The Michelle Le Murder Trial: Courtroom Porn

It wasn’t about the words or ideas expressed. We are all familiar with batteries, balloons, heat, humidity and lust. It wasn’t even about the emotions expressed as they are universal and common. Instead, it was the impersonal recitation of private expression.

 The prosecutor and defense attorneys use very different interrogation techniques. To date, so much of this trial turns on text message transcripts. More than 300 pages of text messages were downloaded from Scott Marasigan’s iPhone alone.

 Prosecutor Butch Ford is introducing selected content of these text messages as evidence in the case against defendant Giselle Esteban. Typically, Mr. Ford provides a transcript of the text messages to Mr. Marasigan and other relevant parties including the defense and judge. He then asks the witness to read back various portions of the transcript. As tedious as this process is, it has created a clear roadmap through the venomous mind of the defendant. We know that she despised and obsessed over the victim Michelle Le. We are also learning that her jealous obsession was based in paranoia and not reality. Although the trial has only just begun it is a strategy that makes sense as the case for first degree murder is constructed brick by brick by brick.

 The defense attorney Andrea Auer has also selected portions of Mr. Marasigan’s text log to prove that her client didn’t commit cold blooded murder, but was instead driven to kill Michelle Le "out of extraordinary provocation and the heat of passion." Ms. Auer also provided the witness and other relevant parties with a copy of the transcript. But her focus was not about Giselle’s hatred of Michelle Le. Instead she centered her attention on Internet sex.

Unless one is producing pornography, the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter, for public consumption, it is usually experienced alone or with a trusted partner. Rarely, is it shared with a room full of people. But that is exactly what happened during the cross examination of Scott Marasigan, the man who completes the triangle of twisted passion that resulted in the tragic death of Michelle Le.

The youthful passion that drives the world can manifest itself in many ways. It can produce the glory of a Paul McCartney love song, or the tragedy of murder. This trial is about youthful passion run amok. The victim was only 26, the killer is 27, and she met Scott Marasigan when they were both college freshmen.

Instead of having Mr. Marasigan read portions of the transcript, the defense attorney chose to have the witness verbally acknowledge the transcript as she read them aloud to the jury. This disconnect between the lustful passions of youth and the words dispassionately reverberating throughout the courtroom was awkward and uncomfortable and seemed to indicate that people separated by distance wanted to have sex with each other. I don’t know what that has to do with the murder of Michelle Le.