The suspect accused of raping and strangling a jogger in Queens has invoked the Steph Curry defense as his lawyers abruptly rested their case, shocking the courtroom.
A lawyer for Chanel Lewis, 22, invoked the Golden State Warriors star as she grilled a prosecution witness on Thursday in the trial over the August 2016 rape and murder of Karina Vetrano.
'Steph Curry passes (the ball) to Kevin Durant, who shoots, makes a three-pointer,' defense attorney Jennie Cheung said during her cross-examination of prosecution DNA expert Linda Razzano, according to the New York Daily News.
'(Durant) goes to get his water bottle. It's possible for Steph Curry to get DNA on that bottle?' Cheung continued, attempting to raise doubts about why Lewis' DNA was found under Vetrano's fingernails.
A lawyer for suspect Chanel Lewis (left) used an analogy to Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry (right) to argue that DNA could be transferred to an object that a person never touched
Jogger Karina Vetrano was brutally raped and strangled in a park a block away from her parents' house in August 2016. Lewis' DNA was found under her fingernails
Prosecutors immediately objected to the question, and the judge asked the witness: 'Are you following this?'
Razzano averred 'I do follow,' and confirmed that the scenario was theoretically possible.
The prosecution then rested its case on the trial's seventh day, and the defense called an investigator to the stand.
Lewis' lawyer questioned the investigator for about 10 minutes, punctuated by incessant objections from the prosecution, most of which were upheld.
The defense lawyer then suddenly rested her case, provoking gasps in the courtroom.
The case now moves to closing arguments, which are scheduled for Monday. To simplify matters for jurors, the prosecution dropped nine of the charges against Lewis, most of which were essentially redundant.
Lewis faces faces life in prison if convicted of murdering Vetrano, who was brutally killed while jogging in Spring Creek Park not far from her home in the Howard Beach neighborhood of Queens.
Vetrano's parents Phil (in blue blazer) and Cathy Vetrano are seen arriving in court on Thursday
Vetrano was punched in the face, thrown to the ground, violently raped and then strangled in a marsh, about a block away from her house, where her father, Philip Vetrano, would later find her body.
Authorities said that the victim desperately fought for her life until the very end, biting her attacker so hard that her teeth cracked.
Vetrano's mother and father have been present in court throughout the trial, stoically bearing witness as the prosecution laid out its evidence for the jury.
On Tuesday, prosecutors introduced evidence taken from Lewis' black ZTE cell phone, which they found at his Brooklyn home, according to the New York Daily News.
Josue Rivera, a detective with the NYPD's Computer Crimes Squad, testified in Queens Supreme Court that investigators recovered the device from Lewis' dresser in his bedroom.
The phone contained two photos of the victim, Vetrano, 30, as well as a photo of the crime scene, Rivera testified.
The pictures were taken from online news articles about the crime.
Prosecutors said that the phone contained a search history of 137 searches, among them the Wikipedia page for the Catholic Sacrament of Penance.
Chanel Lewis, 22, faces life in prison for the rape and murder of Karina Vetrano. Lewis is seen after his arrest last year
It is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church in which adherents obtain absolution for sins committed against others.
Lewis is also alleged to have searched a news article titled 'After a Crime, the Price of a Second Chance,' as well as 'Miranda warning,' 'arraignment,' and 'what happens after a felony conviction?'
Rivera was asked by Lewis' defense attorney, Julia Burke, whether the name 'Karina Vetrano' was ever searched by Lewis on his cell phone.
'You can't testify that the name Karina Vetrano was ever search by the user, is that correct?' she asked.
'That is correct,' the detective said.
Despite making a videotaped confession, in which he admitted to killing Vetrano, saying he spotted her at random and snapped, Lewis pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and aggravated sex abuse.
His lawyers have argued that the confession was coerced by keeping Lewis isolated during his six-hour interrogation.
Lewis reportedly refused to speak with white detectives and only confessed when a black detective was brought in.
His remarks to detectives that he didn't like people 'over there', referring to the largely Italian-American Howard Beach neighborhood, led to speculation that the attack may have been racially motivated.
In February, a judge decided to let DNA evidence and the videotaped confession be used at trial.
Lewis' attorneys previously questioned the validity of his DNA sample from a consensual cheek swab, which was compared to DNA evidence recovered from under the victim's fingernails, and the manner in which his confession was gained.
Link hienalouca.comhttps://hienalouca.com/2018/11/16/suspect-in-rape-and-murder-of-queens-jogger-raises-steph-curry-defense/
Main photo article The suspect accused of raping and strangling a jogger in Queens has invoked the Steph Curry defense as his lawyers abruptly rested their case, shocking the courtroom.
A lawyer for Chanel Lewis, 22, invoked the Golden State Warriors star as she grilled a prosecution witness on Thursday in the...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/11/16/14/6277456-6397835-image-m-8_1542379452149.jpg
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