The Ex(84)
I was finally sure: Jack was guilty.
WHEN WE RETURNED TO THE courtroom, I let Jack make his way to Charlotte and Buckley on his own. I didn’t think it was my place to be there when he broke the news.
Scott Temple was waiting at counsel table. “You ready to go back on record?” He lowered his voice. “It’s good that he’s talking to his daughter first. I think it’s pretty clear which way the judge is going, and the officers will take him into custody immediately. Let me know if they need a couple extra minutes.”
“You’re a good guy, Scott Temple, even when you’re trying to be a hard-ass.”
“Just figuring that out?”
“Look, I know I made some bad calls on this one, but we need to talk—”
I heard a loud thud behind me and turned to find Buckley on her feet, pushing her way past Charlotte and her father into the aisle of the courtroom. Jack reached for her wrist, but she jerked away. He caught up to her, and pulled her into a tight hug. Her arms were locked at her side, but she rocked against his weight. “No, you can’t. No.” She just kept saying no, over and over again, then locked eyes with me. “You were supposed to help him. What did you do?”
Charlotte stood next to them awkwardly, and then wrapped her arms around Buckley, too. The girl was barely visible as the two of them held her.
Judge Amador stepped from his chambers. As he took in the scene from the bench, I thought it might be the first time I had seen a judge at a loss for words.
He signaled to the court reporter that we were not yet on the record. “What are we doing here, Counselor?”
Scott let me have the first—and as it turned out, last—word for the day. “We’re ready for you to rule on today’s motion, Your Honor. And we’ll be in discussions about a non-trial resolution of the case.”
As expected, Judge Amador ordered that Jack be taken into custody. It took nearly forty minutes for officers to arrive at the courtroom to take him away, a delay I attributed to some maneuvering by Scott Temple.
Two weeks later, even though I told him I thought I could get him a better deal if we waited, Jack pled guilty.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK )
v. )
JACKSON HARRIS. )
* * *
Before the Hon. William Amador
For People: Scott Temple
For Defendant: Olivia Randall
BY COURT:
I understand we’re here on a change of plea.
BY MS. RANDALL:
That’s correct. The defendant will be entering a plea of guilty to three counts of second-degree murder.
BY MR. TEMPLE:
One more condition, Your Honor. In light of the defendant’s prior, adamant denials, the People have requested as part of negotiations that Mr. Harris provide a detailed factual basis for these charges to put to rest any kind of doubt the victims’ families or the public might have about his guilt.
BY COURT:
And this is acceptable to the defendant as well, Ms. Randall?
BY MS. RANDALL:
Yes, Your Honor.
BY COURT:
Very well, then. Mr. Harris, please state your actions that give rise to the charges against you.
BY DEFENDANT:
Thank you, Your Honor. Roughly three years ago, my wife, Molly, was murdered during the Penn Station massacre by a boy named Todd Neeley. For reasons that are detailed elsewhere, I blamed the killer’s father, Malcolm Neeley, for his son’s actions. When a civil suit against Malcolm Neeley was dismissed, I came up with a plan to kill him. On June 17, I shot Mr. Neeley two times. I also shot two other people who were in the vicinity. I later learned that they were Tracy Frankel and Clifton Hunter. To say that I regret my actions sounds hollow, but I do regret them. It’s almost like I can’t believe I actually did this. But I did. I did this, and I want to say with all sincerity that I’m sorry, especially to the families of Ms. Frankel and Mr. Hunter. No one else was supposed to get hurt.
BY COURT:
Is that satisfactory to the People, Mr. Temple?
BY MR. TEMPLE:
No, Your Honor. The defendant went to elaborate lengths to make it appear that someone else had framed him. Though the parties have a joint sentencing recommendation, I do not want a situation where Your Honor hears facts that might be beneficial to the defendant— the tragic loss of his wife and expressions of contrition—without hearing the rest, including the extensive planning that went into these murders.
BY COURT:
Mr. Harris, can you tell me more about the preparation for these crimes?
BY DEFENDANT:
I know it seems like planning, but at the time, it felt like a fantasy, like I was making up a plot in my head. I knew from a deposition in the lawsuit that Mr. Neeley went to the waterfront football field every Wednesday morning before work. Not long after that, I read a review of a book called Eight Days to Die that mentioned a scene set at the football field. So I bought the book and started telling people how I loved it and was even checking out some of the New York settings, so maybe if I went to the football field and confronted Neeley, I could use the book as an excuse for running into him. But then it would just be my word without any backup. A friend had told me about people who start up online relationships using false identities. I came up with the idea of making myself appear to be a victim of one of these scams, where my supposed love interest would be the one to tell me to go to the football field. I wrote a chain of e-mails back and forth with this nonexistent person. I even hired a woman to pose as her in case anyone doubted that she was real. Is that enough, Your Honor? The point is that I’m guilty and take complete responsibility for my actions.