Peninsula Hotel Staff Testifies In Trial Of Socialite Mom, Gigi Jordan, Accused Of Killing Son
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The trial of wealthy mother Gigi Jordan, accused of killing her young, autistic son with prescription pills, continued Thursday with the hotel staff's testimony.
The waiter who delivered room service to Jordan at the Peninsula Hotel testified that he brought chicken fingers and carrots to room 1603 the night she checked in with her 8-year-old son, Jude Michael Mirra, WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported. The boy was never seen alive again.
Peninsula Hotel Staff Testifies In Trial Of Gigi Jordan, Accused Of Killing Son
While the defense claims Jordan was in a state of extreme emotional distress when she poisoned and killed her son, hotel employees who dealt with her for her two-night stay describe her as calm and business-like, always meeting them in the corridor so they couldn't see into the room.
In his opening statement Wednesday, prosecutor Matt Bogdanos described to jurors the scene at the ritzy hotel suite, Cornell reported.
The prosecutor said Jordan, who made her fortune in the pharmaceutical business, brought with her 5,918 pills — including Xanax, Prozac, Ambien and hydrocodone. Bogdanos said in opening arguments that "there were enough pills in that room to fill a pharmacy shelf."
Jordan then used a pill crusher, orange juice and possibly vodka to make a poisonous cocktail that she forced into her son's mouth using a syringe, Bogdanos said.
Defense attorney Allan Brenner said Jordan was trying to protect Jude. She was convinced her mob-connected ex-husband was going to kill her, leaving the child's biological father — who she said sexually abused the boy — to care for him, Brenner said. In her mind, her son would be better off dead, the lawyer said.
The father denies the allegations and has never been charged.
Brenner said there was no malice or murderous intent in Jordan's actions, but "only the firm love and devotion that everyone who came into contact will them will swear to."
The boy had been dead for eight to 14 hours when he was found. His mother was found sitting on the floor beside the bed, under the influence of alcohol and prescription pills.
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