Jury deliberations underway in sexual assault trial of Denver cardiologist, Stephen Matthews
Jurors now have the case against a Denver cardiologist charged with meeting women on dating apps, drugging 11 of them, and sexually assaulting nine of them. On Thursday, closing arguments on both sides took hours.
Closings began with prosecutors recounting disturbing and vivid testimony from the alleged victims. Prosecutors emphasized that the women offered very similar accounts of their experiences.
During testimony, the women said they met Stephen Matthews through online dating apps like Hinge and Tinder, beginning in 2019 and continuing through early 2023.
The women said that after having drinks with the physician, they lost memory of what happened next. They believe they were drugged and, in some cases, sexually assaulted.
Prosecutors said Matthews was strategic in identifying his targets, meeting them at locations near his home before inviting them over. They added these were clear, deliberate patterns by Matthews and believe he should be found guilty.
"What we do know is that this is an obvious, obvious case of a man who feels entitled to perpetrate against women for his own benefit, by robbing them of memory, by robbing them of bodily autonomy, and by impairing their memories," prosecutors said.
Meanwhile, defense attorneys argued during their closing statements that the case included many inconsistent stories from alleged victims, without any proof of evidence.
"This would be a case about stories, and at the end of the case, the DA's closing rested largely on stories, accusing stories that changed and often went untested by the government," defense attorneys said. "The case did have a lot of overwhelming emotion. We all were moved by the testimony that you heard. It was tough to listen to, but that's what the case ended up being about, overwhelming emotion and underwhelming evidence."
Matthews has pleaded not guilty to all 38 counts.
The case is now in the hands of the jury, which began deliberating around 3 p.m. Thursday. The jury was sent home around 5 p.m. and will return Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. to resume deliberations.
