five minutes, I think. I found them where
they need to go, and I can fix them pretty quick, I think,
with this system.
THE COURT: All right.
MR. BAMIEH: Court's permission?
THE COURT: Go ahead.
MR. BAMIEH: Hello everybody. You guys made it through
voir dire. The trial is starting. As you know, I'm Ron
Bamieh. I represent Mr. Carlo Parlanti.
Mr. Parlanti is an Italian citizen. In late of
nineties and the early 2000s, he came to America to work for
Dole. He's a computer technician, works with computers. He's
considered top notch in his field, actually. And when he came
here in 2000, he was living up -- around 2000, he was living
up in Monterey. And in early 2001, he met Rebecca White.
Now, as Mr. Romero said in his opening statement,
how the opening statement's like a puzzle. Well, it is
because they are going to be putting the pieces together. In
this case, you are going to find you can't put this case
Pag.37
together. You are going to find that the case will not --
cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. And the reason
for that, which you will see in this case, is that the main
issue in this case will be the credibility of one Rebecca
White. You are not going to believe her. You are not going
to believe her because of the evidence.
In order to put this in context so you see where we
are going because, as you will see, the defense -- the People
have the burden. They will call the witnesses, and then I'll
get to cross-examine them as they are called. And so, to put
this in context, what I would like you to do in my opening is
to focus on the issues they will probably be raising, the
issues that will concern you, and the issues that you will not
be able to resolve and will lead to the ultimate verdict you
will have in this case, which will be not guilty.
To do that, I want to go through a time line of
events to put them in context so you will know what was
happening when and who the people were involved at the time.
Starting off with -- says 2000, 2001, because it was
late 2000, I think early 2001, just to -- safety net there
because, as I said, we will wait to see what they say, but
Rebecca White and Carlo Parlanti started dating.
Now, what you will know about this time is at this
time, Mr. Parlanti was ending -- had ended a relationship with
his former therapist, a Ms. Sandra Hollingsworth.
Ms. Hollingsworth made allegations against Mr. Parlanti. She
made serious allegations, actually. Part of it, you will
find, was attributed to the fact she committed a criminal
Pag.38
offense when she engaged in a sexual relationship with
Mr. Parlanti. She was his therapist, and the law says that a
therapist, a therapist like Ms. Hollingsworth, cannot have sex
with her clients. Pretty understandable law. And she had
committed that violation. When she committed that violation
and Mr. Parlanti told her he was leaving her, she went to the
police and made allegations again him.
Now, the police sorted it out and everything, and
eventually, it ended up that none of the allegations of
violence were substantiated against Mr. Parlanti, and he
started to sue her, began a lawsuit against Ms. Hollingsworth
for the trauma she had put him through. And while doing this,
while in that time period, that's when Mr. Parlanti met
Ms. White. And she became meshed with -- not only with
Mr. Parlanti, but also this lawsuit; learned the details of
this prior allegation, learned how the police responded when
those allegations were made, learned what to say and what to
do.
Now, see, she was not a woman without a history
because she earlier she had made allegations of abuse against
her former husband, a Mr. David White. She made allegations
he abused her. She made some -- and you will hear them --
pretty outrageous allegations. Matter of fact, some of those
will sound so outrageous, you wonder how physically they could
have occurred because they won't seem like humanly possible
that such allegations could occur the way she described he
attacked her, for instance. And she said to other people that
after that incident, she went to a domestic -- after the
Pag.39
incident with her former husband in '95, she got domestic
violence counseling, and she learned about domestic violence
and the things that happen when you are abused, and she got
educated in that field. So, she had at the time she met
Mr. Parlanti and while she was with Mr. Parlanti an education
in the domestic violence field and also an education in how
women report to the police and the police in California, how
they react to it at that time.
And what you will find is that Ms. White became
obsessed with Mr. Parlanti. And the way you will find it, I
don't know what she will say about that, but the way you will
find it is because Ms. White likes to e-mail. She enjoys
e-mailing people, and she e-mails quite a bit of things, and
those e-mails will, I'm sure, become relevant and introduced
in this trial, and you will read a few of them like this one.
This is one to Mr. Parlanti in October of '01, and it's just
-- it will be offered to introduce -- to show you that -- her
type of obsession. It's from Ms. White to Mr. Parlanti.
"I lay in bed each night alone thinking of you. I
would have you every night if it were up to me. I need to
talk -- I need you to talk to me about this. I had no idea
what you thought what was said to me. I am going through
withdrawal from you every night. I have chills running up and
down the inside of my legs wanting you. Yet, you did not call
me. I cannot call you. I do not know what to say with you.
I will talk about anything you want. All you have to do is
start the right direction. So, call me. We can talk in
person or on the phone. It is up to you."
Pag.40
Now, you will see other e-mails, frankly, that are
even more obsessive than this. This is the beginning parts of
their relationship. Mr. Parlanti, as I told you before, was
coming out of a terrible experience with that
Ms. Hollingsworth. He had no desire to have a strong
commitment and made it very clear to her, and you'll see in
her e-mails she understood it to be very clear for her, but
that wasn't good enough for her. She wanted more. She wanted
what she couldn't have, and she continued to obsess and to
manipulate and try to get as close to Mr. Parlanti as she
could. That was her goal, and you will see this through the
e-mails and the way she talks to him in these e-mails what she
wants, what she desires, what she's willing to do. And she
even tells Mr. Parlanti, in an e-mail that will be introduced,
that she wants to be hit with some belts. He wants -- she
wants Mr. Parlanti to use belts on her.
The spring of 2002, Mr. Parlanti was asked by his
employer to move to Westlake, and he did. Ms. White wanted to
come with him, and she said she could help him. She could be
of assistance. She had no job at the time. She left her job
at Zales jewelry, and she came with Mr. Parlanti, and he
allowed her, but her thing was she was supposed to get a job
and contribute to the rent and to the household, and she could
stay with him, and she was going to help him with his lawsuit
against Ms. Hollingsworth, and so she came. And Mr. Parlanti
went to work.
Now, during this period of time, Ms. White knew that
Mr. Parlanti did not still want to have just a one-person
Pag.41
relationship. He told her very often he would see other
people, and she came knowing that. Now, some of you may be
saying, well, that's not right. That was their agreement as
two adults. And in America, adults get to make their own
decisions, and she made one to come here with him. And he
told her to see other people, and this bothered her because
her obsession, once again, was with Mr. Parlanti.
She would go into his e-mail, his e-mail address
book, find his former girlfriends and e-mail them. She would
ask them things like: What can I do to please him more? What
can I do to be a better woman to him? Can I dance for him?
Can I do other things for him? These are all in the e-mails
she would send these other women.
On June 6th of '02, Mr. Parlanti allowed her to have
power of attorney. Power of attorney. Now, Mr. Romero
described Mr. Parlanti as controlling. Well, the person with
control at this point is actually Ms. White. She had power of
attorney over all of Mr. Parlanti's finances. She controlled
the water bill. She paid -- access to his checking accounts,
everything. She was notarized by a notary, approved by a
lawyer, Mr. Parlanti agreed to it because he wanted to ease
the stresses in his life. She said she would take care of
everything for him, but in this way, she controlled everything
also.
On 7/16/02 is an important date because on that day,
Mr. Parlanti went to Mississippi, and Mr. Romero called it a
business trip, and there was some business conducted, but
Ms. White knew why he was going. She knew he was going to
Pag42
rendezvous with Cecelia; that he was having an affair with
Cecelia Howell.
We had a preliminary hearing in this case. At the
preliminary hearing, the evidence will be that Ms. White was
asked about this -- was related to the late reporting, the
alleged late reporting of this crime. And I asked her about
this at the preliminary hearing, and I asked her to -- that
you know, that you knew Mr. Parlanti left on the 16th of July.
She says, yes. And I said you knew where she went -- or he
went, didn't you?
And she said, "Yeah, Mississippi."
And I go, "And you knew who he was going to see,
didn't you?" And she acted like she didn't know. And I asked
her, and it's in the transcript, "Come on, Ms. White. It
starts with a C. That's why he went." And then she
acknowledged, yes, she knew. And she was upset with Cecelia
and that she called Cecelia on her cell phone and left her
some derogatory messages.
On 7/16, Mr. Parlanti told her, prior to leaving,
"We are done. I can't take this anymore. You are too
obsessive." And he left her, and she got angry. She got very
angry. A few days later, we saw just how angry she got.
On that day, she drives to the Ventura County
Sheriff's Station. I believe the East Valley Station, and she
makes a report against Mr. Parlanti. And she says that on
July 6th of '02 and forward, because it's not just a one-day
incident she described as happening. She says it went over a
period of a week and a half or two weeks or so -- that some
Pag.43
violence occurred between her and Mr. Parlanti. And she
describes some violence, and she describes things, and
frankly, you may have some issues with in terms of how you
could believe it. Give you an example.
She says Mr. Parlanti, who is a grown man, and you
will see her size, grabbed her by the head and banged her head
repeatedly, repeatedly, against a bulletin board. He then
took her, he says, and he threw her on the floor and choked
her out to unconsciousness, was her statement. I'm thinking,
my God, you should be -- how are you even alive? How could
you even be alive after that?
And then she says, then she says, uhm, he -- he
eventually gets me onto a bean bag chair, and closed-fist
punched me to the face. Closed-fist punch me to the face.
Grown man. Closed fist. Full force to the face. No broken
on the face. You're expecting devastation. And then, I'm
sorry, I missed one. Before that, she says he slapped her as
hard as he could ten times back and forth across the head;
tied her up, she says, tied her up with these computer ties,
these thick, white computer ties, and tied her from one ankle,
one arm to one ankle and the other arm to another ankle, and
then she says -- these are her words to the officer. And the
officer talked to her a number of times, and he tape-recorded
one of those conversations. And so, off the tape, says then
he tried to make love to me. Her words. Her words.
Now, that was the first time she described it.
First time that she said this occurred, and she said it
occurred on 7/6. And the officer questioned her because he
Pag.44
had some issues because when he was looking at her and he's
hearing the level of violence she described, and he's looking
at her, and he doesn't see what logically you would expect to
see, somebody, who, as she reported, a week or so earlier, was
attacked so brutally. And then she described to the officer
that as the week went on, he kept tying her up at night. She
wouldn't move for days, but would say things. "One day, I got
coffee. One day, I went to the laundry room." She would say
things like that. And then she would say, "Then we had
consensual sex on other days after that," is what she would
say. These are her words.
So, the officer, you have to understand, is
listening to this woman, who came into the sheriff's station.
He's wondering, how could this be? How could this be true? I
don't see any blood. I don't see broken bones in your face.
I see some faint bruising, but nothing. So, the officer takes
his report, books his tapes and gives it to a detective. That
officer, I believe, was Deputy Fullerton. I don't know what
his rank is now. This was, once again, 2002. At the time, he
was Deputy Fullerton, and he gives it to a detective named
Reilly.
And Detective Reilly goes out to where the apartment
complex in Westlake and looks for Ms. White because he wants
to -- he reads his report. He figures, I better do some
followup on this, better get some more details, seems a little
unusual, you know. And he goes, and he finds Ms. White --
tries to, at least; goes to the apartment complex. He peers
through the window, looks like the apartment has been boxed
Pag.45
up. Nobody is around. He looks around for her, and the
apartment complex can't find them. One neighbor tells him
that she -- gives him a cell phone number. He calls her, and
he ends up hooking up with her at the Thousand Oaks Art Plaza.
And Detective Reilly interviews her for the second time on
this incident in the back seat of his car. I don't know if
it's a patrol car or a plain vehicle, but in the back of a car
or in the car.
He interviews her a second time. And this time,
when she talks to him, uhm... and she makes it clear every
time -- and I should have said this the first time when she
first described the incident, she makes it clear, "I really
don't want to do this, but I absolutely have to do this."
And the officer says, "Have to do this?"
And she said, "Yeah, I absolutely have to do this or
I'm doing this under duress. I'm doing this for my father.
My father," is what she says. And the second time, the way
she clarifies that, at least on the tape, is she says that her
father won't give her money to move unless she reports
Mr. Parlanti and his violence. That's what she says. That
was her statement. She spoke to her father, and he wouldn't
give her money to move.
And she also tells the officers that she has told
nobody of what has happened to her until the 18th. Told
nobody. That she lied to her mother and her daughter when
they called, and she said she fell down some steps.
And then on the 19th, through the second interview,
Detective Reilly, he asked a few more probing questions. He
Pag.46
questions a lot of the statements because it's just not
sounding right, uhm... and then he says, "Well, let's go back
to your apartment. Let's go back to your apartment." And you
know, he wants to look for evidence because she describes
certain things. He thinks there should be certain evidence he
should see there. There's no used ties that were used to bind
her. There's no blood. No blood anywhere. You would think
all this battering and beating, there would be blood
everywhere. No blood. No evidence really to corroborate what
she's saying.
Her injuries, at that point, at least visibly are
insignificant at best. Nothing to substantiate pounding of
the head, closed-fist punching to the face, slapping
repeatedly to the face. Nothing like that. Nothing that
would jive with that.
She talks about Mr. Parlanti almost biting off her
nipples, and no evidence at all was produced at that time of
any severe bruising, anything, at that time.
So, on 7/20, something weird happens. She calls
Detective Reilly, and she says, "I made a mistake. I made a
mistake. It didn't really happen on seven -- sorry -- on 7/6.
It happened on 6/29."
Now, it will be shown to you that she realized that
because she described the events occurring over a period of
time, and that she couldn't leave the house because
Mr. Parlanti told her she couldn't go. And she went back and
she checked the calendar and realized that Mr. Parlanti was
working on some of those dates when she said she couldn't
Pag.47
leave the house. And Mr. Parlanti, if we went by her original
dates, he was not in the house. He was someplace else; at
gyms, with people, at work, with witnesses. And all of a
sudden, the dates change. And she calls and says, "Oh, by the
way, I made a mistake. It's really 6/29/02. I've looked at a
calendar now, and I realize I made a mistake." Oh, she looked
at a calendar, and she realized, yeah, I can't substantiate
what he was saying. He wasn't there, and these incidents
these long incidents of happening couldn't have occurred. So
she changes the dates. And the People have charged
Mr. Parlanti with a crime occurring on that day.
Now, you would think at this point it's about as
weird as you are going to get, but you will find our story
gets a little weirder with Ms. White; gets a little more
difficult here because some more weird things start to happen.
She faxed the sheriff's department on 7/22/02, the same day
she saw Dr. Manchester. She faxes to the sheriff's department
another statement, and it's her statement. She types it out.
And she faxes it to Detective Reilly.
And now, some of the facts are a little different
than they were before. There's a little more... I would use
the word "exaggeration" in terms of -- all of a sudden, we
have -- it seems that since the first two statements, the
beatings are even more severe. The violence was even more
severe. The abuse was even more severe in these statements,
but then also on that fax, I think it was the cover sheet, and
Detective Reilly can answer this better than me, she sends
this fax, says -- this is the one to Detective Reilly, and you
Pag.48
will see from the fax date, it's 7/22/02. That's where I came
up with the date. And she says -- she is talking about the
fax. At the end, she says, "Please arrest him at work and
soon." Okay, because now -- this is what's weird about it.
Because she was very clear she was worried about him
beforehand, and now she's saying, "Arrest him right away."
She is passionate now, go get him police, go get him.
But it's not just weird in the context of what
happened before, what happened before 7/22, it gets weirder in
context about what happened after because on 8/30, she e-mails
Carlo's friend Brian Whitney.
By the way, Mr. Parlanti, the evidence will be that
he had a job opportunity in Italy, and he went to Italy, and
Ms. White was sending him these crazy e-mails. And he says,
"I'm just done. My friend is cleaning out my apartment. I'm
done with her." And he left Dole and started a job in Italy.
He was on a work visa and went to Italy. And Ms. White starts
e-mailing his friends, his former girlfriend still and she
e-mails Brian Whitney.
Now, Mr. Whitney, she says, "I found out today they
charged Carlo. Tell him to run." And that's August 30th.
Now, that's in contrast to "get him right away." It just
starts not making some sense here.
Now, at the preliminary hearing, the preliminary
hearing in this case, I should have put the date up there, was
August 25th of '02. August 25th of '02 was the first time I
questioned Ms. White about anything, first time I saw her.
And at that preliminary hearing, I questioned her about some
Pag.49
of these e-mails, some of the -- some that you just saw and
some more I'm going to show you and even more you will see
during the trial, and she realized at that point that what she
had said in the past was going to be an issue, was going to be
a big issue.
And here's the weird thing about this case.
Mr. Parlanti goes to Italy. He's there. And she starts
e-mailing all of his friends. He's working in Italy, gets a
job with a company. And she starts e-mailing all his friends.
And these e-mails, some of his friends have sent them, and she
knows what e-mails she sent because, of course, she wrote
them.
She doesn't provide any of those e-mails until after
she finds out they are at issue. And then all of a sudden,
they miraculously appear at the DA's office. And she says,
"Here they are. I got them now."
And you will see that Ms. White's role in this
investigation is strange at best. I'm going to talk about
that a little bit because that's part of the case, how
Ms. White actually managed this investigation. And the
evidence will be that the person actually running the
investigation was Rebecca White, at least since the Ventura
County DA's office had it.
Here's one of the e-mails I'm talking about, and you
will see the date. This is September 12th, of '02. And these
are the types of e-mails that she would send to people, the
kind of e-mails that kind of make you question about the
validity of her original allegations, that will cause you to
Pag.50
have problems with her credibility.
This e-mail on the 12th, it's written to a former
girlfriend -- at the time was a former girlfriend, current
girlfriend of Mr. Parlanti now, Katia, and I think you may
meet Katia in this trial.
"Katia, you have got to know I am dying on the
inside. Carlo is the best-looking man I have ever seen, the
kindest man on earth when he is not a mean, mean drunk. When
he walked out the door and said good-bye to me for the last
time, I fell to the floor and cried."
Now, see that statement right there is a
contradiction to many other statements she made where she
claims she left Mr. Parlanti. It was her that left
Mr. Parlanti, and she said that repeatedly to the police and
to other people, but this one, she makes it clear that we know
who is leaving now.
"Knowing I would never feel him run his hand over my
face again, kiss my lips, or talk to me in bed in his liquid,
silver voice again. I love him, and he will never get to ever
see or hear from him again. This is killing me. He is only
warmed -- worried about his neck. I have never stopped
worrying about him, not a minute of one day, and he was my
lover and my friend, and he hurt me like I have never been
hurt and then cheated on me. This is a big deal to me.
Becca."
She's angry about being cheated on. He walked out
of her life. I will -- the evidence will be that these types
of statements are inconsistent with a woman who has been
Pag.51
raped. Silver voice. Feeling his touch again.
Let's look at another one. This is on November 16th
of 2002. This is almost, what, almost six months from the
date she alleges -- the new date even -- that she alleged, on
reading it once again to Katia.
"I know you cannot read this well, but Carlo can.
This is my guts and all my feelings. Send this to him, and I
will never write you or him again." You will find that wasn't
true. "Carlo was the best man I've ever known. I've only
slept with five men counting him, and I'm proud to say he was
the wildest, best-looking, smoothest, best cock I will ever
have between my thighs."
Once again, I will propose that saying something
like that about somebody you allege raped you is inconsistent,
doesn't make sense. Can't be true.
"I've learned a lot from him about computers and
such. I've never loved anyone the way I loved him -- or the
way I love him," sorry, "but I have lost the right to be able
to contact my daughter, my grandson or my mother. I lost my
car, credit cards, name, and who I am. Some days, I wish I
could squeeze out his last breath, of Carlo, for all he has do
(sic) to us, but other days I cry for him knowing he is
hurting, too. Tell him to find one woman and stay with her no
matter what and find a way to fight or get rid of his demons.
If he does not, they will kill him and someone else. Yes, he
is a good man, but on one is worth the pain he has caused me
or himself. Tell him I love him and hope he ends up better
Pag.52
than me. My last kiss."
And these e-mails, by the way, will be put into
evidence when Ms. White testifies.
Mr. Parlanti is arrested in Germany in -- sorry --
Germany in '04 on the '02 warrant. There will be no evidence
that he knowledge of the warrant, that he knew the police were
looking for him or anything. He was on business in Germany
when he was arrested.
Rebecca White directs the investigation from about
1/05 through 11/05. And what I mean by this and what the
evidence will be on this is this: Is that Rebecca White would
provide information to the DA's office about witnesses that
all of a sudden came up three years later, witnesses for some
strange reason who all had a relationship to her, who always
she would contact first and provide them to the DA's office
and who subsequently would say things on her behalf, her
friends and her daughter. And they would always go through
her first. These weren't people the DA was independently
finding. These were people that Rebecca White would find and
then provide to the DA. She would provide them, at the time,
to former District Attorney Investigator David Williams;
literally dozens and dozens of e-mails to him, but strange
things would happen.
A lot of times, there will be things that would
contradict her that would occur. Something would come up that
would contradict her, and she would come up with an
explanation. Let me give you a couple of examples during this
period of time. She was confronted with that last e-mail I
Pag.53
showed you, that e-mail. She was confronted with the
statements of that e-mail at the preliminary hearing, and she
didn't know that I had access to it, apparently, when I asked
her the question, and she eventually admitted at the
preliminary hearing she did, in fact, make this statement,
and... let me go back. There we go.
And then afterwards, she would explain an e-mail to
Mr. Williams, "Well, the only reason I said that was because
Mr. Parlanti would make me say things like that to him all the
time." That was her explanation. That's what she wrote in
the e-mail.
Well, okay. She is blaming it on Mr. Parlanti.
That's why she said it, but then you think for a second. Wait
a second there. They had already been a part over six months
when you said it, about six months when you said it. How
could he make you say things like that? And she tried to
rationalize it. She would do these things over and over
again.
back -- how she -- how she said that the reason she reported
it initially, she told the police, the reason she initially
reported this case was because her father, her father, would
not give her money to move unless she reported Mr. Parlanti to
the police. You know, police officer's sitting there, writes
it all down real fast, report gets written. Mr. Romero gets
it. Mr. Romero, of course, wants to talk to the father.
Right? That makes sense. You want to see if this is true.
Pag.54
So, Mr. Romero tries to call the father, and he
actually ends up talking to Ms. White's father on 10/31 of
this year, Halloween of '05. And Ms. White gets wind of the
fact that her father, her father, contradicted her; said, "No,
I never said that. I never said she had to report him. I
never made that statement up."
And she writes an e-mail to Mr. Romero trying to
explain it, saying, "I know I said my father said that, but
really I talked to my mom. And my mom, uhm, was the one who
arranged for this, and she is the one who told me what my dad
said." Out of the blue a new statement just a few months
before the trial starts. A new statement.
On 8/24/05, Mr. Romero and Mr. Williams, right
before the prelim, interviewed Ms. White. And at that time,
she provides two diaries from 2002 and a calendar of events.
Those diaries purport to be what she says happened during a
relevant time period in this case, from approximately March of
'02 through June 29th of '02. That's what the diary is
supposed to be, what she writes, what she says. And a
calendar of events, which, by the way, the calendar ended up
contradicting her on a number of different things, which we
will go into when she testifies, but the diary was purporting
to be, and we will let her describe what they were, but it's
in her handwriting. It purports to be a chronological series
of events of things that happened to her and with Mr. Parlanti
present. And you will know that no violence occurred on
6/29/02 because Ms. White has already told you, told all of
us, actually. I can make that prediction so boldly because
Pag.55
I've read the diary.
On June 29th of '02, this is what she wrote happened
that day. This is in her diary.
"Carlo is very touchy a lot. Everything. I cannot
read him at all. He is drinking tonight. And tells me to
cook for him and beg him to stay. His temper is on edge. He
snaps at me. He calls me names and tells me I am losing. The
other girls are winning, and they are better than me. You see
I want you to stay with me, but the other girls want me too.
You are not staying good" -- I can't make it out -- "keep me
anymore. We fight with words all night again. We fight with
words all night again. In deep hurt to each of us."
"We fight with words." That's what she writes on
the 29th happened. "We fight with words." That's what she
wrote happened on the 29th. Didn't write, "He was violent."
Didn't write, "He beat me." Didn't write, "He slapped me."
Didn't write, "He raped me." Didn't write, "We make love."
She wrote on that day, in her life, this is what occurred, in
her diary.
You will hear an instruction: If a person is
willfully false on a material point of evidence, you have the
right to disbelieve her on everything else. I rarely say this
when I start a trial. I will prove in this case -- I will
prove that Ms. White has been willfully false. I will prove
that. And I will prove it to the point where I get up in my
closing argument, and I'll tell you, and you will say, "Yeah,
you did." I'm telling you now I'll do that. And you are
going to find her willfully false. You are going to find her
Pag.56
incredible, unbelievable, and you are going to find Carlo
Parlanti not guilty of these allegations.
Thank you very much.
THE COURT: Thank you, Mr. Bamieh. Once again, ladies
and gentlemen, the statements of counsel are not evidence.
Please don't confuse them with the evidence, which will
commence when we return from our morning break. We will
recess for 20 minutes. Between now and the time you come back
to court, please don't discuss this case. Please do not form
or express opinions or conclusions about them.
///
(Off record - recess.)
///
THE BAILIFF: Remain seated. Come to order, please.
THE COURT: We are back on the record in the matter of
People versus Parlanti. We have all jurors, both counsel and
the defendant.
Mr. Romero, you may call your first witness.
THE CLERK: Do you solemnly swear that the testimony
you're about to give in the matter now pending before this
court is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth, so help you God?
THE WITNESS: (Inaudible.)
THE COURT REPORTER: Sorry. What did you say, please?
THE WITNESS: "Yes."
THE COURT REPORTER: Thank you.
THE CLERK: Please be seated. Can you, please, state and
spell your name for the record.
Pag.57
W-H-I-T-E.
THE COURT: All right. And present with Ms. White is --
sorry. We have been introduced, but --
MS. RAMIREZ: Mayela Ramirez.
THE COURT: Ms. Ramirez, a victim advocate from the
district attorney's office.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the Penal Code
allows the victim advocate to be present at the witness stand
at the request of the witness in cases of this type, and that
request has been made.
Any further admonition for the jurors requested on
this point by either party?
MR. ROMERO: No, your Honor.
MR. BAMIEH: No, your Honor.
THE COURT: Very well. Let's proceed.
REBECCA WHITE,
having been called as a witness by the People,
was examined and testified as follows:
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. ROMERO:
Q Good morning, Ms. White.
A. Good morning.
Q Do you know a Carlo Parlanti?
A. Yes.
Pag.58
Q And how do you know Mr. Parlanti?
A. We lived together.
Q Before you lived together, did you have any type of
relationship with him?
A. Yes. We were boyfriend/girlfriend.
Q When did you start this relationship?
A. In 2001.
Q Can you give me a month, approximately?
A. Approximately, April.
Q And where did you meet Mr. Parlanti?
A. At Zales.
Q Did you say Zales?
A. Zales in Monterey.
Q What is that?
A. A diamond store.
Q Did you work there?
A. Yes. I was the manager.
Q Can you -- can you explain how you actually came to
meet Mr. Parlanti?
A. He came to the store to have, I believe, a battery
changed in a watch in the beginning.
Q Did he come into the store more than once?
A. Many times, yes.
Q And on those occasions, do you recall what they were
for?
A. To buy a watch, to have many rings sized, to have
diamonds put in a ring.
Q Do you recall if Mr. Parlanti ever came into the
Pag.59
store only to talk to you?
A. No.
Q Approximately, how many times did Mr. Parlanti come
into the store?
A. Approximately, ten times.
Q And at some point -- as you are providing services
of the store to Mr. Parlanti, you, at some point, make
arrangements to meet outside of the store?
A. One -- he would ask me out. He always asked for the
manager because he couldn't remember my name. He would sit
outside my store and make eyes at me and wave at me.
Q Do you recall him doing that?
A. Yes.
Q And you said he asked you for a date on several
occasions?
A. Yes.
Q When he came into the store?
A. Yes.
Q And initially, what did you say?
A. "No."
Q Now, how old were you at the time?
A. Uhm... I'm sorry. I don't remember.
Q How old are you right now?
A. I'm 47.
Q And so, this was back in April of 2001?
A. Yes.
Q So, four years ago?
A. Yes.
Pag.60
So, how old were you back then?
A. 43.
Q At some point, did you accept Mr. Parlanti's offer
for a date?
A. After an employee gave him one of my business cards,
it said, "If you will call me and ask me for lunch, I'll say
yes."
Q So, is that a "yes"? At some point you --
A. Yes.
Q At some point, you went on a date with Mr. Parlanti?
A. Yes.
Q And you had to accept, correct?
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Leading question. Misstates the
evidence.
MR. ROMERO: I think it's -- I'll withdraw my question
and ask it again.
THE COURT: Very well.
Q (By Mr. Romero) When Mr. Parlanti asked you out,
you said "yes"?
A. Yes.
Q And was that in the store or someplace else?
A. In the store.
Q And how many times did you go out with Mr. Parlanti?
A. Many.
Q And this is while you lived where?
A. In Monterey.
Q Did Mr. Parlanti also live in Monterey?
A. Yes.
Pag.61
Q And at some point, did you develop a relationship
with Mr. Parlanti?
A. Yes.
Q At some point, did you move in with Mr. Parlanti?
A. Yes.
Q How long did you date before you moved in with him?
A. Six to seven months.
Q And did you have your own residence before moving in
with him?
A. My daughter and I lived together.
Q Who is your daughter?
A. Heather Christianson-Reeves.
Q Heather Christianson-Reeves?
A. Yes.
Q Now, can you describe what your relationship was,
like, the six to seven months before you moved in with him?
A. I'm not sure what you're asking.
Q Was there any romance in your relationship?
A. Yes, a lot.
Q On whose part?
A. Both.
Q Did you enjoy your time with Mr. Parlanti?
A. Yes, very much so.
Q During those six to seven months before you moved in
with Mr. Parlanti, did Mr. Parlanti physically hit you?
A. No, not that I remember.
Q Do you recall if Mr. Parlanti, during that six to
seven months, touched you in any way inappropriately?
Pag.62
A. No.
Q So, you then move in with -- into Mr. Parlanti's
residence?
A. He lived with me first.
Q With you and your daughter?
A. Yes.
Q For how long?
A. I believe it was two months.
Q Did you fall in love with Mr. Parlanti?
A. Yes, I did.
Q How soon after dating him did you fall in love with
him?
A. Three months after.
Q And did Mr. Parlanti tell you he loved you?
A. Yes, he did.
Q How soon after dating did he tell you that?
A. Approximately the same time.
Q Then you lived with Mr. Parlanti at your apartment
with your daughter for -- I believe you said a couple months?
A. Yes.
Q And then where did you move to?
A. Westlake Village.
Q And that's here in the county of Ventura?
A. Yes.
Q Why did you move to Westlake?
A. I was looking for a job in the L.A. area, and he got
transferred here.
Q From his employment?
Pag.63
A. Yes.
Q Where was he working at the time?
A. Dole Vegetables.
Q Do you know what Mr. Parlanti did at work?
A. Uhm...
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation.
THE COURT: Overruled.
Q (By Mr. Romero) You can answer the question.
A. Not really, no.
Q Do you know what general area he worked in?
A. It was computer-related.
Q Did Mr. Parlanti have a computer at home?
A. Yes.
Q Did he use a computer a lot?
A. Yes.
Q Did he appear to you to be knowledgeable in
computers?
A. Very.
Q During the time before he moved down to Ventura
County, did you continue to work at the jewelry store?
A. I'm sorry?
Q Before moving down to Ventura County, while you were
dating Mr. Parlanti, did you continue to work at the jewelry
store?
A. I resigned right before 9-11.
Q I'm sorry?
A. I resigned right before 9-11.
Q When did you move from Monterey to Ventura County
Pag.64
A. I believe it was in December of 2001.
Q Do you recall the address where you moved to?
A. 201 Triunfo Canyon Road.
Q Is that in the county of Ventura?
A. Yes.
Q City of Westlake?
A. Yes.
Q How long did you live with Mr. Parlanti at that
Westlake address?
A. Until July 2002.
Q Now, did you see a change in your relationship with
Mr. Parlanti from the time you were dating him and living in
Monterey to going back -- or moving down to Westlake?
A. Yes.
Q What kind of change was that?
A. He became more possessive.
Q Can you describe for the jury what you mean by "more
possessive"?
A. He didn't allow me to talk with anyone but him.
Q You mean, he didn't let you talk to any other people
or anyone in particular?
A. He didn't let me make eye contact with neighbors or
going outside the apartment except with him.
Q Did Mr. Parlanti say anything about the clothing you
wore?
A. No.
Q Did Mr. Parlanti say anything to you about makeup?
A. No.
Pag.65
Q Did you, while living in the apartment in Westlake,
have contact with any friends that you had in Monterey?
A. Through telephone and e-mail, yes.
Q And what -- who were they?
A. I had a previous boyfriend, Lance Young; uhm, Kanika
Smith was a previous employee; my daughter, Heather; Margie
Tuck from my home town, childhood friend.
Q Where is your home town?
A. Ardmore, Oklahoma.
Debra that lived in Dallas, Fort Worth area.
Q Debra?
A. Debra.
THE COURT: Ms. White, could I ask you to scoot up a
little forward so you're right in front of the microphone?
I'm having a little bit of trouble hearing you.
THE WITNESS: I'm sorry, sir.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Anyone else you can recall?
A. There were others. I just -- I can't remember them
at this moment. I'm sorry. I'm a little nervous.
Q That's fine. I'll ask another question. While you
were living in the Westlake area, did you have any friends or
family visit you?
A. Only my daughter.
Q How many times has your daughter -- and I believe
that's Heather Christianson-Reeves?
A. Yes.
Q How many --
A. She visited several times.
Pag.66
Q And she would come down from the Monterey area?
A. Yes.
Q Now, while you're living with Mr. Parlanti, from
December of 2001 to July of 2002, during that time, was
Mr. Parlanti physically abusive?
A. I'm sorry. Ask that one more time.
Q Between -- during the time you were living with
Mr. Parlanti in Westlake, was he physically abusive?
A. At times when he was drinking, yes.
Q What would he drink?
A. Wine.
Q Was that his drink of choice?
A. Yes.
Q Any particular feelings come over you when you saw
Mr. Parlanti drinking wine?
A. Would be kind of scared at times, yes.
Q Why is that?
A. Because I never knew what he would do.
Q Well, while Mr. Parlanti was drinking or after he
had consumed wine, did he become physically abusive with you?
A. Most of the time, it was verbal, but at times, he
was physical, yes.
Q Can you describe what you mean by physical?
He slapped me once to the point of making my nose bleed.
Q Okay. Now, were you aware that Mr. Parlanti had
some type of legal proceeding he was involved in, in Monterey
County?
Pag.67
A. Yes.
Q And did that begin before you started dating him?
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation. Calls for
speculation.
THE COURT: Lacks foundation. Sustained.
Q (By Mr. Romero) When you started dating him --
strike that.
How soon after dating him did you learn of that?
A. Within a month.
Q And is that something he told you he was involved
before dating you?
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Leading.
THE COURT: Overruled.
A. I'm sorry. Ask one more time.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Did Mr. Parlanti tell you that he
was involved in that litigation before dating you?
A. No.
Q Without giving me any specifics, yes or no, did you
ever talk to Mr. Parlanti about the legal proceedings?
A. Yes.
Q Often?
A. Yes.
Q Did you try and help Mr. Parlanti with his legal
proceedings?
A. Yes.
Q Did you try and provide emotional support for
Mr. Parlanti?
A. Constantly.
Pag.68
Q Now, I know you're not a lawyer, but can you tell me
what did you do to help him?
A. I helped obtain attorneys. I put together legal
material as it was gathered together. I gave him emotional
support. I did research for him.
Q Okay. Did you have contact with his attorneys?
A. On a daily basis, yes.
Q Did you have more contact with his attorneys than
Mr. Parlanti?
A. Yes, I did.
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Calls for speculation.
THE COURT: Sustained.
MR. BAMIEH: Motion to strike.
THE COURT: The answer is stricken. The jurors are to
disregard.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Did Mr. Parlanti direct you to have
contact with his attorneys?
A. Yes.
Q At any point, did Mr. Parlanti direct that the
attorneys only have contact with you?
A. Yes.
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation.
THE COURT: Sustained.
MR. BAMIEH: Motion to strike.
THE COURT: Answer is stricken. The jurors are to
disregard.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Now, during the time you're living
with Mr. Parlanti in Westlake, did you keep a diary?
Pag.69
A. Yes.
Q Did you keep more than one?
A. I kept two.
Q Why did you keep two?
A. One personal diary and one for Carlo, for his court
trial.
Q What do you mean "for his court trial"?
A. His attorney asked me to keep one for his emotional
stability.
Q Okay. And then you kept your own, personal diary?
A. Yes.
Q Was Mr. Parlanti aware of any of these -- strike
that.
Did you tell Mr. Parlanti about any of these
proceedings?
A. He knew about the one for the court.
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation.
THE COURT: Overruled.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Did you ever show Mr. Parlanti the
diary you kept for his legal proceedings?
A. Yes, he knew about it.
Q Did you ever --
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation.
THE COURT: Overruled.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Now, the second diary that you
kept, this is your own, personal diary?
A. Yes.
Q Did you include in this diary any instances where
Pag.70
Mr. Parlanti was physically abusive with you?
A. Yes.
MR. ROMERO: May I approach the witness, your Honor?
THE COURT: Yes.
Q (By Mr. Romero) I'm going to show you what's been
marked as People's No. 25.
Can you take a look at People's No. 25 just for a
second?
A. (Witness complies.)
Q Do you recognize what People's No. 25 is?
A. Yes. It's my diary.
Q And which diary is this?
A. I believe this is my personal diary.
Q Now, I want you --
MR. BAMIEH: May I see the exhibit, please?
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. ROMERO: Can you, please, hand that to Mr. Bamieh?
MR. BAMIEH: Thank you.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Now Ms. White, I'm going to ask you
to jump ahead a little bit.
Can you look at your entry for June 29th of the year
2002?
A. Okay.
Q Now, take a moment and read that entry to yourself.
A. (Witness complies.)
MR. BAMIEH: Your Honor, may we approach on this?
THE COURT: Yes.
///
Pag.71
(Bench conference held off the record.)
///
THE COURT: All right. Thank you, gentlemen. Let's
proceed.
MR. ROMERO: Thank you.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Ms. White, did you get an
opportunity to read your June 29, 2002 entry?
A. May I have just a second, please?
Q Please, do.
A. Yes.
Q Is that one page of that journal, that entry?
A. Yes.
Q Now, on June 29th of 2002, did Mr. Parlanti
physically touch you?
A. Yes.
Q On June 29th of 2002, did Mr. Parlanti sexually
assault you?
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Leading.
THE COURT: Overruled.
THE WITNESS: Yes.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Now, that entry that you just read,
of June 29, 2002, makes no mention of any physical abuse or
sexual abuse, correct?
A. Correct.
Q Why not?
A. This was written before the abuse.
Q What time approximately did the abuse take place?
A. After 9 o'clock.
Pag.72
Q And you made that entry before being touched by
Mr. Parlanti?
A. Yes.
Q Thank you.
Now, would you characterize Mr. Parlanti as being a
smart guy?
A. Yes. He's very intelligent.
Q Does he speak several languages?
A. Yes.
Q How do you feel about Mr. Parlanti's affections
towards you?
A. I'm sorry, again.
Q How did you feel about Mr. Parlanti -- Parlanti's
affections towards you?
A. At the time, I thought he loved me.
Q Did you love Mr. Parlanti?
A. Yes, very deeply.
Q Would you do anything to show Mr. Parlanti that you
loved him?
A. Yes.
Q What would you do?
A. At that time, basically anything he wanted.
Q I'm sorry?
A. At that time, basically anything he wanted.
Q Would Mr. Parlanti -- yes or no, would Mr. Parlanti
specifically ask you to do things?
A. Yes.
Q During this relationship that you had with
Pag.73
Mr. Parlanti, is it your understanding that Mr. Parlanti was
not going to be dating anyone else?
A. Yes.
Q Did you believe during your relationship with him
that he was being unfaithful?
A. Yes.
Q And what made you believe that?
A. Conversations and times he was gone on business
trips.
Q Prior to June 29th of 2002, did Mr. Parlanti admit
to you that he had been unfaithful?
A. Yes.
Q Prior to June 29, 2002, were you present when
Mr. Parlanti was speaking to other women?
A. Yes.
Q And where did this take place?
A. In the apartment, in the office.
Q I'm sorry. You said in an apartment and in an
office.
Is that two separate locations?
A. In our apartment, in the office.
Q Can you describe your apartment?
A. You mean, room by room?
Q Well, I'll tell you what, why don't we open up --
MR. ROMERO: May I approach again, your Honor?
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. ROMERO: Let me open this up and have you draw a
diagram for the jury. Just for the record, we are going to
Pag.74
refer to this as People's No. 26.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Can you grab a marker, and take
your time, and just diagram out as approximately as you can
what your apartment in Westlake -- the layout of it was? You
don't have to be very specific. If you can just lay out the
rooms.
A. Is that good enough?
Q Okay. You can have a seat.
So, you drew out, on People's 26, looks like a -- a
square, close enough, and some writing inside the square; is
that correct?
A. Yes.
Q How many bedrooms did this apartment have?
A. Two.
Q And can you point out where the two bedrooms are on
this chart?
A. (Witness complies.)
Q Can you put a "B" inside what would be the bedrooms?
A. (Witness complies.)
Q And was one of those bedrooms an office?
A. (Inaudible.)
Q Is that a yes? I need you to speak up.
A. Yes. This is the office.
Q And the second bedroom, who occupied that bedroom?
A. Carlo and I did.
Q And at the top portion of the square that you drew,
can you briefly tell the jury what that is?
A. Here?
Pag.75
Q Yes.
A. This is the kitchen.
MR. BAMIEH: Excuse me. Has that been marked, that
exhibit?
MR. ROMERO: People's 26.
A. This is the living room, the second bathroom, master
bedroom, and this is his -- his closet. And this is the
hallway. This is out of proportion.
Q (By Mr. Romero) That's fine. Can you put an "RW"
on the lower, right-hand corner so we can keep a record in the
lower, right-hand corner of the entire piece of paper? So we
can have a record that that is your diagram?
A. (Witness complies.)
Q Now, you drew that there was a master bedroom, which
is much larger than the second bedroom used as an office; is
that correct?
A. Yes.
Q Did you share that bedroom with Mr. Parlanti?
A. Yes.
Q Did anyone else live with you and Mr. Parlanti
during the time you stayed there?
A. No.
Q Now, you testified that you were present when
Mr. Parlanti was talking to other women; is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q How would they communicate with him?
A. Depended on who he was talking to.
Q What forms of communication would he use?
Pag.76
A. He was flirtatious.
Q I'm sorry. I meant physically.
What would he use to talk to other women?
A. Telephone.
Q Did he did use anything else?
A. I'm not sure what you're asking.
Q Did he use e-mail?
A. Oh, yes.
Q Did he write letters?
A. No.
Q How many -- how often would this happen in your
relationship with him?
A. Not that often.
Q Did you have an understanding that Mr. Parlanti was
supposed to not date any other women while in this
relationship with you?
A. Yes. He actually told me once he would not do that.
MR. BAMIEH: I'm sorry. I didn't hear the answer.
THE WITNESS: He actually said he would not do that,
once.
Q (By Mr. Romero) That he would not date other women?
A. Yes.
Q Did you ask him to stop dating other women?
A. Uhm... I don't remember.
Q Did Mr. Parlanti go on any business trips while you
were living in Thousand Oaks or -- excuse me -- Westlake?
A. Many, yes.
Q How often?
Pag.77
A. It varied. At least -- probably one a month.
Q What types -- where would he go?
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation. Calls for
hearsay.
THE COURT: Sustained on the first ground.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Where would he tell you he was
going?
A. I kept his appointment book. I generally knew where
he was going.
Q Do you remember if he left the county of Ventura?
A. Yes.
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation.
THE COURT: Sustained.
MR. BAMIEH: Motion to strike.
THE COURT: The answer is stricken. The jurors will
disregard.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Did he tell you he was leaving the
county of Ventura?
A. Yes.
Q Did he give you any specific names of cities he was
going to?
A. Yes.
Q Do you recall any of them?
A. He -- he went to Asia. He went to Mexico, Gulfport,
Denver. That's all I can remember right now.
Q Do you remember if he made any trips to Europe?
A. Not that I remember while we lived there.
Q During the times where -- when he was away from the
Pag.78
residence, would you talk to him?
A. Yes.
Q That was by phone?
A. Always.
Q By e-mail?
A. Yes.
Q During any of these conversations, did Mr. Parlanti
tell you he was with any other women?
A. No.
Q Did you believe that Mr. Parlanti may be spending
time with other women?
A. Not until he would bring it up.
Q Mr. Parlanti would bring it up?
A. Yes.
Q Other women?
A. Yes.
Q And when would he do this?
A. During arguments.
Q During arguments while he was away?
A. No. When he'd come home.
Q Now, during the time you lived in Westlake, you
indicated that you had your daughter come and visit?
A. Yes.
Q Would you go out with your daughter with the
defendant?
A. Yes.
Pag.79
Q How many times did that take place?
A. That I remember, twice.
Q And where would you go?
A. Out to eat.
Q And do you recall if Mr. Parlanti would consume any
alcohol when you went out to eat?
A. I'm sorry. I couldn't hear you over the rustling.
Q Do you recall if Mr. Parlanti consumed any alcohol
when you went out to eat?
A. Always.
Q Now, specifically, when you went out with your
daughter, do you remember Mr. Parlanti consuming alcohol?
A. Yes.
Q And where did you spend the night the times you went
out with your daughter and Mr. Parlanti?
A. In our apartment.
Q So, you came back to your apartment?
A. Yes.
Q Did your daughter stay overnight at your apartment
as well?
A. Yes.
Q During the times that your daughter spent the night,
do you recall if Mr. Parlanti was physically violent with you?
A. Never.
Q When was Mr. Parlanti -- strike that.
During the times that Mr. Parlanti was physically
violent with you, was anyone else present?
A. Never.
Pag.80
Q And where did that take place where he was
physically violent with you?
A. Always in the apartment.
Q What was Mr. Parlanti's --
MR. ROMERO: If we reached the noon hour, this is a good
place to break.
THE COURT: Is it?
MR. ROMERO: Yeah.
THE COURT: All right. Then we will. Folks, we will
resume this trial at 1:30 this afternoon. Between now and the
time you come back to court, please don't discuss the case.
Please do not form or express opinions in the matter. I will
see you back here at 1:30 p.m. The court is in recess until
then.
(Off record - lunch recess.)
--oOo--
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Pag.81
VENTURA, CALIFORNIA; THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2005
P.M. SESSION
--oOo--
THE COURT: Counsel.
MR. ROMERO: Your Honor, just a brief matter. I have --
and I don't know what exhibit it's marked as. It's a
calendar. Well, there's two calendars, the months of June and
July, People's No. 23, of 2002. And I just ask the Court to
take judicial notice of those dates, and I don't think there's
any opposition by counsel.
THE COURT: I don't have a reference calendar to work
from. Are you both satisfied they are correct?
MR. BAMIEH: Not yet, but I'm sure I can figure it out.
My 2002 calendar is my other pants, so...
THE COURT: Okay. I'll go back to 2002 here. In order
for me to take judicial notice of something, I have to verify
if I think it's true. If you folks agree, I will need time to
get a calendar to do that, but I can look at one on Denise's
copy of Windows.
MR. BAMIEH: That's fine.
THE COURT: What's fine?
MR. BAMIEH: Denise's copy of Windows is fine.
THE COURT: The first is a Saturday, and then July.
Okay. And that's exhibit what?
MR. ROMERO: 23, I believe.
THE CLERK: Yes.
THE COURT: Notice is taken that the dates on Exhibit 23
Pag.82
are correct.
Anything else before we bring the jurors in?
MR. ROMERO: That's it, your Honor.
THE COURT: Let's get them started in.
Counsel, these are the things that can be done in
advance. I no longer want to take the jury's time while we
sort out little housekeeping matters.
THE BAILIFF: Jury is coming in.
THE COURT: Thanks.
THE CLERK: Mr. Romero, your witness.
MR. ROMERO: You want me to put her back on the stand?
THE COURT: Counsel, are we going to be using the
projector with this witness?
MR. ROMERO: We are, your Honor.
MR. BAMIEH: My examination, I would like to.
THE COURT: Okay. Will you be doing that, Mr. Romero?
MR. ROMERO: I will be using the ELMO, yes, your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. All right then. We are back on the
record in the case of People versus Parlanti. We have all of
our jurors, both counsel and the defendant and our witness.
You can resume your direct, Mr. Romero.
MR. ROMERO: Thank you.
CONTINUED DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. ROMERO:
Q Ms. White, I believe we were talking about, among
other things, some trips that the defendant would go on,
Pag.83
business trips.
Do you recall that?
A. Yes.
Q How often would Mr. Parlanti go on business trips?
A. About one a month.
Q And would you go with him?
A. No.
Q Would you ask to go with him?
A. No.
Q Did Mr. Parlanti offer for you to go with him?
A. Sometimes.
Q Did you decline to go?
A. No. He would -- he would decide I couldn't go at
the last moment.
Q So, he would offer you to go and then change his
mind?
A. Yes.
Q Can you give me an example?
A. Like when he went to Denver.
MR. BAMIEH: I'll object as to relevancy, your Honor.
THE COURT: Overruled. You can answer.
A. He planned for me to go with him, like to Denver,
and then the week before, he told me I was not deserving to
go.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Did he give you a reason as to why
you were not deserving?
A. I wasn't pleasing him.
Q Sorry. What wasn't pleasing him?
Pag.84
A. My actions.
Q Meaning, you didn't earn the right to go?
A. Correct.
Q Is that something that would happen frequently?
A. Yes.
Q Did he make any demands of you in terms of your
conduct?
A. He was speaking about me helping him with his trial.
Q So, would he make a determination about something?
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Calls for speculation, your
Honor.
THE COURT: It may. I'm not sure what's being asked.
Sustained.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Would he ask you to do certain
things for him so that you could go on the trips?
A. Yes.
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Leading, your Honor.
THE COURT: Overruled.
Q (By Mr. Romero) You can answer.
A. Yes.
Q What types of things did he ask you to do?
A. I never could meet his expectation.
Q My question to you is: What types of things would
he ask you to do?
A. Uhm... he was trying to get me to find a way to get
the charges dropped against him, which that's not -- that's
out of my control.
Q He would -- would he set any requirements of things
Pag.85
you would have to do before you could go?
A. Get an appointment with a senator, a congressman,
things of this nature.
Q He would ask you to do that?
A. Yes.
Q Regarding his legal issues?
A. Yes.
Q In one way -- I'm sorry. You need to wait until I
finish my question before you answer.
A. I'm sorry.
Q So, often, right before he left on business trips,
he would tell you at that point that you could not go?
A. Correct.
Q And he would have a reason of you not doing
something; is that correct?
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Calls for a leading question.
Also lacks foundation.
THE COURT: It's leading. Sustained.
Q (By Mr. Romero) While he was gone, did he require
you to do anything?
A. Yes. He would tell me to find ways to make up for
not pleasing him so I could go on the next trip.
Q Did he give you assignments to do?
A. Yes, he did.
Q What did he -- what did he ask you to do?
A. Uhm... some of them had nothing to do with the
trial. Like, he would assign me to watch... movies and make
reports about them.
Pag.86
Q What types of movies?
A. Sexual movies.
Q You mean, like, pornography?
A. Yes, I am sorry. I couldn't remember what they were
called. Yes.
Q How often would he do this?
A. Very often.
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Not relevant, your Honor.
THE COURT: Overruled.
Q (By Mr. Romero) How often?
THE COURT: Your answer, ma'am.
THE WITNESS: Frequently.
Q (By Mr. Romero) On most trips that he would be
gone?
A. Yes.
Q And would you actually write reports on the movies
you saw?
A. No. Because I didn't understand what he was wanting
me to do.
Q Would you talk about the movies you saw when he
returned?
A. No, but we watched them together.
Q Is this something you -- strike that.
Now, you have testified that you tried to assist
Mr. Parlanti with his legal issues, correct?
A. Yes.
Q Do you recall in regards to that e-mailing anyone?
A. I e-mailed his past girlfriends, his attorneys, his
Pag.87
detective that he hired, uhm... and whoever he told me to
e-mail.
Q So, you did that at his request?
A. Yes.
Q And what was the purpose of e-mailing these people?
A. Finding out information, giving information, setting
appointments.
Q For what?
A. For meetings, information for the upcoming trial,
just whatever he needed.
Q Would you ask the people that you e-mailed to do
something?
A. Yes.
Q What would you ask them?
A. The girlfriends of past, I asked them to -- if they
could write a letter asking if he had ever, uhm... for a
character witness letter.
Q Now, didn't you think this was strange that
Mr. Parlanti would ask you to do this?
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Irrelevant, your Honor.
THE COURT: Overruled.
THE WITNESS: Not at that time, no.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Did you think it was strange that
he would ask you to watch pornographic movies and write
reports?
A. Yes.
Q Did you watch the movies while you were alone and he
was away?
Pag.88
A. I -- I did in the beginning. They made me
uncomfortable.
Q Did you watch more than one?
A. No. Just one.
Q Just one. When you watched them with Mr. Parlanti,
did that make you uncomfortable?
A. Yes.
Q Why did you do it?
A. Because I loved him, and I did what he wanted.
Q How old was Mr. Parlanti when you started dating
him?
A. Uhm... I believe he was 37.
Q Did Mr. Parlanti make any promises regarding you and
him being together?
A. Promises, no.
MR. BAMIEH: Sorry. I couldn't hear that answer. May I
have that answer?
THE WITNESS: Promises, no.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Did Mr. Parlanti talk to you while
living in Westlake about moving to another location?
A. Yes.
Q Where was that?
A. Malibu.
Q Any other places?
A. Mexico.
Q Why Mexico?
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Calls -- lacks foundation.
THE COURT: Overruled.
Pag.89
THE WITNESS: Cheaper place to live.
Q (By Mr. Romero) So, who was making money at this
time?
A. Carlo.
Q Were you working?
A. No.
Q Why weren't you working?
A. Uhm... basically, I was taking care of Carlo and
helping him with his trial.
Q When you say taking care of Mr. Parlanti, what do
you mean?
A. Uhm... I was there at his beckoning call.
Q That's how you would characterize it?
A. Yes.
Q You consider yourself an intelligent woman?
A. Yes.
Q Why would you be at his beck and call?
A. In the beginning, I looked for a job. I had a job.
I got fired because he would call me and tell me he was
depressed or sick, begged me to come home, and I would get in
trouble with my boss. And then she called me one night and
asked me to come to work, and I told her I couldn't because
Carlo was depressed. And she said, "You will come to work or
you will be fired." And I chose to stay home with him because
he said he was depressed. So, that was the first job I lost.
And after that, every interview I had that he knew I
ever had, he either got depressed or was sick that day, and I
was unable to go to my interview.
Pag.90
MR. BAMIEH: Object to that answer as vague as to time in
terms of when this occurred.
THE COURT: Overruled. It's a responsive answer. You
can clear it up on cross if you need to.
Q (By Mr. Romero) And this happened throughout the
time you were living in Westlake?
A. Yes.
Q Just so I'm clear, are you testifying that you chose
to stay home and be with Mr. Parlanti rather than work?
A. Yes.
Q And why did you do that?
A. Because I felt he needed me.
Q You said Mr. Parlanti would tell you he was feeling
depressed?
A. Yes.
Q Can you tell me specifically what you saw him doing
that gave you that impression?
A. Well, he... I took him to a psychiatrist. He was
supposed to be on antidepressant medicine. I know that
because I picked it up for him. At other times, I took him --
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation, your Honor.
THE COURT: Overruled on that ground.
THE WITNESS: I took him to the pharmacy to pick it up
several other times. Uhm... he would call, like, mini
breakdowns. He would sleep for days and not wake up. He
would curl up in a fetal position and suck his thumb. He
cried a lot. I would consider that depressed.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Was he drinking during this time?
Pag.91
A. Not always.
Q Sometimes?
A. Sometimes.
Q Now, you said he was -- you would see him sucking
his thumb?
A. Yes.
Q How often would that happen?
A. During the highly stress times.
Q And where would he be when he did this?
A. In bed.
Q Would you characterize that as a childish behavior?
A. Yes.
Q Did you observe Mr. Parlanti do any other childish
behaviors?
A. When he was drinking, he cried a lot. He wet the
bed many times.
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Relevancy, your Honor.
THE COURT: You have a theory of relevance, Mr. Romero?
MR. ROMERO: I do, your Honor.
THE COURT: I'll take it at the bench.
///
(Bench conference held off the record.)
///
THE COURT: Let's proceed. The objection is overruled.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Ms. White, when Mr. Parlanti would
wet the bed, was he awake or was he sleeping?
A. Both.
Q And who would change the sheets?
Pag.92
A. I did.
Q And then you talked about some physical abuse that
you had suffered at the hands of Mr. Parlanti, correct?
A. Yes.
Q Did you include that in the diary you were keeping
for yourself?
A. Yes.
Q Now, you've also talked about some sexual abuse.
Did Mr. Parlanti, during the time you were living
with him in Westlake, sexually abuse you?
A. Only once.
Q And when did that happen?
A. June 29th.
Q Before June 29th, were you and Mr. Parlanti engaged
in sexual relations, correct?
A. Yes.
Q And during the sexual relations, was there any
infliction of pain by either one of you?
A. At times, he had beaten me, yes.
Q Can you clarify a little more? What do you mean?
A. At times before, he had beaten me with a belt.
Q Okay. And just so -- to make sure you understand my
question, I'm talking specifically about during actual sex.
Did Mr. Parlanti inflict any physical pain on you?
A. Yes.
Q And what would he use?
Q And how would he use the belt?
Pag.93
A. I'm not sure what you're asking me.
Q How would he inflict pain with the belt?
A. First time, he tied -- he handcuffed my hands behind
my back.
Q And then what did he do?
A. He spanked me with the belt. It was a joke, the
first time. And I told him I didn't like it.
Q Where did he spank you?
A. On my buttocks.
Q And you told him you didn't like it?
A. Yes.
Q Did you make any requests regarding future use of
the belt?
A. No.
Q Was that the only time he used the belt during sex?
A. No.
Q Approximately, how many more times did he use the
belt?
A. I would say maybe two more times.
Q And how would he use those two other times?
A. Uhm... I can remember specifically one time he had
the belt hidden on his side of the bed. During a sexual
intercourse, he pulled it out from under the mattress. The
mattress laid flat on the bed. We did not have a bed. And he
pulled it out from under the mattress as I sat on top of him
and began to beat my breast with it.
Q Just so we are clear, the mattress was lying
directly on the floor?
Pag.94
A. Yes.
Q And he had the belt -- or you saw him get a belt
from underneath the mattress?
A. Yes.
Q And what did he do with the belt?
A. He began to beat my breast with the belt.
Q How many times did he strike your breast with the
belt?
A. Maybe five times.
Q Were your hands free?
A. He's holding my hands behind my back.
Q With just one hand?
A. He's a very strong man, yes.
Q How big is Mr. Parlanti? How much does he weigh?
Q How tall is he?
A. Six-foot.
Q And at the time, how much did you weigh?
A. Approximately 162.
Q And how much -- how tall were you?
A. 5'6".
Q Fair to say Mr. Parlanti is much stronger than you?
A. Yes.
Q Do you remember what hand he used to hold your hands
behind your back?
A. He's right-handed. So, I would say his left.
Q And he had the belt in his right hand?
A. Yes.
Pag.95
Q During the times that he hit you, did you tell him
to stop?
A. Yes.
Q How many times?
A. Every time he struck me with the belt, it hurt.
Q Did you cry?
A. Yes.
Q Do you recall if you wrote this in your diary?
A. I don't recall if I wrote it in my diary, but I can
tell you when it was.
Q My question to you is: Do you recall if you wrote
that in your diary?
A. I don't recall.
Q During this time, did -- after Mr. Parlanti struck
you with the belt, was there anymore use of that belt on this
specific occasion?
A. No.
Q I believe you said there was one other?
A. Yes.
Q What happened then?
A. It was, uhm... I believe when he returned from
Mexico, one of his trips.
Q What happened?
A. We were playing on the bed, and he was tickling me
with a tie, and I was blind folded. He tied me with a tie,
and he beat me with a belt.
Q Where did he hit you with the belt?
A. On my arms.
Pag.96
Q How many times did he hit you?
A. Ten to 15 times, approximately.
Q During any of these incidences that you've
described, did he leave any injuries on you?
A. Yes.
Q Every time or sometimes?
A. Every time.
Q Did you take any photographs of these times you've
been describing?
A. No.
Q And approximately, when did they happen?
A. The time he beat my breast was Mother's Day weekend.
Q Why do you recall that?
A. Because I was angry that he did it. It hurt. And I
drove up that weekend to see my daughter in Monterey, and I
went to his psychiatrist's office, Dr. Stencil, the next day.
Q That's fine, Ms. White.
My question to you is: Approximately, when did
these incidents occur?
You said one when he beat your breasts was about
Mother's Day?
A. Uhm-hum.
Q The other instances?
A. The other, uhm... I don't know the -- the month.
It's just when he would come back from Mexico.
Q And this was during the time you were living at the
Westlake apartment?
A. Yes.
Pag.97
Q Let me direct your attention to June 29th of the
year 2002.
Do you recall being home on that day?
A. Yes.
Q And do you recall if Mr. Parlanti was there?
A. Yes.
Q Do you recall if at any time on that day anyone else
was in your apartment?
A. Yes. My daughter, my grandson, my mother, and my
daughter's boyfriend came to visit.
Q And this daughter, is this Heather Reeves
Christianson?
A. Yes. That's my only child.
Q And your mother.
What's your mother's name?
A. Pat McKay.
Q And I believe your grandson?
A. Yes.
Q What is his name?
A. Tristan Christianson.
Q And you said at the time, your daughter's boyfriend
was also there?
A. Derrick Reeves, which is now her husband.
Q Now, what time -- strike that.
How long were all these people in your apartment?
A. Derrick dropped them off. He didn't stay.
Q Derrick Reeves?
A. Yes.
Pag.98
Q And how long were they there?
until about 3:00.
Q And you were socializing with your family?
A. Yes.
Q And approximately, what time did they leave?
A. About 3:00.
Q In the afternoon?
A. Yes. Correct.
Q And Mr. Parlanti was there the entire time?
A. Yes.
Q Was there any drinking going on while they were
there?
A. No.
Q After they left, was there any drinking?
A. Yes.
Q By whom?
A. Carlo.
Q Did you do any drinking?
A. I had one glass of wine.
Q Did you see how many glasses of wine Mr. Parlanti
consumed?
A. He consumed the rest of the two-liter bottle of
wine.
THE COURT: Sorry. I couldn't hear the first part of the
your answer, ma'am.
THE WITNESS: He consumed the rest of the two-liter
bottle of wine.
Pag.99
THE COURT: Thank you.
Q (By Mr. Romero) And where was Mr. Parlanti, if you
recall, while he was consuming the wine?
A. In the office.
Q Was he working?
A. Yes.
Q Did you have any conversations with him as he
consumed this liter of wine we are talking about?
A. Yes.
Q Was it a pleasant conversation?
A. No.
Q Was there any yelling?
A. Yes.
Q By whom? By you or Mr. Parlanti?
A. Mr. Parlanti.
Q Do you remember if you were avoiding him?
A. Uhm... I didn't avoid him. I just didn't talk.
Q Was he asking you questions?
A. Yes.
Q And you did not respond?
A. Correct.
Q Why didn't you respond?
A. I don't like to argue.
Q You don't like to argue or you don't like to argue
with Mr. Parlanti?
A. Both.
Q Did it cause you any concern that Mr. Parlanti was
consuming wine and yelling?
Pag.100
A. Concerned me that he was drinking more than one
liter of wine, yes.
Q So, you saw him consume more than one liter?
A. Yes.
Q Total that night, how much did you see him consume?
A. Through the whole evening?
Q Yes.
A. Four liters.
MR. BAMIEH: Sorry. I didn't hear that.
THE WITNESS: Four liters.
after 3 o'clock, and your family has left?
A. Yes.
Q So, did you have all of these four liters in your
apartment?
A. No.
Q Where did they come from?
A. When my family left, we went to the grocery store
and bought the two liters with the groceries.
Q Did Mr. Parlanti go with you?
A. Yes. And then we came back, cooked. He consumed
the two liters. And then I -- he sent me out to the 7-eleven,
and I bought another two-liter.
Q Did he send you back out to 7-eleven after he
consumed the initial two liters you purchased at the store?
A. Yes.
Q Did you actually see him consume the two liters?
A. Yes.
Pag.101
Q When you got back from 7-eleven, when you walked
into your apartment, where was Mr. Parlanti?
A. Setting at his desk.
Q In the office?
A. Yes.
Q Did you have a conversation with him at that time?
A. Yes.
Q What was Mr. Parlanti's demeanor at that time?
A. He was angry and frustrated.
Q What makes you say that?
A. His posture.
Q Sorry?
A. His posture.
Q Was he saying anything?
A. He told me to get away from him.
Q Did he yell when he said that?
A. Yes.
Q What did you do?
A. I thought he meant get out of the room. So, I went
to bed.
Q You went into the master bedroom?
A. Yes.
Q And you got into the bed?
A. Yes. I got dressed for bed and went to bed.
Q When you say you got dressed for bed, did you change
your clothes?
A. Yes.
Q What did you put on?
Pag.102
A. A camisole and boxer shorts.
Q Did you get under the blankets?
A. Yes.
Q And did you stay in the bedroom?
A. Yes.
Q Did you fall asleep?
A. No.
Q Did Mr. Parlanti come into the room?
A. Yes.
Q How much time past before he came into the room?
A. Several minutes.
Q Did you actually see him come into the room?
A. Yes.
Q Did he say anything when he initially came into the
room?
A. Yes, he did.
Q What did he say?
A. That's -- "Rebecca, that's not what I meant." And
he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out of the bed. "I
meant for you to leave."
Q What did you do in response?
A. I was shocked. And I said, "Let me get dressed."
Q You were willing to leave?
A. Yes. I knew he was angry, and I was scared.
Q When you say he grabbed you out of the bed, what did
he do physically to you?
A. He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me up out of the
bed.
Pag.103
Q Did you resist him?
A. No.
Q When you told him that you would leave, did you try
and leave?
A. I tried to get dressed.
Q Were you able to get dressed?
A. No.
Q What prevented you?
A. He still had a hold of me.
Q How did he get a hold of you?
A. He still has a hold of my arm. He's scurrying me
toward the front door.
Q When you say "scurrying," can you describe --
A. Rushing --
Q I'm sorry. You need to wait until I'm done.
When you say "scurrying," can you describe
physically what he was doing?
A. He's holding -- he's holding a hold of my arm and
physically taking me to the front door.
Q Is he standing in front of you or behind you?
A. Behind me.
Q Is he pulling you or pushing you towards the front
door?
A. Pushing.
Q Does he get you to the front door?
A. Yes.
Q And what happens at the front door?
A. He begins to push my head against -- bang my head
Pag.104
against the bulletin board on the front door.
Q When you say a "bulletin board," do you mean like a
cork board where you can hang paper or pictures?
A. Yes.
Q Now, on the People's Exhibit -- and I think that's
27, that is the diagram that you drew, can you get up and show
the jury where you and Mr. Parlanti moved from the bedroom to
the front door?
A. You mean draw?
Q I want you to use a different color marker than you
initially drew your diagram with and start in the bedroom
where you were pulled out of bed.
A. (Witness complies.)
Q And approximately, how far away -- how far did
Mr. Parlanti and you move from the bedroom to the door?
A. Uhm... I'm not sure how to answer that. I don't
know how many feet that is.
Q Is it a big apartment?
A. It's pretty good sized.
Q Would you say the distance from where you're
standing is to where the double doors are, the glass double
doors?
A. Yes.
Q Are you good at approximating how many feet?
A. No. Sorry.
MR. ROMERO: Your Honor, do we have a diagram as to how
far that distance is?
THE COURT: From where to where?
Pag.105
MR. ROMERO: From the witness stand to the beginning of
the double doors?
THE COURT: No. From the wall by where the witness is
standing to the double doors is 45 feet, according to this
hearsay diagram of unknown origin that came with the
courtroom.
MR. ROMERO: Okay.
Q Well, you said that you can't approximate how much
feet, correct?
A. Correct.
Q So, then you said Mr. Parlanti moved you to the
front door, and he banged your head into something that was
hanging on the wall?
A. Correct.
Q Where was that item hanging on the wall?
A. Right here. Right by the door.
Q Could you put a circle right there.
A. (Witness complies.)
Q You can sit down, Ms. White.
A. (Witness complies.)
what exactly did he do?
A. He cupped his hands under my head and began to force
my head against the wall.
Q Approximately, how many times did he do that?
A. More than 30 times.
Q Was it all right there in front of the door?
A. Yes.
Pag.106
Q Did that cause any pain to you?
A. Yes.
Q Did you say anything to the defendant while he's
doing this?
A. It happened so fast. No.
Q Where was his hand on you when he was doing this?
A. Both hands were...
MR. BAMIEH: I'm sorry. I couldn't see.
Q (By Mr. Romero) And I need you to describe so we
have a good record.
Where were his hands?
A. His hands were under my chins -- my chin.
Q So, he placed both hands under your chin and put
your head against the wall?
A. Yes.
Q And he did that you estimate about 30 times?
A. Or more, yes.
Q And where were your hands?
A. Down by my side.
Q Did you try to push him away?
A. No. His -- his body is up against mine.
Q Did you try and scratch him?
A. I can't. I can't move. He's up against me. I'm up
against the wall.
Q Are you afraid to touch him?
A. Yes.
Q Why are you afraid to touch him?
A. I don't know what he's going to do. I'm scared.
Pag107
Q Had he ever hit your head like that against the
wall?
A. No. He's never been this violent.
Q After he stopped hitting your head, what happened?
A. After he stopped, he... he said, "I want you to
leave."
And I said, "Let me just put my pants on."
And he said, "I don't want you to leave. What I
want you to do is get on your hands and knees and beg me to
let you stay." And I couldn't do it. It's not what I wanted.
Q What happened after that?
A. He -- he forced me against the adjacent wall, and he
began to slap me with the front and back of his hand until my
face -- when, uhm...
Q Approximately, how many times did he slap you?
A. More than ten times.
Q And you said he got you against an adjacent wall?
A. Yes.
Q On the diagram, which wall is that?
A. (Indicating.)
Q Was he holding you up against the wall?
A. Yes.
Q How was he doing that? You can sit down.
A. He again has his body against mine. I cannot flee.
I cannot move.
Q At this point, are your hands free?
A. No.
Q Why aren't your hands free?
Pag.108
A. Because he's got me pinned against the wall.
Q Where are your hands?
A. To my side.
MR. BAMIEH: Sorry, I couldn't hear that.
THE WITNESS: They are to my side.
Q (By Mr. Romero) So, they -- you were pinned against
the wall, and his body was leaning against you where you
couldn't move your arms?
A. Yes.
Q Did you make an attempt to move your arms?
A. Not that I recall, no.
Q How about your legs?
A. No.
Q Did you make any attempt to move your legs?
A. Not that I recall.
Q Did you try and yell?
A. I can't.
Q Why can't you yell?
A. Because he's -- he's slapping me and my -- and my
face and my head is banging back and forth and he begins to
bang my head against the wall again.
Q How many times did he bang your head against the
wall again?
A. Again, I would say another 30 times, but he's
banging my head in a different way than he did before. He's
got his hand, like, cuffed over my mouth. So, he's banging my
head in a different part in the back of my head against the
wall.
Pag.109
Q Did he put his hand over your mouth initially upon
pinning you against the adjacent wall?
A. No.
Q Do you remember if you screamed?
A. I did not at this time, no.
Q What happened after he banged your head against the
wall again?
A. I'm shaking, and I'm crying, and I'm having trouble
seeing because my left eye is beginning to swell close.
Q What happens?
A. I'm shaking, and he can tell I'm scared.
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Calls for speculation.
THE WITNESS: Because he says to me --
MR. BAMIEH: Objection.
THE COURT: There's an objection, ma'am. If you'll wait.
The objection is sustained.
MR. BAMIEH: Motion to strike.
THE COURT: The part of the witness' answer about what
the defendant can tell is stricken. Jurors are to disregard.
Next question, please.
Q (By Mr. Romero) What happened after -- what did he
physically do after he stopped banging your head against the
wall, the adjacent wall?
A. He grabbed me by the throat, and he pulled me. He
pulled me over by the bulletin board, and he began to choke
me.
Q So, he moved you back to the initial wall?
A. Well, where our shoulders are aligned with it now.
Pag.110
Q This area that we are talking about is just within a
few feet?
A. Yes.
Q What did he do once he moved you over there?
A. He began to choke me, and I told him he was hurting
me. I couldn't breathe.
Q How long was he choking you?
A. Three or four minutes. I don't know. Short time.
Q At this point, do you try and scream?
A. Yes, but... very little air comes out. I can't -- I
can't breathe.
Q Did you do anything to try and physically get him
away from you?
A. Yes.
Q What did you do?
A. I can feel myself falling.
Q I'm sorry?
A. I feel myself falling down, and I -- he's -- he's
naked from the waist down. I dug my nails in the back of his
legs. I'm scratching him as I -- as I fall to the floor.
Q What happens when you fall to the floor?
A. I'm unconscious.
Q You realize you are unconscious?
A. I have come to.
Q You come to?
A. Eventually, yes.
Q Do you remember where you were when you fell to the
floor?
Pag.111
A. I'm sorry. I don't know what you are asking me.
Q You say he's choking you, and you feel yourself
falling to the floor.
Where are you when you are going to the floor?
Is that by the front door?
A. Yes.
Q And then you come to?
A. Yes.
Q Are you in the same location?
A. Yes.
Q Do you see Mr. Parlanti?
A. No.
Q How do you feel, if you recall, at this time?
A. I'm face down on the floor in a choke hold, and he's
pulling my head back. He's still choking me.
Q So, you can't see Mr. Parlanti?
A. No. I can feel him, but I can't see him.
Q When you say you are on the floor, you are lying on
your stomach?
A. Yes.
Q And you say he had you in a choke hold.
Can you describe what you mean by that?
A. Like a wrestler would.
Q Not like a wrestler. I want you to describe
physically how you felt him holding you.
A. He has his -- his hands around my throat, and he's
forcing my head to the back as far back as it will go.
Q And do you feel him applying any other pressure
Pag.112
anywhere else on your body?
A. His knee is in my back.
Q You feel that?
A. Yes.
Q Is he saying anything to you at this time?
A. No.
Q Are you saying anything to him?
A. I can't.
Q You can't talk?
A. I can't say anything. No words can come out.
Q Are you trying to say something?
A. Yes.
Q What are you trying to say?
A. "You're hurting me."
Q How long does he have you in that position?
A. A matter of minutes, and I go unconscious again.
Q Again, do you recall yourself going unconscious?
A. Yes.
Q You recall yourself blacking out?
A. Yes.
Q Do you recall coming to?
A. Yes.
Q When you come to, are you still on the ground?
A. Yes, but I'm not in the same location.
Q What do you mean?
A. I am in -- I am in the living room.
Q In the same room?
A. Uhm-hum.
Pag.113
Q That's a yes?
A. Yes.
Q But in a different part of the living room?
A. Yes.
Q Where are you now?
A. (Indicating).
Q You put an X. I think that's green.
A. Yes.
Q You can sit down, Ms. White.
So, when you came to the second time, you were on a
different area on the living room floor?
A. Yes.
Q Do you know how you got there?
A. No.
Q When you came to, were you able to see Mr. Parlanti?
A. Yes.
Q Where was he?
A. He was beside me.
Q Are you still lying on the floor?
A. Yes. I am on my back.
Q So you've turned over?
A. Yes.
Q And Mr. Parlanti is lying next to you?
A. No. He's standing beside me.
Q Does he tell you anything at that time?
A. I'm screaming, and he's telling me to shut up. "You
are going to get me in trouble. You say you love me. If you
really love me, you will shut up. You are going to get me in
Pag.114
trouble. You know, you are going to get me in trouble. They
will come get me."
Q If you can recall, how do you physically feel at
this time?
A. Uhm, I'm wrecked with pain. I'm hurting. He's
kicking me.
Q Is he kicking you as he's telling you to shut up?
A. Yes.
Q Where was he kicking you?
A. He's kicking me in my ribs.
Q On your left or right side?
A. My right.
Q Do you actually see him kick you or you feel him
kick you?
A. I feel him kicking me.
Q How many times do you feel him kicking you?
A. Oh... ten to 20 times at least.
Q Ten to 20?
A. Yes.
Q And that's your best approximation?
A. Yes.
Q After he kicks you, what do you see him do?
A. Well, immediately after that, I am unconscious
again.
Q You felt yourself lose consciousness?
A. Yes.
Q From being kicked?
A. Yes.
Pag.115
Q And do you recall yourself coming to again?
A. Yes.
Q And where do you come to?
A. I'm in the same place. I'm in a ball, but I'm still
on my back, like I'm trying to protect myself, but he's still
kicking me, and I'm still screaming. I come to screaming.
Q To the best of your ability, you're trying to
scream?
A. Yes.
Q What are you trying to scream?
A. "Please stop. You're hurting me."
Q Do you recall if the defendant was telling you
anything at this time?
A. "Oh, your poor liver, your poor liver. I really
feel sorry for you."
Q Do you remember him saying anything else?
A. Not right now. That's all I can remember.
Q Do you remember what he did next?
A. He tells me to shut up, and he picks me up by my
left arm and throws me in a bean bag in the living room.
Q How far away is the bean bag?
A. Maybe five feet.
Q And when you land on the bean bag, how do you land?
A. I'm sitting, and it hurts.
Q What do you see Mr. Parlanti do?
A. He's pacing.
Q Is he saying anything to you that you recall at this
time?
Pag.116
A. Telling me to shut up.
Q Do you remember if you're saying anything?
A. I'm crying. Telling me I'm a bad American, and he
wants me to shut up. I'm a bitch. And he wants me out of his
life. And I tell him that he's hurt me. And he tells me I'm
lying, and he doubles up his fist, and he hits me between the
eyes and the forehead.
Q How many times does he hit you?
A. Just once.
Q What happens after he hits you?
A. I have trouble hearing him and staying conscious,
but I'm afraid he's going to kick me, and I tried to stay
alert. He grabs me by the back of my hair, and he pulls me
down the hallway, into the office. And he puts me on the
futon.
Q He sits you down?
A. Yes.
Q Does he say anything to you at that time?
A. Tells me to shut up and sit down. "Don't go
anywhere."
Q Sorry?
A. Tells me to shut up and sit down and don't go
anywhere.
Q Are you able to see him?
Are you looking at him when he tells you this?
A. Yeah, I can see. It's blurry, but I can see. He's
pacing. He says, "I don't know what to do with you." He
leaves the room for a minute, and he went and got more wine.
Pag.117
Q You see him come back into the office?
A. Yes.
Q What are you -- what are you wearing at this time?
A. I still have on my night clothes. I never got
dressed.
Q When he comes back into the room, into the office,
he's holding the glass of wine?
A. Yeah.
Q Do you see him with anything else?
A. Telephone.
Q Does he say anything to you?
A. He says, "I want you to dial 9-1-1, and I want you
to dial 9-1-1 so we can finish this."
Q Does he do anything?
A. Pushes me on the left shoulder and pushes me back on
the couch, and then I think he realizes that he's hurt me
because I can't get up, and I'm struggling to breath.
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Calls for speculation.
THE COURT: Overruled.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Are you saying anything to him at
this point?
A. I'm not saying a word. I don't want to be hit
anymore. He shows me how to get up. And he says, "I've had
my ribs broke before. This is how you get up."
Q I'm sorry?
A. "I've had my ribs broke before. This is how you get
up." And he showed me how to get up.
Q Mr. Parlanti?
Pag.118
A. To sit up, yes. He showed me how to sit up, and I
sat up, and he tries to give me the phone.
Q How does -- what does he do with the phone?
A. He -- I'm holding on to my ribs with my left hand.
So, he puts it in the cradle of my arm and tells me, "You dial
9-1-1." And I don't say a word.
Q Do you pick up the phone?
A. No. I cause it to fall on the couch beside me.
Q And then what happens?
A. He picks it up and puts it inside my top, and I let
it fall through to the floor. This makes him angry.
Q When he places it through your shirt or the top of
your shirt, does he say anything at that point?
A. He just keeps telling me to dial 9-1-1.
Q At any point, do you pick up the phone to call
9-1-1?
A. No. I don't touch it.
Q Why not?
A. I'm afraid if I touch that phone, he will either hit
me with it, and he will hurt me more. At this point, I am
afraid for my life. I don't know what this man is going to do
to me.
Q Had Mr. Parlanti ever been so physically violent
with you?
A. Never.
Q What happened after the phone fell through your top
and onto the floor?
A. He goes -- he goes to the computer, pulled up a web
Pag.119
site of nude women that are bound, and he said, "Do you see
what is on that -- on the site?"
I said, "Yes."
Q And you are able to see the computer screen?
A. Yes.
Q Are you able to see out of both eyes?
A. No.
Q Why not?
A. Because the left one is almost completely swelled
closed.
Q How far away from the computer were you?
A. The room is not that big. It's not very far.
Q A few feet?
A. At the most, six.
Q And so, you -- you look at the computer screen and
you see some depictions?
A. Yes.
Q What do you see?
A. I see various women that are nude, bound in leather
straps in different ways.
Q Had you seen that picture before?
A. Throughout the week previous, June the 29th, I had
walked in the office and seen Carlo looking at these pictures.
And when he would see me coming, he would flip it over to
another site.
Q So you've glanced at it before?
A. Yes.
Q Did you ever ask him about it prior to tonight?
Pag.120
A. No.
Q So, he shows you these photographs or these
depictions on the computer, and does he say anything to you?
A. "I want you to pick one of these tonight because I'm
going to tie you up and I want you to enjoy. I want you to
pick which one you want to be tied up like."
Q Do you pick one?
A. No. I don't say a word. This makes him even more
angry.
Q What makes him even more angry?
A. That I don't respond. I just sit there.
Q Why don't you respond?
A. I'm scared. I don't know want to say. I don't know
what to do. I just don't do anything. I just sit there.
Q Where is Carlo when he's showing you?
A. He's sitting in his chair. His office chair.
Q So he's also a few feet away from you?
A. Yes.
Q And I believe you said that he's not wearing any
pants?
A. No.
Q Is he wearing any underwear?
A. No.
Q What's he wearing?
A. Just a T-shirt.
Q When he's telling you this, does he appear angry to
you?
A. Yes.
Pag.121
Q Why? Why do you say that?
A. Because I'm not playing the game.
Q What game?
A. He's playing a game.
MR. BAMIEH: Object. Calls for speculation, your Honor.
THE COURT: Overruled.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Just so we are clear, is this
something that you had done in the past?
A. Never.
Q He's never shown you these photographs and said
"pick one" before?
A. No.
Q What happens after you don't respond?
A. He goes, "Fine. If you are not going to pick one,
you are not going to dial 9-1-1, I'm just going to tie you
up."
Q What does he do?
A. He picks me up by the left arm, and he pulls me down
the hall. He takes off my clothes, and he threw me into bed.
Q The master bedroom?
A. Yes.
Q You say he takes off your clothes?
A. Yes.
Q What does he do?
A. I'm not sure what you're asking.
Q Does he untie or -- and did you say you were wearing
a kimono or robe?
A. No. I said camisole.
Pag.122
Q Is that the only item of clothing you have on?
A. And matching boxer shorts.
Q So, he takes off your boxer shorts?
A. Yes.
Q And your top?
A. Yes.
Q And then what does he do?
A. He puts me in bed, covers me up, and he leaves the
room. And I'm hoping it's over.
Q Does he come back?
A. With a glass of wine.
Q You said he went into the office with a telephone
and a glass of wine.
Do you remember saying that?
A. Yes.
Q And now you're saying that he went into the bedroom
with a glass of wine?
A. Yes. He's had time to consume one glass. He's
undressed me, put me in bed, went back in there, filled the
glass again, and he's come back.
Q During the time that he's showing you these pictures
on the computer --
A. He consumed a glass.
Q -- do you actually see him drink the wine?
A. Yes.
Q Do you see he finishes the glass of wine?
A. Yes.
Q And then you see him come back into the bedroom, the
Pag.123
master bedroom. After he's taken off your clothes and put you
in bed, you see him come in with another glass of wine?
A. Yes.
Q A full glass of wine?
A. Yes.
Q Are these glass -- glasses of wine?
A. Yes.
Q You can see through?
A. They are wine glass, yes.
Q Clear wine glass?
A. Yes.
Q Do you see him drink --
A. Yes.
Q -- out of this glass?
A. Yes.
Q Do you see him drink it all?
A. I'm sorry?
Q Do you see him -- when he comes into the bedroom, do
you see him drink the entire glass of wine?
A. I didn't see him consume the whole glass, no.
Q Did you see him put it down?
A. Yes.
Q Where did he put it down?
A. On the dresser.
Q What did he do after he put it down?
A. He had some zip ties in his hand.
Q What kind of zip ties?
A. Like you would tie computer cords together with.
Pag.124
That's what he used them for.
Q For computer wires?
A. Yes.
Q Did he do anything to you with these zip ties?
A. Yes.
Q What did he do?
A. He put one on each wrist and laced another one
through them and tied my wrist to my ankles.
Q Did he use them to tie your wrists together?
A. No. He tied my left wrist to my left ankle and my
right wrist to my right ankle.
Q Are you still on your mattress?
A. Yes, on my back.
Q Is your mattress still -- lies on the floor or is it
on a bed frame?
A. It's on the floor.
THE COURT: Mr. Bamieh, will you be seated, please.
MR. BAMIEH: I'm sorry.
THE COURT: Thank you.
Q (By Mr. Romero) What did he do after he tied your
left wrist to your left ankle and your right wrist to your
right ankle?
A. He told me that he wanted to make love to me.
Q Are those his words that he used?
A. Yes.
Q Did you respond back to him?
A. Yes, I did.
Q What did you say?
Pag.125
A. I told him I didn't want him to.
Q Do you recall as specifically as you can what you
told him?
A. He said to me, "I know I've hurt you. I want to
make you feel better. I -- in the morning, I want to take you
to a motel, and I'm going to leave you there. I want you out
of my life."
And I said, "Carlo, you can't make me feel better.
You hurt me."
Q He's -- you have this conversation with him before
sexual intercourse?
A. Yes.
Q At any point, did you tell him that you did not want
to have sex with him?
A. Yes.
Q How did you tell him that?
A. I told him I didn't want him to make love to me.
Q Did you tell him that more than once?
A. No.
Q Just one time?
A. Just one time.
Q Did you do anything physically to try --
A. I wasn't able to.
Q What happened after you had that conversation with
the defendant?
A. He laid down on top of me and tried to have
intercourse with me.
Q When you say "try," what do you mean?
Pag.126
Q Did he insert his penis into your vagina?
A. Yes, he did.
Q Did you and him complete the act of sexual
intercourse?
A. No.
Q How long was Mr. Parlanti's penis in your vagina at
that time?
A. I would say five minutes.
Q Do you recall if he ejaculated?
A. No, he did not.
Q During those five minutes, was he touching you in
other way?
A. Not at this time, no.
Q During the five minutes, do you recall if you told
defendant to stop?
A. Yes.
Q How many times did you tell him to stop?
A. Once.
Q What did you tell him?
A. "Stop. You're hurting me."
Q Were you crying?
A. Yes.
Q During those five minutes, did you do anything to
and physically resist?
A. I'm unable to.
Q Why are you unable to?
A. Because my hands are tied to my -- to my ankles.
Pag.127
What can I do?
Q Did you try and bite him?
A. I didn't think about biting.
Q Did you try and use your fingernails?
A. They are tied to my ankles and my ribs are broke.
My head, with every heart beat, felt like he was still beating
my head against the wall.
Q So, it's your testimony that you were physically
unable to physically resist him?
A. Yes.
Q After the five minutes, he stopped having sexual
intercourse with you?
A. Yes.
Q What happened?
A. He got off of me, and he was angry.
Q I'm sorry?
A. He got off of me, and he was very angry. He was
erect.
Q Why do you say that?
A. I could see him.
Q Looking at his face?
A. I'm sorry?
Q You said he got off of you, and he was angry and
irate?
A. Erect.
Q Oh, erect. I'm sorry.
And what happened?
A. He left the room. And my hands began to throb
Pag.128
because the ties were too tight.
Q So what did you do?
A. I began to call him, beg him to come take them off.
Q What do you recall saying?
A. "Carlo, please. My hands are hurting. Please,
Carlo, come take the ties off." And it made him angry.
Q When you said that, how many times did you ask him
to come back?
A. Many.
Q Did he come back?
A. Yes.
Q How long did it take him to come back?
A. Six or seven minutes. I called for quite awhile.
He didn't want to come back.
Q When you called, did you make any attempt to yell
for help?
A. It was a little hard to yell because my jaw was
dislocated.
Q Your jaw hurt?
A. Yes.
Q But you were able to call to him?
A. Yes.
Q And you did not call for help from neighbors?
A. How could I?
Q Do you recall if your apartment had an adjacent
apartment?
A. Yes.
Q Did any of the walls in the bedroom, in the master
Pag.129
bedroom you were in, did it share walls with another
apartment?
A. Yes.
Q Do you know if someone lived in that apartment?
A. Yes, they did.
Q Can you hear -- prior to -- during the time you were
living in this apartment, did you ever hear your neighbors
through the wall while you were in the bedroom?
A. The ones above us, yes.
Q Not the ones next to you --
A. No.
Q -- on the same floor?
A. No.
Q You are on the first floor or second floor?
A. First.
Q Did you -- as you are lying there, tied, did you
make any attempt to yell out to any of the neighbors?
A. I never thought to yell to the neighbors. I've been
screaming and crying and hollering the whole time. I would
have thought they would hear me. That's why he was telling me
to be quiet.
Q And you indicated that at some point, he came back
in?
A. Yes.
Q What did he do?
A. He -- he cut the zip ties off my hands because they
were purple.
Q What were purple?
Pag.130
A. My hands.
Q You could see them?
A. Uhm-hum.
Q Is that a yes?
A. Yes.
Q When this is taking place, approximately what time
is it?
A. It's after 11:00 at night.
Q Is the light --
MR. BAMIEH: Sorry. After?
THE WITNESS: After 11:00, maybe midnight. Somewhere
around there.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Was the light on in the bedroom
you're in?
A. Yes.
Q And you could see your hands turning purple?
A. Yes.
Q What does Mr. Parlanti do?
A. He cuts them free.
Q What does he use to cut them?
A. Some scissors.
Q Did you see where he got the scissors from?
A. He had them in his hand. So, I'm assuming they came
out of the office where they were kept.
Q I don't want you to assume. I just want you to tell
me what you saw.
So, when he walked into the bedroom, you saw him
holding scissors?
Pag.131
A. Yes.
Q And he used them to cut the zip ties off?
A. Yes.
Q What did he do -- strike that.
Did he cut the zip ties on both your left and right
hands?
A. Yes.
Q And what did he do after that?
A. He replaced them with bigger ones.
Q With bigger zip ties?
A. Yeah.
Q When he entered the bedroom with the scissors, you
saw him holding them in his hand?
A. I believe so, yes.
Q Did you see him holding any other zip ties when he
came in?
A. Yes.
Q And they were bigger than the ones he initially
bound with you?
A. Yes. Because they are not as tight when he put them
on my wrist.
Q Sorry. You feel the difference?
A. Yes.
Q And when he binds you a second time, how does he
bind you?
A. Exactly as the same. Except he laced -- because
they are still on my ankle, he laced them through the ankle,
and then clasped them around my wrist instead of the other
Pag.132
way.
Q Had he bound you with those zip ties ever before?
A. No.
Q After he bound you the second time, what did he do?
THE COURT: I'm going to interrupt you, Mr. Romero. We
are going to take a break at this point. We are going to take
a 20-minute break.
Please don't discuss the case. Please do not form
or express any opinions.
Ms. White, you can step down ma'am. I'll see you
back in 20 minutes, please. Court is in recess.
///
(Off record - recess.)
///
THE COURT: Let's come to order. We are back on the
record in People versus Parlanti. We have all of our jurors,
both counsel, the defendant and witness.
You can resume direct, Mr. Romero.
MR. ROMERO: Thank you, your Honor.
CONTINUED DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. ROMERO:
Q Now, Ms. White, I believe that we left off where
Mr. Parlanti had cut off and replaced the zip ties that he
had. And I believe you testified that he bound you the same
way he had the first time.
Do you recall that?
Pag.133
A. Yes.
Q What happened after he bound you the second time?
A. Said he wanted to make love to me again.
Q Did he do anything physically?
A. I told him I didn't want him to. And he again laid
down on top of me and tried to make love to me.
Q Did he insert his penis in your vagina?
A. Yes, he did.
Q Before he did that, did you tell him that you didn't
want him to do that?
A. Yes.
Q What did you say?
A. I didn't want him to.
Q Did he say anything in response to you?
A. No.
Q How many times did you tell him you didn't want him
to?
A. Just once.
Q Were you crying at this time?
A. Yes. I never once stopped crying.
Q When he inserted his penis in your vagina the second
time, how long did he have it inside of you?
A. Maybe only three minutes this time because he was
very angry I did not participate sexually.
Q When you say --
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Calls for speculation.
MR. ROMERO: I'll clarify, your Honor.
THE COURT: Just to be clear, the question did not
Pag.134
for that. Are you objecting to the answer; that it calls for
speculation?
MR. BAMIEH: Yes.
THE COURT: Sustained.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Did Mr. Parlanti do anything to
indicate to you that he was angry?
A. Yes.
Q What did he do?
A. He said, "You're not -- your not making love to me."
And I told him I did not want to make love to him. He was
hurting me, and I was hurting, and I did not want to make love
to him.
Q To the best of your recollection, are those the
words you used?
A. Yes.
Q And what did he respond to that?
A. And he said, "If that hurts, this is really going to
hurt." And he grabbed my left arm, and he began to bite it.
Q Where on your left arm?
A. He began to bite me between the bend of my wrist to
my elbow.
Q So, not just in one place?
A. No.
Q How hard did he bite you?
A. At this time, I screamed at the top of my lungs. He
bit me like a dog would bite; eat off of a bone.
Q You actually saw him do that?
A. Yes.
Pag.135
Q Did you see his head move from side to side?
A. Yes.
Q How hard was he biting?
A. He is pulling my skin. He's pulling on it and
jerking on the skin, moving up and down my arm.
Q Did he cause you any pain?
A. Yes.
Q And I believe you testified you yelled?
A. Yes. I'm yelling at the top of my lungs.
Q As loud as you can?
A. I'm just yelling. Not saying anything. Just a
yell.
Q Did Mr. Parlanti try and cover your mouth?
A. No. This excited him.
Q Why do you say that?
A. He's laughing. He thinks it's funny.
Q While he's biting you, he's laughing?
A. Yes. He's giggling like a child.
Q Does he bite you anywhere else besides your arm?
A. Yes.
Q Where else does he bite you?
A. He's laughing. He goes, "Oh, that hurt?" And then
he just --
"Yes, Carlos. It hurt very much. Please stop."
And then he cupped my left breast and he began to try to bite
my nipple off, and I screamed even more.
Q When you say he tried to bite your nipple off, is
that something he told you or is that something you're
Pag.136
thinking?
A. I'm thinking because it hurt that bad because he's
jerking, biting. He's not letting go. He's not playing. He
is biting.
Q Was it painful?
A. Yes.
Q Did you tell him "stop"?
A. Yes, I am bleeding.
Q You were bleeding from where?
A. Around my nipple. He's biting that hard. So then
he -- he stopped biting on the left one, and he began to bite
on the right one. He's only biting on the very end of my
nipple.
Q When he bites you on your right nipple, is he biting
you hard?
A. Yes.
Q Do you tell him to stop?
A. Yes. I -- I -- even though it hurts my ribs and
head, I'm thrashing on the bed as best I can trying to make
him stop, and he just giggles more. He thinks he's hilarious.
He is enjoying it.
Q While he's doing this, is his penis still inside
your vagina?
A. No. He's becoming more and more aroused.
Q Why do you say that?
A. I'm trying to figure out how to answer that.
Q Do you see that Mr. Parlanti has an erection?
A. Yes. It's very large.
Pag.137
Q So, when he's biting you, he's in a position where
you can actually see his penis?
A. Yes. He's beside me. He's crouched beside me on
his knees.
Q And you recall looking at his penis?
A. Well, it's right there, so... kind of hard to not
see.
Q And you saw that it was erect?
A. Yes.
Q After he bites your right nipple, do you see if you
are bleeding from the right nipple?
A. My right nipple never bled, no.
Q At some point, he stopped?
A. Yes.
Q And then what did he do?
A. He shoved his fist up inside my vagina.
Q Which fist, his left or right?
A. His right.
Q Did he tell you he was going to do that before he
did it?
A. No.
Q Did that surprise you?
A. Yes. And it hurt.
Q Did you scream?
A. Yes.
Q As loud as you could?
A. Yes.
Q Did you yell for help?
Pag.138
A. No. Just screamed.
Q Just noise?
A. Just screaming because I am in so much pain. I
don't know what else to do, and I'm still tied, so... can't
defend myself and no one has come to my defense. I don't know
what else to do.
Q How long does he have his hand inside your vagina?
A. It was just a matter of minutes. I mean... what can
you do with your fist inside someone's vagina?
Q You said minutes?
A. Yes.
Q He had it in there for minutes?
A. To -- maybe two minutes.
Q What was he doing?
A. Fiddling around. He opens his hand.
Q And that was painful?
A. Yes.
Q Did you tell him to stop?
A. Yes.
Q I'm sorry, but I need you to let me finish my
question.
A. I'm sorry.
Q While he had his hand in your vagina, did you tell
him to stop?
A. Yes, I did.
Q Did you physically try and get him to stop by moving
your body?
A. No. Because I didn't -- I was afraid he was going
Pag.139
to really hurt me. It's kind a private area to be jumping
around with someone's hand inside of you.
A. Yes.
Q After he took his hand out, what did he do?
A. He then tried to -- he tried to put his hand inside
my rectum.
Q Did you actually feel him do that?
A. Yes.
Q Was that painful?
A. Yes.
Q Did you ask him to stop?
A. Yes.
Q What did you say?
A. "Please stop."
Q How many times?
A. At least two.
Q Were you still crying at this point?
A. Yes.
Q Are you able to feel if he's able to insert anything
inside your rectum?
A. Yes, I can feel.
Q What do you feel?
A. Uhm... I just feel him prodding and poking and
trying to get his hand inside of me.
Q How long does he do that?
A. Quite a while. He was determined.
Q When you say "quite a while," longer than he had his
Pag.140
hand in your vagina?
A. Yes.
Q During this time, are you telling him to stop?
A. Yes.
Q Does he stop?
A. No.
Q Do you want him do that?
A. No.
Q At some point, he stops?
A. Yes. Because he can't get his hand in there.
Q While he's trying to put his hand in your rectum, is
he still biting you?
A. No.
Q Is he doing anything else to you?
A. I don't recall I don't think so.
Q When he stops trying to put his hand inside your
rectum, what does he do then?
A. I told him to please stop. And he said, "I'll take
the ties -- I'll cut the ties off of you if you make love to
me."
Q What do you say?
A. I said, "Carlo, please stop."
Q I'm sorry. I didn't hear you.
A. "Carlo, please stop."
Q Did he stop?
A. For a few minutes, yes.
Q And then what happened?
A. He went away for a few minutes.
Pag.141
Q He left the room?
A. Yes.
Q When he left the room, were you still bound?
A. Yes.
Q So, when you're alone in the room, do you make any
attempt at that point to yell for help?
A. No.
Q Why not?
A. I -- honestly, I can't answer that. I do not know.
Q Do you yell -- do you yell for Mr. Parlanti to come
back?
A. Yes.
Q What do you say?
A. My hands are beginning to swell again.
Q You could see them?
A. I could feel them. The lights were out now. He had
turned the lights off.
Q When did he turn the lights off?
A. When he left the room.
Q At some point, did he come back?
A. Yes.
Q How many times did you call for him and come back?
A. Not many times this time. It was like he was
waiting almost because maybe two times, three times, he came
back.
Q I'm sorry. After you are calling him two or three
times, he came back?
A. Yes.
Pag.142
Q So, he wasn't gone that long?
A. No.
Q And when he came back into the room, did he turn on
the lights?
A. Yes.
Q Did he walk up to you?
A. Yes.
Q What did he do?
A. He laid down in bed beside me, and he said, "I want
you to make love to me. I will cut the ties off if you
promise you will make love to me."
Q What did you say?
A. I said, "Carlo, please take the ties off. They are
hurting me."
He said, "Will you make love to me?"
And I said, "Yes, Carlo, just, please, take the ties
off."
Q Does he take the ties off?
A. Yes.
Q How does he take them off?
A. He cut them off my hands.
Q With what?
A. The scissors. The same scissors as before.
Q Did he have them with him or did he get up off the
bed?
A. I don't remember. I think they were left behind
from the time before.
Q And you say he cut off the ties from the wrists?
Pag.143
A. Yes.
Q So, at this point, your wrists are bound together?
A. No, they are free.
Q Before he cut them, are your wrists bound together
or are they bound to --
A. My ankles.
Q -- your ankles?
So, when you say he frees your wrists, your ankles
remain bound after he cuts the ones from your wrists?
A. Yes.
Q How is that? Can you explain?
A. Well, there's just the tie around each ankle.
Q So, are your ankles bound?
A. They are free. They just got a tie around each one.
Q So the only thing that was bound the second time was
your wrists?
They were bound together?
A. They were bound the same as before --
Q Okay.
A. -- the first time.
Q Okay. And when he cut the ties to your wrists, he
completely took off the zip ties to your wrists?
A. Yes.
Q But you still had zip ties on your ankles?
A. Yes.
Q But your ankles were not bound together?
A. No.
Q After he cuts the zip ties to your wrists, what does
Pag.144
he do?
A. He lays down beside me and he asks me to make love
to him.
Q He asked you?
A. Yes.
Q Physically, what does he do?
A. He is stroking himself.
Q And then what does he do?
A. He waits.
Q Waits?
A. Yes.
Q For what?
A. For my answer.
Q Do you tell him?
A. I don't want to make love to him because I'm
hurting. I don't want to make love. I don't feel like making
love. My ribs are broken and my head hurts. I've been
beaten. Why would I want to make love to him?
Q Do you tell him that?
A. Well, I just tell him, "I don't want to make love to
you, Carlo. I'm hurting."
Q What does he say?
A. "You have to."
Q What does he do?
A. Just lays there and waits.
Q How long does he wait?
A. Two, three minutes.
Q And then what happens?
Pag.145
A. Grabs me by the arm, pulls me on top of him.
Q When you say he pulls you on top of him, how are you
positioned?
A. Facing him.
Q Are you straddling him?
A. No. I'm laying on top of him.
Q While you are lying on top of him, does he insert
his penis in your vagina?
A. Yes. Yes, he does.
Q Before he did that, did you tell him, as you're
lying on top of him, not to insert his penis?
A. Yes.
THE WITNESS: Can I get a drink of water?
MR. ROMERO: Sure.
THE WITNESS: Thank you.
Q (By Mr. Romero) While you are lying on top of him
and before he inserts his penis, do you tell him again not to?
A. Yes.
Q And he does anyway?
A. Yes.
Q And does he have sexual relations with you?
A. He tries to, yes.
Q When you say he tries to, what do you mean?
A. I still can't participate. I still don't and cannot
participate.
Q How long does he have his penis inside you this
time?
A. Somewhere between three and five minutes.
Pag.146
Q And at some point, he stops?
A. Yes, because he's frustrated and he's mad still
because I am not going to participate.
Q Do you know if he ejaculates?
A. He does not.
Q I'm sorry?
A. He does not.
Q During the few minutes that you're lying on top of
him and his penis is inside of you, does he do anything else?
A. No.
Q I'm sorry. Was that a "no"?
A. No.
Q After he stops, then what happens?
A. He's angry.
Q Why do you say he's angry?
A. Because he says, "It really doesn't matter anyway.
It's over." And he physically picks me, straight up, and
throws me off of him to my side of the bed.
Q Does that cause you any pain?
A. Yes. I begin to cry harder. He tells me to shut
up. It's time to go to sleep. He pulls out another zip tie,
and he puts one on my left wrist and laces it. He ties one to
my left wrist, and then takes another one and laces it through
and ties it to his right wrist.
Q While you are lying on the bed next to each other?
A. Yes. And tells me to shut up and go to sleep.
Q Do you eventually fall asleep?
A. Yes.
Pag.147
Q Do you know how long you lied there next to
Mr. Parlanti before you fell asleep?
A. Not very long. I was totally exhausted.
Q Prior to testifying today, do you recall at any
point making a statement that while you were engaged in sexual
relations with Mr. Parlanti that you've been describing, that
Mr. Parlanti hit you with his fist?
A. I'm sorry. Ask me again.
Q Do you recall whether or not Parlanti, during any of
the sexual encounters you've been describing, if he hit you
with his fist?
A. Well, he hit me with his fist once when we were in
the living room on the bean bag.
Q Do you remember if Mr. Parlanti slapped you at any
time during the sexual relations?
A. During the sexual relations?
Q That you've been describing -- all the episodes that
you've been describing.
A. No.
Q The next morning -- strike that.
When you wake up, after falling asleep, and you wake
up, what time is it, if you know?
A. The alarm always goes off at 6:30.
Q Do you remember the alarm going off?
A. I remember hearing it, but I cannot wake up. I
cannot open my eyes.
Q Do you recall what day of the week June 29, 2002 was
on?
Pag.148
A. Saturday.
Q So, the next day, June 30th, 2002, you recall the
alarm going off at 6:30?
A. No. Because it's Sunday.
Q So the alarm doesn't go off at 6:30 everyday?
A. No.
Q So the next morning, do you recall at some point
waking up?
A. Yes.
Q Do you recall if it was light out?
A. Yes.
Q Did you get out of bed the next morning?
A. No.
Q What did you do the next day?
A. I vaguely remember opening my eyes and Carlo
standing there. He gave me some pain medicine and a drink of
water.
Q Did you ask him for any pain medicine?
A. Not that I remember.
Q So, when you woke up the next morning, the defendant
was not next to you in bed?
A. No.
Q Do you remember talking to the defendant the next
morning?
A. I believe he asked me if I wanted coffee, and I told
him "no."
Q Do you remember talking to him at any other point
during that next day?
Pag.149
A. He would wake me up at various times throughout the
day because he was checking on me, and I would go right back
to sleep.
Q Did you stay in bed all day the very next day?
A. All day. I didn't get up at all.
Q Did you take a shower?
A. No.
Q Did you eat anything?
A. No.
Q Do you remember the next day, Monday?
A. Yes.
Q Do you remember waking up in the morning the next
day?
A. I remember the alarm going off. That's the day I
remember the alarm going off.
Q When the alarm goes off at 6:30 --
A. Yes.
Q -- do you remember the defendant getting out of bed
after the alarm goes off?
A. Yes. I remember feeling him cutting the -- the tie
off. I can feel it when he cut it off because he tied me that
night to him again.
Q Do you recall him actually putting another zip tie
Sunday night?
A. No. But I remember him cutting it off.
Q Do you recall if, at any point, during the day on
Sunday, if he put any zip ties on you?
A. Sorry. Say that again.
Pag.150
Q Do you recall if, at any point, during Sunday,
Mr. Parlanti placing any zip ties on you?
A. No.
Q Monday morning, after you feel him cutting off the
zip tie, do you get out of bed?
A. No.
Q At any point during Monday, do you get out of bed?
A. No.
Q Monday night, do you recall the defendant getting in
bed with you?
A. Yes. Yes.
Q And Monday night, do you recall the defendant
placing any zip ties on you?
A. Yes.
Q What do you recall?
A. I remember him saying, "I'm sorry, Rebecca. I can't
let you go free because you're a womans (sic)." That's what
he called you. "You are like all the others, and you will get
me in trouble. I cannot let you go free."
Q You remember him telling you that?
A. Yes.
Q Now, Monday would normally be a workday?
A. Yes.
Q What was Mr. Parlanti's work schedule?
Did he go to work most Mondays?
A. Yes.
Q Now, you testified you stayed in bed all day Sunday
and all day Monday, correct?
Pag.151
A. Yes.
Q And you testified that you recall Mr. Parlanti
periodically checking on you on Sunday, correct?
A. Yes.
Q Do you remember if he did that on Monday?
A. I remember him talking to me Monday, asking me if I
wanted coffee, and I told him "no."
Pulling the cover back and saying, "Oh, my God, what
have I done to her."
Q I'm sorry. You recall Mr. Parlanti saying that?
A. Yes. And brushing the hair away from my eyes. I
remember him getting Ben-Gay and putting it on my bruises from
the bites.
Q How do you know it's Ben-Gay?
A. Stinks.
Q The smell?
A. Yes.
Q Do you remember anything else about Monday?
A. There's some point in there he brought me a bowl of
soup, and I can't remember what it's called, but it's what his
grandma cooked him when he wasn't feeling well; and asked me
if I wanted it, and I had a spoon or two of it, and that's all
I can remember.
Q That's all you can recall from Monday?
A. Yes.
Q And to the best of your recollection, is that all
you recall eating on Monday?
A. Yes.
Pag.152
Q Did you ever get out of bed on Monday?
A. Never.
Q So, for all day Sunday and Monday, you didn't go to
the rest room?
A. No.
Q Did you feel like you had to go to the rest room at
any point?
A. No.
Q That thought never entered your mind?
A. No.
Q Do you remember waking up Tuesday morning?
A. Yes.
Q Do you remember if you were zip tied by the
defendant Monday night to Tuesday morning?
A. Yes, I was.
Q Do you remember the defendant cutting the zip ties
on Tuesday morning?
A. Yes.
Q Did you get out of bed on Tuesday morning?
A. Yes. He made me.
Q When you say he made you, what do you mean?
A. Told me I had to get up and take a bath.
Q Did you get up?
A. Yes.
Q Did you get up by yourself?
A. He helped me get up.
Q When you got up, where did you go?
A. I went to the rest room.
Pag.153
Q Did you actually use the rest room?
A. Yes.
Q Did you urinate?
A. Yes.
Q Did you defecate?
A. No.
Q Was Mr. Parlanti in the rest room with you?
A. Yes.
Q Did he help you sit down?
A. Yes.
Q Was he holding on to you?
A. Yes.
Q Did you take a shower?
A. Yes.
Q Did the defendant go into the shower with you?
A. Yes.
Q You took a shower together?
A. Yes.
Q Was he holding you in the shower?
A. Yes.
Q Did he bathe you or did you bathe yourself?
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Compound question.
THE COURT: Overruled.
A. He helped me.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Do you remember washing your hair
that morning?
A. He washed my hair for me.
Q And what were you doing?
Pag.154
A. Trying to stand up.
Q You were just concentrating on standing up?
A. I was holding on to the wall. I don't normally take
a shower. I bathe.
Q Did you feel like you were going to collapse in the
shower?
A. Yes.
Q And Mr. Parlanti was holding you this entire time?
A. Yes.
Q When you went into the bathroom, did you get an
opportunity to look at yourself in the mirror?
A. No.
Q When you were in the shower, did you notice any
blood in the shower?
A. Just the dry blood on my left nipple.
Q That was washed away?
A. Yes.
Q Did you notice any hair in the shower?
A. Yes. My hair fell out, stopping up the drain.
Q Your hair from your head?
A. Yes.
Q How much hair came out in the shower?
A. Pretty good -- pretty good chunk, I would say.
About a handful.
Q Enough to clog the drain?
A. Yes.
Q Did Mr. Parlanti help you out of the shower?
A. Yes.
Pag.155
Q Where did you go after getting out of the shower?
A. Went back to bed. Laid back down on the bed.
Q Did you get up at any other point on that day?
A. Yes.
Q When?
A. Maybe two times that day.
Q For what?
A. Made him coffee. And I got dressed. That was about
it.
Q So, on Tuesday morning, you recall making
Mr. Parlanti some coffee?
A. Yes.
Q Was this before or after your shower?
A. I believe it was after.
Q Did Mr. Parlanti ask you to make him coffee or did
you decide to make him coffee?
A. He asked me to.
Q What did you do after making him coffee?
A. Laid down on the bed.
Q Did you get up one more time that day?
A. Yes, to dress.
Q And you put what on?
A. Blue jeans and a T-shirt.
Q What did you do after you got dressed?
A. Laid back down.
Q Did you stay in bed the rest of the day?
A. I believe so, yes.
Q Do you remember going to bed that night?
Pag.156
A. Yes.
Q Did Mr. Parlanti use a zip tie to bind you to him
again?
A. Yes, he did.
Q Do you remember waking up the next morning?
A. Yes.
Q Do you remember Mr. Parlanti cutting the zip tie?
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Leading.
THE COURT: Overruled.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Sorry. I didn't hear your answer.
A. Yes.
Q Did you get out of bed that day?
A. Yes.
Q What did you do?
A. He told me I had to do the laundry because we were
out of towels and white socks.
Q So what did you do?
A. I had three white towels and his white socks. So, I
got dressed, fixed his coffee, and walked down to the laundry
room.
Q Before you left to the laundry room, was
Mr. Parlanti in your apartment?
A. Yes.
Q Before you left the apartment, did you get an
opportunity to look at yourself in the mirror?
A. Yes, I did.
Q Was that the first time you looked at yourself in
the mirror?
Pag.157
A. Yes.
Q What did you see?
A. My left eye was very black. I had a bruise on the
left side of my mouth, and my neck was swollen on the right
side.
THE COURT: The last thing you said, ma'am?
THE WITNESS: The bruise on it.
THE COURT: Thank you.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Before you left the apartment to do
the laundry, did you do anything to try and cover up your
injuries?
A. I -- actually, before that, I took my picture
because I was angry.
Q Okay. My question to you is: Before you left the
apartment to do the laundry, did you do anything to cover up
the bruises or injuries on your face?
A. Yes. I put on makeup.
Q Did you decide to do that on your own?
A. No.
Q Did someone tell you to do that?
A. Carlo did.
Q Now, you testified that you took some photographs of
yourself, correct?
A. Yes.
Q Where were you in your apartment when you took those
photographs?
A. In my bathroom, sitting on top of the toilet.
Q Was Mr. Parlanti in the bathroom with you?
Pag.158
A. No.
Q Where was he, if you know?
A. I don't believe he was in the apartment at that
time.
Q What camera did you use?
A. It was a throw-away camera.
Q A disposable camera?
A. Yes.
Q Was it yours?
A. Yes.
Q How many photographs did you take of yourself?
A. Four.
Q What did you do with the camera after taking the
pictures?
A. My bathroom, there was a little tub that I kept my
everyday clothes in that sat behind the bathroom door, and it
was about three feet deep. And I put it in as deep as I could
inside that tub and hid it.
Q Did Mr. Parlanti do laundry while you guys were
together?
A. No.
Q That was your -- that was something that you did?
A. Yes.
Q Now, when you -- when you said you put on makeup
before you walked to the laundry room, what did you put on?
A. I had coverup because I have darkness under my eyes.
I used white coverup and then a base.
Q Did you put any lipstick on?
Pag.159
A. Yes.
MR. BAMIEH: I'm sorry. The answer?
THE WITNESS: Yes.
Q (By Mr. Romero) When you left, did you put
eyeglasses on?
A. Yes.
Q Sorry. Was it -- were they eyeglasses? reading
glasses? sun glasses?
A. Sorry, sun glasses.
Q And I believe you testified that the defendant told
you to put the makeup on?
A. Yes.
Q When did he do that?
A. I actually was supposed to have had an interview
that day for a job, and I was upset because I couldn't go.
And when he told me I had to do the laundry, he said, "Before
you leave this apartment, you make sure you cover those
bruises up so nobody sees them."
Q On this day, I believe we are on Wednesday?
A. Yes.
Q Mr. Parlanti left the apartment to go to work?
A. Some time in there, yes, before I went to the
laundry room.
Q At some point, he left the apartment?
A. Yes.
Q And he left you alone?
A. Yes.
Q Did you have a telephone in your apartment?
Pag.160
Q Did you have a cell phone?
A. Yes, but it was broken.
Q So, you had a land line inside your apartment?
A. Yes.
Q Did you use that phone to call the police?
A. I couldn't.
Q Why couldn't you?
A. Because it had a tap on it.
Q What do you mean "a tap"?
A. Carlo was very jealous, and the house phone had a
recorder on it.
Q Did you actually see a recorder or did Mr. Parlanti
tell you that?
A. He told me that.
Q You believed him?
A. Yes.
Q Why did you believe him?
A. Because in my computer, he had what's called a
Computer Spy in there. Every key stroke that I made, every
e-mail, every letter I typed, every time, it automatically
went into his computer no matter where he was.
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation.
THE COURT: Sustained.
MR. BAMIEH: Motion to strike.
THE COURT: The answer is stricken. The jurors are to
disregard.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Did Mr. Parlanti, at any point
Pag.161
during your relationship, tell you that he was monitoring your
use of the computer?
A. He didn't have to. I knew he was because when he
went to Italy, on vacation, before I lived with him, he had
been to my and my daughter's place where we lived and worked
on my personal computer and put the spy in my computer then.
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation. Move to
strike.
THE COURT: Sustained. The last part of what the witness
said about putting the spy in the computer is stricken. The
jurors are to disregard it.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Did Mr. Parlanti tell you that he
put Spyware in your computer?
A. No. It expired while he was gone.
Q My question to you, Ms. White --
MR. BAMIEH: Excuse me. Object to the last question as
nonresponsive; ask to strike it.
THE COURT: It is nonresponsive. Sustained. The answer
is stricken, other than the word "no."
Q (By Mr. Romero) I need you to focus on my
questions, and I know it's late in the day. I need you to
focus in on my questions and only answer my questions.
At any point during your relationship, did
Mr. Parlanti tell you he was monitoring your use of your
computer? Yes or no?
A. Yes.
Q Did you believe that to be true?
A. Yes.
Pag.162
Q So, when he told you he had a recording device on
the telephone, you believed that to be true as well?
A. Yes.
Q Assuming that Mr. Parlanti did have a recording
device on your telephone, if you were to call 9-1-1 and ask
for assistance, how much time do you think it would take for
the police to show up?
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Speculation. Lacks foundation.
THE COURT: Overruled.
A. Sorry. Ask me again.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Assuming that Mr. Parlanti was able
to record your phone calls, if you were still to have called
9-1-1, how long do you believe it would have taken the police
to arrive at your apartment?
A. A matter of minutes.
Q And Mr. Parlanti was not at the apartment, correct?
A. No.
Q So, why didn't you just call them anyways?
A. Because I was scared.
Q Scared of what?
A. Mr. Parlanti.
Q Scared of him doing what?
A. He had a list of people in his computer that he
talked about when he was intoxicated.
Q Ms. White, maybe my -- let me ask you the question
again.
You said you were scared of Mr. Parlanti. Were you
scared that he would physically hurt you?
Pag.163
A. Yes.
Q And that's why you didn't call the police?
A. Yes.
Q When you walked to the laundry room to do laundry,
how long did it take you to get there?
A. 45 minutes to an hour.
Q Just to walk there?
A. Yes.
Q So, you were walking really slow?
A. Yes.
Q Why?
A. Because of my broken ribs and my head pounding.
Q On your way to the laundry room, did you see anyone?
A. Yes.
Q Who did you see?
A. I saw a Hispanic lady, who lived three doors down.
Q Did you talk to her?
A. Yes.
Q For how long?
A. Few minutes.
Q Did you tell her what had happened a few days
before?
A. No.
Q Did you tell her anything about why you were walking
slow?
A. Told her I fell down a flight of stairs.
Q After speaking with her, you continued to the
laundry room?
Pag.164
A. Yes.
Q Did you see anyone else?
A. A maintenance man.
Q Where did you see him?
A. He opened the door to the laundry room because I was
unable to open the door.
Q You were physically unable to open the door?
A. Yes.
Q You didn't have the strength to open the door?
A. Correct.
Q And did you talk to the maintenance person?
A. Yes, I did.
Q Did you tell him about what had happened two days
prior?
A. No.
Q Did you tell him anything about why you couldn't
open the door?
A. Told him I had two broke ribs.
Q Did you tell him how you got those broken ribs?
A. I told him I fell down a flight of stairs.
Q So, he let you into the laundry room and you went
in?
A. Yes.
Q Did you actually do the laundry?
A. Yes.
Q Did you walk back to your apartment?
A. Yes.
Q How long did it take you to walk back to your
Pag.165
apartment?
A. Another 45 minutes to an hour.
Q Did you walk back and forth more than once?
A. No.
Q While you were in the laundry room doing laundry,
did you see anyone inside?
A. The lady that lives upstairs was in there.
Q Did you talk to her?
A. I don't remember.
Q Do you recall if you said anything about falling
down the stairs to her?
A. I may have. I don't remember.
Q On your way back to your apartment, do you recall
coming across anyone?
A. The young man that lived upstairs.
Q Do you know his name?
A. No.
Q Did you talk to him?
A. I believe we just said "Hi."
Q Do you recall if you told him anything about you
physically?
A. No.
Q Did you see anyone else?
A. I don't think so.
Q When you got back to your apartment, was the
defendant there?
A. No.
Q Did you remain in your apartment the rest of the
Pag.166
day?
A. Yes.
Q Did you call anyone on the telephone that day?
A. No.
Q Did you receive any calls from anyone on that day?
A. I may have spoke with my daughter or my mother.
Q You don't recall?
A. I don't recall.
Q Well, you testified earlier that you had a scheduled
job interview that day that you couldn't go to, correct?
A. Yes.
Q Did anyone from that job interview call you and say,
"Why didn't you show up?"
A. I called them and told her I was unable --
Q To make it?
A. -- to make it because I couldn't even make it down
the stairs to my car.
Q Do you recall who you spoke to?
A. The owner.
Q Did you make any statements about your physical
condition?
A. Yes. I think I told her I was in an accident. I
don't remember exactly what I told her.
Q You didn't say anything about being beaten or raped
by Mr. Parlanti?
A. No.
Q And you believe you might have spoken to your
daughter or your mother on that day?
Pag.167
A. Yes.
THE COURT: Counsel, may I see you here at the bench,
please.
///
(Bench conference held off the record.)
///
THE COURT: All right. Thank you, counsel.
Sorry for the interruption. Ladies and gentlemen,
we are going to take a five-minute break, get everybody
walking around and a chance to use the rest room and so forth,
and we will resume and go to 5:00 tonight.
Recessed for five minutes.
///
(Off record - recess.)
///
THE BAILIFF: Remain seated and come to order, please.
THE COURT: We are back on the record now in the matter
of People versus Parlanti. We have all jurors, both counsel,
the defendant and witness.
Resume your direct examination, Mr. Romero.
MR. ROMERO: Thank you, your Honor.
CONTINUED DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. ROMERO:
testify today, how many other people did you come in contact
with when you still had some injuries on your face?
Pag.168
MR. BAMIEH: Object as to -- vague as to the time period
we are talking about.
THE COURT: Sustained.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Other than the people that you've
mentioned, from June 29, 2002 to July 19, 2003, the people
you've already mentioned that you saw walking to the laundry
room and law enforcement, did anyone come over to your
apartment?
THE COURT: It's a period of just over a year,
Mr. Romero.
MR. ROMERO: I'm sorry. I'll rephrase the question, your
Honor.
Q (By Mr. Romero) From June 29, 2002 to July 19,
2002, besides the people that you've already mentioned that
you've talked to or that you saw walking to the laundry room
and law enforcement, did anyone else come to your apartment?
A. There was a management lady from an Oxnard
restaurant that brought me my daughter's purse that was left
there.
Q A manager from a restaurant?
A. Yes.
Q What restaurant?
A. (No audible response.)
Q That's fine if you don't recall.
A. Sorry, I can't remember.
Q And you said she brought your daughter's purse?
A. Yes, she left it.
Q How did your daughter's purse end up in a restaurant
Pag.169
in Oxnard?
A. When she left our apartment on the 29th, she, my
grandson, my mother and her boyfriend went to eat in Oxnard at
this restaurant, and she absentmindedly left her purse in a
booth or table.
Q Did she call you and ask you to get the purse back?
A. Yes.
Q And so, you called over to the restaurant to get --
try and get the purse?
A. Yes.
Q And that's how the manager got to your apartment?
A. Yes.
you still have any bruising on your face?
A. Yes. I believe it was that Tuesday, which would
have been... 2nd.
Q July 2nd?
A. Yes.
Q When the manager -- male or female?
A. Female.
Q And when this manager came over, did you have any
makeup on?
A. No.
Q Did you have any sun glasses on?
A. No.
Q Did you -- strike that.
Did this manager ask you about how you got the
injuries on your face?
Pag.170
A. Yes.
Q And do you recall what you said?
A. I believe I just told her I was in an accident.
Q Did anyone else come over to your apartment besides
manager?
A. My insurance man.
Q Do you know his name?
A. It's three years ago. I'm sorry. I can't remember
name.
Q Do you remember what company he was with?
A. State Farm or... Farmers. I don't remember. One or
other.
Q And did this person come into your apartment?
A. Yes.
Q Do you remember when this person came into your
apartment?
A. I believe it was the first week of the injuries.
not sure what day.
Q And when this person came into your apartment, do
recall if you were wearing any makeup?
A. I believe I was.
Q Do you recall having a conversation with your
insurance person about the injuries or any physical condition
yourself?
A. Not at that time, no.
Q When you say "not at that time," did you have
another meeting with the insurance person?
A. A year later.
Pag.171
MR. ROMERO: May I approach the witness, your Honor?
THE COURT: Yes.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Now Ms. White, you testified that
you took some photographs of yourself in the bathroom with a
disposable camera, correct?
A. Yes.
Q I'm going to show you what's been marked as People's
No. 1. Can you take a look at People's No. 1 for a second?
Do you recognize what that is?
A. Yes.
Q What is it?
A. They are pictures that I took in my bathroom.
Q How many pictures are in People's No. 1?
A. Two.
Q And as you sit here testifying, to the best of your
recollection, is that the way you looked on the day you took
the photographs in your bathroom?
A. Yes.
MR. ROMERO: Your Honor, at this time, the People would
ask that People's No. 1 be moved into evidence.
THE COURT: Any objection?
MR. BAMIEH: No, your Honor.
THE COURT: 1 is received.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Now, after the incident you've
described on June 29, 2002, you've testified that when you
would go to bed, the defendant would zip tie your wrist to his
wrist, correct?
A. I'm sorry?
Pag.172
Q After the incident that you've described that took
place on June 29, 2002, in the evenings when you would go to
bed, the defendant would zip tie your wrists together,
correct?
A. Yes.
Q How long did that last?
A. Until the night of the 3rd.
Q So just a few nights?
A. Yes.
Q And during -- strike that.
So, the 3rd was the last time the defendant used any
zip ties on you?
A. That was the last night, yes.
Q And throughout the next week, did the defendant go
to work?
A. Yes.
Q He would leave the apartment?
A. Yes.
Q And he would leave you home alone?
A. Yes.
Q And at no time did you call the police?
A. No.
Q At some point, did you find out that the defendant
was going to be leaving on a business trip?
A. Yes.
Q When did you find that out?
A. The next week.
MR. ROMERO: May I approach the witness again
Pag.173
THE COURT: Yes.
Would you hand me Exhibit 1, please, ma'am, the
photograph?
(Witness complies.)
Thank you.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Can you take a look at People's No.
23, which I just placed up there?
MR. BAMIEH: Mr. Romero, you said 23?
MR. ROMERO: Yes.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Can you take a look at that?
A. (Witness complies.)
Q Do you recognize what that is?
A. Yes.
Q What is that?
A. The month of June and July 2002.
Q Do you see the day where the physical and sexual
abuse you've described took place?
A. Yes.
Q And can you grab a marker and circle that day?
A. (Witness complies.)
Q And I need you to stay there for one more second.
You testified you took some photographs of yourself.
Can you grab that same marker and put a "P" underneath the day
that you took the photographs?
A. (Witness complies.)
Q Now, you learn that the defendant was going to go on
a business trip.
What day of the week did you learn that that was
Pag.174
going to happen?
A. I'm not sure. It was after the 7th.
Q You're not sure what day, but some time after the
7th?
A. Yes.
Q Okay. You can sit down.
A. (Witness complies.)
Q Now, between June 29, 2002 and July 18th, of 2002,
did Mr. Parlanti hit you?
A. I'm sorry. Ask me that again.
Q Did Mr. Parlanti hit you?
A. Between?
Q Let me back up.
Between June 29, 2002 and July 19, 2002, did you and
Mr. Parlanti engage in sexual relations?
A. Yes.
Q How many times?
A. Three to four times.
Q Did that take place in your bedroom?
A. Yes.
Q And what type of sexual relations was it?
Was it penis to vag -- vaginal -- to your vagina?
Was it penis to anus?
Q During the three times you had sex with him after --
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Misstates the evidence.
Misstates her testimony.
THE COURT: Sustained. Witness said three to four.
Pag.175
Q (By Mr. Romero) During the three to four times you
had sex with Mr. Parlanti after the 29th, did you want to have
sex with him?
A. Is that a yes-or-no question?
Q You can explain if you need to, but I need you to
answer the question.
Q Did Mr. Parlanti ask you for sex?
A. Yes.
Q Did you comply and have sex with him?
A. Yes.
Q Why did you do that?
A. Because he was drinking.
Q What was he drinking?
A. Wine.
Q Did that -- did he drink wine before each of the
three or four times you've described?
A. Yes.
Q Were you fearful of Mr. Parlanti when he asked you
to have sex with him?
A. Yes.
Q At any time during those three or four times that
you had sex with him, did you tell him that you did not want
to have sex with him?
A. No.
Q Why didn't you tell him "no"?
A. Because I was afraid.
Q Afraid of him?
Pag.176
A. Being beaten again.
Q Do you know what day Mr. Parlanti left on his
business trip?
A. I believe it was the 16th.
Q At some point, during July of 2002, did you contact
the police?
A. Yes.
Q And what day did you contact them, if you recall?
A. The 18th.
Q Can you go and take the marker, and under the 16th
of July, which you've indicated that Mr. Parlanti left on his
business trip, can you put "left"? Can you write "left" under
the 16th?
A. (Witness complies.)
Q And under the 18th, can you write the word "report"
to indicate that's the day you reported to the police what
happened?
A. (Witness complies.)
Q You can sit down, Ms. White.
A. (Witness complies.)
Q Now, between the 29th of June and the 18th of July,
the day you reported, did you think about reporting what
Mr. Parlanti did to you on the 29th to the police?
A. Yes.
Q And why did it take you until the 18th to report it?
A. I was not able to walk or drive myself to the
police.
Q So, if you could have walked or driven yourself, you
Pag.177
would have gone straight to the police?
A. Yes. So I could escape.
Q Couldn't you have called the police and had them
come over and pick you up?
A. Where was I going to go?
Q Well, you said you could have escaped.
Where were you going to go if you could escape?
A. My daughter's.
Q Couldn't you have called the police and tell them to
call your daughter to come and get you?
A. Where was I going to put my car? How was I -- she
lived 300 miles away.
Q So, during this time, between June 29th and the 18th
of July, what are you thinking about?
A. I lived in constant fear. How am I going to get
out? How am I going report it?
Q Were you certain you were going to report it?
A. It was hard.
Q Did you still love Mr. Parlanti?
A. Yes, I do. I love him very much.
Q If you reported this, you knew most likely he would
be arrested?
A. Yes, I did.
Q Did you want him to be arrested?
A. In my heart, no, but in my mind, yes.
Q Did you feel any loyalty to Mr. Parlanti?
A. Yes.
Q Why?
Pag.178
A. Because I loved him.
Q Why did you love him?
A. Is there an answer to love? I don't know how to
answer that.
Q You just described an incident where Mr. Parlanti
beat you, bound you, and raped you.
How can you still feel love for a person who does
that to you?
A. I can't answer you.
THE COURT: Sorry. I couldn't understand your answer,
ma'am.
THE WITNESS: I can't answer that. I don't understand it
myself, but I still loved him.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Did you still think about wanting
to stay in the relationship --
A. No.
Q -- with him?
A. Because I knew if I ever was in that situation with
him again, and he got that violent, I was afraid he would kill
me.
Q You were afraid for your life?
A. Yes. I knew that was not his intent, but that was
my fear.
Q Before Mr. Parlanti left on July 16th for his
business trip, other than acquiescing to the sexual contact
with him, did you do anything else to try and appease him?
A. I'm sorry. I'm not understanding what you're
asking.
Pag.179
Q Before he left on his business trip, were you
careful what you said around him?
MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Leading.
THE COURT: Sustained.
Q (By Mr. Romero) Before he left on his business
trip, how did you act around him?
A. I walked on egg shells.
Q What do you mean?
A. I was careful not to make him angry. I stayed away
from him. Avoided conversation.
Q Did you sleep on the same bed with him?
A. No.
Q Sorry?
A. No.
Q Where did you sleep?
A. Actually, he barred me from the bedroom. He told me
I didn't deserve to sleep with him anymore. He told me I
couldn't please him.
Q Did he tell you why?
A. I couldn't sexually please him because I couldn't --
the last time we had intercourse, he wasn't able to, uhm... to
reach...
Q To climax?
A. Climax, yeah.
Q During the numerous sexual relations you had on June
29, 2002, do you recall if Mr. Parlanti climaxed then?
A. He never did.
Q So, if you couldn't -- if you were barred from the
Pag.180
bedroom, where did you sleep?
A. I slept on the -- the futon.
Q In the office?
A. In the office.
Q At any point after June 29, 2002 and before
Mr. Parlanti left on his business trip, did he make you
promise him anything?
A. That I wouldn't turn him in.
Q What words did he use, if you recall?
A. I need to look at the calendar just for a minute so
I can tell you when this happened.
Is that okay?
Q No. I don't need you to tell me when it happened.
Just, can you tell me what he told you?
A. He said, "I'm scared."
Q He told you that?
A. Yes. I asked him what he was scared of, and he
wouldn't answer me. He said, "I need you to promise me you
won't leave me like all the other girls because they have all
left me when I needed them the most, and I need you to tell me
that you won't be like them."
Q Did that have any meaning for you?
A. Yes.
Q What?
A. I had asked him before why the other girls left him,
and he said, "You will find out one day."
And after he beat me, there was one day in there he
said, "Now you know why I'm not married and why I don't have a
Pag.181
girlfriend." He made me promise I would not turn him in.
That was a promise I could not keep.
Q When he made you promise that, did you have an
obligation to keep it?
A. I couldn't.
Q Did you feel torn in your feelings for him?
A. Yes.
Q When you reported it to the police, how did you do
that?
A. I'm sorry. I don't understand what you're asking.
Q Did you call the police?
Did you go and find a police officer?
A. I, uh... I drove to the police station in Westlake,
and they told me it was the wrong district or something, and
they gave me a map and told me I need to go to the sheriff's
office, and I drove to the sheriff's office.