By Reason of Insanity

by Randy Singer

  How insane was that? Of all the women in the world, Quinn wanted to spend time with only one: a client who was an admitted serial killer. Maybe, he mused, it's just that old problem of wanting the one thing you know you can't have.

  "All rise," the bailiff said, and Quinn knew his personal problems would have to wait.

  "You ready?" Bo whispered.

  "I was born ready," Quinn replied.

  Rosencrance settled into her seat, greeted the lawyers, and had the bailiff bring in Catherine. She looked even more tense than Quinn had expected, her eyes darting around the courtroom. Her normally graceful gait seemed forced. She took her seat between her two lawyers and leaned toward Quinn, latching on to his right forearm. He felt a stab of pain shoot through his rotator cuff.

  "We've got to talk," she said. "The first chance we get."

  * * *

  Boyd Gates ended his case on a whimper, calling a fingerprint expert to the stand to confirm that the toothbrush with the pointed end found in Catherine's mattress did indeed belong to her. When Gates finished his questioning, Quinn and Bo looked at each other, as if both expected the other to conduct the cross. Bo stood. "No questions, Judge."

  When Gates announced that the commonwealth rested, Quinn stood quickly, wanting to show the jury how excited he was about his first witness. "The defense calls Dr. Rosemarie Mancini to the stand."

  Rosemarie walked into the well of the courtroom, nodded curtly at Quinn, and took her oath. She climbed into the witness chair and lowered the mike.

  Quinn quickly marched her through the preliminaries while Rosemarie snapped off succinct answers about her experience, training, and background.

  As always, Quinn wanted to get the payment question out of the way early so opposing counsel couldn't make a big deal of it on cross.

  "Are we paying you for your time?" Quinn asked.

  "Not enough," Rosemarie deadpanned.

  "How much is 'not enough'?"

  "Two hundred fifty an hour," the psychiatrist shot back. "A total of about nineteen thousand on this case to date."

  "That sounds like an awful lot."

  "Not compared to what you make."

  The jury giggled a little, though Rosemarie kept a straight face. "And I'm glad you brought up the subject," she continued, "because so far I've yet to receive a dime of payment. My bills are nineteen thousand. My collections are zero."

  That subject out of the way, Quinn walked Rosemarie through her diagnosis in the case.

  "Assuming that the DNA and hair evidence linking Catherine O'Rourke to the crime are reliable," Rosemarie testified, "my working diagnosis is dissociative identity disorder."

  Rosemarie explained the basics of the illness, switching into lecture mode as she cited the DSM-IV diagnostic manual, the "bible" for psychiatric evaluations. She admitted that she had not yet been able to surface this alternate personality, the Avenger of Blood, though the conditions for her treatment of Catherine were clearly not optimal. "After the pressure of the trial has concluded, I believe that Ms. O'Rourke will be in a psychological state that is much more conducive for treatment.

  "The idea of DID is that a person's primary personality has fractured into several 'alter personalities' and that two or more of these subpersonalities share a single body, each with its own identity, each taking a turn controlling that individual's personality and behavior. These alter personalities emerge as a result of trauma and, to some extent, serve to protect the person from overwhelmingly painful memories. In Catherine's case, it's the memory and trauma of being raped by a man she once loved and possibly by his friends as well.

  "In cases of DID, the core or primary person generally experiences periods of amnesia and may even find herself in a strange place with no idea how she arrived there. Sometimes, she feels like she has been asleep and has woken up tired. This is called an amnesic barrier between identities. One personality may have full access to the memory bank, while others get only partial access, and some may be altogether unaware of the others. Many times, someone who suffers from DID may have vague flashbacks, dreams, or visions, which are actually repressed memories of what happened while the alter personality was in control."

  Quinn noted that a few of the jurors were taking notes. "Dr. Chow, the state's expert, insists that DID could not have been the result of one incident of rape," Quinn pointed out. "He says that this psychosis, if it actually exists, is almost always the result of repeated sexual abuse during childhood. Do you have an opinion on that?"

  Rosemarie glared at Quinn as if he were the one with the contrary opinion. "Dr. Chow's analysis is patently ridiculous," she replied.

  "Would you care to explain why?"

  "First, it's demeaning to every woman in this courtroom."

  "Objection!" Gates said.

  But Rosemarie didn't wait for the judge. "To say that rape is not a sufficient precipitating event is nonsense."

  "Dr. Mancini," Rosencrance interrupted.

  "Yes, Your Honor?"

  "You've served as an expert witness enough times to know that you need to wait on my ruling before continuing your answer."

  "Sorry, Judge," said Mancini. "You're right. I just assumed you would overrule it, since this goes to the heart of what I'm saying."

  "I am going to overrule it," said the judge.

  "May I proceed?"

  "Certainly."

  "Where was I?" Mancini mused. "That's right, I was explaining how insulting it is for Dr. Chow to try to minimize rape. I've treated hundreds of rape victims. It's a life-shattering event that should never be downplayed. The very act of rape violates the sanctity of a woman's sexuality and shatters her emotional security. This is especially true if a woman is raped by someone she loves. Can it cause that person to have a psychotic break with reality? Absolutely."

  "Can it also cause you--?"

  "Mr. Newberg," Rosemarie interjected. "I'm accustomed to being interrupted by opposing counsel. Usually my own lawyer shows a little more courtesy."

  "Sorry," Quinn said, resisting a smile. "I thought you were finished. Please continue."

  "Thank you. Dr. Chow is right in saying that most cases of DID come from childhood abuse--85 percent to be exact. Which means that 15 percent originate from other traumatic experiences. With Catherine, we're dealing with a case in that other 15 percent."

  Quinn stole a quick glance at the jury. They were listening. The Mancini magic was beginning to weave its spell. "What about this notion that Ms. O'Rourke is just faking it? Dr. Chow said this alternate personality is just a ruse concocted so that if she got caught on a killing spree, she would have an excuse."

  Rosemarie nearly snorted at the idea. "I can detect malingerers, Mr. Newberg. I wasn't born yesterday. This would be a very difficult illness to fabricate. But here's the more important fact: Catherine O'Rourke didn't even try to fake it. Certainly someone of her intellectual prowess would know that her case would be stronger if I could say in court that I had been able to draw out this Avenger character, if I could assure the jury that we had begun treatment and that we would be able to integrate this personality into her core personality without further danger to herself or to society."

  Rosemarie paused, but Quinn knew better than to interrupt again.

  "Unfortunately, I can say none of those things. You can accuse Ms. O'Rourke of a lot of things. Faking an alter personality is not one of them. How can you say somebody is a terrible actress if she doesn't have a part in the play?"

  Quinn nodded. The examination was going well. Maybe too well. It worried Quinn when opposing lawyers didn't fuss and fight--no objections, just the kind of fastidious note taking that Boyd Gates was doing.

  It usually meant they had something devastating for cross.

  94

  Before Quinn turned rosemarie mancini over to Boyd Gates, there was one final subject to cover. It was an area that Quinn knew precious little about: religion.

  "Dr. Mancini, the Avenger of Blood left four different message
s at four different crime scenes. How did those messages factor into your evaluation?"

  Out of the corner of his eye, Quinn saw Boyd Gates begin to rise as if he might object but then sit back down. Maybe he didn't want to draw any more attention than necessary to this part of Mancini's testimony.

  "The Avenger left four messages, all Bible verses, at four different crime scenes. The first two messages, left after the kidnappings of the Carver babies and the Milburn baby, deal with the consequences of generational sin, saying that God visits the iniquities of the fathers unto the third and fourth generation. The last two verses, conveyed in connection with the death of Paul Donaldson and the apparent death of Rex Archibald, talk about individual accountability and punishment for sin. For example, Ezekiel 18:20 states that 'a son will not be responsible for the sins of his father.'"

  "Children being punished for the sins of their parents seems unfair," Quinn noted.

  "That's just it," Dr. Mancini said, her voice animated. "The Bible doesn't say the children are being punished. It says the iniquities of the fathers are visited on the children. It's another way of stating a phenomenon that those of us in mental health care have recognized to be true for a long time--there are some addictions or actions of parents that inevitably affect their children and even grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Drug abuse, for example. Or sexual abuse. These are what we call generational chains. The children aren't being punished for what their parents did, but they're certainly being affected by those actions. And this is true, Mr. Newberg, until somebody comes along with the courage to break those generational chains."

  It occurred to Quinn that Rosemarie's testimony might be aimed more at him than the jury. But right now, he didn't have time to process all the implications.

  "I don't quite understand the significance of all this to my client's diagnosis," Quinn said, feigning confusion.

  "In my sessions with Ms. O'Rourke, I discovered that she is not particularly religious. Nor was she raised in a home where she might have been exposed to a lot of Scripture verses. So I became curious. If she was in fact the Avenger, where did these verses come from?"

  Rosemarie stopped and took a quick sip of water, basking in the attention of everyone in the courtroom. "You know where I found the answer?" she asked, then quickly responded to her own question. "I looked at her college transcript. I discovered that the same year she was raped, Catherine was taking a course called Comparative Religious Thought. I actually called the professor who taught the course, Dr. Frederick Channing, and scheduled a time to meet with him.

  "Professor Channing was kind enough to dig up some old notes and try to piece together the topics he might have covered in this course when Catherine took it. It turns out he spent a fair amount of time contrasting the justice systems of ancient cultures. For example, he compared the legal system of the Hittites to the Babylonians' Code of Hammurabi, and the Mosaic law to the ideals of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Among other things, he looked at the issue of vicarious punishment, that is, punishing children for the transgressions of their parents, which was common in many ancient belief systems, though not in Judaism. He also looked at the notion of vengeance, and particularly at the issue of blood feuds or blood avengers--a concept found both in the Old Testament and in Greek mythology."

  Quinn waited for a moment, hoping the information was sinking in. "Why is that significant? That class was eight years ago."

  "That's precisely the point. The same year that Ms. O'Rourke was so severely traumatized that her personality fractured, she was also wrestling with the concept of justice under these ancient belief systems. She was exposed to the role of the blood avenger under Mosaic law and to the three female avengers in the Greek epic Eumenides. So eight years later, when her alter personality began to emerge, referring to itself as the Avenger of Blood, it came complete with the seared-on memories and mind-sets from Catherine's college days, including these concepts from her religion class. She merged these two notions together--the wrath of the female furies from Greek mythology and the verses describing blood avengers from the Old Testament."

  "Couldn't Catherine have just made that up?" Quinn probed. "Couldn't she have just consulted some old notes and thrown in those verses to fool people into thinking she's crazy?"

  Rosemarie smirked. "C'mon, Mr. Newberg. First, that question assumes Catherine O'Rourke knows enough about DID to realize that an alter personality will exhibit many of the attributes and mind-sets from the time when that personality came into existence, much like a snapshot freezes a moment in time. Second, it assumes she also consciously remembers minute details from a class she took eight years ago. And third, if she made that up, don't you think she might have given me some clues about that old class rather than hoping I would dig it out on my own?"

  "I see your point," Quinn said. "But it still seems strange that it would take this alter personality eight years to emerge. What could possibly have triggered it after all that time?"

  "Ironically, one of your cases did," Rosemarie said confidently. "As a reporter, Ms. O'Rourke was assigned to cover your sister's murder trial." Rosemarie turned to the jury. "Most of you probably watched news coverage of Anne Newberg's case arising from her admitted killing of her abusive husband. I took the time to read dozens of newspaper articles written by Ms. O'Rourke about various murder trials. The articles about Anne Newberg's case are far more emotional and guttural than her normal reporting."

  Rosemarie turned back to Quinn. "I believe that when Catherine first heard about your sister's case, she subconsciously saw Anne as the first of the female blood avengers--the furies--from the Eumenides. Shortly thereafter, this alter ego of Catherine's became the second. I think that's the reason she was so adamant about bringing you into the case. She saw you as the common link between her and Anne; you are the defender of the furies."

  Quinn snuck a glance at the jury. They looked contemplative, as if weighing the merits of this bizarre theory that Mancini had proposed.

  Bizarre, Quinn thought. Just one step away from crazy.

  "No further questions," he said.

  95

  Gates was on his feet immediately, apparently trying to show the jury he was unafraid to take on Dr. Mancini.

  "Since you're so familiar with the defendant's college record, I presume you know that she had a journalism major and a criminal justice minor?"

  "That's correct."

  "Meaning she would have studied cases involving the insanity defense."

  "Presumably."

  "In addition, for a number of years she covered the crime and courts beat for our local paper. Is that your understanding?"

  "Yes."

  "And in that capacity would have sat through numerous trials, including some dealing with the insanity defense?"

  Mancini shrugged. "She would have attended numerous trials, yes. But the insanity plea is actually used far less frequently than most people think--"

  "Just answer the question yes or no," Gates insisted.

  But he was dealing with an experienced witness, one who knew her rights. "I thought I was allowed to explain where necessary," Mancini said to the judge.

  "You are," Rosencrance ruled. "But keep it brief."

  "Thank you," Mancini said. "As I was saying, Mr. Gates, the insanity plea is used so rarely that I would doubt Ms. O'Rourke ever covered a case quite like this one."

  Gates glared at the witness. "She covered the case of Anne Newberg, who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, did she not?"

  "Yes. And since I testified in that case, I can assure you that it was a totally different scenario than dissociative identity disorder."

  Gates checked his notes, apparently deciding to move on. "Normally you can bring out an alter personality by bringing up memories of the triggering incidence either through hypnosis or other means; isn't that right?"

  "That is normally the case, though not always."

  "Did you try that here?"

  "Yes. I don't us
e hypnosis, but we did dig deeply into the emotions of the rape and what Catherine remembers about that night."

  "Did you ever trigger this alternate personality?"

  "No, I didn't."

  Gates looked puzzled--an act for the jury, no doubt. "You mentioned on direct examination that you expect to be paid a lot of money in this case for your opinions; is that correct?"

  "That's correct, Mr. Gates. With emphasis on the phrase 'expect to be paid.'"

  "Let's not be cute, Doctor. Twenty thousand dollars is a lot of money, isn't it?"

  "To be precise it was nineteen thousand. But yes, it's a lot."

  "And that's not the full extent of your bias, is it?"

  Mancini knit her brow. "I'm not sure what you mean. Any professional wants to get paid. That doesn't make me biased."

  Gates walked toward the front of the jury box, pulling the gaze of most jurors along. "Then let me make it real clear. Isn't it true that you and Mr. Newberg have formed quite a little team on these insanity cases? Isn't it true that you would do anything to help his cause? Isn't it true--?"

  "Objection!" Quinn called out, jumping to his feet. He normally didn't object during Mancini's testimony, confident that she could fend for herself, but this was way over the line. "That's highly improper. Plus, it's about three questions in one."

  "Judge, the bias of this witness is central to our case. I'm entitled to probe how tightly she is connected with defense counsel."

  Standing there, it dawned on Quinn--he had been suckered. Gates wanted that objection. He wanted the jury focused on the question; he wanted the press on the edge of their seats. He wanted Quinn to make a big deal out of this, and Quinn had played right into his hands.

  "You may ask about bias," Rosencrance ruled. "But one question at a time. And save your arguments for closing."

  Gates paused, thinking. He spoke slowly, thoughtfully, theatrically. "Isn't it true that you and Mr. Newberg are so close, so willing to do anything for each other, that you're even helping him raise his niece?"