Jarrod Ramos' Sister Believed He Was Involved When She Heard About Capital Gazette Shooting
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- On day three of the trial against the Capital Gazette shooter, his sister took the stand.
Attorneys brought in the defendant's sister on Thursday to paint a picture of his childhood. In his pre-teen years, his sister said they moved to England but the family returned just in time for the defendant to attend high school.
His sister told the court that in his teen years, Jarrod Ramos didn't have friends.
When the mass shooting occurred at the Capital Gazette, the defendant's sister said she called the police right away.
"I was calling because I believed Jarrod was involved in the shooting." Then when she checked his Twitter account that had been dormant for years, there was a tweet that he'd posted that same afternoon that said 'F**k you, leave me alone," she told the court. The tweet was a reference to a previous harassment case against the defendant.
The Capital Gazette had written about the case and his sister said he'd tried unsuccessfully for years to get the paper to retract the story.
The defendant later attacked the newspaper after those efforts failed.
Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters died in the mass shooting that day.
The defendant's sister was emotional at times during her testimony. She said she didn't remember him having a social life at all during high school.
The defense attorney later asked, "Who were his friends?"
"I think just me," his sister answered.
Law professor, David Jaros said the defense is trying to paint a full profile of the defendant.
"What the defense needs to do is get the jury to look past the horrific events that occurred and actually appreciated the mental state of the defendant if the defendant didn't truly appreciate the criminality of their actions," said Jaros.
The prosecution's cross-examination of the defendant's sister was cut short because of a tornado warning. The trial will resume Friday morning.
Professor Jaros also addressed a situation from the previous day where an expert witness for the defense appeared to have been reading from a script.
The witness, a doctor who specializes in general and forensic psychiatry said she'd just made notes along with questions and it was not a script. The defense also denied having any knowledge of the notes on the document.
Judge Michael Wachs expressed concern but did not grant the prosecution's request to strike the witness' testimony. The judge said that was an extreme remedy.
Professor Jaros also commented on this matter:
"When witnesses take the stand they are supposed to be testifying from their own personal knowledge, they are not supposed to be telling you what's on a piece of paper," says professor Jaros. "You can refresh recollection, but it's supposed to be where we are hearing from you, not you just reporting what's on a script."
