1. stand; assuming that person does what victim advocates always

2. do, which is nothing?

3. MR. BAMIEH: Because it's -- why is this person treated

4. differently than all other witnesses?

5. THE COURT: I don't know that she would be.

6. MR. BAMIEH: Well, no other witness will be up there, as

7. I know it, with a support person. And we don't typically

8. allow people to go up on the stand with support people. So,

9. it's acknowledging tacitly at the very least that somehow this

10. woman has been traumatized and needs extra support, which

11. prejudices my client.

12. MR. ROMERO: Your Honor, I believe the spirit of the law

13. is that victims of sexual assault offenses, such as this, who

14. request the presence of a victim advocate, who might bring

15. some kind of --

16. COURT REPORTER: Could you speak up a little bit, please?

17. MR. ROMERO: Sure -- some kind of calming or soothing

18. quality to her so that she can testify, I believe that's what

19. the spirit of that penal code section is.

20. THE COURT: Well, I don't really follow the defendant's

21. argument that he is prejudiced in some way because there is a

22. person up there with this witness even if she is the only

23. witness who has such a person with her.

24. Why is a weakness on the part of a witness -- why

25. does that become a prejudice to the defendant?

26. MR. BAMIEH: Because the inference was that the weakness

27. was caused due to some trauma she received due to the hands of

28. my client.

1. THE COURT: Well, that may be an inference, but not the

2. only one that can be drawn.

3. MR. BAMIEH: It's the one that's most dangerous to my

4. client, and it's the one that concerns me. And at the

5. preliminary hearing, she testified by herself without problem,

6. and now when there's a jury present, all of a sudden when

7. there's a chance of prejudice that occurs, I just -- I believe

8. it's prejudicial to my client and should not be allowed.

9. THE COURT: I see. Any case authority on this,

10. gentlemen? Just skimming through the statute, it looks like

11. the People are correct; looks like that although the statute

12. is found that govern preliminary hearings, the legislator

13. talks there about juvenile proceedings that... wouldn't be

14. much reason to do that unless there was a statute that

15. generally covers all. This is a court proceeding. I'll take

16. a quick look at some authorities I have to refer to in

17. chambers before I decide that.

18. Any other pretrial issues?

19. MR. ROMERO: There was the issue of excluding witnesses.

20. And also, in my moving papers, I asked that the defense be

21. precluded from asking any questions regarding Ms. White's

22. commitment to a mental health facility, I believe, in the

23. early nineties.

24. THE COURT: That's true, you did.

25. Any theory of relevance or admissibility for any

26. mental health treatment on the part of White?

27. MR. BAMIEH: Uhm... that she is an unstable woman, who is

28. prone to exaggeration and has had extensive treatment for

1. mental health issues; will go towards her credibility.

2. THE COURT: Are you going to be calling a witness that

3. will offer some testimony that having been treated for a

4. mental health issue permits the inference that the person's an

5. unstable, incredible witness?

6. MR. BAMIEH: No, your Honor.

7. THE COURT: You would be inviting the jurors to speculate

8. on that point, wouldn't you?

9. MR. BAMIEH: No, your Honor. I believe some of it is

10. based on the fact that the issues that occurred with her

11. former husband would be relevant in this case, and she made

12. allegations against him and then was committed to a mental

13. hospital. And so, the -- the inference would be that those

14. allegations were false as these allegations are false.

15. THE COURT: I see.

16. Further argument for the People?

17. MR. ROMERO: Submitted, your Honor.

18. THE COURT: What if the allegations in the earlier case

19. weren't false? How does it -- how does making the allegation

20. that in the prior instance the allegations were false prove

21. anything?

22. MR. BAMIEH: That she -- she's prone to make false

23. allegations against men in her life.

24. THE COURT: I'm asking you: What if they weren't false?

25. How do we determine they were false for purposes of this

26. trial?

27. MR. BAMIEH: I believe that her prior statements as to

28. the description of those events and their inconsistencies

1. establish they were false. And there's some statements that

2. relate directly to this case in terms of -- she knew what to

3. say to be considered a battered woman because after that

4. incident, she went to a battered women's shelter, and she got

5. fully educated on what the syndrome was and how to react and

6. how to behave.

7. THE COURT: I haven't heard a motion to exclude any

8. evidence that she was previously battered. The motion is to

9. exclude evidence that she was treated by a psychologist or

10. psychiatrist or an inmate of a mental institution at some

11. point. That's the motion. Not a motion to exclude some

12. evidence of some prior history on the part of the witness of

13. being a battered woman or allegedly so. So we are talking

14. about two separate things.

15. MR. BAMIEH: Also goes to the medication she was

16. prescribed and is taking, which may affect her testimony.

17. THE COURT: All right. Any other rationale for the

18. admission of this evidence?

19. MR. BAMIEH: That's the basis.

20. THE COURT: As to any medications that any witness may be

21. taking during the time of testimony or perhaps was taking when

22. some events occurred that the witness might be testifying

23. about, those could be quite relevant, and I'm not saying that

24. the witnesses can't be examined about those things.

25. My conclusion is I haven't heard anything that

26. satisfies me that getting into White's history of mental

27. treatment has any relevance in this case. Sounds like all it

28. would do is further allow the jurors to infer that a person

1. has been treated for mental problems; therefore, the person is

2. not a reliable witness. That inference does not necessarily

3. follow, in the absence of some sort of testimony from a

4. credible witness, such as an expert, who is reliable, showing

5. that that inference makes some sense. The jurors would just

6. be invited to speculate because the person had mental

7. problems, therefore, the person shouldn't be believed.

8. I'll revisit the question of the admissibility of

9. White's history of mental treatment if and when the time comes

10. once I'm satisfied that there would be some evidence that

11. would support the inference you would be asking the jurors to

12. draw, Mr. Bamieh, but until such time, you are ordered not to

13. go into it with the witness or any other witness.

14. As far as the motion to exclude witnesses, what's

15. the defense position on that?

16. MR. BAMIEH: Your Honor, the only witness we would ask

17. the Court to consider is Katia Anedda. A-N-N-E-D-A?

18. A-N-E-D-D-A. My client's -- she came from Italy to be with my

19. client. She's a significant other, and I believe she should

20. be allowed to be in the courtroom.

21. I know Mr. Romero recently gave her a subpoena. She

22. is going to back to Italy on the 11th. She would like to, at

23. least. And as to -- she doesn't speak much English here. So,

24. she's Italian, by the way, and there's no interpreter sitting

25. with her. It's not like she's going to garner much from the

26. proceeding, but to sit here for support.

27. THE COURT: Let me find out, first of all, if Anedda is a

28. witness the People are seeking to exclude. Is she?

1. MR. ROMERO: She is, your Honor.

2. THE COURT: And she was subpoenaed by the district

3. attorney a couple of days ago here in court, right?

4. MR. ROMERO: That's correct.

5. THE COURT: What role would she play in the trial?

6. What's she expected to testify to?

7. MR. ROMERO: She is going to testify that she had

8. communicated with Ms. White before and after the charged

9. incident. And that after the charged incident, Ms. White told

10. her that she had been beaten by the defendant, and that

11. Ms. Anedda had contact with the defendant in Europe and talked

12. to the defendant. And it's going to the fact that the

13. defendant circumstantially knew -- by circumstantial evidence

14. that he knew that Ms. White had reported the conduct to the

15. police and did not return to the United States, did not make

16. any attempt to contact the police, and it goes to his

17. consciousness of guilt and his flight from the United States.

18. THE COURT: I see.

19. Anything else on question of whether the witness

20. should be excluded?

21. MR. BAMIEH: Yes, your Honor. This witness was not put

22. on the official witness list. We had no notice she was going

23. to be called. She flies to Italy (sic) in good faith, so she

24. could sit through the trial, and she's handed a subpoena the

25. day she shows up, which just -- in court of equity, it's just

26. not fair to her now to say that she flew all the way out here

27. to be with him and now we are going to exclude her.

28. Secondly, the relevance of her testimony in terms of

1. the hearsay statements from Ms. White to her about being

2. beaten, there's a question as to that. And also, drawing the

3. inference that somehow if my client was already in Italy and

4. knew there was allegations in the United States that he has a

5. duty to return to the United States, not knowing -- she said

6. lots of things, by the way, in her e-mails to Ms. Anedda. So,

7. that inference is to somehow justify a flight instruction is a

8. stretch at best.

9. THE COURT: Let's stay with the issue at hand.

10. When do you expect to call witness Anedda in the

11. trial?

12. MR. ROMERO: Your Honor, I understand that she has to

13. leave by the 11th, and I intend to do my best to get her on

14. the stand before the 11th so that she can go back to Italy. I

15. can probably take her as soon as Ms. White is done.

16. THE COURT: All right. And there wouldn't be any

17. objection remaining and observing after her testimony is

18. concluded?

19. MR. ROMERO: If she is excused as a witness, no.

20. THE COURT: All right. Anything else?

21. MR. BAMIEH: No, your Honor.

22. THE COURT: The People's motion is granted. I'm

23. sympathetic to Ms. Anedda's situation. I understand she's

24. come a long way to attend the trial, but the integrity of the

25. fact-finding process of the trial is paramount, and she will

26. be excluded until after her testimony has been completed. And

27. I will ask the parties to do that as early as possible in the

28. trial so that she's able to attend as much of the trial as she

1. can so that she can accomplish the things she came here to do.

2. MR. ROMERO: Just on that note, your Honor, I did inform

3. Denise that Ms. Anedda -- actually, I think Denise informed me

4. that Ms. Anedda is going to need an Italian interpreter.

5. THE COURT: Right.

6. MR. ROMERO: And I believe Denise might have called and

7. made arrangements for next week.

8. THE CLERK: I did, your Honor. Monday, first thing in

9. the morning. That's the soonest.

10. THE COURT: Okay. Is Katia Anedda in court? Is that

11. you, ma'am? Would you, please, stand.

12. Ms. Anedda, I'm told you don't speak much English.

13. MS. ANEDDA: Little.

14. THE COURT: Probably a lot more than I do Italian.

15. MS. ANEDDA: No. I can read, but don't speak.

16. THE COURT: All right. I'm sorry to tell you this, but

17. you will be excluded. You will be forced to wait outside

18. during the trial.

19. Is there someone that can explain this to

20. Ms. Anedda for me?

21. MR. BAMIEH: Yes. The Italian Consul is here.

22. THE COURT: You are from the consulate, sir? Sir.

23. THE BAILIFF: State your name.

24. MR. BRASIOLI: Diego Brasioli. My name is Diego

25. Brasioli.

26. THE COURT: Mr. Brasioli, you are from the Italian

27. Consulate?

28. MR. BRASIOLI: I am the Consul General of Italy.

Pag.17

1. THE COURT: All right. I can see that you speak English

2. quite well. Would you mind explaining, please, for me to

3. Ms. Anedda the fact that I'm sorry that she can't attend the

4. trial, but that she will not be permitted to attend the trial

5. as a witness until her testimony is concluded, and the

6. earliest we can get an Italian interpreter here will be

7. Monday. So, it will be no sooner than that unless an Italian

8. interpreter becomes available to us sooner. We will be using

9. an official court interpreter, but if there's some other way

10. that the interpreting can be done before that time and the

11. witness can get on and off the stand, then we can do it

12. sooner, but we are making arrangements for an Italian

13. interpreter now.

14. And I'm sorry that's the ruling, but that needs to

15. be the ruling so that the trial is as fair and accurate as it

16. can be. And once she's no longer needed as a witness, she can

17. watch. If you wouldn't mind summarizing that for me.

18. MR. BRASIOLI: I will explain that.

19. THE COURT: Thank you.

20. MR. ROMERO: There is one other thing, your Honor, and I

21. was just reminded by my investigator, Leslie Robertson, who is

22. a potential witness, and she conducted many interviews of

23. witnesses on this case. I would like to have her designated

24. as my lead investigator because she will be coming and going

25. out of the courtroom assisting me in making sure witnesses get

26. here and scheduling, and I would like her to have the ability

27. to come and go as needed.

28. THE COURT: Any objection?

Pag. 18

1. MR. BAMIEH: I just want her ordered not to go to Hawaii

2. during the course of the trial.

3. THE COURT: And remain an employee of the District

4. Attorney's Office?

5. MR. BAMIEH: Yes.

6. THE COURT: Investigator Robertson, will be there any

7. issues in that respect?

8. MS. ROBERTSON: No.

9. THE CLERK: What's her first name?

10. MR. ROMERO: Leslie.

11. MR. BAMIEH: Your Honor, I'd also request Mr. Eugene

12. Thayer, who is working with me as my investigator. He's in

13. the audience.

14. THE COURT: You are asking he be allowed to remain as

15. well?

16. MR. BAMIEH: Yes.

17. THE COURT: He may also be a witness?

18. MR. BAMIEH: He may also be a witness.

19. THE COURT: Any objection?

20. MR. ROMERO: No objection.

21. THE COURT: Both investigators in the case can come and

22. go at will; not subject to the witness exclusion order.

23. Any other pretrial issues to take care of?

24. MR. ROMERO: No, your Honor.

25. THE BAILIFF: I have an issue, your Honor. I had an

26. interaction with the victim. She's exceedingly uncomfortable

27. seeing and being seen by the defendant. I have cautioned her

28. that the monitor will be adjusted where she can kind of

Pag.19

1. conceal herself from him and not have to make eye contact, but

2. I want the parties to be aware of that.

3. And Mr. Bamieh, if I sit there, will you be able to

4. see her if she sit -- are you good with this so you can see to

5. interview?

6. MR. BAMIEH: I'll move -- I'll adjust accordingly, I

7. guess.

8. THE COURT: Okay. Well, the fact is, the way the

9. courtroom is laid out, that screen is exactly where Marty

10. said, and your witness can sit wherever she likes.

11. You had asked, Mr. Bamieh, to be able to conduct the

12. images on this wall, and I said yes, but I see it's set up

13. over here.

14. MR. BAMIEH: Mr. Certa, from my office, is here, and I

15. don't know what Mr. Romero's intentions were.

16. THE COURT: Any issues with Power Point, folks? We're

17. already 15 minutes late. We have the jurors here. I want to

18. move this along.

19. MR. ROMERO: I'm not going to be using the Power Point in

20. my opening statement. I'll probably be using the ELMO during

21. my direct examination.

22. THE COURT: Okay. Any issues as far as using Power Point

23. during the opening statement? Anything to sort out

24. beforehand?

25. MR. ROMERO: I don't believe so.

26. THE COURT: Okay. Well, then let's get the projector

27. changed around. I want to take a look on the authorities of

28. witness advocates.

Pag.20

1. THE BAILIFF: Your Honor, unless these cords are long, I

2. think they have to come in.

3. MR. BAMIEH: I think they will be okay. I've done it

4. before. Yeah, we are fine.

5. ///

6. (Off record.)

7. ///

8. THE COURT: Okay. Back on the record, again, outside the

9. presence of the jury. And seems like the issue is really

10. answered -- hold it down, please, folks -- within the statute

11. itself. I overlooked it as I was skimming through it.

12. In 865.5, although it's buried among the sections

13. that govern preliminary hearings, apply to trials by its own

14. terms. So, I haven't heard anything that would cause me to

15. think that a victim advocate acting as they normally do would

16. really prejudice Mr. Parlanti.

17. The victim advocate, who is going to be with witness

18. White, is this an experienced individual?

19. MR. ROMERO: It is, your Honor. Her name is Mayela

20. Ramirez. She's in our office.

21. THE COURT: She's done this kind of thing before?

22. MR. ROMERO: My understanding, yes, she has.

23. THE COURT: Just a reminder, please, she's in no way to

24. participate other than to be present with White on the witness

25. stand, and I don't think we will have any issues.

26. MR. BAMIEH: Couple issues. Just -- well, how are you

27. going to describe the victim advocate to the jury? What --

28. you are not going to say anything?

Pag.21

1. THE COURT: I usually don't. Normally, the person

2. calling the witness would ask if the victim advocate can stay

3. with the witness, and that way the jury gets who it is. I can

4. do it or you folks can do it. Doesn't matter with me.

5. MR. BAMIEH: I would like -- I would like the Court to

6. explain to the jury that the penal code allows, in cases where

7. this allegation is made, for a charged victim, at the request

8. of her -- of the charged victim to come to court with the

9. victim advocate, who is an employee of the District Attorney's

10. Office.

11. THE COURT: Any objection to that?

12. MR. ROMERO: I have no problem with the law being told to

13. the jurors.

14. THE COURT: I have never given such an instruction

15. before. So, I'll just wing it.

16. MR. BAMIEH: Yeah.

17. THE COURT: So, you're going to be stuck with whatever I

18. say.

19. MR. BAMIEH: I trust you to comply with the law. So,

20. I'll be okay with that.

21. THE COURT: If you tell me what the law is, I certainly

22. will, but I'll just tell the jurors the penal code allows the

23. victim advocate be present at the request of the alleged

24. victim in a case of this type.

25. MR. BAMIEH: That's fine.

26. MR. ROMERO: That's fine.

27. THE COURT: Although, I may not be my usual, eloquent

28. self when I say that.

Pag.22

1. Okay. Any other issues?

2. MR. BAMIEH: If I understand the Court's order, she is to

3. be allowed to stay for opening or also excluded for opening?

4. THE COURT: Well, there was no discussion about that.

5. Ordinarily, a witness would not observe the opening statement.

6. Any objection, though.

7. MR. ROMERO: I would object to her being present at the

8. opening statement.

9. THE COURT: The whole purpose of exclusion is the witness

10. won't be influenced by testimony. I can see the witness might

11. be influenced by a description of the testimony of the

12. witnesses. So, Ms. Anedda will be excluded for opening

13. statements as well.

14. MR. BAMIEH: Okay.

15. THE COURT: Let's bring the jurors in and begin to work.

16. Marty, can you switch off the projector while I'm

17. talking with the jurors, please? Thanks.

18. ///

19. (Prospective jurors enter the courtroom.)

20. ///

21. THE COURT: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome

22. back. Sorry about the late start. We will try to keep those

23. to a minimum, but it couldn't be helped this morning.

24. We are back on the record now in the matter of

25. People versus Parlanti. We have all of our jurors, both

26. counsel and the defendant.

27. In a little while, we will commence with opening

28. statements and the presentation of evidence. Before we do, as

Pag.23

1. I mentioned yesterday, I will go over with you some of the

2. rules that we need to follow in the course of this trial. The

3. things I'm going to tell you are pretty straight forward.

4. They are also quite important; that everybody abide by them.

5. First of all, as I mentioned, members of the jury

6. are to have no contact or conversation with either counsel or

7. anyone that you know to be a witness for either side or

8. involved in the case in any way. It's okay to say "good

9. morning" or "good afternoon." Do not let it go beyond that

10. point. The parties -- counsel know they can't talk with you.

11. They won't talk with you. Just puts everybody in an awkward

12. spot if jurors are trying to talk with the lawyers or other

13. people, and they have to say, "I can't talk with you." Nobody

14. who is trying a case wants to appear to be rude to the people

15. who are deciding it, and you need to not create that kind of

16. situation.

17. The reason for this rule has to do primarily with

18. the law of evidence. The admission of evidence in the trial

19. is governed by a body of law found almost exclusively in

20. what's called the Evidence Code, appropriately enough. In

21. California, the Evidence Code is a codification by and large

22. of common law rules of evidence that have been applied in

23. trials for the last several centuries, both here and in

24. England.

25. The reason that those rules exist, the ones that

26. we're mainly concerned with in trial, has to do with the

27. reliability of information that you get as jurors to decide a

28. case. And the hearsay rule is a good example of that.

Pag.24

1. Hearsay is generally defined as an out-of-court statement,

2. which is offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted by

3. the statement itself. It's a fairly simple definition, but

4. it's -- can be difficult to apply sometimes to get your mind

5. wrapped around that in different situations.

6. Further, compounding the complexity of it, is the

7. fact that there are a myriad of exceptions to the hearsay rule

8. that are found in the Evidence Code. There are lots of

9. statements that even though they are made up out of court,

10. even though they are offered to prove the truth of what's

11. being said, they have been determined to be reliable enough

12. for jurors to consider in deciding a case. Doesn't mean

13. jurors necessarily will believe them, but they are admissible.

14. In other words, they can be considered by the jury.

15. If a juror were to go outside of court and talk with

16. people about the case in an informal setting, none of these

17. rules will be followed. In other words, we wouldn't be

18. applying the rules of evidence to the information the jurors

19. would be getting, and that conversation is a casual

20. conversation, either with counsel or somebody else that you

21. come into contact with that tells you that he or she knows

22. something about this case.

23. Also, one of the most important trial rights that a

24. party has in a case like this or any other is the right to

25. have these rules of evidence followed, the right to be present

26. in court while the jurors are receiving information about the

27. case, to know what's being offered, the chance to object if

28. what's being offered does not meet the rules of evidence,

Pag.25

1. okay. All of that would be brushed aside and be defeated if

2. the jurors were to talk to someone outside of the courtroom

3. about this case.

4. You can't really talk to somebody in the courtroom

5. about the case. You get your information to decide the case

6. from evidence received in court in the presence of both

7. parties so that they know what's being asked, what's being

8. offered, and they have a chance to object if they need to do

9. it. And that's the biggest reason for this rule.

10. There are lots of other rules in the Evidence Code

11. that we apply in a trial, things like privileges and whatnot,

12. that don't have to do with the reliability of evidence. They

13. have to do with the protection of relationships and

14. confidences and things like that. But the one we're mainly

15. concerned with in trial have to do with this reliability

16. checking process that we find in the Evidence Code. And so,

17. that adherence to that rule helps us to make sure that the

18. rules of evidence are followed.

19. One of my main jobs in the case is to apply the

20. rules of evidence to the case and rule on objections and

21. things like this. And while I'm on the subject of objections,

22. you need to understand that objections are just a shorthand

23. way of lawyers communicating with me, asking for a ruling on

24. whether a question is proper or whether an answer is proper or

25. whether an item of evidence is admissible, okay.

26. If you watch television and movies, we talk about

27. things a little bit in voir dire in the sense of technical

28. evidence, but also whenever you see a courtroom scene on

    ---

    Pag. 26

     

1. television or in movie, the way they write it is clever

2.  lawyers use the rules of evidence to interpose a timely

3. objection to keep truth from coming out. In other words, the

4. rules of evidence are used to kick dirt over the truth and

5. keep jurors from finding things out about a case they ought to

6. hear, right? Always makes for an interesting screen play.

7. And the judge usually sits there like a bump on a log. And

8. the judges are interesting in TV and movies. They have a role

9. to play; that they're dunderheads that sit there at the head

10. of the courtroom and watch what's all going on; may be the

11. only accurate thing that you see, okay.

12. But the fact is, in real life, in court, objections

13. are not a way of concealing the truth, okay. There's nothing

14. wrong with an objection. I don't want you to hold it against

15. a party if there is an objection. There will be some

16. objections in this trial. Bound to be. All right. Just like

17. there are bound to be some out-of-court statements that are

18. offered one way or the other. From talking with the lawyers,

19. knowing a little bit about the case, I expect that, okay.

20. An objection is just a request by the party for a

21. ruling from the Court on whether something is a good question,

22. whether it's a proper question, whether it's an answer which

23. appears to reflect, for example, that the witness has personal

24. knowledge about something that he or she is talking about, or

25. whether a piece of evidence meets the rules for admission. It

26. is not an effort to keep something from you that you ought to

27. hear. An objection is, instead, an effort to make sure that

28. what you are getting is what you ought to hear; that it meets

Pag.27

1. these tests that have been established and have withstood the

2. test of time to make sure the quality of the evidence you are

3. getting is good enough to be considered in the trial.

4. So, don't hold it against the lawyers if there is an

5. objection. You know, it's part of the job with lawyers to

6. object when they think they should. It's not an effort to

7. conceal anything from you. It's quite the opposite. It's an

8. effort to make sure what's admitted here in trial is the sort

9. of thing that ought to be heard by the jurors in deciding the

10. case.

11. Any questions about anything I've said? If you have

12. a question, feel free to ask.

13. Sometimes I over explain things. And I may be doing

14. that now, but my experience has been that if people understand

15. the reason for the rule, it's a lot easier to follow, okay.

16. In the same vein that I'm talking about, and I'm not speaking

17. to people outside of court about the case, you don't do your

18. own legal research about the case, you don't -- if you hear

19. evidence where things happen, you don't drive out to the

20. scene, look it over for yourself, that sort of thing. All

21. right.

22. The lawyers and I have actually already begun

23. working on jury instructions, and we will be working on them

24. throughout the trial off and on to make sure that I correctly

25. explain the law to you at the end of the case.

26. Sometimes, though, in a trial, jurors will hear a

27. term that they get interested in something they may not be

28. familiar with, and they may want to go look that up because

Pag.28

1. they get curious about it. Please do not do that. All right.

2. The reason that that's against the rules is not that we don't

3. want you to find out what's going on. As I said, we are

4. already starting to work on making sure that the explanation I

5. give you at the end of the case of the law is correct. The

6. problem with that is sometimes jurors will go out, and there

7. have been cases where they have done that, and they will do

8. their own legal research or other research, bring that in,

9. share it with the other jurors, and they are wrong, okay. A

10. murder case is a good example of that.

11. In a murder case, in almost all cases, except for

12. one kind that we don't need to be concerned with here, a jury

13. will be concerned with the presence of something called malice

14. aforethought. Malice aforethought is, generally speaking, an

15. element of the crime of murder, and without malice

16. aforethought, there is no murder; may be manslaughter, which

17. is another kind of unlawful killing, but not murder.

18. Well, a juror may hear that term "malice" and think,

19. "Well, you know, I wonder what that really means," and go look

20. it up. If you look up the word "malice" in a dictionary, it

21. will mean "hatred" or "ill will." You will see something like

22. that. If one person hates another has a feeling of malice.

23. But it will be a huge mistake to do that in a murder case

24. because the term "malice aforethought" has nothing whatever to

25. do with the emotional state of the killing. All right. It

26. has to do with a mental state, an intention unlawfully to kill

27. another human being. That's all.

28. Mercy killings are invariably murders to the first

Pag.29

1. degree. They always involve the presence of malice

2. aforethought because there is the intention unlawfully to kill

3. another human being. Mercy killings are done because there

4. are deep feelings of love or affection that exist between the

5. one who kills and the one who is killed, all right, but those

6. are murders. And for a juror to bring in a dictionary

7. definition of "malice" in a case like that, to think you have

8. to have that emotional state, would be a serious, serious

9. mistake, and that's one of the reasons we ask jurors not to do

10. that. You will get complete and correct jury instructions at

11. the end of this case that define all of these terms for you.

12. Please don't feel you have to go look them up for yourself.

13. Having said that, legal research is not rocket

14. science or, as my kids would say, not rocket surgery. If I

15. can do it, anybody can, but it's important that the jurors all

16. be working with the same information; that you not go out on

17. your own and sort of piecemeal this; that you work with the

18. information given to you by the Court, and it's a very strict

19. rule.

20. If the jurors were to violate the rules I've talked

21. about so far, talking to people outside the court about the

22. case or even talking with each other outside of court about

23. the case or deliberating on the case before it's submitted to

24. you or going out and researching things, it could cause a

25. mistrial. In other words, the case would have to be re-done.

26. It's a very wasteful process. Trials of this type are very

27. expensive. They are very taxing on everybody concerned. So,

28. please don't violate these rules. They are very important.

Pag.30

1. Any questions about it? All right.

2. I mentioned yesterday about taking notes. Marty

3. probably already passed out the note pads and pens. Yeah, I

4. see. Okay. You can take notes or not as you see fit during

5. the trial. Your notes are for your own personal use. Any

6. time you are not in the courtroom, your note pad needs to stay

7. on your chair because it's in the custody of the bailiff. And

8. the reason for that is because nobody gets to see what your

9. notes are all about unless you share it with them, okay. Your

10. notes only come into play if at the time you're deliberating

11. on the case, you want to talk to the other jurors about your

12. thoughts or impressions that you developed during the trial.

13. There is a downside to taking notes that you might

14. not have thought about if you haven't been through this

15. before, and it's this: If you're hunched over your note pad,

16. trying to scribble down kind of a verbatim record what every

17. witness says, it's very hard to look at the witness. At least

18. if you are like me, I can't read my writing even when I am

19. looking, but it's especially bad when I'm not, okay. And if

20. you are looking at your pad instead of looking at the witness,

21. you're depriving yourselves, as a juror, of the kind of

22. information that we all use, as people, to evaluate things

23. other people are telling us. One of your jobs as jurors is to

24. do that, is to listen and observe witnesses, take in what they

25. say. You do that a lot by looking at the people. So, please,

26. don't let your note-taking distract you from doing that. If

27. you don't take any notes at all, that's okay. If you take a

28. ton of notes, that's okay too.

Pag.31

1. At the end of trial, you will have the chance to

2. take your notes with you if you want. If you don't do that,

3. they will be shredded. Nobody gets to know what you think

4. unless you share that information with the other jurors.

5. Enough said about that.

6. Our court reporter, Ms. Sjoquist, is taking a record

7. of the trial as we go. My policy in working with jurors is

8. very straightforward. If you are deliberating on a case, and

9. you tell us that you need a readback of testimony to reach a

10. just decision, you will get it. So, please, don't feel that

11. there's any pressure on you to take notes because there isn't.

12. There's a record being made of everything every witness is

13. saying.

14. Having said that, we will ask you not to request

15. that unnecessarily because there's a great deal of time and

16. energy that's expended in preparing a readback, but the whole

17. reason for having a record is to have it as a tool for you to

18. use if you need it during deliberations. So, the note-taking

19. is something that you need to make sure that you understand

20. there's no pressure on taking notes, and certainly don't let

21. it distract you from the evidence in the case.

22. In just a minute or two, we will commence with

23. opening statements. That will be a chance for counsel to talk

24. to you and tell you what they expect the evidence to take you

25. here in this case. It's very important you understand that

26. statements of counsel are not evidence. It's important you

27. not confuse them with the evidence. That doesn't make them

28. unimportant because the statements of counsel can give you a

Pag.32

1. good head's up as to where we are going in this trial, and the

2. evidence, as it unfolds, will make more sense because you will

3. know where the parties expect to be taking you.

4. Counsel, do we have a stipulation that unless it's

5. otherwise brought to my attention, all parties are in their

6. places, and further, that the usual admonition will be given

7. in all breaks?

8. MR. BAMIEH: By the defense, yes.

9. MR. ROMERO: So stipulated by the People.

10. THE COURT: All right. Then Mr. Romero, you can make

11. your opening statement.

12. MR. ROMERO: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

13. THE JURY: Good morning.

14. MR. ROMERO: Before I start, I cannot stress enough or

15. emphasize that what I'm about to say is not evidence. This is

16. just an opportunity for me to tell you what I believe the

17. evidence is going to show at the trial. And I'm going to try

18. my best to present it to you in a chronological order.

19. However, that -- that may not happen completely because of

20. scheduling with witnesses, who will be coming out of the area.

21. And the best way I can analogize this to you is right now I'm

22. going to be giving you the top cover of a puzzle box where it

23. has the complete picture. You can see it, and then at the

24. trial, you may be given pieces a little out of order, but you

25. will know exactly where they fit by knowing the top cover of

26. the puzzle box.

27. Now, the evidence in this case is going to show that

28. the defendant is a very troubled man, who has -- who had an

Pag.33

1. understanding of love and relationships where his girlfriend

2. was required to worship him. She was required to pamper him

3. and literally, at times, to baby him.

4. Now, Ms. Rebecca White is not without her issues.

5. She is not without her shortcomings, but she brought to the

6. relationship -- she is an insecure woman, dependent on the

7. defendant, dependent on him for affection, dependent on him

8. for his love, and dependent on him for validation.

9. Ms. White loved the defendant. She loved him

10. blindly. And in so loving him, she put up with mental and

11. physical abuse throughout their relationship, and she did so

12. hoping that the defendant would love her more, hoping that she

13. could prove how much she loved him.

14. They met in Monterey in 2001, where they began their

15. relationship, and then they moved down to Ventura County and

16. moved into the Westlake area. And in that relationship, the

17. defendant dealt with his personal troubles by abusing her.

18. And Ms. White let him and, in fact, tried even harder to

19. please him.

20. And the abuse that the defendant inflicted was not

21. limited to emotional or physical abuse, there was sexual

22. abuse. And the abuse peaked on June 29, 2002. The defendant

23. that evening got drunk on wine, his drink of choice. He

24. slapped Ms. White. He pounded the back of her head into the

25. walls of their apartment. He kicked her on her ribs, and he

26. zip-tied her hands and her feet together, and he raped her

27. while she was zip-tied.

28. And why did he do this to Ms. White? Because the

Pag.34

1. defendant likes the power and control over his girlfriends.

2. He likes to exercise power and control over his girlfriends.

3. After that incident on June 29, 2002, did Ms. White

4. call the police? No, she didn't. Did she have an opportunity

5. to call the police? Yeah, she did. She had many

6. opportunities, but she chose not to. She chose to try and

7. stay in that relationship, but she thought about what she

8. might do because the defendant had never been that violent

9. with her before. And while trying to determine what to do,

10. she took pictures of herself of the injuries on her face, and

11. it was not until well over two weeks later that she reported

12. this incident to the sheriff's department. And she reported

13. it to the sheriff's department when the defendant had left on

14. a business trip to Gulfport, Mississippi.

15. Now, the defendant, through his employment, traveled

16. extensively for business. And on this occasion, when he left

17. to Gulfport, Mississippi, Ms. White believed that, while

18. there, he was going to be seeing another woman named Cecelia.

19. I believe her last name is Howells, and that he was probably

20. having a relationship with her, but that is nothing knew.

21. During her relationship with the defendant, she believed he

22. had been unfaithful, and that was part of their dysfunctional

23. relationship.

24. When Ms. White finally reported the incident to the

25. sheriff's department, she spoke to several deputies, and she

26. gave her statement several times. And the first day, I

27. believe, was July 18, 2002 that she contacted the sheriff's

28. department, and she gave -- she told them what happened to

Pag.35

1. her. I believe she told the initial deputy about two or three

2. times what had happened, and she was photographed by another

3. deputy, I believe a Jody Keller, and she had still two -- over

4. two weeks later, she still had some bruising on her. And you

5. will get those photographs, and you will get the photographs

6. that she took of herself.

7. She complained that two-and-a-half weeks later, her

8. ribs still hurt from where she was kicked by the defendant.

9. And in telling the deputies this on the first day she

10. reported, she got some dates confused. I think she initially

11. said the incident happened on July 6th. She went home and

12. looked at a calendar -- a calendar that she kept and realized

13. it was actually June 29th, and the very next day told the

14. deputies that she had made a mistake, that the incident

15. actually happened on June 29th, and that very next day, July

16. 19, 2002, her daughter helped her move. They rented a car,

17. packed up her items into that rental car, and headed north to

18. Monterey where she had friends and where she initially lived.

19. She had a friend by the name of Kanika Smith, who

20. lived up in Monterey. And this friend worked for a medical

21. clinic called Doctors On Duty. And on July 22, 2002,

22. Ms. White went to Doctors On Duty for treatment, and she was

23. treated by a Dr. Troy Manchester. And she told Dr. Manchester

24. what happened, and Dr. Manchester took x-rays and found that

25. she did, in fact, have cracked ribs.

26. Again, what I am telling you is not evidence. The

27. evidence you will receive during the trial. That's just a

28. general outline of what I believe it's going to show, and I

Pag.36

1. want to conclude with this. When she testifies, you will see

2. that several years later, Ms. White still has unresolved

3. feelings for the defendant. Thank you.

4. THE COURT: Thank you, Mr. Romero.

5. Mr. Bamieh, you may make an opening statement.

6. MR. BAMIEH: Couple minutes to set up the Power Point,

7. please. And your Honor, I need to delete some things from the

8. Power Point, just if I have a couple minutes to do that.

9. THE COURT: How long do you think?

10. MR. BAMIEH: Five minutes, I think. I found them where

11. they need to go, and I can fix them pretty quick, I think,

12. with this system.

13. THE COURT: All right.

14. MR. BAMIEH: Court's permission?

15. THE COURT: Go ahead.

16. MR. BAMIEH: Hello everybody. You guys made it through

17. voir dire. The trial is starting. As you know, I'm Ron

18. Bamieh. I represent Mr. Carlo Parlanti.

19. Mr. Parlanti is an Italian citizen. In late of

20. nineties and the early 2000s, he came to America to work for

21. Dole. He's a computer technician, works with computers. He's

22. considered top notch in his field, actually. And when he came

23. here in 2000, he was living up -- around 2000, he was living

24. up in Monterey. And in early 2001, he met Rebecca White.

25. Now, as Mr. Romero said in his opening statement,

26. how the opening statement's like a puzzle. Well, it is

27. because they are going to be putting the pieces together. In

28. this case, you are going to find you can't put this case

Pag.37

1. together. You are going to find that the case will not --

2. cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. And the reason

3. for that, which you will see in this case, is that the main

4. issue in this case will be the credibility of one Rebecca

5. White. You are not going to believe her. You are not going

6. to believe her because of the evidence.

7. In order to put this in context so you see where we

8. are going because, as you will see, the defense -- the People

9. have the burden. They will call the witnesses, and then I'll

10. get to cross-examine them as they are called. And so, to put

11. this in context, what I would like you to do in my opening is

12. to focus on the issues they will probably be raising, the

13. issues that will concern you, and the issues that you will not

14. be able to resolve and will lead to the ultimate verdict you

15. will have in this case, which will be not guilty.

16. To do that, I want to go through a time line of

17. events to put them in context so you will know what was

18. happening when and who the people were involved at the time.

19. Starting off with -- says 2000, 2001, because it was

20. late 2000, I think early 2001, just to -- safety net there

21. because, as I said, we will wait to see what they say, but

22. Rebecca White and Carlo Parlanti started dating.

23. Now, what you will know about this time is at this

24. time, Mr. Parlanti was ending -- had ended a relationship with

25. his former therapist, a Ms. Sandra Hollingsworth.

26. Ms. Hollingsworth made allegations against Mr. Parlanti. She

27. made serious allegations, actually. Part of it, you will

28. find, was attributed to the fact she committed a criminal

Pag.38

1. offense when she engaged in a sexual relationship with

2. Mr. Parlanti. She was his therapist, and the law says that a

3. therapist, a therapist like Ms. Hollingsworth, cannot have sex

4. with her clients. Pretty understandable law. And she had

5. committed that violation. When she committed that violation

6. and Mr. Parlanti told her he was leaving her, she went to the

7. police and made allegations again him.

8. Now, the police sorted it out and everything, and

9. eventually, it ended up that none of the allegations of

10. violence were substantiated against Mr. Parlanti, and he

11. started to sue her, began a lawsuit against Ms. Hollingsworth

12. for the trauma she had put him through. And while doing this,

13. while in that time period, that's when Mr. Parlanti met

14. Ms. White. And she became meshed with -- not only with

15. Mr. Parlanti, but also this lawsuit; learned the details of

16. this prior allegation, learned how the police responded when

17. those allegations were made, learned what to say and what to

18. do.

19. Now, see, she was not a woman without a history

20. because she earlier she had made allegations of abuse against

21. her former husband, a Mr. David White. She made allegations

22. he abused her. She made some -- and you will hear them --

23. pretty outrageous allegations. Matter of fact, some of those

24. will sound so outrageous, you wonder how physically they could

25. have occurred because they won't seem like humanly possible

26. that such allegations could occur the way she described he

27. attacked her, for instance. And she said to other people that

28. after that incident, she went to a domestic -- after the

Pag.39

1. incident with her former husband in '95, she got domestic

2. violence counseling, and she learned about domestic violence

3. and the things that happen when you are abused, and she got

4. educated in that field. So, she had at the time she met

5. Mr. Parlanti and while she was with Mr. Parlanti an education

6. in the domestic violence field and also an education in how

7. women report to the police and the police in California, how

8. they react to it at that time.

9. And what you will find is that Ms. White became

10. obsessed with Mr. Parlanti. And the way you will find it, I

11. don't know what she will say about that, but the way you will

12. find it is because Ms. White likes to e-mail. She enjoys

13. e-mailing people, and she e-mails quite a bit of things, and

14. those e-mails will, I'm sure, become relevant and introduced

15. in this trial, and you will read a few of them like this one.

16. This is one to Mr. Parlanti in October of '01, and it's just

17. -- it will be offered to introduce -- to show you that -- her

18. type of obsession. It's from Ms. White to Mr. Parlanti.

19. "I lay in bed each night alone thinking of you. I

20. would have you every night if it were up to me. I need to

21. talk -- I need you to talk to me about this. I had no idea

22. what you thought what was said to me. I am going through

23. withdrawal from you every night. I have chills running up and

24. down the inside of my legs wanting you. Yet, you did not call

25. me. I cannot call you. I do not know what to say with you.

26. I will talk about anything you want. All you have to do is

27. start the right direction. So, call me. We can talk in

28. person or on the phone. It is up to you."

Pag.40

1. Now, you will see other e-mails, frankly, that are

2. even more obsessive than this. This is the beginning parts of

3. their relationship. Mr. Parlanti, as I told you before, was

4. coming out of a terrible experience with that

5. Ms. Hollingsworth. He had no desire to have a strong

6. commitment and made it very clear to her, and you'll see in

7. her e-mails she understood it to be very clear for her, but

8. that wasn't good enough for her. She wanted more. She wanted

9. what she couldn't have, and she continued to obsess and to

10. manipulate and try to get as close to Mr. Parlanti as she

11. could. That was her goal, and you will see this through the

12. e-mails and the way she talks to him in these e-mails what she

13. wants, what she desires, what she's willing to do. And she

14. even tells Mr. Parlanti, in an e-mail that will be introduced,

15. that she wants to be hit with some belts. He wants -- she

16. wants Mr. Parlanti to use belts on her.

17. The spring of 2002, Mr. Parlanti was asked by his

18. employer to move to Westlake, and he did. Ms. White wanted to

19. come with him, and she said she could help him. She could be

20. of assistance. She had no job at the time. She left her job

21. at Zales jewelry, and she came with Mr. Parlanti, and he

22. allowed her, but her thing was she was supposed to get a job

23. and contribute to the rent and to the household, and she could

24. stay with him, and she was going to help him with his lawsuit

25. against Ms. Hollingsworth, and so she came. And Mr. Parlanti

26. went to work.

27. Now, during this period of time, Ms. White knew that

28. Mr. Parlanti did not still want to have just a one-person

Pag.41

1. relationship. He told her very often he would see other

2. people, and she came knowing that. Now, some of you may be

3. saying, well, that's not right. That was their agreement as

4. two adults. And in America, adults get to make their own

5. decisions, and she made one to come here with him. And he

6. told her to see other people, and this bothered her because

7. her obsession, once again, was with Mr. Parlanti.

8. She would go into his e-mail, his e-mail address

9. book, find his former girlfriends and e-mail them. She would

10. ask them things like: What can I do to please him more? What

11. can I do to be a better woman to him? Can I dance for him?

12. Can I do other things for him? These are all in the e-mails

13. she would send these other women.

14. On June 6th of '02, Mr. Parlanti allowed her to have

15. power of attorney. Power of attorney. Now, Mr. Romero

16. described Mr. Parlanti as controlling. Well, the person with

17. control at this point is actually Ms. White. She had power of

18. attorney over all of Mr. Parlanti's finances. She controlled

19. the water bill. She paid -- access to his checking accounts,

20. everything. She was notarized by a notary, approved by a

21. lawyer, Mr. Parlanti agreed to it because he wanted to ease

22. the stresses in his life. She said she would take care of

23. everything for him, but in this way, she controlled everything

24. also.

25. On 7/16/02 is an important date because on that day,

26. Mr. Parlanti went to Mississippi, and Mr. Romero called it a

27. business trip, and there was some business conducted, but

28. Ms. White knew why he was going. She knew he was going to

Pag42

1. rendezvous with Cecelia; that he was having an affair with

2. Cecelia Howell.

3. We had a preliminary hearing in this case. At the

4. preliminary hearing, the evidence will be that Ms. White was

5. asked about this -- was related to the late reporting, the

6. alleged late reporting of this crime. And I asked her about

7. this at the preliminary hearing, and I asked her to -- that

8. you know, that you knew Mr. Parlanti left on the 16th of July.

9. She says, yes. And I said you knew where she went -- or he

10. went, didn't you?

11. And she said, "Yeah, Mississippi."

12. And I go, "And you knew who he was going to see,

13. didn't you?" And she acted like she didn't know. And I asked

14. her, and it's in the transcript, "Come on, Ms. White. It

15. starts with a C. That's why he went." And then she

16. acknowledged, yes, she knew. And she was upset with Cecelia

17. and that she called Cecelia on her cell phone and left her

18. some derogatory messages.

19. On 7/16, Mr. Parlanti told her, prior to leaving,

20. "We are done. I can't take this anymore. You are too

21. obsessive." And he left her, and she got angry. She got very

22. angry. A few days later, we saw just how angry she got.

23. On that day, she drives to the Ventura County

24. Sheriff's Station. I believe the East Valley Station, and she

25. makes a report against Mr. Parlanti. And she says that on

26. July 6th of '02 and forward, because it's not just a one-day

27. incident she described as happening. She says it went over a

28. period of a week and a half or two weeks or so -- that some

Pag.43

1. violence occurred between her and Mr. Parlanti. And she

2. describes some violence, and she describes things, and

3. frankly, you may have some issues with in terms of how you

4. could believe it. Give you an example.

5. She says Mr. Parlanti, who is a grown man, and you

6. will see her size, grabbed her by the head and banged her head

7. repeatedly, repeatedly, against a bulletin board. He then

8. took her, he says, and he threw her on the floor and choked

9. her out to unconsciousness, was her statement. I'm thinking,

10. my God, you should be -- how are you even alive? How could

11. you even be alive after that?

12. And then she says, then she says, uhm, he -- he

13. eventually gets me onto a bean bag chair, and closed-fist

14. punched me to the face. Closed-fist punch me to the face.

15. Grown man. Closed fist. Full force to the face. No broken

16. on the face. You're expecting devastation. And then, I'm

17. sorry, I missed one. Before that, she says he slapped her as

18. hard as he could ten times back and forth across the head;

19. tied her up, she says, tied her up with these computer ties,

20. these thick, white computer ties, and tied her from one ankle,

21. one arm to one ankle and the other arm to another ankle, and

22. then she says -- these are her words to the officer. And the

23. officer talked to her a number of times, and he tape-recorded

24. one of those conversations. And so, off the tape, says then

25. he tried to make love to me. Her words. Her words.

26. Now, that was the first time she described it.

27. First time that she said this occurred, and she said it

28. occurred on 7/6. And the officer questioned her because he

Pag.44

1. had some issues because when he was looking at her and he's

2. hearing the level of violence she described, and he's looking

3. at her, and he doesn't see what logically you would expect to

4. see, somebody, who, as she reported, a week or so earlier, was

5. attacked so brutally. And then she described to the officer

6. that as the week went on, he kept tying her up at night. She

7. wouldn't move for days, but would say things. "One day, I got

8. coffee. One day, I went to the laundry room." She would say

9. things like that. And then she would say, "Then we had

10. consensual sex on other days after that," is what she would

11. say. These are her words.

12. So, the officer, you have to understand, is

13. listening to this woman, who came into the sheriff's station.

14. He's wondering, how could this be? How could this be true? I

15. don't see any blood. I don't see broken bones in your face.

16. I see some faint bruising, but nothing. So, the officer takes

17. his report, books his tapes and gives it to a detective. That

18. officer, I believe, was Deputy Fullerton. I don't know what

19. his rank is now. This was, once again, 2002. At the time, he

20. was Deputy Fullerton, and he gives it to a detective named

21. Reilly.

22. And Detective Reilly goes out to where the apartment

23. complex in Westlake and looks for Ms. White because he wants

24. to -- he reads his report. He figures, I better do some

25. followup on this, better get some more details, seems a little

26. unusual, you know. And he goes, and he finds Ms. White --

27. tries to, at least; goes to the apartment complex. He peers

28. through the window, looks like the apartment has been boxed

Pag.45

1. up. Nobody is around. He looks around for her, and the

2. apartment complex can't find them. One neighbor tells him

3. that she -- gives him a cell phone number. He calls her, and

4. he ends up hooking up with her at the Thousand Oaks Art Plaza.

5. And Detective Reilly interviews her for the second time on

6. this incident in the back seat of his car. I don't know if

7. it's a patrol car or a plain vehicle, but in the back of a car

8. or in the car.

9. He interviews her a second time. And this time,

10. when she talks to him, uhm... and she makes it clear every

11. time -- and I should have said this the first time when she

12. first described the incident, she makes it clear, "I really

13. don't want to do this, but I absolutely have to do this."

14. And the officer says, "Have to do this?"

15. And she said, "Yeah, I absolutely have to do this or

16. I'm doing this under duress. I'm doing this for my father.

17. My father," is what she says. And the second time, the way

18. she clarifies that, at least on the tape, is she says that her

19. father won't give her money to move unless she reports

20. Mr. Parlanti and his violence. That's what she says. That

21. was her statement. She spoke to her father, and he wouldn't

22. give her money to move.

23. And she also tells the officers that she has told

24. nobody of what has happened to her until the 18th. Told

25. nobody. That she lied to her mother and her daughter when

26. they called, and she said she fell down some steps.

27. And then on the 19th, through the second interview,

28. Detective Reilly, he asked a few more probing questions. He

Pag.46

1. questions a lot of the statements because it's just not

2. sounding right, uhm... and then he says, "Well, let's go back

3. to your apartment. Let's go back to your apartment." And you

4. know, he wants to look for evidence because she describes

5. certain things. He thinks there should be certain evidence he

6. should see there. There's no used ties that were used to bind

7. her. There's no blood. No blood anywhere. You would think

8. all this battering and beating, there would be blood

9. everywhere. No blood. No evidence really to corroborate what

10. she's saying.

11. Her injuries, at that point, at least visibly are

12. insignificant at best. Nothing to substantiate pounding of

13. the head, closed-fist punching to the face, slapping

14. repeatedly to the face. Nothing like that. Nothing that

15. would jive with that.

16. She talks about Mr. Parlanti almost biting off her

17. nipples, and no evidence at all was produced at that time of

18. any severe bruising, anything, at that time.

19. So, on 7/20, something weird happens. She calls

20. Detective Reilly, and she says, "I made a mistake. I made a

21. mistake. It didn't really happen on seven -- sorry -- on 7/6.

22. It happened on 6/29."

23. Now, it will be shown to you that she realized that

24. because she described the events occurring over a period of

25. time, and that she couldn't leave the house because

26. Mr. Parlanti told her she couldn't go. And she went back and

27. she checked the calendar and realized that Mr. Parlanti was

28. working on some of those dates when she said she couldn't

Pag.47

1. leave the house. And Mr. Parlanti, if we went by her original

2. dates, he was not in the house. He was someplace else; at

3. gyms, with people, at work, with witnesses. And all of a

4. sudden, the dates change. And she calls and says, "Oh, by the

5. way, I made a mistake. It's really 6/29/02. I've looked at a

6. calendar now, and I realize I made a mistake." Oh, she looked

7. at a calendar, and she realized, yeah, I can't substantiate

8. what he was saying. He wasn't there, and these incidents

9. these long incidents of happening couldn't have occurred. So

10. she changes the dates. And the People have charged

11. Mr. Parlanti with a crime occurring on that day.

12. Now, you would think at this point it's about as

13. weird as you are going to get, but you will find our story

14. gets a little weirder with Ms. White; gets a little more

15. difficult here because some more weird things start to happen.

16. She faxed the sheriff's department on 7/22/02, the same day

17. she saw Dr. Manchester. She faxes to the sheriff's department

18. another statement, and it's her statement. She types it out.

19. And she faxes it to Detective Reilly.

20. And now, some of the facts are a little different

21. than they were before. There's a little more... I would use

22. the word "exaggeration" in terms of -- all of a sudden, we

23. have -- it seems that since the first two statements, the

24. beatings are even more severe. The violence was even more

25. severe. The abuse was even more severe in these statements,

26. but then also on that fax, I think it was the cover sheet, and

27. Detective Reilly can answer this better than me, she sends

28. this fax, says -- this is the one to Detective Reilly, and you

Pag.48

1. will see from the fax date, it's 7/22/02. That's where I came

2. up with the date. And she says -- she is talking about the

3. fax. At the end, she says, "Please arrest him at work and

4. soon." Okay, because now -- this is what's weird about it.

5. Because she was very clear she was worried about him

6. beforehand, and now she's saying, "Arrest him right away."

7. She is passionate now, go get him police, go get him.

8. But it's not just weird in the context of what

9. happened before, what happened before 7/22, it gets weirder in

10. context about what happened after because on 8/30, she e-mails

11. Carlo's friend Brian Whitney.

12. By the way, Mr. Parlanti, the evidence will be that

13. he had a job opportunity in Italy, and he went to Italy, and

14. Ms. White was sending him these crazy e-mails. And he says,

15. "I'm just done. My friend is cleaning out my apartment. I'm

16. done with her." And he left Dole and started a job in Italy.

17. He was on a work visa and went to Italy. And Ms. White starts

18. e-mailing his friends, his former girlfriend still and she

19. e-mails Brian Whitney.

20. Now, Mr. Whitney, she says, "I found out today they

21. charged Carlo. Tell him to run." And that's August 30th.

22. Now, that's in contrast to "get him right away." It just

23. starts not making some sense here.

24. Now, at the preliminary hearing, the preliminary

25. hearing in this case, I should have put the date up there, was

26. August 25th of '02. August 25th of '02 was the first time I

27. questioned Ms. White about anything, first time I saw her.

28. And at that preliminary hearing, I questioned her about some

Pag.49

1. of these e-mails, some of the -- some that you just saw and

2. some more I'm going to show you and even more you will see

3. during the trial, and she realized at that point that what she

4. had said in the past was going to be an issue, was going to be

5. a big issue.

6. And here's the weird thing about this case.

7. Mr. Parlanti goes to Italy. He's there. And she starts

8. e-mailing all of his friends. He's working in Italy, gets a

9. job with a company. And she starts e-mailing all his friends.

10. And these e-mails, some of his friends have sent them, and she

11. knows what e-mails she sent because, of course, she wrote

12. them.

13. She doesn't provide any of those e-mails until after

14. she finds out they are at issue. And then all of a sudden,

15. they miraculously appear at the DA's office. And she says,

16. "Here they are. I got them now."

17. And you will see that Ms. White's role in this

18. investigation is strange at best. I'm going to talk about

19. that a little bit because that's part of the case, how

20. Ms. White actually managed this investigation. And the

21. evidence will be that the person actually running the

22. investigation was Rebecca White, at least since the Ventura

23. County DA's office had it.

24. Here's one of the e-mails I'm talking about, and you

25. will see the date. This is September 12th, of '02. And these

26. are the types of e-mails that she would send to people, the

27. kind of e-mails that kind of make you question about the

28. validity of her original allegations, that will cause you to

Pag.50

1. have problems with her credibility.

2. This e-mail on the 12th, it's written to a former

3. girlfriend -- at the time was a former girlfriend, current

4. girlfriend of Mr. Parlanti now, Katia, and I think you may

5. meet Katia in this trial.

6. "Katia, you have got to know I am dying on the

7. inside. Carlo is the best-looking man I have ever seen, the

8. kindest man on earth when he is not a mean, mean drunk. When

9. he walked out the door and said good-bye to me for the last

10. time, I fell to the floor and cried."

11. Now, see that statement right there is a

12. contradiction to many other statements she made where she

13. claims she left Mr. Parlanti. It was her that left

14. Mr. Parlanti, and she said that repeatedly to the police and

15. to other people, but this one, she makes it clear that we know

16. who is leaving now.

17. "Knowing I would never feel him run his hand over my

18. face again, kiss my lips, or talk to me in bed in his liquid,

19. silver voice again. I love him, and he will never get to ever

20. see or hear from him again. This is killing me. He is only

21. warmed -- worried about his neck. I have never stopped

22. worrying about him, not a minute of one day, and he was my

23. lover and my friend, and he hurt me like I have never been

24. hurt and then cheated on me. This is a big deal to me.

25. Becca."

26. She's angry about being cheated on. He walked out

27. of her life. I will -- the evidence will be that these types

28. of statements are inconsistent with a woman who has been

Pag.51

1. raped. Silver voice. Feeling his touch again.

2. Let's look at another one. This is on November 16th

3. of 2002. This is almost, what, almost six months from the

4. date she alleges -- the new date even -- that she alleged, on

5. 6/29. This is almost six months later. "I know..." she's

6. reading it once again to Katia.

7. "I know you cannot read this well, but Carlo can.

8. This is my guts and all my feelings. Send this to him, and I

9. will never write you or him again." You will find that wasn't

10. true. "Carlo was the best man I've ever known. I've only

11. slept with five men counting him, and I'm proud to say he was

12. the wildest, best-looking, smoothest, best cock I will ever

13. have between my thighs."

14. Once again, I will propose that saying something

15. like that about somebody you allege raped you is inconsistent,

16. doesn't make sense. Can't be true.

17. "I've learned a lot from him about computers and

18. such. I've never loved anyone the way I loved him -- or the

19. way I love him," sorry, "but I have lost the right to be able

20. to contact my daughter, my grandson or my mother. I lost my

21. car, credit cards, name, and who I am. Some days, I wish I

22. could squeeze out his last breath, of Carlo, for all he has do

23. (sic) to us, but other days I cry for him knowing he is

24. hurting, too. Tell him to find one woman and stay with her no

25. matter what and find a way to fight or get rid of his demons.

26. If he does not, they will kill him and someone else. Yes, he

27. is a good man, but on one is worth the pain he has caused me

28. or himself. Tell him I love him and hope he ends up better

Pag.52

1. than me. My last kiss."

2. And these e-mails, by the way, will be put into

3. evidence when Ms. White testifies.

4. Mr. Parlanti is arrested in Germany in -- sorry --

5. Germany in '04 on the '02 warrant. There will be no evidence

6. that he knowledge of the warrant, that he knew the police were

7. looking for him or anything. He was on business in Germany

8. when he was arrested.

9. Rebecca White directs the investigation from about

10. 1/05 through 11/05. And what I mean by this and what the

11. evidence will be on this is this: Is that Rebecca White would

12. provide information to the DA's office about witnesses that

13. all of a sudden came up three years later, witnesses for some

14. strange reason who all had a relationship to her, who always

15. she would contact first and provide them to the DA's office

16. and who subsequently would say things on her behalf, her

17. friends and her daughter. And they would always go through

18. her first. These weren't people the DA was independently

19. finding. These were people that Rebecca White would find and

20. then provide to the DA. She would provide them, at the time,

21. to former District Attorney Investigator David Williams;

22. literally dozens and dozens of e-mails to him, but strange

23. things would happen.

24. A lot of times, there will be things that would

25. contradict her that would occur. Something would come up that

26. would contradict her, and she would come up with an

27. explanation. Let me give you a couple of examples during this

28. period of time. She was confronted with that last e-mail I

1. showed you, that e-mail. She was confronted with the

2. statements of that e-mail at the preliminary hearing, and she

3. didn't know that I had access to it, apparently, when I asked

4. her the question, and she eventually admitted at the

5. preliminary hearing she did, in fact, make this statement,

6. and... let me go back. There we go.

7. And then afterwards, she would explain an e-mail to

8. Mr. Williams, "Well, the only reason I said that was because

9. Mr. Parlanti would make me say things like that to him all the

10. time." That was her explanation. That's what she wrote in

11. the e-mail.

12. Well, okay. She is blaming it on Mr. Parlanti.

13. That's why she said it, but then you think for a second. Wait

14. a second there. They had already been a part over six months

15. when you said it, about six months when you said it. How

16. could he make you say things like that? And she tried to

17. rationalize it. She would do these things over and over

18. again.

19. Another example. Remember I told you -- let me go

20. back -- how she -- how she said that the reason she reported

21. it initially, she told the police, the reason she initially

22. reported this case was because her father, her father, would

23. not give her money to move unless she reported Mr. Parlanti to

24. the police. You know, police officer's sitting there, writes

25. it all down real fast, report gets written. Mr. Romero gets

26. it. Mr. Romero, of course, wants to talk to the father.

27. Right? That makes sense. You want to see if this is true.

1. So, Mr. Romero tries to call the father, and he

2. actually ends up talking to Ms. White's father on 10/31 of

3. this year, Halloween of '05. And Ms. White gets wind of the

4. fact that her father, her father, contradicted her; said, "No,

5. I never said that. I never said she had to report him. I

6. never made that statement up."

7. And she writes an e-mail to Mr. Romero trying to

8. explain it, saying, "I know I said my father said that, but

9. really I talked to my mom. And my mom, uhm, was the one who

10. arranged for this, and she is the one who told me what my dad

11. said." Out of the blue a new statement just a few months

12. before the trial starts. A new statement.

13. On 8/24/05, Mr. Romero and Mr. Williams, right

14. before the prelim, interviewed Ms. White. And at that time,

15. she provides two diaries from 2002 and a calendar of events.

16. Those diaries purport to be what she says happened during a

17. relevant time period in this case, from approximately March of

18. '02 through June 29th of '02. That's what the diary is

19. supposed to be, what she writes, what she says. And a

20. calendar of events, which, by the way, the calendar ended up

21. contradicting her on a number of different things, which we

22. will go into when she testifies, but the diary was purporting

23. to be, and we will let her describe what they were, but it's

24. in her handwriting. It purports to be a chronological series

25. of events of things that happened to her and with Mr. Parlanti

26. present. And you will know that no violence occurred on

27. 6/29/02 because Ms. White has already told you, told all of

28. us, actually. I can make that prediction so boldly because

1. I've read the diary.

2. On June 29th of '02, this is what she wrote happened

3. that day. This is in her diary.

4. "Carlo is very touchy a lot. Everything. I cannot

5. read him at all. He is drinking tonight. And tells me to

6. cook for him and beg him to stay. His temper is on edge. He

7. snaps at me. He calls me names and tells me I am losing. The

8. other girls are winning, and they are better than me. You see

9. I want you to stay with me, but the other girls want me too.

10. You are not staying good" -- I can't make it out -- "keep me

11. anymore. We fight with words all night again. We fight with

12. words all night again. In deep hurt to each of us."

13. "We fight with words." That's what she writes on

14. the 29th happened. "We fight with words." That's what she

15. wrote happened on the 29th. Didn't write, "He was violent."

16. Didn't write, "He beat me." Didn't write, "He slapped me."

17. Didn't write, "He raped me." Didn't write, "We make love."

18. She wrote on that day, in her life, this is what occurred, in

19. her diary.

20. You will hear an instruction: If a person is

21. willfully false on a material point of evidence, you have the

22. right to disbelieve her on everything else. I rarely say this

23. when I start a trial. I will prove in this case -- I will

24. prove that Ms. White has been willfully false. I will prove

25. that. And I will prove it to the point where I get up in my

26. closing argument, and I'll tell you, and you will say, "Yeah,

27. you did." I'm telling you now I'll do that. And you are

28. going to find her willfully false. You are going to find her

1. incredible, unbelievable, and you are going to find Carlo

2. Parlanti not guilty of these allegations.

3. Thank you very much.

4. THE COURT: Thank you, Mr. Bamieh. Once again, ladies

5. and gentlemen, the statements of counsel are not evidence.

6. Please don't confuse them with the evidence, which will

7. commence when we return from our morning break. We will

8. recess for 20 minutes. Between now and the time you come back

9. to court, please don't discuss this case. Please do not form

10. or express opinions or conclusions about them.

11. ///

12. (Off record - recess.)

13. ///

14. THE BAILIFF: Remain seated. Come to order, please.

15. THE COURT: We are back on the record in the matter of

16. People versus Parlanti. We have all jurors, both counsel and

17. the defendant.

18. Mr. Romero, you may call your first witness.

19. THE CLERK: Do you solemnly swear that the testimony

20. you're about to give in the matter now pending before this

21. court is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the

22. truth, so help you God?

23. THE WITNESS: (Inaudible.)

24. THE COURT REPORTER: Sorry. What did you say, please?

25. THE WITNESS: "Yes."

26. THE COURT REPORTER: Thank you.

27. THE CLERK: Please be seated. Can you, please, state and

28. spell your name for the record.

1. THE WITNESS: May name is Rebecca White, R-E-B-E-C-C-A,

2. W-H-I-T-E.

3. THE COURT: All right. And present with Ms. White is --

4. sorry. We have been introduced, but --

5. MS. RAMIREZ: Mayela Ramirez.

6. THE COURT: Ms. Ramirez, a victim advocate from the

7. district attorney's office.

8. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the Penal Code

9. allows the victim advocate to be present at the witness stand

10. at the request of the witness in cases of this type, and that

11. request has been made.

12. Any further admonition for the jurors requested on

13. this point by either party?

14. MR. ROMERO: No, your Honor.

15. MR. BAMIEH: No, your Honor.

16. THE COURT: Very well. Let's proceed.

17.  

18.                               REBECCA WHITE,

19.                having been called as a witness by the People,

20.                   was examined and testified as follows:

21.  

22.                                DIRECT EXAMINATION

23.  

24. BY MR. ROMERO:

25. Q Good morning, Ms. White.

26. A. Good morning.

27. Q Do you know a Carlo Parlanti?

28. A. Yes.

1. Q And how do you know Mr. Parlanti?

2. A. We lived together.

3. Q Before you lived together, did you have any type of

4. relationship with him?

5. A. Yes. We were boyfriend/girlfriend.

6. Q When did you start this relationship?

7. A. In 2001.

8. Q Can you give me a month, approximately?

9. A. Approximately, April.

10. Q And where did you meet Mr. Parlanti?

11. A. At Zales.

12. Q Did you say Zales?

13. A. Zales in Monterey.

14. Q What is that?

15. A. A diamond store.

16. Q Did you work there?

17. A. Yes. I was the manager.

18. Q Can you -- can you explain how you actually came to

19. meet Mr. Parlanti?

20. A. He came to the store to have, I believe, a battery

21. changed in a watch in the beginning.

22. Q Did he come into the store more than once?

23. A. Many times, yes.

24. Q And on those occasions, do you recall what they were

25. for?

26. A. To buy a watch, to have many rings sized, to have

27. diamonds put in a ring.

28. Q Do you recall if Mr. Parlanti ever came into the

1. So, how old were you back then?

2. A. 43.

3. Q At some point, did you accept Mr. Parlanti's offer

4. for a date?

5. A. After an employee gave him one of my business cards,

6. it said, "If you will call me and ask me for lunch, I'll say

7. yes."

8. Q So, is that a "yes"? At some point you --

9. A. Yes.

10. Q At some point, you went on a date with Mr. Parlanti?

11. A. Yes.

12. Q And you had to accept, correct?

13. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Leading question. Misstates the

14. evidence.

15. MR. ROMERO: I think it's -- I'll withdraw my question

16. and ask it again.

17. THE COURT: Very well.

18. Q (By Mr. Romero) When Mr. Parlanti asked you out,

19. you said "yes"?

20. A. Yes.

21. Q And was that in the store or someplace else?

22. A. In the store.

23. Q And how many times did you go out with Mr. Parlanti?

24. A. Many.

25. Q And this is while you lived where?

26. A. In Monterey.

27. Q Did Mr. Parlanti also live in Monterey?

28. A. Yes.

1. Q And at some point, did you develop a relationship

2. with Mr. Parlanti?

3. A. Yes.

4. Q At some point, did you move in with Mr. Parlanti?

5. A. Yes.

6. Q How long did you date before you moved in with him?

7. A. Six to seven months.

8. Q And did you have your own residence before moving in

9. with him?

10. A. My daughter and I lived together.

11. Q Who is your daughter?

12. A. Heather Christianson-Reeves.

13. Q Heather Christianson-Reeves?

14. A. Yes.

15. Q Now, can you describe what your relationship was,

16. like, the six to seven months before you moved in with him?

17. A. I'm not sure what you're asking.

18. Q Was there any romance in your relationship?

19. A. Yes, a lot.

20. Q On whose part?

21. A. Both.

22. Q Did you enjoy your time with Mr. Parlanti?

23. A. Yes, very much so.

24. Q During those six to seven months before you moved in

25. with Mr. Parlanti, did Mr. Parlanti physically hit you?

26. A. No, not that I remember.

27. Q Do you recall if Mr. Parlanti, during that six to

28. seven months, touched you in any way inappropriately?

1. A. No.

2. Q So, you then move in with -- into Mr. Parlanti's

3. residence?

4. A. He lived with me first.

5. Q With you and your daughter?

6. A. Yes.

7. Q For how long?

8. A. I believe it was two months.

9. Q Did you fall in love with Mr. Parlanti?

10. A. Yes, I did.

11. Q How soon after dating him did you fall in love with

12. him?

13. A. Three months after.

14. Q And did Mr. Parlanti tell you he loved you?

15. A. Yes, he did.

16. Q How soon after dating did he tell you that?

17. A. Approximately the same time.

18. Q Then you lived with Mr. Parlanti at your apartment

19. with your daughter for -- I believe you said a couple months?

20. A. Yes.

21. Q And then where did you move to?

22. A. Westlake Village.

23. Q And that's here in the county of Ventura?

24. A. Yes.

25. Q Why did you move to Westlake?

26. A. I was looking for a job in the L.A. area, and he got

27. transferred here.

28. Q From his employment?

1. A. Yes.

2. Q Where was he working at the time?

3. A. Dole Vegetables.

4. Q Do you know what Mr. Parlanti did at work?

5. A. Uhm...

6. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation.

7. THE COURT: Overruled.

8. Q (By Mr. Romero) You can answer the question.

9. A. Not really, no.

10. Q Do you know what general area he worked in?

11. A. It was computer-related.

12. Q Did Mr. Parlanti have a computer at home?

13. A. Yes.

14. Q Did he use a computer a lot?

15. A. Yes.

16. Q Did he appear to you to be knowledgeable in

17. computers?

18. A. Very.

19. Q During the time before he moved down to Ventura

20. County, did you continue to work at the jewelry store?

21. A. I'm sorry?

22. Q Before moving down to Ventura County, while you were

23. dating Mr. Parlanti, did you continue to work at the jewelry

24. store?

25. A. I resigned right before 9-11.

26. Q I'm sorry?

27. A. I resigned right before 9-11.

28. Q When did you move from Monterey to Ventura County

Pag.64

1. A. I believe it was in December of 2001.

2. Q Do you recall the address where you moved to?

3. A. 201 Triunfo Canyon Road.

4. Q Is that in the county of Ventura?

5. A. Yes.

6. Q City of Westlake?

7. A. Yes.

8. Q How long did you live with Mr. Parlanti at that

9. Westlake address?

10. A. Until July 2002.

11. Q Now, did you see a change in your relationship with

12. Mr. Parlanti from the time you were dating him and living in

13. Monterey to going back -- or moving down to Westlake?

14. A. Yes.

15. Q What kind of change was that?

16. A. He became more possessive.

17. Q Can you describe for the jury what you mean by "more

18. possessive"?

19. A. He didn't allow me to talk with anyone but him.

20. Q You mean, he didn't let you talk to any other people

21. or anyone in particular?

22. A. He didn't let me make eye contact with neighbors or

23. going outside the apartment except with him.

24. Q Did Mr. Parlanti say anything about the clothing you

25. wore?

26. A. No.

27. Q Did Mr. Parlanti say anything to you about makeup?

28. A. No.

Pag.65

1. Q Did you, while living in the apartment in Westlake,

2. have contact with any friends that you had in Monterey?

3. A. Through telephone and e-mail, yes.

4. Q And what -- who were they?

5. A. I had a previous boyfriend, Lance Young; uhm, Kanika

6. Smith was a previous employee; my daughter, Heather; Margie

7. Tuck from my home town, childhood friend.

8. Q Where is your home town?

9. A. Ardmore, Oklahoma.

10. Debra that lived in Dallas, Fort Worth area.

11. Q Debra?

12. A. Debra.

13. THE COURT: Ms. White, could I ask you to scoot up a

14. little forward so you're right in front of the microphone?

15. I'm having a little bit of trouble hearing you.

16. THE WITNESS: I'm sorry, sir.

17. Q (By Mr. Romero) Anyone else you can recall?

18. A. There were others. I just -- I can't remember them

19. at this moment. I'm sorry. I'm a little nervous.

20. Q That's fine. I'll ask another question. While you

21. were living in the Westlake area, did you have any friends or

22. family visit you?

23. A. Only my daughter.

24. Q How many times has your daughter -- and I believe

25. that's Heather Christianson-Reeves?

26. A. Yes.

27. Q How many --

28. A. She visited several times.

Pag.66

1. Q And she would come down from the Monterey area?

2. A. Yes.

3. Q Now, while you're living with Mr. Parlanti, from

4. December of 2001 to July of 2002, during that time, was

5. Mr. Parlanti physically abusive?

6. A. I'm sorry. Ask that one more time.

7. Q Between -- during the time you were living with

8. Mr. Parlanti in Westlake, was he physically abusive?

9. A. At times when he was drinking, yes.

10. Q What would he drink?

11. A. Wine.

12. Q Was that his drink of choice?

13. A. Yes.

14. Q Any particular feelings come over you when you saw

15. Mr. Parlanti drinking wine?

16. A. Would be kind of scared at times, yes.

17. Q Why is that?

18. A. Because I never knew what he would do.

19. Q Well, while Mr. Parlanti was drinking or after he

20. had consumed wine, did he become physically abusive with you?

21. A. Most of the time, it was verbal, but at times, he

22. was physical, yes.

23. Q Can you describe what you mean by physical?

24. A. Uhm... he kicked me once. He beat me with a belt.

25. He slapped me once to the point of making my nose bleed.

26. Q Okay. Now, were you aware that Mr. Parlanti had

27. some type of legal proceeding he was involved in, in Monterey

28. County?

Pag.67

1. A. Yes.

2. Q And did that begin before you started dating him?

3. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation. Calls for

4. speculation.

5. THE COURT: Lacks foundation. Sustained.

6. Q (By Mr. Romero) When you started dating him --

7. strike that.

8. How soon after dating him did you learn of that?

9. A. Within a month.

10. Q And is that something he told you he was involved

11. before dating you?

12. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Leading.

13. THE COURT: Overruled.

14. A. I'm sorry. Ask one more time.

15. Q (By Mr. Romero) Did Mr. Parlanti tell you that he

16. was involved in that litigation before dating you?

17. A. No.

18. Q Without giving me any specifics, yes or no, did you

19. ever talk to Mr. Parlanti about the legal proceedings?

20. A. Yes.

21. Q Often?

22. A. Yes.

23. Q Did you try and help Mr. Parlanti with his legal

24. proceedings?

25. A. Yes.

26. Q Did you try and provide emotional support for

27. Mr. Parlanti?

28. A. Constantly.

Pag.68

1. Q Now, I know you're not a lawyer, but can you tell me

2. what did you do to help him?

3. A. I helped obtain attorneys. I put together legal

4. material as it was gathered together. I gave him emotional

5. support. I did research for him.

6. Q Okay. Did you have contact with his attorneys?

7. A. On a daily basis, yes.

8. Q Did you have more contact with his attorneys than

9. Mr. Parlanti?

10. A. Yes, I did.

11. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Calls for speculation.

12. THE COURT: Sustained.

13. MR. BAMIEH: Motion to strike.

14. THE COURT: The answer is stricken. The jurors are to

15. disregard.

16. Q (By Mr. Romero) Did Mr. Parlanti direct you to have

17. contact with his attorneys?

18. A. Yes.

19. Q At any point, did Mr. Parlanti direct that the

20. attorneys only have contact with you?

21. A. Yes.

22. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation.

23. THE COURT: Sustained.

24. MR. BAMIEH: Motion to strike.

25. THE COURT: Answer is stricken. The jurors are to

26. disregard.

27. Q (By Mr. Romero) Now, during the time you're living

28. with Mr. Parlanti in Westlake, did you keep a diary?

Pag.69

1. A. Yes.

2. Q Did you keep more than one?

3. A. I kept two.

4. Q Why did you keep two?

5. A. One personal diary and one for Carlo, for his court

6. trial.

7. Q What do you mean "for his court trial"?

8. A. His attorney asked me to keep one for his emotional

9. stability.

10. Q Okay. And then you kept your own, personal diary?

11. A. Yes.

12. Q Was Mr. Parlanti aware of any of these -- strike

13. that.

14. Did you tell Mr. Parlanti about any of these

15. proceedings?

16. A. He knew about the one for the court.

17. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation.

18. THE COURT: Overruled.

19. Q (By Mr. Romero) Did you ever show Mr. Parlanti the

20. diary you kept for his legal proceedings?

21. A. Yes, he knew about it.

22. Q Did you ever --

23. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation.

24. THE COURT: Overruled.

25. Q (By Mr. Romero) Now, the second diary that you

26. kept, this is your own, personal diary?

27. A. Yes.

28. Q Did you include in this diary any instances where

Pag.70

1. Mr. Parlanti was physically abusive with you?

2. A. Yes.

3. MR. ROMERO: May I approach the witness, your Honor?

4. THE COURT: Yes.

5. Q (By Mr. Romero) I'm going to show you what's been

6. marked as People's No. 25.

7. Can you take a look at People's No. 25 just for a

8. second?

9. A. (Witness complies.)

10. Q Do you recognize what People's No. 25 is?

11. A. Yes. It's my diary.

12. Q And which diary is this?

13. A. I believe this is my personal diary.

14. Q Now, I want you --

15. MR. BAMIEH: May I see the exhibit, please?

16. THE COURT: Yes.

17. MR. ROMERO: Can you, please, hand that to Mr. Bamieh?

18. MR. BAMIEH: Thank you.

19. Q (By Mr. Romero) Now Ms. White, I'm going to ask you

20. to jump ahead a little bit.

21. Can you look at your entry for June 29th of the year

22. 2002?

23. A. Okay.

24. Q Now, take a moment and read that entry to yourself.

25. A. (Witness complies.)

26. MR. BAMIEH: Your Honor, may we approach on this?

27. THE COURT: Yes.

28. ///

Pag.71

1. (Bench conference held off the record.)

2. ///

3. THE COURT: All right. Thank you, gentlemen. Let's

4. proceed.

5. MR. ROMERO: Thank you.

6. Q (By Mr. Romero) Ms. White, did you get an

7. opportunity to read your June 29, 2002 entry?

8. A. May I have just a second, please?

9. Q Please, do.

10. A. Yes.

11. Q Is that one page of that journal, that entry?

12. A. Yes.

13. Q Now, on June 29th of 2002, did Mr. Parlanti

14. physically touch you?

15. A. Yes.

16. Q On June 29th of 2002, did Mr. Parlanti sexually

17. assault you?

18. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Leading.

19. THE COURT: Overruled.

20. THE WITNESS: Yes.

21. Q (By Mr. Romero) Now, that entry that you just read,

22. of June 29, 2002, makes no mention of any physical abuse or

23. sexual abuse, correct?

24. A. Correct.

25. Q Why not?

26. A. This was written before the abuse.

27. Q What time approximately did the abuse take place?

28. A. After 9 o'clock.

Pag.72

1. Q And you made that entry before being touched by

2. Mr. Parlanti?

3. A. Yes.

4. Q Thank you.

5. Now, would you characterize Mr. Parlanti as being a

6. smart guy?

7. A. Yes. He's very intelligent.

8. Q Does he speak several languages?

9. A. Yes.

10. Q How do you feel about Mr. Parlanti's affections

11. towards you?

12. A. I'm sorry, again.

13. Q How did you feel about Mr. Parlanti -- Parlanti's

14. affections towards you?

15. A. At the time, I thought he loved me.

16. Q Did you love Mr. Parlanti?

17. A. Yes, very deeply.

18. Q Would you do anything to show Mr. Parlanti that you

19. loved him?

20. A. Yes.

21. Q What would you do?

22. A. At that time, basically anything he wanted.

23. Q I'm sorry?

24. A. At that time, basically anything he wanted.

25. Q Would Mr. Parlanti -- yes or no, would Mr. Parlanti

26. specifically ask you to do things?

27. A. Yes.

28. Q During this relationship that you had with

Pag.73

1. Mr. Parlanti, is it your understanding that Mr. Parlanti was

2. not going to be dating anyone else?

3. A. Yes.

4. Q Did you believe during your relationship with him

5. that he was being unfaithful?

6. A. Yes.

7. Q And what made you believe that?

8. A. Conversations and times he was gone on business

9. trips.

10. Q Prior to June 29th of 2002, did Mr. Parlanti admit

11. to you that he had been unfaithful?

12. A. Yes.

13. Q Prior to June 29, 2002, were you present when

14. Mr. Parlanti was speaking to other women?

15. A. Yes.

16. Q And where did this take place?

17. A. In the apartment, in the office.

18. Q I'm sorry. You said in an apartment and in an

19. office.

20. Is that two separate locations?

21. A. In our apartment, in the office.

22. Q Can you describe your apartment?

23. A. You mean, room by room?

24. Q Well, I'll tell you what, why don't we open up --

25. MR. ROMERO: May I approach again, your Honor?

26. THE COURT: Yes.

27. MR. ROMERO: Let me open this up and have you draw a

28. diagram for the jury. Just for the record, we are going to

Pag.74

1. refer to this as People's No. 26.

2. Q (By Mr. Romero) Can you grab a marker, and take

3. your time, and just diagram out as approximately as you can

4. what your apartment in Westlake -- the layout of it was? You

5. don't have to be very specific. If you can just lay out the

6. rooms.

7. A. Is that good enough?

8. Q Okay. You can have a seat.

9. So, you drew out, on People's 26, looks like a -- a

10. square, close enough, and some writing inside the square; is

11. that correct?

12. A. Yes.

13. Q How many bedrooms did this apartment have?

14. A. Two.

15. Q And can you point out where the two bedrooms are on

16. this chart?

17. A. (Witness complies.)

18. Q Can you put a "B" inside what would be the bedrooms?

19. A. (Witness complies.)

20. Q And was one of those bedrooms an office?

21. A. (Inaudible.)

22. Q Is that a yes? I need you to speak up.

23. A. Yes. This is the office.

24. Q And the second bedroom, who occupied that bedroom?

25. A. Carlo and I did.

26. Q And at the top portion of the square that you drew,

27. can you briefly tell the jury what that is?

28. A. Here?

Pag.75

1. Q Yes.

2. A. This is the kitchen.

3. MR. BAMIEH: Excuse me. Has that been marked, that

4. exhibit?

5. MR. ROMERO: People's 26.

6. A. This is the living room, the second bathroom, master

7. bedroom, and this is his -- his closet. And this is the

8. hallway. This is out of proportion.

9. Q (By Mr. Romero) That's fine. Can you put an "RW"

10. on the lower, right-hand corner so we can keep a record in the

11. lower, right-hand corner of the entire piece of paper? So we

12. can have a record that that is your diagram?

13. A. (Witness complies.)

14. Q Now, you drew that there was a master bedroom, which

15. is much larger than the second bedroom used as an office; is

16. that correct?

17. A. Yes.

18. Q Did you share that bedroom with Mr. Parlanti?

19. A. Yes.

20. Q Did anyone else live with you and Mr. Parlanti

21. during the time you stayed there?

22. A. No.

23. Q Now, you testified that you were present when

24. Mr. Parlanti was talking to other women; is that correct?

25. A. Yes.

26. Q How would they communicate with him?

27. A. Depended on who he was talking to.

28. Q What forms of communication would he use?

Pag.76

1. A. He was flirtatious.

2. Q I'm sorry. I meant physically.

3. What would he use to talk to other women?

4. A. Telephone.

5. Q Did he did use anything else?

6. A. I'm not sure what you're asking.

7. Q Did he use e-mail?

8. A. Oh, yes.

9. Q Did he write letters?

10. A. No.

11. Q How many -- how often would this happen in your

12. relationship with him?

13. A. Not that often.

14. Q Did you have an understanding that Mr. Parlanti was

15. supposed to not date any other women while in this

16. relationship with you?

17. A. Yes. He actually told me once he would not do that.

18. MR. BAMIEH: I'm sorry. I didn't hear the answer.

19. THE WITNESS: He actually said he would not do that,

20. once.

21. Q (By Mr. Romero) That he would not date other women?

22. A. Yes.

23. Q Did you ask him to stop dating other women?

24. A. Uhm... I don't remember.

25. Q Did Mr. Parlanti go on any business trips while you

26. were living in Thousand Oaks or -- excuse me -- Westlake?

27. A. Many, yes.

28. Q How often?

Pag.77

1. A. It varied. At least -- probably one a month.

2. Q What types -- where would he go?

3. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation. Calls for

4. hearsay.

5. THE COURT: Sustained on the first ground.

6. Q (By Mr. Romero) Where would he tell you he was

7. going?

8. A. I kept his appointment book. I generally knew where

9. he was going.

10. Q Do you remember if he left the county of Ventura?

11. A. Yes.

12. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation.

13. THE COURT: Sustained.

14. MR. BAMIEH: Motion to strike.

15. THE COURT: The answer is stricken. The jurors will

16. disregard.

17. Q (By Mr. Romero) Did he tell you he was leaving the

18. county of Ventura?

19. A. Yes.

20. Q Did he give you any specific names of cities he was

21. going to?

22. A. Yes.

23. Q Do you recall any of them?

24. A. He -- he went to Asia. He went to Mexico, Gulfport,

25. Denver. That's all I can remember right now.

26. Q Do you remember if he made any trips to Europe?

27. A. Not that I remember while we lived there.

28. Q During the times where -- when he was away from the

Pag.78

1. residence, would you talk to him?

2. A. Yes.

3. Q That was by phone?

4. A. Always.

5. Q By e-mail?

6. A. Yes.

7. Q During any of these conversations, did Mr. Parlanti

8. tell you he was with any other women?

9. A. No.

10. Q Were you jealous of Mr. Parlanti when he left?

11. A. No.

12. Q Did you believe that Mr. Parlanti may be spending

13. time with other women?

14. A. Not until he would bring it up.

15. Q Mr. Parlanti would bring it up?

16. A. Yes.

17. Q Other women?

18. A. Yes.

19. Q And when would he do this?

20. A. During arguments.

21. Q During arguments while he was away?

22. A. No. When he'd come home.

23. Q Now, during the time you lived in Westlake, you

24. indicated that you had your daughter come and visit?

25. A. Yes.

26. Q Would you go out with your daughter with the

27. defendant?

28. A. Yes.

Pag.79

1. Q How many times did that take place?

2. A. That I remember, twice.

3. Q And where would you go?

4. A. Out to eat.

5. Q And do you recall if Mr. Parlanti would consume any

6. alcohol when you went out to eat?

7. A. I'm sorry. I couldn't hear you over the rustling.

8. Q Do you recall if Mr. Parlanti consumed any alcohol

9. when you went out to eat?

10. A. Always.

11. Q Now, specifically, when you went out with your

12. daughter, do you remember Mr. Parlanti consuming alcohol?

13. A. Yes.

14. Q And where did you spend the night the times you went

15. out with your daughter and Mr. Parlanti?

16. A. In our apartment.

17. Q So, you came back to your apartment?

18. A. Yes.

19. Q Did your daughter stay overnight at your apartment

20. as well?

21. A. Yes.

22. Q During the times that your daughter spent the night,

23. do you recall if Mr. Parlanti was physically violent with you?

24. A. Never.

25. Q When was Mr. Parlanti -- strike that.

26. During the times that Mr. Parlanti was physically

27. violent with you, was anyone else present?

28. A. Never.

Pag.80

1. Q And where did that take place where he was

2. physically violent with you?

3. A. Always in the apartment.

4. Q What was Mr. Parlanti's --

5. MR. ROMERO: If we reached the noon hour, this is a good

6. place to break.

7. THE COURT: Is it?

8. MR. ROMERO: Yeah.

9. THE COURT: All right. Then we will. Folks, we will

10. resume this trial at 1:30 this afternoon. Between now and the

11. time you come back to court, please don't discuss the case.

12. Please do not form or express opinions in the matter. I will

13. see you back here at 1:30 p.m. The court is in recess until

14. then.

15. (Off record - lunch recess.)

16. --oOo--

17. ///

18. ///

19. ///

20. ///

21. ///

22. ///

23. ///

24. ///

25. ///

26. ///

27. ///

Pag.81

1.                      VENTURA, CALIFORNIA; THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2005

2.                                     P.M. SESSION

3.                                        --oOo--

4. THE COURT: Counsel.

5. MR. ROMERO: Your Honor, just a brief matter. I have --

6. and I don't know what exhibit it's marked as. It's a

7. calendar. Well, there's two calendars, the months of June and

8. July, People's No. 23, of 2002. And I just ask the Court to

9. take judicial notice of those dates, and I don't think there's

10. any opposition by counsel.

11. THE COURT: I don't have a reference calendar to work

12. from. Are you both satisfied they are correct?

13. MR. BAMIEH: Not yet, but I'm sure I can figure it out.

14. My 2002 calendar is my other pants, so...

15. THE COURT: Okay. I'll go back to 2002 here. In order

16. for me to take judicial notice of something, I have to verify

17. if I think it's true. If you folks agree, I will need time to

18. get a calendar to do that, but I can look at one on Denise's

19. copy of Windows.

20. MR. BAMIEH: That's fine.

21. THE COURT: What's fine?

22. MR. BAMIEH: Denise's copy of Windows is fine.

23. THE COURT: The first is a Saturday, and then July.

24. Okay. And that's exhibit what?

25. MR. ROMERO: 23, I believe.

26. THE CLERK: Yes.

27. THE COURT: Notice is taken that the dates on Exhibit 23

Pag.82

1. are correct.

2. Anything else before we bring the jurors in?

3. MR. ROMERO: That's it, your Honor.

4. THE COURT: Let's get them started in.

5. Counsel, these are the things that can be done in

6. advance. I no longer want to take the jury's time while we

7. sort out little housekeeping matters.

8. THE BAILIFF: Jury is coming in.

9. THE COURT: Thanks.

10. THE CLERK: Mr. Romero, your witness.

11. MR. ROMERO: You want me to put her back on the stand?

12. THE COURT: Counsel, are we going to be using the

13. projector with this witness?

14. MR. ROMERO: We are, your Honor.

15. MR. BAMIEH: My examination, I would like to.

16. THE COURT: Okay. Will you be doing that, Mr. Romero?

17. MR. ROMERO: I will be using the ELMO, yes, your Honor.

18. THE COURT: Okay. All right then. We are back on the

19. record in the case of People versus Parlanti. We have all of

20. our jurors, both counsel and the defendant and our witness.

21. You can resume your direct, Mr. Romero.

22. MR. ROMERO: Thank you.

23.                            CONTINUED DIRECT EXAMINATION

24. BY MR. ROMERO:

25. Q Ms. White, I believe we were talking about, among

26. other things, some trips that the defendant would go on,

Pag.83

1. business trips.

2. Do you recall that?

3. A. Yes.

4. Q How often would Mr. Parlanti go on business trips?

5. A. About one a month.

6. Q And would you go with him?

7. A. No.

8. Q Would you ask to go with him?

9. A. No.

10. Q Did Mr. Parlanti offer for you to go with him?

11. A. Sometimes.

12. Q Did you decline to go?

13. A. No. He would -- he would decide I couldn't go at

14. the last moment.

15. Q So, he would offer you to go and then change his

16. mind?

17. A. Yes.

18. Q Can you give me an example?

19. A. Like when he went to Denver.

20. MR. BAMIEH: I'll object as to relevancy, your Honor.

21. THE COURT: Overruled. You can answer.

22. A. He planned for me to go with him, like to Denver,

23. and then the week before, he told me I was not deserving to

24. go.

25. Q (By Mr. Romero) Did he give you a reason as to why

26. you were not deserving?

27. A. I wasn't pleasing him.

28. Q Sorry. What wasn't pleasing him?

Pag.84

1. A. My actions.

2. Q Meaning, you didn't earn the right to go?

3. A. Correct.

4. Q Is that something that would happen frequently?

5. A. Yes.

6. Q Did he make any demands of you in terms of your

7. conduct?

8. A. He was speaking about me helping him with his trial.

9. Q So, would he make a determination about something?

10. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Calls for speculation, your

11. Honor.

12. THE COURT: It may. I'm not sure what's being asked.

13. Sustained.

14. Q (By Mr. Romero) Would he ask you to do certain

15. things for him so that you could go on the trips?

16. A. Yes.

17. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Leading, your Honor.

18. THE COURT: Overruled.

19. Q (By Mr. Romero) You can answer.

20. A. Yes.

21. Q What types of things did he ask you to do?

22. A. I never could meet his expectation.

23. Q My question to you is: What types of things would

24. he ask you to do?

25. A. Uhm... he was trying to get me to find a way to get

26. the charges dropped against him, which that's not -- that's

27. out of my control.

28. Q He would -- would he set any requirements of things

Pag.85

1. you would have to do before you could go?

2. A. Get an appointment with a senator, a congressman,

3. things of this nature.

4. Q He would ask you to do that?

5. A. Yes.

6. Q Regarding his legal issues?

7. A. Yes.

8. Q In one way -- I'm sorry. You need to wait until I

9. finish my question before you answer.

10. A. I'm sorry.

11. Q So, often, right before he left on business trips,

12. he would tell you at that point that you could not go?

13. A. Correct.

14. Q And he would have a reason of you not doing

15. something; is that correct?

16. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Calls for a leading question.

17. Also lacks foundation.

18. THE COURT: It's leading. Sustained.

19. Q (By Mr. Romero) While he was gone, did he require

20. you to do anything?

21. A. Yes. He would tell me to find ways to make up for

22. not pleasing him so I could go on the next trip.

23. Q Did he give you assignments to do?

24. A. Yes, he did.

25. Q What did he -- what did he ask you to do?

26. A. Uhm... some of them had nothing to do with the

27. trial. Like, he would assign me to watch... movies and make

28. reports about them.

Pag.86

1. Q What types of movies?

2. A. Sexual movies.

3. Q You mean, like, pornography?

4. A. Yes, I am sorry. I couldn't remember what they were

5. called. Yes.

6. Q How often would he do this?

7. A. Very often.

8. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Not relevant, your Honor.

9. THE COURT: Overruled.

10. Q (By Mr. Romero) How often?

11. THE COURT: Your answer, ma'am.

12. THE WITNESS: Frequently.

13. Q (By Mr. Romero) On most trips that he would be

14. gone?

15. A. Yes.

16. Q And would you actually write reports on the movies

17. you saw?

18. A. No. Because I didn't understand what he was wanting

19. me to do.

20. Q Would you talk about the movies you saw when he

21. returned?

22. A. No, but we watched them together.

23. Q Is this something you -- strike that.

24. Now, you have testified that you tried to assist

25. Mr. Parlanti with his legal issues, correct?

26. A. Yes.

27. Q Do you recall in regards to that e-mailing anyone?

28. A. I e-mailed his past girlfriends, his attorneys, his

Pag.87

1. detective that he hired, uhm... and whoever he told me to

2. e-mail.

3. Q So, you did that at his request?

4. A. Yes.

5. Q And what was the purpose of e-mailing these people?

6. A. Finding out information, giving information, setting

7. appointments.

8. Q For what?

9. A. For meetings, information for the upcoming trial,

10. just whatever he needed.

11. Q Would you ask the people that you e-mailed to do

12. something?

13. A. Yes.

14. Q What would you ask them?

15. A. The girlfriends of past, I asked them to -- if they

16. could write a letter asking if he had ever, uhm... for a

17. character witness letter.

18. Q Now, didn't you think this was strange that

19. Mr. Parlanti would ask you to do this?

20. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Irrelevant, your Honor.

21. THE COURT: Overruled.

22. THE WITNESS: Not at that time, no.

23. Q (By Mr. Romero) Did you think it was strange that

24. he would ask you to watch pornographic movies and write

25. reports?

26. A. Yes.

27. Q Did you watch the movies while you were alone and he

28. was away?

Pag.88

1. A. I -- I did in the beginning. They made me

2. uncomfortable.

3. Q Did you watch more than one?

4. A. No. Just one.

5. Q Just one. When you watched them with Mr. Parlanti,

6. did that make you uncomfortable?

7. A. Yes.

8. Q Why did you do it?

9. A. Because I loved him, and I did what he wanted.

10. Q How old was Mr. Parlanti when you started dating

11. him?

12. A. Uhm... I believe he was 37.

13. Q Did Mr. Parlanti make any promises regarding you and

14. him being together?

15. A. Promises, no.

16. MR. BAMIEH: Sorry. I couldn't hear that answer. May I

17. have that answer?

18. THE WITNESS: Promises, no.

19. Q (By Mr. Romero) Did Mr. Parlanti talk to you while

20. living in Westlake about moving to another location?

21. A. Yes.

22. Q Where was that?

23. A. Malibu.

24. Q Any other places?

25. A. Mexico.

26. Q Why Mexico?

27. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Calls -- lacks foundation.

28. THE COURT: Overruled.

Pag.89

1. THE WITNESS: Cheaper place to live.

2. Q (By Mr. Romero) So, who was making money at this

3. time?

4. A. Carlo.

5. Q Were you working?

6. A. No.

7. Q Why weren't you working?

8. A. Uhm... basically, I was taking care of Carlo and

9. helping him with his trial.

10. Q When you say taking care of Mr. Parlanti, what do

11. you mean?

12. A. Uhm... I was there at his beckoning call.

13. Q That's how you would characterize it?

14. A. Yes.

15. Q You consider yourself an intelligent woman?

16. A. Yes.

17. Q Why would you be at his beck and call?

18. A. In the beginning, I looked for a job. I had a job.

19. I got fired because he would call me and tell me he was

20. depressed or sick, begged me to come home, and I would get in

21. trouble with my boss. And then she called me one night and

22. asked me to come to work, and I told her I couldn't because

23. Carlo was depressed. And she said, "You will come to work or

24. you will be fired." And I chose to stay home with him because

25. he said he was depressed. So, that was the first job I lost.

26. And after that, every interview I had that he knew I

27. ever had, he either got depressed or was sick that day, and I

28. was unable to go to my interview.

Pag.90

1. MR. BAMIEH: Object to that answer as vague as to time in

2. terms of when this occurred.

3. THE COURT: Overruled. It's a responsive answer. You

4. can clear it up on cross if you need to.

5. Q (By Mr. Romero) And this happened throughout the

6. time you were living in Westlake?

7. A. Yes.

8. Q Just so I'm clear, are you testifying that you chose

9. to stay home and be with Mr. Parlanti rather than work?

10. A. Yes.

11. Q And why did you do that?

12. A. Because I felt he needed me.

13. Q You said Mr. Parlanti would tell you he was feeling

14. depressed?

15. A. Yes.

16. Q Can you tell me specifically what you saw him doing

17. that gave you that impression?

18. A. Well, he... I took him to a psychiatrist. He was

19. supposed to be on antidepressant medicine. I know that

20. because I picked it up for him. At other times, I took him --

21. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Lacks foundation, your Honor.

22. THE COURT: Overruled on that ground.

23. THE WITNESS: I took him to the pharmacy to pick it up

24. several other times. Uhm... he would call, like, mini

25. breakdowns. He would sleep for days and not wake up. He

26. would curl up in a fetal position and suck his thumb. He

27. cried a lot. I would consider that depressed.

28. Q (By Mr. Romero) Was he drinking during this time?

Pag.91

1. A. Not always.

2. Q Sometimes?

3. A. Sometimes.

4. Q Now, you said he was -- you would see him sucking

5. his thumb?

6. A. Yes.

7. Q How often would that happen?

8. A. During the highly stress times.

9. Q And where would he be when he did this?

10. A. In bed.

11. Q Would you characterize that as a childish behavior?

12. A. Yes.

13. Q Did you observe Mr. Parlanti do any other childish

14. behaviors?

15. A. When he was drinking, he cried a lot. He wet the

16. bed many times.

17. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Relevancy, your Honor.

18. THE COURT: You have a theory of relevance, Mr. Romero?

19. MR. ROMERO: I do, your Honor.

20. THE COURT: I'll take it at the bench.

21. ///

22. (Bench conference held off the record.)

23. ///

24. THE COURT: Let's proceed. The objection is overruled.

25. Q (By Mr. Romero) Ms. White, when Mr. Parlanti would

26. wet the bed, was he awake or was he sleeping?

27. A. Both.

28. Q And who would change the sheets?

Pag.92

1. A. I did.

2. Q And then you talked about some physical abuse that

3. you had suffered at the hands of Mr. Parlanti, correct?

4. A. Yes.

5. Q Did you include that in the diary you were keeping

6. for yourself?

7. A. Yes.

8. Q Now, you've also talked about some sexual abuse.

9. Did Mr. Parlanti, during the time you were living

10. with him in Westlake, sexually abuse you?

11. A. Only once.

12. Q And when did that happen?

13. A. June 29th.

14. Q Before June 29th, were you and Mr. Parlanti engaged

15. in sexual relations, correct?

16. A. Yes.

17. Q And during the sexual relations, was there any

18. infliction of pain by either one of you?

19. A. At times, he had beaten me, yes.

20. Q Can you clarify a little more? What do you mean?

21. A. At times before, he had beaten me with a belt.

22. Q Okay. And just so -- to make sure you understand my

23. question, I'm talking specifically about during actual sex.

24. Did Mr. Parlanti inflict any physical pain on you?

25. A. Yes.

26. Q And what would he use?

27. A. A belt.

28. Q And how would he use the belt?

Pag.93

1. A. I'm not sure what you're asking me.

2. Q How would he inflict pain with the belt?

3. A. First time, he tied -- he handcuffed my hands behind

4. my back.

5. Q And then what did he do?

6. A. He spanked me with the belt. It was a joke, the

7. first time. And I told him I didn't like it.

8. Q Where did he spank you?

9. A. On my buttocks.

10. Q And you told him you didn't like it?

11. A. Yes.

12. Q Did you make any requests regarding future use of

13. the belt?

14. A. No.

15. Q Was that the only time he used the belt during sex?

16. A. No.

17. Q Approximately, how many more times did he use the

18. belt?

19. A. I would say maybe two more times.

20. Q And how would he use those two other times?

21. A. Uhm... I can remember specifically one time he had

22. the belt hidden on his side of the bed. During a sexual

23. intercourse, he pulled it out from under the mattress. The

24. mattress laid flat on the bed. We did not have a bed. And he

25. pulled it out from under the mattress as I sat on top of him

26. and began to beat my breast with it.

27. Q Just so we are clear, the mattress was lying

28. directly on the floor?

Pag.94

1. A. Yes.

2. Q And he had the belt -- or you saw him get a belt

3. from underneath the mattress?

4. A. Yes.

5. Q And what did he do with the belt?

6. A. He began to beat my breast with the belt.

7. Q How many times did he strike your breast with the

8. belt?

9. A. Maybe five times.

10. Q Were your hands free?

11. A. He's holding my hands behind my back.

12. Q With just one hand?

13. A. He's a very strong man, yes.

14. Q How big is Mr. Parlanti? How much does he weigh?

15. A. At that time, he weighed 165.

16. Q How tall is he?

17. A. Six-foot.

18. Q And at the time, how much did you weigh?

19. A. Approximately 162.

20. Q And how much -- how tall were you?

21. A. 5'6".

22. Q Fair to say Mr. Parlanti is much stronger than you?

23. A. Yes.

24. Q Do you remember what hand he used to hold your hands

25. behind your back?

26. A. He's right-handed. So, I would say his left.

27. Q And he had the belt in his right hand?

28. A. Yes.

Pag.95

1. Q During the times that he hit you, did you tell him

2. to stop?

3. A. Yes.

4. Q How many times?

5. A. Every time he struck me with the belt, it hurt.

6. Q Did you cry?

7. A. Yes.

8. Q Do you recall if you wrote this in your diary?

9. A. I don't recall if I wrote it in my diary, but I can

10. tell you when it was.

11. Q My question to you is: Do you recall if you wrote

12. that in your diary?

13. A. I don't recall.

14. Q During this time, did -- after Mr. Parlanti struck

15. you with the belt, was there anymore use of that belt on this

16. specific occasion?

17. A. No.

18. Q I believe you said there was one other?

19. A. Yes.

20. Q What happened then?

21. A. It was, uhm... I believe when he returned from

22. Mexico, one of his trips.

23. Q What happened?

24. A. We were playing on the bed, and he was tickling me

25. with a tie, and I was blind folded. He tied me with a tie,

26. and he beat me with a belt.

27. Q Where did he hit you with the belt?

28. A. On my arms.

Pag.96

1. Q How many times did he hit you?

2. A. Ten to 15 times, approximately.

3. Q During any of these incidences that you've

4. described, did he leave any injuries on you?

5. A. Yes.

6. Q Every time or sometimes?

7. A. Every time.

8. Q Did you take any photographs of these times you've

9. been describing?

10. A. No.

11. Q And approximately, when did they happen?

12. A. The time he beat my breast was Mother's Day weekend.

13. Q Why do you recall that?

14. A. Because I was angry that he did it. It hurt. And I

15. drove up that weekend to see my daughter in Monterey, and I

16. went to his psychiatrist's office, Dr. Stencil, the next day.

17. Q That's fine, Ms. White.

18. My question to you is: Approximately, when did

19. these incidents occur?

20. You said one when he beat your breasts was about

21. Mother's Day?

22. A. Uhm-hum.

23. Q The other instances?

24. A. The other, uhm... I don't know the -- the month.

25. It's just when he would come back from Mexico.

26. Q And this was during the time you were living at the

27. Westlake apartment?

28. A. Yes.

Pag.97

1. Q Let me direct your attention to June 29th of the

2. year 2002.

3. Do you recall being home on that day?

4. A. Yes.

5. Q And do you recall if Mr. Parlanti was there?

6. A. Yes.

7. Q Do you recall if at any time on that day anyone else

8. was in your apartment?

9. A. Yes. My daughter, my grandson, my mother, and my

10. daughter's boyfriend came to visit.

11. Q And this daughter, is this Heather Reeves

12. Christianson?

13. A. Yes. That's my only child.

14. Q And your mother.

15. What's your mother's name?

16. A. Pat McKay.

17. Q And I believe your grandson?

18. A. Yes.

19. Q What is his name?

20. A. Tristan Christianson.

21. Q And you said at the time, your daughter's boyfriend

22. was also there?

23. A. Derrick Reeves, which is now her husband.

24. Q Now, what time -- strike that.

25. How long were all these people in your apartment?

26. A. Derrick dropped them off. He didn't stay.

27. Q Derrick Reeves?

28. A. Yes.

Pag.98

1. Q And how long were they there?

2. A. They stayed all morning and through the evening

3. until about 3:00.

4. Q And you were socializing with your family?

5. A. Yes.

6. Q And approximately, what time did they leave?

7. A. About 3:00.

8. Q In the afternoon?

9. A. Yes. Correct.

10. Q And Mr. Parlanti was there the entire time?

11. A. Yes.

12. Q Was there any drinking going on while they were

13. there?

14. A. No.

15. Q After they left, was there any drinking?

16. A. Yes.

17. Q By whom?

18. A. Carlo.

19. Q Did you do any drinking?

20. A. I had one glass of wine.

21. Q Did you see how many glasses of wine Mr. Parlanti

22. consumed?

23. A. He consumed the rest of the two-liter bottle of

24. wine.

25. THE COURT: Sorry. I couldn't hear the first part of the

26. your answer, ma'am.

27. THE WITNESS: He consumed the rest of the two-liter

28. bottle of wine.

Pag.99

1. THE COURT: Thank you.

2. Q (By Mr. Romero) And where was Mr. Parlanti, if you

3. recall, while he was consuming the wine?

4. A. In the office.

5. Q Was he working?

6. A. Yes.

7. Q Did you have any conversations with him as he

8. consumed this liter of wine we are talking about?

9. A. Yes.

10. Q Was it a pleasant conversation?

11. A. No.

12. Q Was there any yelling?

13. A. Yes.

14. Q By whom? By you or Mr. Parlanti?

15. A. Mr. Parlanti.

16. Q Do you remember if you were avoiding him?

17. A. Uhm... I didn't avoid him. I just didn't talk.

18. Q Was he asking you questions?

19. A. Yes.

20. Q And you did not respond?

21. A. Correct.

22. Q Why didn't you respond?

23. A. I don't like to argue.

24. Q You don't like to argue or you don't like to argue

25. with Mr. Parlanti?

26. A. Both.

27. Q Did it cause you any concern that Mr. Parlanti was

28. consuming wine and yelling?

Pag.100

1. A. Concerned me that he was drinking more than one

2. liter of wine, yes.

3. Q So, you saw him consume more than one liter?

4. A. Yes.

5. Q Total that night, how much did you see him consume?

6. A. Through the whole evening?

7. Q Yes.

8. A. Four liters.

9. MR. BAMIEH: Sorry. I didn't hear that.

10. THE WITNESS: Four liters.

11. Q (By Mr. Romero) And he consumed these four liters

12. after 3 o'clock, and your family has left?

13. A. Yes.

14. Q So, did you have all of these four liters in your

15. apartment?

16. A. No.

17. Q Where did they come from?

18. A. When my family left, we went to the grocery store

19. and bought the two liters with the groceries.

20. Q Did Mr. Parlanti go with you?

21. A. Yes. And then we came back, cooked. He consumed

22. the two liters. And then I -- he sent me out to the 7-eleven,

23. and I bought another two-liter.

24. Q Did he send you back out to 7-eleven after he

25. consumed the initial two liters you purchased at the store?

26. A. Yes.

27. Q Did you actually see him consume the two liters?

28. A. Yes.

Pag.101

1. Q When you got back from 7-eleven, when you walked

2. into your apartment, where was Mr. Parlanti?

3. A. Setting at his desk.

4. Q In the office?

5. A. Yes.

6. Q Did you have a conversation with him at that time?

7. A. Yes.

8. Q What was Mr. Parlanti's demeanor at that time?

9. A. He was angry and frustrated.

10. Q What makes you say that?

11. A. His posture.

12. Q Sorry?

13. A. His posture.

14. Q Was he saying anything?

15. A. He told me to get away from him.

16. Q Did he yell when he said that?

17. A. Yes.

18. Q What did you do?

19. A. I thought he meant get out of the room. So, I went

20. to bed.

21. Q You went into the master bedroom?

22. A. Yes.

23. Q And you got into the bed?

24. A. Yes. I got dressed for bed and went to bed.

25. Q When you say you got dressed for bed, did you change

26. your clothes?

27. A. Yes.

28. Q What did you put on?

Pag.102

1. A. A camisole and boxer shorts.

2. Q Did you get under the blankets?

3. A. Yes.

4. Q And did you stay in the bedroom?

5. A. Yes.

6. Q Did you fall asleep?

7. A. No.

8. Q Did Mr. Parlanti come into the room?

9. A. Yes.

10. Q How much time past before he came into the room?

11. A. Several minutes.

12. Q Did you actually see him come into the room?

13. A. Yes.

14. Q Did he say anything when he initially came into the

15. room?

16. A. Yes, he did.

17. Q What did he say?

18. A. That's -- "Rebecca, that's not what I meant." And

19. he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out of the bed. "I

20. meant for you to leave."

21. Q What did you do in response?

22. A. I was shocked. And I said, "Let me get dressed."

23. Q You were willing to leave?

24. A. Yes. I knew he was angry, and I was scared.

25. Q When you say he grabbed you out of the bed, what did

26. he do physically to you?

27. A. He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me up out of the

28. bed.

Pag.103

1. Q Did you resist him?

2. A. No.

3. Q When you told him that you would leave, did you try

4. and leave?

5. A. I tried to get dressed.

6. Q Were you able to get dressed?

7. A. No.

8. Q What prevented you?

9. A. He still had a hold of me.

10. Q How did he get a hold of you?

11. A. He still has a hold of my arm. He's scurrying me

12. toward the front door.

13. Q When you say "scurrying," can you describe --

14. A. Rushing --

15. Q I'm sorry. You need to wait until I'm done.

16. When you say "scurrying," can you describe

17. physically what he was doing?

18. A. He's holding -- he's holding a hold of my arm and

19. physically taking me to the front door.

20. Q Is he standing in front of you or behind you?

21. A. Behind me.

22. Q Is he pulling you or pushing you towards the front

23. door?

24. A. Pushing.

25. Q Does he get you to the front door?

26. A. Yes.

27. Q And what happens at the front door?

28. A. He begins to push my head against -- bang my head

Pag.104

1. against the bulletin board on the front door.

2. Q When you say a "bulletin board," do you mean like a

3. cork board where you can hang paper or pictures?

4. A. Yes.

5. Q Now, on the People's Exhibit -- and I think that's

6. 27, that is the diagram that you drew, can you get up and show

7. the jury where you and Mr. Parlanti moved from the bedroom to

8. the front door?

9. A. You mean draw?

10. Q I want you to use a different color marker than you

11. initially drew your diagram with and start in the bedroom

12. where you were pulled out of bed.

13. A. (Witness complies.)

14. Q And approximately, how far away -- how far did

15. Mr. Parlanti and you move from the bedroom to the door?

16. A. Uhm... I'm not sure how to answer that. I don't

17. know how many feet that is.

18. Q Is it a big apartment?

19. A. It's pretty good sized.

20. Q Would you say the distance from where you're

21. standing is to where the double doors are, the glass double

22. doors?

23. A. Yes.

24. Q Are you good at approximating how many feet?

25. A. No. Sorry.

26. MR. ROMERO: Your Honor, do we have a diagram as to how

27. far that distance is?

28. THE COURT: From where to where?

Pag.105

1. MR. ROMERO: From the witness stand to the beginning of

2. the double doors?

3. THE COURT: No. From the wall by where the witness is

4. standing to the double doors is 45 feet, according to this

5. hearsay diagram of unknown origin that came with the

6. courtroom.

7. MR. ROMERO: Okay.

8. Q Well, you said that you can't approximate how much

9. feet, correct?

10. A. Correct.

11. Q So, then you said Mr. Parlanti moved you to the

12. front door, and he banged your head into something that was

13. hanging on the wall?

14. A. Correct.

15. Q Where was that item hanging on the wall?

16. A. Right here. Right by the door.

17. Q Could you put a circle right there.

18. A. (Witness complies.)

19. Q You can sit down, Ms. White.

20. A. (Witness complies.)

21. Q When you say he banged your head against the door,

22. what exactly did he do?

23. A. He cupped his hands under my head and began to force

24. my head against the wall.

25. Q Approximately, how many times did he do that?

26. A. More than 30 times.

27. Q Was it all right there in front of the door?

28. A. Yes.

Pag.106

1. Q Did that cause any pain to you?

2. A. Yes.

3. Q Did you say anything to the defendant while he's

4. doing this?

5. A. It happened so fast. No.

6. Q Where was his hand on you when he was doing this?

7. A. Both hands were...

8. MR. BAMIEH: I'm sorry. I couldn't see.

9. Q (By Mr. Romero) And I need you to describe so we

10. have a good record.

11. Where were his hands?

12. A. His hands were under my chins -- my chin.

13. Q So, he placed both hands under your chin and put

14. your head against the wall?

15. A. Yes.

16. Q And he did that you estimate about 30 times?

17. A. Or more, yes.

18. Q And where were your hands?

19. A. Down by my side.

20. Q Did you try to push him away?

21. A. No. His -- his body is up against mine.

22. Q Did you try and scratch him?

23. A. I can't. I can't move. He's up against me. I'm up

24. against the wall.

25. Q Are you afraid to touch him?

26. A. Yes.

27. Q Why are you afraid to touch him?

28. A. I don't know what he's going to do. I'm scared.

Pag107

1. Q Had he ever hit your head like that against the

2. wall?

3. A. No. He's never been this violent.

4. Q After he stopped hitting your head, what happened?

5. A. After he stopped, he... he said, "I want you to

6. leave."

7. And I said, "Let me just put my pants on."

8. And he said, "I don't want you to leave. What I

9. want you to do is get on your hands and knees and beg me to

10. let you stay." And I couldn't do it. It's not what I wanted.

11. Q What happened after that?

12. A. He -- he forced me against the adjacent wall, and he

13. began to slap me with the front and back of his hand until my

14. face -- when, uhm...

15. Q Approximately, how many times did he slap you?

16. A. More than ten times.

17. Q And you said he got you against an adjacent wall?

18. A. Yes.

19. Q On the diagram, which wall is that?

20. A. (Indicating.)

21. Q Was he holding you up against the wall?

22. A. Yes.

23. Q How was he doing that? You can sit down.

24. A. He again has his body against mine. I cannot flee.

25. I cannot move.

26. Q At this point, are your hands free?

27. A. No.

28. Q Why aren't your hands free?

Pag.108

1. A. Because he's got me pinned against the wall.

2. Q Where are your hands?

3. A. To my side.

4. MR. BAMIEH: Sorry, I couldn't hear that.

5. THE WITNESS: They are to my side.

6. Q (By Mr. Romero) So, they -- you were pinned against

7. the wall, and his body was leaning against you where you

8. couldn't move your arms?

9. A. Yes.

10. Q Did you make an attempt to move your arms?

11. A. Not that I recall, no.

12. Q How about your legs?

13. A. No.

14. Q Did you make any attempt to move your legs?

15. A. Not that I recall.

16. Q Did you try and yell?

17. A. I can't.

18. Q Why can't you yell?

19. A. Because he's -- he's slapping me and my -- and my

20. face and my head is banging back and forth and he begins to

21. bang my head against the wall again.

22. Q How many times did he bang your head against the

23. wall again?

24. A. Again, I would say another 30 times, but he's

25. banging my head in a different way than he did before. He's

26. got his hand, like, cuffed over my mouth. So, he's banging my

27. head in a different part in the back of my head against the

28. wall.

Pag.109

1. Q Did he put his hand over your mouth initially upon

2. pinning you against the adjacent wall?

3. A. No.

4. Q Do you remember if you screamed?

5. A. I did not at this time, no.

6. Q What happened after he banged your head against the

7. wall again?

8. A. I'm shaking, and I'm crying, and I'm having trouble

9. seeing because my left eye is beginning to swell close.

10. Q What happens?

11. A. I'm shaking, and he can tell I'm scared.

12. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Calls for speculation.

13. THE WITNESS: Because he says to me --

14. MR. BAMIEH: Objection.

15. THE COURT: There's an objection, ma'am. If you'll wait.

16. The objection is sustained.

17. MR. BAMIEH: Motion to strike.

18. THE COURT: The part of the witness' answer about what

19. the defendant can tell is stricken. Jurors are to disregard.

20. Next question, please.

21. Q (By Mr. Romero) What happened after -- what did he

22. physically do after he stopped banging your head against the

23. wall, the adjacent wall?

24. A. He grabbed me by the throat, and he pulled me. He

25. pulled me over by the bulletin board, and he began to choke

26. me.

27. Q So, he moved you back to the initial wall?

28. A. Well, where our shoulders are aligned with it now.

Pag.110

1. Q This area that we are talking about is just within a

2. few feet?

3. A. Yes.

4. Q What did he do once he moved you over there?

5. A. He began to choke me, and I told him he was hurting

6. me. I couldn't breathe.

7. Q How long was he choking you?

8. A. Three or four minutes. I don't know. Short time.

9. Q At this point, do you try and scream?

10. A. Yes, but... very little air comes out. I can't -- I

11. can't breathe.

12. Q Did you do anything to try and physically get him

13. away from you?

14. A. Yes.

15. Q What did you do?

16. A. I can feel myself falling.

17. Q I'm sorry?

18. A. I feel myself falling down, and I -- he's -- he's

19. naked from the waist down. I dug my nails in the back of his

20. legs. I'm scratching him as I -- as I fall to the floor.

21. Q What happens when you fall to the floor?

22. A. I'm unconscious.

23. Q You realize you are unconscious?

24. A. I have come to.

25. Q You come to?

26. A. Eventually, yes.

27. Q Do you remember where you were when you fell to the

28. floor?

Pag.111

1. A. I'm sorry. I don't know what you are asking me.

2. Q You say he's choking you, and you feel yourself

3. falling to the floor.

4. Where are you when you are going to the floor?

5. Is that by the front door?

6. A. Yes.

7. Q And then you come to?

8. A. Yes.

9. Q Are you in the same location?

10. A. Yes.

11. Q Do you see Mr. Parlanti?

12. A. No.

13. Q How do you feel, if you recall, at this time?

14. A. I'm face down on the floor in a choke hold, and he's

15. pulling my head back. He's still choking me.

16. Q So, you can't see Mr. Parlanti?

17. A. No. I can feel him, but I can't see him.

18. Q When you say you are on the floor, you are lying on

19. your stomach?

20. A. Yes.

21. Q And you say he had you in a choke hold.

22. Can you describe what you mean by that?

23. A. Like a wrestler would.

24. Q Not like a wrestler. I want you to describe

25. physically how you felt him holding you.

26. A. He has his -- his hands around my throat, and he's

27. forcing my head to the back as far back as it will go.

28. Q And do you feel him applying any other pressure

Pag.112

1. anywhere else on your body?

2. A. His knee is in my back.

3. Q You feel that?

4. A. Yes.

5. Q Is he saying anything to you at this time?

6. A. No.

7. Q Are you saying anything to him?

8. A. I can't.

9. Q You can't talk?

10. A. I can't say anything. No words can come out.

11. Q Are you trying to say something?

12. A. Yes.

13. Q What are you trying to say?

14. A. "You're hurting me."

15. Q How long does he have you in that position?

16. A. A matter of minutes, and I go unconscious again.

17. Q Again, do you recall yourself going unconscious?

18. A. Yes.

19. Q You recall yourself blacking out?

20. A. Yes.

21. Q Do you recall coming to?

22. A. Yes.

23. Q When you come to, are you still on the ground?

24. A. Yes, but I'm not in the same location.

25. Q What do you mean?

26. A. I am in -- I am in the living room.

27. Q In the same room?

28. A. Uhm-hum.

Pag.113

1. Q That's a yes?

2. A. Yes.

3. Q But in a different part of the living room?

4. A. Yes.

5. Q Where are you now?

6. A. (Indicating).

7. Q You put an X. I think that's green.

8. A. Yes.

9. Q You can sit down, Ms. White.

10. So, when you came to the second time, you were on a

11. different area on the living room floor?

12. A. Yes.

13. Q Do you know how you got there?

14. A. No.

15. Q When you came to, were you able to see Mr. Parlanti?

16. A. Yes.

17. Q Where was he?

18. A. He was beside me.

19. Q Are you still lying on the floor?

20. A. Yes. I am on my back.

21. Q So you've turned over?

22. A. Yes.

23. Q And Mr. Parlanti is lying next to you?

24. A. No. He's standing beside me.

25. Q Does he tell you anything at that time?

26. A. I'm screaming, and he's telling me to shut up. "You

27. are going to get me in trouble. You say you love me. If you

28. really love me, you will shut up. You are going to get me in

Pag.114

1. trouble. You know, you are going to get me in trouble. They

2. will come get me."

3. Q If you can recall, how do you physically feel at

4. this time?

5. A. Uhm, I'm wrecked with pain. I'm hurting. He's

6. kicking me.

7. Q Is he kicking you as he's telling you to shut up?

8. A. Yes.

9. Q Where was he kicking you?

10. A. He's kicking me in my ribs.

11. Q On your left or right side?

12. A. My right.

13. Q Do you actually see him kick you or you feel him

14. kick you?

15. A. I feel him kicking me.

16. Q How many times do you feel him kicking you?

17. A. Oh... ten to 20 times at least.

18. Q Ten to 20?

19. A. Yes.

20. Q And that's your best approximation?

21. A. Yes.

22. Q After he kicks you, what do you see him do?

23. A. Well, immediately after that, I am unconscious

24. again.

25. Q You felt yourself lose consciousness?

26. A. Yes.

27. Q From being kicked?

28. A. Yes.

Pag.115

1. Q And do you recall yourself coming to again?

2. A. Yes.

3. Q And where do you come to?

4. A. I'm in the same place. I'm in a ball, but I'm still

5. on my back, like I'm trying to protect myself, but he's still

6. kicking me, and I'm still screaming. I come to screaming.

7. Q To the best of your ability, you're trying to

8. scream?

9. A. Yes.

10. Q What are you trying to scream?

11. A. "Please stop. You're hurting me."

12. Q Do you recall if the defendant was telling you

13. anything at this time?

14. A. "Oh, your poor liver, your poor liver. I really

15. feel sorry for you."

16. Q Do you remember him saying anything else?

17. A. Not right now. That's all I can remember.

18. Q Do you remember what he did next?

19. A. He tells me to shut up, and he picks me up by my

20. left arm and throws me in a bean bag in the living room.

21. Q How far away is the bean bag?

22. A. Maybe five feet.

23. Q And when you land on the bean bag, how do you land?

24. A. I'm sitting, and it hurts.

25. Q What do you see Mr. Parlanti do?

26. A. He's pacing.

27. Q Is he saying anything to you that you recall at this

28. time?

Pag.116

1. A. Telling me to shut up.

2. Q Do you remember if you're saying anything?

3. A. I'm crying. Telling me I'm a bad American, and he

4. wants me to shut up. I'm a bitch. And he wants me out of his

5. life. And I tell him that he's hurt me. And he tells me I'm

6. lying, and he doubles up his fist, and he hits me between the

7. eyes and the forehead.

8. Q How many times does he hit you?

9. A. Just once.

10. Q What happens after he hits you?

11. A. I have trouble hearing him and staying conscious,

12. but I'm afraid he's going to kick me, and I tried to stay

13. alert. He grabs me by the back of my hair, and he pulls me

14. down the hallway, into the office. And he puts me on the

15. futon.

16. Q He sits you down?

17. A. Yes.

18. Q Does he say anything to you at that time?

19. A. Tells me to shut up and sit down. "Don't go

20. anywhere."

21. Q Sorry?

22. A. Tells me to shut up and sit down and don't go

23. anywhere.

24. Q Are you able to see him?

25. Are you looking at him when he tells you this?

26. A. Yeah, I can see. It's blurry, but I can see. He's

27. pacing. He says, "I don't know what to do with you." He

28. leaves the room for a minute, and he went and got more wine.

Pag.117

1. Q You see him come back into the office?

2. A. Yes.

3. Q What are you -- what are you wearing at this time?

4. A. I still have on my night clothes. I never got

5. dressed.

6. Q When he comes back into the room, into the office,

7. he's holding the glass of wine?

8. A. Yeah.

9. Q Do you see him with anything else?

10. A. Telephone.

11. Q Does he say anything to you?

12. A. He says, "I want you to dial 9-1-1, and I want you

13. to dial 9-1-1 so we can finish this."

14. Q Does he do anything?

15. A. Pushes me on the left shoulder and pushes me back on

16. the couch, and then I think he realizes that he's hurt me

17. because I can't get up, and I'm struggling to breath.

18. MR. BAMIEH: Objection. Calls for speculation.

19. THE COURT: Overruled.

20. Q (By Mr. Romero) Are you saying anything to him at

21. this point?

22. A. I'm not saying a word. I don't want to be hit

23. anymore. He shows me how to get up. And he says, "I've had

24. my ribs broke before. This is how you get up."

25. Q I'm sorry?

26. A. "I've had my ribs broke before. This is how you get

27. up." And he showed me how to get up.

28. Q Mr. Parlanti?

Pag.118

1. A. To sit up, yes. He showed me how to sit up, and I

2. sat up, and he tries to give me the phone.

3. Q How does -- what does he do with the phone?

4. A. He -- I'm holding on to my ribs with my left hand.

5. So, he puts it in the cradle of my arm and tells me, "You dial

6. 9-1-1." And I don't say a word.

7. Q Do you pick up the phone?

8. A. No. I cause it to fall on the couch beside me.

9. Q And then what happens?

10. A. He picks it up and puts it inside my top, and I let

11. it fall through to the floor. This makes him angry.

12. Q When he places it through your shirt or the top of

13. your shirt, does he say anything at that point?

14. A. He just keeps telling me to dial 9-1-1.

15. Q At any point, do you pick up the phone to call

16. 9-1-1?

17. A. No. I don't touch it.

18. Q Why not?

19. A. I'm afraid if I touch that phone, he will either hit

20. me with it, and he will hurt me more. At this point, I am

21. afraid for my life. I don't know what this man is going to do

22. to me.

23. Q Had Mr. Parlanti ever been so physically violent

24. with you?

25. A. Never.

26. Q What happened after the phone fell through your top

27. and onto the floor?

28. A. He goes -- he goes to the computer, pulled up a web

Pag.119

1. site of nude women that are bound, and he said, "Do you see

2. what is on that -- on the site?"

3. I said, "Yes."

4. Q And you are able to see the computer screen?

5. A. Yes.

6. Q Are you able to see out of both eyes?

7. A. No.

8. Q Why not?

9. A. Because the left one is almost completely swelled

10. closed.

11. Q How far away from the computer were you?

12. A. The room is not that big. It's not very far.

13. Q A few feet?

14. A. At the most, six.

15. Q And so, you -- you look at the computer screen and

16. you see some depictions?

17. A. Yes.

18. Q What do you see?

19. A. I see various women that are nude, bound in leather

20. straps in different ways.

21. Q Had you seen that picture before?

22. A. Throughout the week previous, June the 29th, I had

23. walked in the office and seen Carlo looking at these pictures.

24. And when he would see me coming, he would flip it over to

25. another site.

26. Q So you've glanced at it before?

27. A. Yes.

28. Q Did you ever ask him about it prior to tonight?

Pag.120

1. A. No.

2. Q So, he shows you these photographs or these

3. depictions on the computer, and does he say anything to you?

4. A. "I want you to pick one of these tonight because I'm

5. going to tie you up and I want you to enjoy. I want you to

6. pick which one you want to be tied up like."

7. Q Do you pick one?

8. A. No. I don't say a word. This makes him even more

9. angry.

10. Q What makes him even more angry?

11. A. That I don't respond. I just sit there.

12. Q Why don't you respond?

13. A. I'm scared. I don't know want to say. I don't know

14. what to do. I just don't do anything. I just sit there.

15. Q Where is Carlo when he's showing you?

16. A. He's sitting in his chair. His office chair.

17. Q So he's also a few feet away from you?

18. A. Yes.

19. Q And I believe you said that he's not wearing any

20. pants?

21. A. No.

22. Q Is he wearing any underwear?

23. A. No.

24. Q What's he wearing?

25. A. Just a T-shirt.

26. Q When he's telling you this, does he appear angry to

27. you?

28. A. Yes.

Pag.121

1. Q Why? Why do you say that?

2. A. Because I'm not playing the game.

3. Q What game?

4. A. He's playing a game.

5. MR. BAMIEH: Object. Calls for speculation, your Honor.

6. THE COURT: Overruled.

7. Q (By Mr. Romero) Just so we are clear, is this

8. something that you had done in the past?

9. A. Never.

10. Q He's never shown you these photographs and said

11. "pick one" before?

12. A. No.

13. Q What happens after you don't respond?

14. A. He goes, "Fine. If you are not going to pick one,

15. you are not going to dial 9-1-1, I'm just going to tie you

16. up."

17. Q What does he do?

18. A. He picks me up by the left arm, and he pulls me down

19. the hall. He takes off my clothes, and he threw me into bed.

20. Q The master bedroom?

21. A. Yes.

22. Q You say he takes off your clothes?

23. A. Yes.

24. Q What does he do?

25. A. I'm not sure what you're asking.

26. Q Does he untie or -- and did you say you were wearing

27. a kimono or robe?

28. A. No. I said camisole.

Pag.122

1. Q Is that the only item of clothing you have on?

2. A. And matching boxer shorts.

3. Q So, he takes off your boxer shorts?

4. A. Yes.

5. Q And your top?

6. A. Yes.

7. Q And then what does he do?

8. A. He puts me in bed, covers me up, and he leaves the

9. room. And I'm hoping it's over.

10. Q Does he come back?

11. A. With a glass of wine.

12. Q You said he went into the office with a telephone

13. and a glass of wine.

14. Do you remember saying that?

15. A. Yes.

16. Q And now you're saying that he went into the bedroom

17. with a glass of wine?

18. A. Yes. He's had time to consume one glass. He's

19. undressed me, put me in bed, went back in there, filled the

20. glass again, and he's come back.

21. Q During the time that he's showing you these pictures

22. on the computer --

23. A. He consumed a glass.

24. Q -- do you actually see him drink the wine?

25. A. Yes.

26. Q Do you see he finishes the glass of wine?

27. A. Yes.

28. Q And then you see him come back into the bedroom, the

Pag.123

1. master bedroom. After he's taken off your clothes and put you

2. in bed, you see him come in with another glass of wine?

3. A. Yes.

4. Q A full glass of wine?

5. A. Yes.

6. Q Are these glass -- glasses of wine?

7. A. Yes.

8. Q You can see through?

9. A. They are wine glass, yes.

10. Q Clear wine glass?

11. A. Yes.

12. Q Do you see him drink --

13. A. Yes.

14. Q -- out of this glass?

15. A. Yes.

16. Q Do you see him drink it all?

17. A. I'm sorry?

18. Q Do you see him -- when he comes into the bedroom, do

19. you see him drink the entire glass of wine?

20. A. I didn't see him consume the whole glass, no.

21. Q Did you see him put it down?

22. A. Yes.

23. Q Where did he put it down?

24. A. On the dresser.

25. Q What did he do after he put it down?

26. A. He had some zip ties in his hand.

27. Q What kind of zip ties?

28. A. Like you would tie computer cords together with.

Pag.124

1. That's what he used them for.

2. Q For computer wires?

3. A. Yes.

4. Q Did he do anything to you with these zip ties?

5. A. Yes.

6. Q What did he do?

7. A. He put one on each wrist and laced another one

8. through them and tied my wrist to my ankles.

9. Q Did he use them to tie your wrists together?

10. A. No. He tied my left wrist to my left ankle and my

11. right wrist to my right ankle.

12. Q Are you still on your mattress?

13. A. Yes, on my back.

14. Q Is your mattress still -- lies on the floor or is it

15. on a bed frame?

16. A. It's on the floor.

17. THE COURT: Mr. Bamieh, will you be seated, please.

18. MR. BAMIEH: I'm sorry.

19. THE COURT: Thank you.

20. Q (By Mr. Romero) What did he do after he tied your

21. left wrist to your left ankle and your right wrist to your

22. right ankle?

23. A. He told me that he wanted to make love to me.

24. Q Are those his words that he used?

25. A. Yes.

26. Q Did you respond back to him?

27. A. Yes, I did.

28. Q What did you say?

Pag.125

1. A. I told him I didn't want him to.

2. Q Do you recall as specifically as you can what you

3. told him?

4. A. He said to me, "I know I've hurt you. I want to

5. make you feel better. I -- in the morning, I want to take you

6. to a motel, and I'm going to leave you there. I want you out

7. of my life."

8. And I said, "Carlo, you can't make me feel better.

9. You hurt me."

10. Q He's -- you have this conversation with him before

11. sexual intercourse?

12. A. Yes.

13. Q At any point, did you tell him that you did not want

14. to have sex with him?

15. A. Yes.

16. Q How did you tell him that?

17. A. I told him I didn't want him to make love to me.

18. Q Did you tell him that more than once?

19. A. No.

20. Q Just one time?

21. A. Just one time.

22. Q Did you do anything physically to try --

23. A. I wasn't able to.

24. Q What happened after you had that conversation with

25. the defendant?

26. A. He laid down on top of me and tried to have

27. intercourse with me.

28. Q When you say "try," what do you mean?

Pag.126

1. A. I didn't participate.

2. Q Did he insert his penis into your vagina?

3. A. Yes, he did.

4. Q Did you and him complete the act of sexual

5. intercourse?

6. A. No.

7. Q How long was Mr. Parlanti's penis in your vagina at

8. that time?

9. A. I would say five minutes.

10. Q Do you recall if he ejaculated?

11. A. No, he did not.

12. Q During those five minutes, was he touching you in

13. other way?

14. A. Not at this time, no.

15. Q During the five minutes, do you recall if you told

16. defendant to stop?

17. A. Yes.

18. Q How many times did you tell him to stop?

19. A. Once.

20. Q What did you tell him?

21. A. "Stop. You're hurting me."

22. Q Were you crying?

23. A. Yes.

24. Q During those five minutes, did you do anything to

25. and physically resist?

26. A. I'm unable to.

27. Q Why are you unable to?

28. A. Because my hands are tied to my -- to my ankles.

Pag.127

1. What can I do?

2. Q Did you try and bite him?

3. A. I didn't think about biting.

4. Q Did you try and use your fingernails?

5. A. They are tied to my ankles and my ribs are broke.

6. My head, with every heart beat, felt like he was still beating

7. my head against the wall.

8. Q So, it's your testimony that you were physically

9. unable to physically resist him?

10. A. Yes.

11. Q After the five minutes, he stopped having sexual

12. intercourse with you?

13. A. Yes.

14. Q What happened?

15. A. He got off of me, and he was angry.

16. Q I'm sorry?

17. A. He got off of me, and he was very angry. He was

18. erect.

19. Q Why do you say that?

20. A. I could see him.

21. Q Looking at his face?

22. A. I'm sorry?

23. Q You said he got off of you, and he was angry and

24. irate?

25. A. Erect.

26. Q Oh, erect. I'm sorry.

27. And what happened?

28. A. He left the room. And my hands began to throb

Pag.128

1. because the ties were too tight.

2. Q So what did you do?

3. A. I began to call him, beg him to come take them off.

4. Q What do you recall saying?

5. A. "Carlo, please. My hands are hurting. Please,

6. Carlo, come take the ties off." And it made him angry.

7. Q When you said that, how many times did you ask him

8. to come back?

9. A. Many.

10. Q Did he come back?

11. A. Yes.

12. Q How long did it take him to come back?

13. A. Six or seven minutes. I called for quite awhile.

14. He didn't want to come back.

15. Q When you called, did you make any attempt to yell

16. for help?

17. A. It was a little hard to yell because my jaw was

18. dislocated.

19. Q Your jaw hurt?

20. A. Yes.

21. Q But you were able to call to him?

22. A. Yes.

23. Q And you did not call for help from neighbors?

24. A. How could I?

25. Q Do you recall if your apartment had an adjacent

26. apartment?

27. A. Yes.

28. Q Did any of the walls in the bedroom, in the master

Pag.129

1. bedroom you were in, did it share walls with another

2. apartment?

3. A. Yes.

4. Q Do you know if someone lived in that apartment?

5. A. Yes, they did.

6. Q Can you hear -- prior to -- during the time you were

7. living in this apartment, did you ever hear your neighbors

8. through the wall while you were in the bedroom?

9. A. The ones above us, yes.

10. Q Not the ones next to you --

11. A. No.

12. Q -- on the same floor?

13. A. No.

14. Q You are on the first floor or second floor?

15. A. First.

16. Q Did you -- as you are lying there, tied, did you

17. make any attempt to yell out to any of the neighbors?

18. A. I never thought to yell to the neighbors. I've been

19. screaming and crying and hollering the whole time. I would

20. have thought they would hear me. That's why he was telling me

21. to be quiet.

22. Q And you indicated that at some point, he came back

23. in?

24. A. Yes.

25. Q What did he do?

26. A. He -- he cut the zip ties off my hands because they

27. were purple.

28. Q What were purple?

Pag.130

1. A. My hands.

2. Q You could see them?

3. A. Uhm-hum.

4. Q Is that a yes?

5. A. Yes.

6. Q When this is taking place, approximately what time

7. is it?

8. A. It's after 11:00 at night.

9. Q Is the light --

10. MR. BAMIEH: Sorry. After?

11. THE WITNESS: After 11:00, maybe midnight. Somewhere

12. around there.

13. Q (By Mr. Romero) Was the light on in the bedroom

14. you're in?

15. A. Yes.

16. Q And you could see your hands turning purple?

17. A. Yes.

18. Q What does Mr. Parlanti do?

19. A. He cuts them free.

20. Q What does he use to cut them?

21. A. Some scissors.

22. Q Did you see where he got the scissors from?

23. A. He had them in his hand. So, I'm assuming they came

24. out of the office where they were kept.

25. Q I don't want you to assume. I just want you to tell

26. me what you saw.

27. So, when he walked into the bedroom, you saw him

28. holding scissors?

Pag.131

1. A. Yes.

2. Q And he used them to cut the zip ties off?

3. A. Yes.

4. Q What did he do -- strike that.

5. Did he cut the zip ties on both your left and right

6. hands?

7. A. Yes.

8. Q And what did he do after that?

9. A. He replaced them with bigger ones.

10. Q With bigger zip ties?

11. A. Yeah.

12. Q When he entered the bedroom with the scissors, you

13. saw him holding them in his hand?

14. A. I believe so, yes.

15. Q Did you see him holding any other zip ties when he

16. came in?

17. A. Yes.

18. Q And they were bigger than the ones he initially

19. bound with you?

20. A. Yes. Because they are not as tight when he put them

21. on my wrist.

22. Q Sorry. You feel the difference?

23. A. Yes.

24. Q And when he binds you a second time, how does he

25. bind you?

26. A. Exactly as the same. Except he laced -- because

27. they are still on my ankle, he laced them through the ankle,

28. and then clasped them around my wrist instead of the other

Pag.132

1. way.

2. Q Had he bound you with those zip ties ever before?

3. A. No.

4. Q After he bound you the second time, what did he do?

5. THE COURT: I'm going to interrupt you, Mr. Romero. We

6. are going to take a break at this point. We are going to take

7. a 20-minute break.

8. Please don't discuss the case. Please do not form

9. or express any opinions.

10. Ms. White, you can step down ma'am. I'll see you

11. back in 20 minutes, please. Court is in recess.

12. ///

13. (Off record - recess.)

14. ///

15. THE COURT: Let's come to order. We are back on the

16. record in People versus Parlanti. We have all of our jurors,

17. both counsel, the defendant and witness.

18. You can resume direct, Mr. Romero.

19. MR. ROMERO: Thank you, your Honor.

20. CONTINUED DIRECT EXAMINATION

21. BY MR. ROMERO:

22. Q Now, Ms. White, I believe that we left off where

23. Mr. Parlanti had cut off and replaced the zip ties that he

24. had. And I believe you testified that he bound you the same

25. way he had the first time.

26. Do you recall that?