tiny dancer
2006-10-22 04:38:29 UTC
Cousin: Fashion writer Christa Worthington was 'troubled, neurotic' before
her murder
By Harriet Ryan, Court TVFri Oct 20, 4:41 PM ET
BARNSTABLE, Mass. (Court TV) - A cousin of murdered fashion writer Christa
Worthington acknowledged Friday at the trial of the accused killer that she
told police Worthington was a "neurotic and troubled" woman who had
problematic relationships with several men before her death five years ago
in Cape Cod.
The witness, Jan Worthington, testified that she told state troopers that
the 46-year-old victim was in conflict with one ex-boyfriend who believed
she had tricked him into impregnating her and was "stalking" another former
lover, the son of Gloria Vanderbilt.
"She was looking for him in places so she could talk to him," Worthington
told jurors. "She hadn't found the right guy in her life, and she was
looking for that."
The testimony from Worthington, who was called to the stand by prosecutors
because she was the first emergency medical technician at the crime scene,
came during cross-examination by a lawyer for the defendant, Christopher
McCowen.
The 33-year-old garbage collector is standing trial for first-degree murder,
aggravated rape and armed burglary. Worthington was found stabbed to death
in her cottage in the cape town of Truro in January 2002. Her 2-year-old
daughter, Ava, was found clinging to the bloody body.
Prosecutors maintain that the victim only knew McCowen, an ex-convict, as
the man who picked up her trash. His defense has said the presence of
McCowen's DNA on the victim's body is proof only that they had consensual
sex.
They say the killing occurred later at the hands of an unknown perpetrator.
In an apparent attempt to highlight other suspects, the defense lawyer,
Robert George, grilled Jan Worthington about her statements to police
concerning Tony Jackett, the married man who fathered Ava.
"He had told me and his wife had told me that they felt that Christa had
tricked him because he was led to believe that Christa could not have a
baby," Worthington testified.
She said she also mentioned another former boyfriend, Stan Stokowski, who
Christa Worthington described to friends as Vanderbilt's son.
"You told them that Christa took the break-up hard?" George asked.
"Yes," Worthington said.
She did not elaborate on why or when the relationship came to an end, but
another ex-boyfriend and onetime murder suspect, Tim Arnold, testified
Thursday that the demise of the romance led Christa Worthington to move from
New York City to the cape, a childhood vacation spot.
Assistant District Attorney Robert Welsh III objected to the questions as
irrelevant, but the judge, Justice Gary Nickerson, said it was permissible
to impeach the credibility of the witness.
The defense lawyer also suggested Jan Worthington had embellished her role
at the crime scene to "enhance the salability" of an HBO documentary about
the murder.
She testified Thursday she was paid $20,000 by the cable network and $40,000
for a "movie-of-the-week" on the case to be aired on Lifetime.
Worthington told a newspaper reporter two years after the murder that she
touched the victim's body to feel for a pulse. On the stand Friday, George
confronted her with two statements to the police the week after the murder
in which she said she "freaked out" upon seeing the body and never touched
or even approached it.
Worthington insisted, however, that the account she told the reporter, which
was filmed as part of the planned HBO documentary, was accurate.
"I told other people at the scene what I had done. I didn't tell [the
trooper] apparently, or it would be in his report," she conceded.
George pointed out that an HBO crew was in the courtroom, recording the
proceedings.
"They are filming your testimony right now," George said.
"They are filming everyone's testimony," she replied.
"Right now, as we stand here, you are profiting from the death of your
cousin," the lawyer charged.
The prosecutor objected, but the judge ordered Worthington to answer.
"Am I profiting? Yes," she said.
What Worthington and other first responders did at the crime scene before
police investigators took charge is an area of contention at the trial. The
defense has suggested they contaminated evidence, while the prosecution
claims their contact was minor.
A paramedic, Jeffrey Francis, told jurors that he and a colleague initially
tried to move Worthington's body to resuscitate her, but quickly realized
that rigor mortis had set in and she was beyond saving.
Francis said he asked another rescuer to cover the body, which was naked
below the waist, with a blanket from a living room couch as "a decency
thing."
Lab tests later found Arnold's semen on the blanket.
Francis said that at the time he had no training in crime-scene
preservation, but had taken a course after the murder.
"Reflecting back, would you have done the same thing?" Welsh asked.
"Reflecting back, no," the witness replied.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ct/20061020/cr_ct/cousinfashionwriterchristaworthingtonwastroubledneuroticbeforehermurder;_ylt=Ajg.wDtV4HXHO99vbE6DO0VvzwcF;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-
her murder
By Harriet Ryan, Court TVFri Oct 20, 4:41 PM ET
BARNSTABLE, Mass. (Court TV) - A cousin of murdered fashion writer Christa
Worthington acknowledged Friday at the trial of the accused killer that she
told police Worthington was a "neurotic and troubled" woman who had
problematic relationships with several men before her death five years ago
in Cape Cod.
The witness, Jan Worthington, testified that she told state troopers that
the 46-year-old victim was in conflict with one ex-boyfriend who believed
she had tricked him into impregnating her and was "stalking" another former
lover, the son of Gloria Vanderbilt.
"She was looking for him in places so she could talk to him," Worthington
told jurors. "She hadn't found the right guy in her life, and she was
looking for that."
The testimony from Worthington, who was called to the stand by prosecutors
because she was the first emergency medical technician at the crime scene,
came during cross-examination by a lawyer for the defendant, Christopher
McCowen.
The 33-year-old garbage collector is standing trial for first-degree murder,
aggravated rape and armed burglary. Worthington was found stabbed to death
in her cottage in the cape town of Truro in January 2002. Her 2-year-old
daughter, Ava, was found clinging to the bloody body.
Prosecutors maintain that the victim only knew McCowen, an ex-convict, as
the man who picked up her trash. His defense has said the presence of
McCowen's DNA on the victim's body is proof only that they had consensual
sex.
They say the killing occurred later at the hands of an unknown perpetrator.
In an apparent attempt to highlight other suspects, the defense lawyer,
Robert George, grilled Jan Worthington about her statements to police
concerning Tony Jackett, the married man who fathered Ava.
"He had told me and his wife had told me that they felt that Christa had
tricked him because he was led to believe that Christa could not have a
baby," Worthington testified.
She said she also mentioned another former boyfriend, Stan Stokowski, who
Christa Worthington described to friends as Vanderbilt's son.
"You told them that Christa took the break-up hard?" George asked.
"Yes," Worthington said.
She did not elaborate on why or when the relationship came to an end, but
another ex-boyfriend and onetime murder suspect, Tim Arnold, testified
Thursday that the demise of the romance led Christa Worthington to move from
New York City to the cape, a childhood vacation spot.
Assistant District Attorney Robert Welsh III objected to the questions as
irrelevant, but the judge, Justice Gary Nickerson, said it was permissible
to impeach the credibility of the witness.
The defense lawyer also suggested Jan Worthington had embellished her role
at the crime scene to "enhance the salability" of an HBO documentary about
the murder.
She testified Thursday she was paid $20,000 by the cable network and $40,000
for a "movie-of-the-week" on the case to be aired on Lifetime.
Worthington told a newspaper reporter two years after the murder that she
touched the victim's body to feel for a pulse. On the stand Friday, George
confronted her with two statements to the police the week after the murder
in which she said she "freaked out" upon seeing the body and never touched
or even approached it.
Worthington insisted, however, that the account she told the reporter, which
was filmed as part of the planned HBO documentary, was accurate.
"I told other people at the scene what I had done. I didn't tell [the
trooper] apparently, or it would be in his report," she conceded.
George pointed out that an HBO crew was in the courtroom, recording the
proceedings.
"They are filming your testimony right now," George said.
"They are filming everyone's testimony," she replied.
"Right now, as we stand here, you are profiting from the death of your
cousin," the lawyer charged.
The prosecutor objected, but the judge ordered Worthington to answer.
"Am I profiting? Yes," she said.
What Worthington and other first responders did at the crime scene before
police investigators took charge is an area of contention at the trial. The
defense has suggested they contaminated evidence, while the prosecution
claims their contact was minor.
A paramedic, Jeffrey Francis, told jurors that he and a colleague initially
tried to move Worthington's body to resuscitate her, but quickly realized
that rigor mortis had set in and she was beyond saving.
Francis said he asked another rescuer to cover the body, which was naked
below the waist, with a blanket from a living room couch as "a decency
thing."
Lab tests later found Arnold's semen on the blanket.
Francis said that at the time he had no training in crime-scene
preservation, but had taken a course after the murder.
"Reflecting back, would you have done the same thing?" Welsh asked.
"Reflecting back, no," the witness replied.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ct/20061020/cr_ct/cousinfashionwriterchristaworthingtonwastroubledneuroticbeforehermurder;_ylt=Ajg.wDtV4HXHO99vbE6DO0VvzwcF;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-