The jury in Benjamin Brown’s felony murder trial deliberated for several hours after closing arguments on Saturday afternoon. Talks will continue on Monday morning.
Prosecutor Andrew Coyle told the jury in the courtroom of Judge Barry Steelman that much of the defense’s case has asked the jury to “not believe their eyes.”
He outlined the alleged falsities in the defense's case.
He reminded the jury that Brown did not call the police at any point while Annie was seizing.
“Mr. Brown did not call 911 when a little girl was seizing but he did call Dr. Baden, who got fired from New York, to say what he wants him to say,” said Mr. Coyle.
Much of Mr. Coyle’s argument criticized Dr. Baden’s findings and testimony. The prosecutor’s closing argument reviewed important evidence for their case. He said every single paragraph of Dr. Baden’s report had errors in it. He said no other medical professional’s testimony agreed with his statements. And he said the jury cannot trust him.
“It’s not just that Dr. Baden’s findings are wrong, it's that they are tailored to Brown’s defense,” said Mr. Coyle.
He said the most “absurd” part is Dr. Baden’s findings of cause of death. Dr. Baden said the cause of death was fentanyl overdose and “medical malpractice.” The prosecutor referred to Dr. Baden’s testimony on Friday saying that Dr. Baden was making medical references but could not show what he was referring to. Mr. Coyle argued the defense was “muddying the waters” in hopes to convince a jury. He finished his argument with this statement:
“If you trust your eyes and credible proof, this is a guilty man. Benjamin Brown and his hired gun are the only people that want you to believe Annie fell from a shelf.”
Defense attorney Steven Brown said he was proud of Brown for his “courageous” testimony Friday evening. He commented on his composure during cross-examination from highly skilled professionals considering Brown’s limited education. Brown said he stopped going to school when he was 15. Brown’s cross examination with prosecutor Cameron Williams could have been perceived as intense because of Mr. Williams’ apparent passion. He repeatedly called Brown a liar and murderer while Brown appeared to keep his composure consistently responding with “yes sir”or “no sir.”
“The prosecution got frustrated on the stand,” said attorney Brown. “One of them even got angry- these professionals got angry, but Ben didn’t. Has anyone come to the court saying Ben is a mean and violent person?”
Attorney Brown argued the Shell home was “chaotic” and lacked supervision based on extensive video evidence of activities at the home. He said there was 55 minutes of missing footage from the Shell residence, and he charged that David Shell, the child's father, was the only violent person involved. Video footage showed Mr. Shell slapping a child.
The defense attorney argued the prosecution wanted the jury to “put their blinders on” and ignore all the evidence that does not support the prosecution’s case. He said the defendant was consistent in his statements despite the one lie he admitted to in testimony. Mr. Brown also addressed the matter of Dr. Baden’s statements.
“Over the last couple years there have been lots of experts telling you what to think,” said attorney Brown. “There is no certainty in what the medical experts said yesterday. It is a difference in opinion.”
Prosecutor Williams argued that Brown is a liar and once again went over his lies. He reviewed video evidence from the Shell’s home. He told the jury to not “check their common sense out at the door.”