After last week, and what turned out to be a dress rehearsal of Mark's bail hearing, I really thought I would be far less stressed for today's hearing. I was wrong.
I knew I had to be up at 6 AM so last night I went to bed early. I laid in bed. My heart was beating so fast and hard I could actually hear the pounding sound in my head. I got up 3 different times. I finally fell asleep after 2 AM.
Joe and Pat met me at Chris's house again this morning. Once again we drove together to court in Pat's car. We arrived in the courtroom right at 8:30 AM. We looked around and saw Mark was not in the courtroom.
I started to panic. All I could think was that perhaps something happened with his psychological evaluation from Friday and the hearing was postponed. I couldn't imagine having to come back again. I sent email to Jennifer, the states victim's advocate asking what was going on. She sent a message back telling me not to panic. She was in the lobby and she would be right there. Once she came in she explained that there were so many cases today to be heard that many of the inmates were still in the holding area. She said Mark would be brought up once there were seats available.
My victim's counselor Amber, my victim's advocate Susan and my state's victim advocate Jennifer were all sitting with me. Chris, Joe and Pat all sat in the bench behind me. It was reassuring. I felt safe.
The bailiff finally came in and asked us to stand. The judge came in and we started. It turned out Judge Rapp was still on vacation. We had the same judge as the week before. I was very concerned after what happened last week. However, after listening to his questions and rulings on the morning cases we all agreed he is a very fair man. He knows the law and follows it to the letter.
Jennifer asked me to follow her out of the courtroom around 9:30 AM. She said Jenica needed me to listen to this recording to verify it was Mark's voice. Susan and Amber accompanied us. We went into a conference room and she played the recording. I verified it was Mark. Then we went back into courtroom. When we returned I saw that Mark was finally in a seat.
Time kept passing and Mark's case was not being called. 10 AM passed, then 11 AM. It was very frustrating. I could tell Jenica was also frustrated, but I wasn't sure why. Amber had to leave to go to another hearing. No one could believe our case hadn't been heard yet. Around 11:30 Jenica got up and stood in the line of attorneys that were waiting for their turn. I noticed Mark's attorney got up when Jenica did, but she stood in the back instead of the line. Of course, I didn't understand what all of this meant at the time.
At 11:55 AM it was finally our turn. But, right then judge announced that he had to stop at noon because he had a conference call. He said he wanted to reconvene tomorrow. Mark's attorney agreed and said she wanted to wait because she hadn't received the psych evaluation yet. Then, Jenica chimed in. She said, "Your honor, I have the victim and witnesses here. There were also here last Thursday when the the case was continued. I'd prefer not to have to make them come back again." She then asked him if he would be willing to let us come back after his conference call. He agreed and told us all to be back at 1:30 PM. Mark's attorney didn't look too pleased.
All of us got up and walked out into the hall. Jenica came out and joined us. It was then I found out why she was so frustrated. She explained that it is the defense attorney that is the one that "calls the case" to the bailiff. Mark's attorney never did call for the case the entire morning. It seemed as though she thought if she stalled long enough the case wouldn't be heard. Jenica explained that was the reason she got up and stood in the line without Mark's attorney. She thought maybe by her standing there it might embarrass Mark's attorney enough to actually do her job. Fortunately, the judge made that decision for everyone. The case would be heard.
The guys and I went down to the cafeteria and had a sandwich. We had an hour and a half to wait until court resumed. There were severe thunder and lightning storms so we couldn't go outside. We all just stood along the wall and waited. Luckily the time went by very fast.
At 1:30 we returned to the court. The room was empty now with the exception of Mark, the judge and those with me. Before we started several more people came in. I am not sure why they were there. They sat in the back of the room.
The bailiff called our case. The states attorney, Jenica, got up and walked up to the podium. The judge already had the >> Motion For Pretrial Detention << in his hands.
The judge then looked up and told Jenica, "You are asking me to take away Mr. Walter's constitutional rights for bail by asking me to detain him until trial. The burden of proof is completely on you to convince me Mr. Walter is a threat to the community. You have to prove 2 things to me. First, you have to convince me you have enough evidence that a jury will believe Mr. Walter did these crimes. Second, you have to convince me that I should not allow him bail because he is a danger to society. I expect you to convince me 100%, not 99 or 98%, it has to be 100% for both issues."
When the judge finished I could feel my heart in my throat. They always give bail. Mark has been in jail for 2 and 1/2 months already. Mark is very manipulative and can be charming when he wants to be. My gut was telling me that today he was going to get out. I felt sick.
Then the judge said, "Call your first witness." Jenica called me to the front. The judge knew this was going to be awhile, so he told me not to stand at the podium, but to come to the box in the seat next to him (see picture above).
I was very nervous, but very determined. I made my way up to the front. The judge made me raise my hand and he said, "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" -- I was waiting for, "so help you God" but he never said that. I guess that's gone now too due to political correctness in our country. Anyway, I answered, "Yes." Then he had me take my seat.
Jenica started off with the normal questions:
- How long have you been married?
- Did you leave your home on November 28th?
- Why did you leave?
Now, she had me explain about Mark killing my 8 year old parrot. She had me explain how Mark admitted to Dixie he broke my parrots neck, then lied to make me believe she was outside to lure me home. She asked about me trying to get Mark help. She asked me about Dr. Agresti telling me to leave Mark to protect myself. Next, she went backwards in time to 2003 when Mark was arrested for impersonating a police officer and being arrested for that and grand theft. I explained that the doctor at that time diagnosed Mark as being bi-polar and manic.
With each question Jenica asked, Mark's attorney would say, "Objection, hear-say." The judge interrupted after about the 4th time she did that. He said, "You do realize this is a bond hearing, don't you?" His attorney replied, "Yes." The judge then said, "Then you should know hear-say is admissible in a bond hearing. Please stop objecting."
Then, Jenica started to take us all back to 1996. She asked me, "Do you recall the events that happened in 1996 with Mark's older brother and his wife?" Mark's attorney said, "Objection, relevance." This time the judge sustained her objection. Jenica said nothing, but asked the judge if she could play one recording as evidence. The judge agreed.
As Jenica was setting up the CD in the recording the judge was reading through the >> Motion For Pretrial Detention << papers. Just as Jenica was getting ready to start, the judge stopped her. He said, "I know I sustained the information about Mr. Walter's brother, however if there is possible family history here I think we should hear it."
Jenica then came back up towards me. She said, "Ms. Walter, do you recall the events of 1996 between Mark's oldest brother and his wife?" I then proceeded to explain about Susan (Mark's oldest brother Grant's wife) filing for divorce. The day after Memorial Day weekend, 1996, Grant Walter shot her in the head while she was brushing her teeth then shot himself in the head. There were Ohhhs and ahhhs in the courtroom.
Next, Jenica walked back over to the CD player she held up a CD. She asked me, "Ms. Walter, you heard this CD earlier today. Can you verify that was Mark Walter's voice you heard? I answered, "Yes. It is." She then played this recording for the court.
The court was completely silent as the message was played. People told me after that it was the only time Mark moved. He hung his head - I am assuming it was from embarrassment. There were more ohhh's and ahhh's and Oh, my God's being whispered in the courtroom as it was being played.
Jenica came back to the front and starting reading excerpts from the Motion. Jenica used all of the emotion to read it. Each time she would read one she would say, "Ms. Walter, do you remember receiving this voice mail at such and such a time?" Then she would read the message. For
instance:
"Ms. Walter, do you remember receiving this voice mail on March 3rd at 2:56 PM?"
“It’s gonna get real fucking nasty now, YOU FUCKING SLUT!!”"Ms. Walter, do you remember receiving this voice mail on March 3rd at 3:26 PM?"
“…I can’t even describe to you how much I hate your fucking guts.Jenica continued reading the voice messages then asked about what happened the next day on the 4th. I explained I went to the court house to request a temporary restraining order. I met with the victims advocate, Susan. While I was there I got a frantic call from Chris at the shop. Telling me the City of Riviera Beach police needed me to come there. There were death threats on our business phone as well.
There’s no words that can [sigh]… Let me think for a second. I hate you so fucking
much. It’s fucking unbelievable. Fucking unbelievable. What’s a hit man cost? Can I hire your hit man? He tried to kill me several times. The police are well aware of it. So…I need a hit man or a hit woman. Yeah, a hit woman. That’ll do it. Huh. Let me think about that. She says she’ll only do it if she can rip your fucking head off and rape you. 'Cause she’s seen your YouTube videos. Fuck. Fuck. Wow. I can’t believe it’s come to this. Look what you’ve done…”
I explained that I continued working on the temporary restraining order paperwork while at the shop after they took the police report. The police were parked outside. But, when the policeman had to leave we shut down the business. Mark had a representative from BB&T call the shop. He was there. We knew he was out on the road not at the house. We did not feel safe to stay.
Then, Jenica moved on to March the 8th and read each of the death threats:
"Ms. Walter, do you remember receiving this voice mail on March 8th at 6:59 PM?"
“I’ve got the hole down to 40 feet now, so I can put, four people in there now. (Inaudible) Only you will be dismembered. After the pigs fucking kill you and eat you, bit by bit. Just like in the, that movie we watched, what was it, Oh, silence of the lambs, Clarissa, I can smell your vagina. Well your vagina seized up… but not for Tim, or bill, or Steve, or Tom or Mattie, or…. Wade, Waaaade, I’m going to call that fucker up and get him to write me a letter stating your fucking clinically IN fucking sane. And then I’m going to Georgia and kill him if he doesn't.""Ms. Walter, do you remember receiving this voice mail on March 8th at 7:49 PM?"
“I’m gonna call the police 'cause you’re in violation of your fucking restraining order. [sigh]Did I mention that I hate you? Did I mention that…I wanna cut you with a razor blade. I will dismember you.”She continued reading each voice mail until she reached the last one for March 8th. Then she asked me, "Mark Walter did not contact you again until March 11th, is that correct?" I responded, "Not directly."
I think that threw Jenica off just a little bit. She was expecting a "no" answer. She asked me, "What do you mean by that?" I said, "Mark contacted my friends, my family, my co-workers, my accountant, my alarm company and anyone he could harass. Then they would call me to tell me what happened. But no, he did not contact me directly.
Jenica asked me if I perceived these messages as a real threat. I told her I was terrified. I remarked that he threatened to kill me, my kids, my grandson, my co-workers, my sister, parents and the North Palm Beach police. I said that I believed if Mark hadn't been arrested that I truly believed that he would carry out at least one of these threats.
Jenica thanked me and she went back to her seat.
The judge asked Mark's attorney if she had any questions for me. She said, "Yes." The conversation went basically as follows:
"Do you and Mr. Walter co-own All-Safe and the building at 1141 N. Ocean Drive?"
I said, "Yes."
Then she asked, "So you have had complete control of the company and rentals since you left your home last November?"
I told her, "Well, he stopped coming to work. I had to run the business."
"So, you keep all of the rents for yourself?" she asked.
I responded, "I receive the rents and pay the bills with that money."
She then asked, "Did you take Mr. Walter off of the payroll?"
I said, "Not until after he was arrested. After he was arrested I took him off of the payroll and now send $99/week to the jail."
Next she asked, "Was that court ordered?"
I said, "I don't think so."
She asked, "You don't know if it is court ordered?"
I responded, "I just started sending it."
By this time I was becoming increasingly upset. You would have to actually be there, but she was trying to project me as being a, "money hungry gold-digging whore" (what Mark had described me as previously).
She continued, "So, you kept paying Mr. Walter, but the money was deposited into your joint account, but you stopped when he was arrested?"
I told her (in a not so nice voice), "Yes, I continued paying him from November until he was arrested. I used our joint funds to buy him $300+ worth of groceries every other week, his cigarettes and his beer. I paid for his $80 bags of dog food for his dog. I gave him $100 - $200+ in cash each time I went.to help him. I make the house payment, paid for the lawn service, the pest control. I paid the $400 FPL bills, the $250 Natural Gas bills, the $200-300+ Directv bills."
At this point the judge his hand up and said, "We have the picture."
Then his attorney said, "But, then you stopped paying him and started sending $99/week?"
I responded, "Well yes. He isn't working. He's in jail."
I was quite upset at this point. But, I could hear people in the courtroom laughing from my last answer. Then his attorney continued.
"OK. After you filed the restraining order did Mr. Walter ever actually show up at your home?"
"I don't know," I told her.
She told me, "It's a 'Yes' or 'No' question. Did he ever show up at your house or place of business?"
Again I answered, "I don't know."
She was getting perturbed with me. "Just answer Yes or No."
I said, "Can't answer Yes or No. Did I actually 'see him'? No. Every time I went outside I had to check my car, the bushes, down the street and behind me to make sure he wasn't near me. Every time a car drove past the house I would look through the window to see who it was. Every time someone knocked on the door I wouldn't answer it. Every time the buzzer rang at work I would look through the window to see who was there. Was he out there? I don't know. Did I see him? No."
Basically, she was trying to make the point that, since he never actually came after me, these were just idle threats. She was doing her best to point out that he never actually carried through with the threats. Of course he didn't. He was ARRESTED! I told my sister about this later. She told me I should have said, "Fortunately, I did not see him. I may not have been present here today if I had."
I remember she asked me other stuff. I was pretty upset when she was done. I had to keep reminding myself that she is working for him. It's her job to victimize the victim.
My testimony was over after 1/2 hour. The judge excused me and I returned to my seat. Next, the judge asked if Jenica had any other witnesses. Then Jenica called Chris, my son-in-law, to the podium. He didn't make him go and sit in the seat since his testimony wouldn't be as long as mine.
Jenica asked Chris:
"Mr. Barrett, how are you related to Mr. Walter?"
Chris answered, "I am his son-in-law and business partner at All-Safe. I am an owner there."
Jenica asked about the recordings on the All-Safe voice mail. Chris said basically what I did. He told the court about having to call the police, the fear everyone was in. How we had to shut down the shop.
Then, Jenica asked him, "Did you believe he would carry through with these threats?"
Chris answered, "Well, he said he was going to do them. I had to believe he meant what he said."
Then Mark's attorney got to have her turn. The first thing she said was:
"Mr. Barrett, you said you are co-owner at All-Safe. You own stock?"
Chris said, "Yes. 20%."
The judge seemed to pick up on what Mark's attorney was getting at. I'm pretty sure Mark never told her that Chris had an interest in our company. She obviously had no clue. Because of that, she must have believed he got this stock after Mark stopped working back in November.
The judge chimed in, "Mr. Barrett, when did you receive this stock?"
Chris explained, "Way before this all happened."
The judge said, "OK. That's fine."
Mark's attorney then asked Chris, "Did you ever see Mr. Walter come to your home or business between March 3rd and March 13th?"
Chris answered, "No."
Next, Jenica called up Pat. She asked him the same questions. He gave the same answers. And, then she called up Joe.
The judge chimed in, "Are you going to ask the very same questions you just asked that last witness?"
Jenica said, "Yes, your honor."
The judge said, "Well, I am going to assume he is going to give the same answers."
He turned to Mark's attorney and asked, "Does Mr. Walter wish to say anything on his own behalf?"
Mark's attorney quickly said, "No."
The judge said, OK. I'm ready to give my decision."
I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest. Is this the moment my life will change forever? Will I be moving out of town, or the state this week?
The judge looked at Jenica. He said, "The evidence you have given satisfies my first request. I believe the evidence is more then sufficient for trial.
Then, the judge said, "There are times people say things in anger, face to face. 'I wish you were dead.' Or, they may say something to other's, 'it would be so much easier if she were dead.' Things are said out of anger. A majority of the time, that's all they are just veiled threats."
He continued, "But, Mr. Walter called the petitioner over 40 times after the court issued a restraining order. He knew he was violating the court order. He also knew he was being recorded when he left those messages. He left death threats knowing they could be replayed. His lack of respect for the court shows me he is very much a danger to the community. If he can violate a court order then I have no reason to believe he would respect that order now. I will not be the one to allow him to be let out. We'll let a jury decide that."
"On the second requirement, you have convinced me 100% that Mr. Walter should be held without bond until trial."
I believe the judge also showed a huge concern about Mark's comments about a hit man. Also, how he had contacted everyone in my life to get to me.
The judge said, "I further order that Mr. Walter's phone privileges be restricted. He will need to provide a list to his attorney of who he wishes to be able to call. His attorney will need to furnish that list to the Assistant District Attorney (Jenica). She will in turn contact those parties to verify whether they wish Mr. Walter have phone contact with them."
And, with that, the judge hit the gavel and it was over. We all breathed a huge sigh of relief. My life wouldn't change today. Mark wasn't getting out. I am safe.
For now.
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