Transcription
Okay, Miss Jensen. Anything we... I'm gonna give an instruction to the audience, but beyond that, anything from you, Mr. Barasa?
Well, it was one thing if we got done at noon. It was another thing if it was 2:30 and everybody needed to be ready today. So I'm glad that may make it more efficient. And also, like I said, important that you all give your best closing arguments.
So let me talk to the folks in the audience here. For the most part, ninety-eight percent of the folks have been doing exactly what I've asked you to do. But I'm going to remind you one last time: there's a lot at stake in this case. Serious case. The attorneys have put enormous effort into this. They... I gave them the afternoon and evening to work on their closing. Let's be respectful of that, whether it's the person you may be for one side or the other side. But let's let the jury hear it without interruption.
So here's what you can... Okay, here's what you can do. Again, Miss Jensen is gonna go first. She'll... she has a total of an hour and 15. If I was estimating, I think she'll take 45 minutes to an hour for her initial. And then I'll give a comfort break to the jury. And if you want to leave, that's a good time to do so. Then Mr. Barasa sits up and he's saying he thinks he actually is going to need less than that. It's the same thing. If you have to get up, then you must. There's no reason. There seems to be like a lot of, "Hey, how's it going?" even though there's 98 percent pretty good behavior on this. There's a lot of, "Hey, what's new? How's it going?" or an exchange of something. There's no need for this. This is not a concert. You get up, quietly leave, and that's the way it is.
Unless you're the media, there better not be texting or recording. Where is Miss Britt? Hey, Miss Britt, is your phone off? Okay, we got that. Everybody else, check your phone. I'm gonna double-check my phones over here. I'm gonna make sure. Last time I had a closing argument in a murder case, my phone went off, and I had to make a donation to the favorite charity of that attorney. So I'm making sure my phone is also off. And it is. No reactions. That's important. You may not like what's being said. Don't react. If you react, then you're going to be told that you need to leave and leave quietly. So no reactions. I really haven't had any issues with Miss McArthur, so I'm not even addressing. But again, Miss McArthur, if you've been fine, but again, just a reminder for you. I'm really more concerned about our audience. Otherwise, you're welcome to be here.
So no texting, no audio recording, no no using of the phones or face. If you have a pad, no quiet whispering with each other. If you leave, leave quietly. And no reactions to the arguments. I think I've covered everything. So with that, if we're ready, let's bring the jury in. Completely. I can do whatever you want. I can do the two and leave that one that gives you some wine.
[Applause]
Little closely, especially when our skills. I'm not concerned about before attacking me. I think she likes to be somewhat connected to her computer. But she... Jody is there. Play away. You can reposition. That's better. Which you want to move your computer? And you don't want them to see your computer necessarily, but you could flip to the other side. I don't know what you do. You want to do something? I'll just go back. You're just gonna scoot back closer to me. Water spawn. Okay. I think that. Thank you. All right. We're ready. All right. Everybody may have a seat. And for the record, the defendant is present with counsel. Assistant State Attorney is present. Well, good morning, everybody. It's Friday. Well, first, I want to start by praising y'all one last time, or may not be my last time, but 15 people. Every day this week, you have been on time or early. I haven't had to wait for anybody. I haven't had to look for anybody. Haven't had to make a phone call. Thank you. All right. All week long, I've been trying to keep you all relaxed. We're at the end now. We're gonna be getting down to business. I have to ask you my series of questions. Has anybody done any research on the case? Has anybody turned on any sort of live streaming TV show to see what they were saying about the case? I looked at the News Journal this morning. I didn't see anything. But has anybody read anything in that sense? Anybody have anybody sends something to you or talk about the case? Anybody have anything they need to share with me that would affect their ability to be fair and impartial? Please tell me no.
All right. Both the state and defense have now rested their case. The attorneys are going to present their final arguments. Please, or what the attorneys say is not evidence. However, it is intended to aid you in understanding the case. Both parties will have equal time, but the state is entitled to divide that time between an opening and then a rebuttal. Final thing before Miss Jensen gets up is I told you what we'll do is I will make give you offers and opportunities for a comfort break, but we're going to keep those short and keep them so we have the same flow of consciousness and you hear everything in sort of a continuous sequence without much of a break. Miss Jensen, you may proceed.
I told you in opening statement on Monday that you were going to hear a lot of different information from a lot of different people. And the reason that you heard so much is because it's important for you to understand how all these different lives and all these different people and all these different relationships, dysfunctional and all, how they all kind of overlapped and intertwined and intersected. For instance, without hearing from Jeff Wright, you would have no evidence of where this $100,000 came from. And why? Not only that, but if you didn't hear from Jeff Wright, then you would probably think that he was suspect number one. Law enforcement did. But you heard from him, and you know that at the time Taylor went missing, he didn't even live in Florida. Same with Zach McArthur, Brandon Beaty, Kyle Britt, Audrey Warner, and Cassandra. These were all people that law enforcement looked into as possibly having some sort of involvement. You've heard from them all, and obviously, they do not. It is the state's job to give you everything: the good, the bad, the ugly. And you heard some very unflattering information about Taylor Wright. And you may not like some of what you heard about Taylor Wright, but in this trial, she is the victim. She's been accused of taking money. She's been accused of cheating. She's been accused of trying cocaine three times. But ladies and gentlemen, Taylor Wright is not on trial today. So let's not forget that. She was the 33-year-old mother of a child, and she was a human being. And our laws in the great state of Florida do not classify human beings. So her life means no less than anyone else's.
The state brought some of those ugly things about Taylor Wright out in my own case through Cassandra Waller. And that may have seemed a little bit odd to you. But here's why: Taylor and Cassandra had a private, personal conversation at Ashley McArthur's home with Ashley McArthur present. And you remember Audrey was there too. And Ashley sent her out, and Taylor and Cassandra had this conversation about how Taylor had been talking to some female in Biloxi and she had tried cocaine. And then this defendant, after she murdered Taylor Wright and was being interrogated and questioned by police, used that private, personal information against Taylor to lead law enforcement on these wild goose chases of where Taylor may be. Well, maybe she's in Biloxi. Maybe she's in a treatment center. Maybe she's in Destin. Not only that, but that's how Ashley McArthur came up with the idea of putting cocaine in her beer. Because she heard that conversation between Cassandra and Taylor. And it's consistent with what those girls from Styx told you, the conversation they overheard the day before Taylor went missing. Ashley heard that information between Taylor and Cassandra and used it. That's why the state brought that information out, not to disparage Taylor or demean her or criticize her life. Ashley McArthur used every tool she had against Taylor to deflect and distract and take the attention away from her own guilt. Taylor was supposed to be her friend. Taylor had a key to Ashley McArthur's home. Taylor trusted this defendant with all that money. And this woman sat there hour after hour, and those interviews are calm, cool, collected. Not one ounce of sadness or concern or worry for her friend that was missing. She was so forthcoming about all the bad things that Taylor did. But you know what? She wasn't forthcoming about those deposits of Taylor's money that she made. And that property on Britt Road. And why? Because she sat there giggling and laughing and joking with law enforcement on September 7th, September 18th. She knew that Taylor was out there on Britt Road because that's where she murdered her. And that's why she... where she tried to cover up her body. She avoided all of those questions like the plague. At one point, she was asked about her cousin Kyle because they had seen his phone number in her phone records. And she says, "Oh, he's here from Gainesville." They said, "Well, is he... is he staying out on the campus here at UWF?" And she says, "Oh, no, he's staying with a friend, but I don't know where." Come on. The web of lies that she tried to spin in these interviews with law enforcement all caught up with her in the end. Because on October 19th, the last time she was interviewed, police had her phone records. Police had her bank records. And did you see how her body language changed from the first interview to the last interview? She knew she was caught. And she still tried to kind of weave that web of lies, but she ended up getting caught up and tangled in it. Because at the very end, she could not come up with a lie quick enough for Taylor's cellphone using a cell tower in Robertsdale, Alabama, while this defendant was in Robertsdale at a wedding.
Now, I know there were a lot of documents and exhibits entered into evidence over the past week to try to pull it together for you in a timeline. So in July of 2017, you know that Taylor withdrew $100,000 from a bank account that she wasn't supposed to when she was going through some issues with her ex-husband. Two months later, ladies and gentlemen, two months later, Taylor is gone. Vanished. Disappeared. Dead. And who was she with trying to get her money back? Ashley McArthur. This defendant. She was supposed to be holding Taylor's money, not spending it. This defendant said in her own statement that Taylor asked her to hold the money. Now, Ashley wanted law enforcement to believe that it was at her house. She said initially it had been there a couple days, then it went to a couple weeks. But you know that's a lie. Because Taylor had a key to Ashley's house. And if all Taylor had to do was go to Ashley's house to get her money, she could have done that. That's not true. This defendant led Taylor to believe that she had a safety deposit box. It didn't exist. And Taylor was giving her this money in a cashier's check, thinking that's where Ashley was putting that money. And in the meantime, she was blowing it, most of it, on Brandon Beaty. Taylor needed that money back. And that money was gone. And the day Taylor was with this defendant to get her money back, then Taylor was gone.
On August 10th, Taylor was added to the defendant's bank account. $34,000 cashier's check was deposited by this defendant. On August 16th, on August 17th, $34,000 was transferred by this defendant to a number of bank accounts. You have all those bank accounts in evidence. From August 29th through to September 7th, Taylor is constantly asking this defendant to take her to the bank. She's got to get to the bank. Then you heard on September 7th, they met up at Twin Peaks. And that was where the conversation was had that Ashley was going to pick Taylor up the next day, and they were going to the bank. September 8th, Ashley McArthur picked up Taylor from Cassandra's house. The last text to Cassandra is on September 8th, 11:28 a.m. You have the video surveillance from Tom Thumb. The defendant and Taylor were at the Tom Thumb. You never see Taylor. But by the defendant's own admission, they're together. She buys two drinks, one beer for Taylor, one drink for herself. Then the defendant's cell phone is using a tower that covers the Britt Road farm. Not Milton Britt Road. That is when Taylor Wright is murdered. You heard testimony, and there's a text in evidence where the defendant made a phone call to her friend, and when she did, she was winded. And it was obviously strange enough that her friend asked her about it. So why were you so winded? This defendant's cell phone is back using towers that are close to the Britt Road farm. On September 8th, the next morning, September 9th, this defendant's cell phone again using towers out at the Britt Road farm. The afternoon, she is at Home Depot buying concrete and potting soil. Again, her cell phone is using towers that cover Britt Road. After Home Depot, then Taylor's cell phone and the defendant's cell phone are using a tower in Robertsdale, Alabama. After that, Taylor's phone and the defendant's cell phones are using a tower that covers this defendant's house. I know those cell tower records the other day were messy and probably gave you all headaches. But basically, what they show is the... the movement of Ashley's phone and the movement of Taylor's phone.
September 11th, Taylor is missing. Three days. This defendant is depositing a check, not for very much. It's $352. She's depositing a check into her bank account. This was the day that Cassandra was aggravated. She said she'd had enough. She wanted Taylor's stuff moved from her driveway in that box truck. It was taken to Pensacola Automatic Amusement, where the warehouse is. That same day, this defendant sent a picture of a Kimber SIS Ultra to Brandon Beaty. September 14th is when Taylor is reported missing. This defendant and Ashley, excuse me, this defendant and Cassandra went through Taylor's car. They found those guns, the knives, the things that were in Taylor's car. Ashley sent Cassandra pictures of Taylor's guns for documentation purposes. And then within an hour, she's sending them to Brandon Beaty. September 15th through October 2nd, Ashley McArthur's interviewed. She's interviewed again October 19th. And while they're talking to her, and search warrants being executed on the Britt Road property, and you know that Taylor's remains were found.
So look at the evidence. You have to go with the timeline. You have Taylor's bank records in evidence. I know this is really hard to see, but you have the $100,000 deposit on July 12th. Then she does... remember you, there's testimony she's moving it all over. She's trying to hide it from her ex-husband. Then she transfers $83,000 of it to her savings account on July 18th. She withdraws $83,000 on July 18th. And who was with her? Ashley McArthur. Ashley said she was with her at the bank. She said Taylor made some commotion, was rude, whatever. Again, trying to deflect the attention to Taylor. But Ashley McArthur was with Taylor on this day. And she said that Taylor withdrew $15,000. Two days later, Taylor goes back, deposits $68. So what's $83,000 minus $68,000? $15,000. Taylor Wright gave that $15,000 to Ashley McArthur. And who did Ashley McArthur give it to? Brandon Beaty, to buy that boat. Taylor also withdrew by cashier's checks, two cashier's checks, $34,000. You know, the one was deposited by this defendant, not Taylor's signature. And she admitted she deposited the other four thirty. The other $34,000 again on the 25th. Taylor took out $15,000 in cash. And the other $19,000 was a check. And you know that was found at Cassandra's house. Where'd that $15,000 go, ladies and gentlemen? To Ashley McArthur, to hold in the safety deposit box that didn't exist. So what does Ashley do with that $15,000? Same day, she pays for the second half of Brandon Beaty's boat. So it's not just the $34,000 cashier's check, it's the $34,000 plus $30,000 in cash for Brandon Beaty's boat. And then conveniently, while Ashley is talking to Cassandra, leading her on a wild goose chase about where Taylor is, she conveniently says, "Oh, when Taylor left, she had these bags and she had about $30,000 in cash." Convenient.
On August 10th, Taylor Wright was added to Ashley's Purely Southern account. Ashley's signature, excuse me, Taylor's signature on the 10th. And ask yourself this question: on the 10th, when Taylor was added to this bank account, if she wanted her cashier's check deposited at that time, why wouldn't she deposit it? Because she didn't. She gave that cashier's check to Ashley to hold. She could have added it on the 10th. There's the cashier's check. There's the deposit slip. And again, Ashley admitted depositing that. Then on the 17th, the next day after that $34,000 is deposited, you have all these records in evidence. This is the Purely Southern account. Here's the deposit. It is immediately transferred until there's only $600 in that account. So where does it go? This is her daughter's account. It's her and her daughter's account. And again, you have all these records in evidence. $20 there, $400 there. Next account. This is her Pensacola Automatic Amusement account. $2,000. And this is all from the Purely Southern. $2,000. $9,960. $11,960 to her Pensacola Automatic Amusement account. And it's really hard to see. But on the 17th, here's the $3,274 bill that she tried to pay at Gulf Power for Brandon Beaty. For sticks returned for insufficient funds. There's also, see, there's a $600, $630.51 charge to Island Cove Marina, which is where Brandon Beaty kept his boat. Also, when those transfers, was a $580.73 payment to her credit card that has a $7,000 balance. $1,390 transferred to a Pensacola Automatic Amusement credit card with a $13,000 balance. This is the account that she shares with her husband, Zach McArthur. $17,400 transferred from the Purely Southern account to her and Zach McArthur's bank account. Same day, she goes to a branch, withdraws $8,300 in cash. Here is the withdrawal slip. Here's the video surveillance. August 17th, 9:48 a.m. Here's the picture. Remember Brandon Beaty testified she sent him a picture of this cash. You got it in the phone records. About 10:00 a.m., 2 hours later, she just picked up the bike. "Hope you like it. I'm glad you like the bike. I hope it's what you wanted." And you've seen the pictures of that bike in the phone records. And Brandon Beaty confirmed that that was the bike that she purchased for him. Again, from August 29th to September 7th, Taylor is constantly asking this defendant about going to the bank, talking about a safety deposit box that didn't exist. This girl is scared she's going to go to jail and is putting pressure on Ashley McArthur to give this money. This text is on September 7th. And again, you know, the next day, or excuse me, later that same day is when they went to Twin Peaks. So they met at Twin Peaks on the 7th. And you heard Cassandra Waller tell you that the... the atmosphere between Ashley and Taylor was tense. You heard Mr. John Burroughs and asked Cassandra, she said, "Was Taylor... wasn't yelling at Ashley to get her money back?" You know, whatever that line of questioning was. But she said that Taylor said, "Why are you making it so difficult for me to get my money?"
September 8th, at around 10 a.m., you know that Ashley McArthur went to Cassandra's house to pick up Taylor. 11:28 a.m. is the last text to Cassandra. 11:53, you have the video surveillance of the defendant at the Tom Thumb buying two drinks. September 8th, at 12:10, you have those obnoxious cellphone records that are showing that Ashley McArthur's phone is using a tower out near Britt Road. 1:44 is a tower showing that she is possibly leaving that area. And again, between that time, the time she's out there, 12:10, and 1:44 when she leaves, that is the time that Taylor is murdered. Ashley's back out at the Britt Road farm. 2:45, 3:33, the cell tower records appear to show that she's leaving the area. 3:57, Cass texts the defendant and asks about Taylor because she still has not heard from her. Ashley calls Cass from Pensacola but says they're in Milton. And 7:38, Cass texts the defendant again about Taylor because she still had not heard from her. And again, the evidence, you know that that morning, Cassandra said Taylor left, she was in a t-shirt, shorts, flip-flops, and she always wore this necklace. You have the last text that Cassandra recognized as coming from Taylor. The other two that she got didn't... are the... the other one that she got later on, she said it absolutely did not sound like Taylor. And if you look back, and I'll have it in this, in the PowerPoint, but if you look at these texts on September 8th, Cassandra would send texts to Taylor, and Taylor would respond. After this text at 11:28 a.m., there is nothing for eight hours. You have Ashley at the Tom Thumb again, buying two drinks. Now, this is when Taylor, excuse me, when Ashley was confronted with the cellphone records, and she finally acknowledges that she was out there with Taylor. After all these hours and hours of conversations, she's confronted with her cell phone records, and now she says, "Yes, Taylor and I were out there." You have in the cell phone records, the tower, or the maps that were put into evidence. She's using a cell tower near the Britt Road farm at 12:10 p.m. You've seen the pictures of the farm. This is a huge, it's a huge piece of property, 23 acres. Obviously, you've seen the mobile home on the property, the barn. The defense wanted to put in a bunch of pictures and ask witnesses questions about, "Well, if you're sitting on the front porch, shouldn't you be able to see that area?" Well, of course, you can. Of course, you can. But can you see a body that is back there on the other side of the fence line? Of course not. This is a crime scene technician standing by the barn, taking a picture, and you cannot see. This is a closer up. She's on the other side of the fence line, taking a picture. Looks like a bunch of dirt and rock. Obviously, you know that that was Taylor that was found out there. Interesting part. You also have in evidence in Miss McArthur cellphone records, exhibit 139, on September 8th, there is her activity, her steps and distance. And from 9:21 a.m. to 11:00, 11:00 a.m., approximately two hours, she has 664 steps. Then between 11:46 and 11:53, when should we know she's at the Tom Thumb, 83 steps. When she leaves the Tom Thumb, we now know she was at Britt Road with Taylor, and she's out there for approximately an hour and a half. And at that time, 2141 steps. What is she doing out there? She is murdering Taylor Wright, and she is moving her body. You also have in this time frame, Audrey, her friend, her closest friend at the time, texting her or messaging her. 1 o'clock: "Are you okay?" This is when Ashley is out at the Britt Road farm. She doesn't respond. So Audrey, a few minutes later, says, "Ashley, Ashley." Responds, "Yes, ma'am." Audrey says, "What is going on?" Ashley says, "Nothing." Audrey says, "Why were you winded when you called me?" "I picked up a saddle." Did she pick up a saddle, or was she moving a body? Moving a body. At 1:44 p.m. on the 8th, her cell phone records show her leaving the Britt Road farm area. And let me say this to you. You heard the testimony of Audrey. Between 1:44, we have the phone records that show Ashley leaving that area. 2:45, she's headed back in. Between that time, remember Audrey went to work at 2 o'clock that day. And Audrey said that after she'd been at work for a little bit, this defendant came by. She was in Zach's truck, and she was by herself. She was fidgety. She didn't stay very long. And remember, according to Ashley McArthur, Taylor was with her all day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. until she got this Uber. Audrey says she shows up, and she remembers this day because she had accounted for her whereabouts. She got the Verizon receipt. She knew she was at work. So she remembers this day. This defendant came by in Zach's truck, stayed for a few minutes, was fidgety, said that she had been out at the farm doing some work, and that she was headed back by herself.
[Applause]
Just going back out there around 2:45, around to 3:33, leaving the area. 3:52, Cass sent that text to Ashley, "Are you guys okay? Taylor hasn't replied to me in hours. Can you ask her to call me?" This defendant then called Ashley and said, "We're in Milton. Taylor's on a horse. Everything is fine. I'll have her call you when she gets off the horse." Not anywhere in there near Milton, ladies and gentlemen. And then at 7:30, 8:00, still not having heard from Taylor, she texted Ashley McArthur again. She said, "Ashley, I'm sorry, this isn't okay." And then Ashley called her and then gave her that story about how they'd, after they left Milton, they went to Ashley's house, and then Taylor said she was going to have a drink, and then she went inside, and she came out, and Taylor was gone. The next morning, she is out back at the Britt Road farm. And actually, this has 7:22s. Her cellphone records, the GPS records show her out there at a 7-11 a.m. How many times in her conversations with law enforcement did she say, "I am not a morning person. I am not a morning person. I am a late-night person." She's out there at 7:11 a.m. on September 9th. And you have the text messages between her and her cousin Kyle. She texted him at 8:34 and said, "Are you awake?" And he said, "Yes, ma'am. Been up since 7:30." She said, "Okay, I'm here." He said, "No, you're not," because he couldn't believe that she was out there that early. But the interesting part is she had been out there over an hour before she texted him. So what is she doing? She's making sure the body is concealed before she goes to Home Depot. Later, the afternoon, she leaves around 9:00. 12:00 a.m. At 1:07, she's buying the concrete at Home Depot. Again, from 1:07 at the Home Depot, she doesn't go back to her house to build this flowerbed. She's not paving some sidewalk. She goes back to the Britt Road farm. 1:59, she's still at the farm. 2:39, she's at the pool room. 5:44, her cell phone is pinging in Robertsdale, Alabama. 5:53, Taylor's cell phone is pinging in Alabama. 7:10, the victim's son called Taylor's phone. At 8:11, the defendant's phone was using a tower near her house. And at 8:17, Taylor's phone was using a tower near the defendant's house. It's her third trip to the farm. Remember this place that she never goes to, according to law enforcement, or that she told law enforcement. See, the GPS records shows she was actually out there 7-11 idling for two hours. You've got the video surveillance of her at the Tom Thumb buying the concrete without mixing, without mixing. She's not out there stirring a pot. All she's got to do is throw it down. It's gonna set. Rains here all the time. Along soil, the potting mix. It's got these little white little things in there. And then she's back out at the Britt Road farm again. You've got her steps and activity for the 9th between 10:16 a.m. and 12:30, 1:00 p.m. So about 2 hours and 15 minutes on the 9th, 805 steps. From Home Depot at 1:07 to the time she's out there at Britt Road, she has 2385 steps. What's she doing? She's covering up Taylor's body. She leaves at 1:59. This is obviously a very close-up picture. Something you're not going to see from far away. There's the concrete substance and the Miracle-Gro, the little white things in it. Again, look how this... this is so close up. These people that are out there that the defense wants to talk to you about, that are mowing yards and weed eating and cutting grass, they're not gonna see that. She did a pretty good job. We know after that, she stops by the pool room. She sends Brandon the text. "Why is Chelsea's truck at the pool room?" She had just dropped something off to Audrey. You have the cellphone records that show this defendant's phone using a tower, 5:54 p.m. Taylor's call, or excuse me, cellphone. Good to call at 5:53, nine minutes later, using the exact same tower. Taylor's son, Drake, called at 7:10 p.m. The phone is headed back into Pensacola. Who else is headed back into Pensacola? Remember her husband said she left the wedding early because she got a phone call something about a jukebox. She's coming back into Pensacola. So is Taylor's phone. This is Drake calling his mom. It says 8:10, but remember, he... they were Eastern, 7:10. The husband said, Mr. Wright said, Taylor did not answer. Then he gets a text, "Can I call you back?" from Taylor. Remember, he said they never texted. This child is young. Little, you know, little. Usually they spoke on the phone. The only text they would typically send back and forth were photographs. She says, or her phone says, "Can I call you back?" He says, "Yes." And he tries to call her again. Doesn't get an answer. Her phone text back, "I will call you back." It says, "Me too." Drake tries to call his mom again at 9:17. No answer. Tries to get in at 9:20. And he says, "Will you call me back?" Never heard from his mother.
[Applause]
August 11th, excuse me. You have Ashley's residence at 3961 Range Drive. Her phone is using a cell tower that covers her home. Taylor gets phone calls from her son again. Those are her son's phone calls. And it's also using that same tower that covers her home. September 11th. This is when Ashley deposited check. It's 9:11. September 11th, 10:11, excuse me, 10:12 a.m. You've got the bank records in evidence. $352.50. Taylor is missing, and she is still depositing Taylor's money. What else happens on September 11th? That's when Taylor's stuff is moved from Cassandra's home to the warehouse. Ashley sends Brandon Beaty texts, "I bought a gun for you today." Sends him a picture. Kimber SIS Ultra. It's 9:11. Same day, Taylor's stuff moved to the warehouse. You've heard that the... there was a firearm trace put on it, and that came back to Taylor Wright. September 14th, day she's reported missing. These are the texts that Ashley sent to Cassandra of Taylor's guns. An hour later, this defendant is texting Brandon Beaty, "I did pick up two more guns for you today," and then send some pictures. What's on the 14th? The day that Taylor is reported missing, she is giving Taylor's guns to her boyfriend, Brandon Beaty. Then, you know, she's interviewed the 15th, the 18th, 18th again at PPD, 24th is a phone call, September 28th is a phone call, October 2nd is a phone call. And then she's interviewed again on October 19th.
[Applause]
First one was not recorded. Remember, this is just the very initial stages of the investigation. Detective Giuliotti said that Ashley said, "Yes, we're friends. I was with her on the 8th. Picked her up. We rode around. Went to some place in Beulah where Taylor was looking at a car or something to that effect. Then we went to a location off of Scenic Highway, which she knows not true. Then we went to the farm in Milton, which you know is not true. We went back to my house. Taylor said she was getting an Uber and she was going to have a drink, which you know is not true." The 18th, Detective Giuliotti went to Miss Carthage's home. She confirmed that they were at this farm in Milton and asked about other properties. She said her aunt had a property at the north end of the county. When asked for the address, she said she'd get it, which obviously she never did. She said she thought Taylor was just acting like a nut. You saw the September 18th interview. She said she admitted that Taylor had asked to get her money before the 8th, but she was too busy. And then she acknowledged that she bought Taylor a beer at the Tom Thumb. And Viola said that it was just her and Taylor at this farm in Milton. And then again, when she was asked about this property at the north end of the county, she said she would get it, and that Taylor had never been there. You've got the report in the recorded phone call from September 24th, and asking for any updates, kind of pushing this Destin area. The 28th, another recorded phone call asking for updates, basically Ashley like she has no idea what's going on with Taylor. October 2nd, asking for updates, maybe we should check a treatment facility. And then, of course, you know, in the 19th, that's when she was confronted with all the bank records and phone records. Oh, she says that when she finally admits that Taylor and her route at that property, she said Taylor had some kind of a lockbox out there. Well, where's this lockbox? It wasn't out there on the Britt Road property. Don't think she took it in an Uber with her. There is no lockbox because it didn't exist. And then, of course, when I say, "Why would you not tell us it?" she said, "Well, Taylor asked me not to tell anyone ever." Of course, she was confronted with Taylor's phone being in Robertsdale. And again, she caught all tongue-tied. You saw it. Oh, she wasn't with me, or I was unaware. If I had her phone, it could have been under that stuff she had in the vehicle. Well, the problem with that, ladies and gentlemen, is Taylor was in the truck with Ashley on the 8th when her and her husband went to this wedding. On September 9th, they were in the white Jeep. So the Taylor cell phone's not going to go from this truck to the Jeep without her having it. Those are the facts and the evidence in this case.
I just want to briefly touch on the law. We talked about it in jury selection. The judge is going to give you the instructions. The only three things that the state has to prove in this case are: Number one, Taylor Wright is dead. That's been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Number two, the death was caused by the criminal act of Ashley McArthur. That has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. And that there was a premeditated killing of Taylor Wright. As we talked about in jury selection on the Monday, the law in Florida does not fix the exact period of time that must pass. September 7th, 2017. The world would be a better place without Taylor. How much cocaine would it take to kill someone? September 7th, later that same night, who's she texting? T, the drug dealer at Babe's. And she deleted them. "You going to be out tonight?" This is from her to T. "Okay, I'm about to head to Babe's in a bit." From T, "I'll text you when I get there." From Ashley to T. And then by 11:06 p.m., "Thanks, love." What did she buy the next morning? A beer. What did she tell Audrey she was gonna do? She was gonna put that cocaine in a beer for Taylor to drink. When Audrey asked Ashley, "What did you end up doing with the cocaine?" She said, "I put it in the beer, and Taylor spit it out because it tasted sour." And then about 24 hours later, she's in the Home Depot buying the concrete and the potting soil. Shot right in the back of the head. Why is that significant? Because Ashley McArthur was constantly talking about how tough Taylor was, and she always had firearms. She's a... she's a prior law enforcement officer. She knows how to protect herself. I don't know if you caught it, but in the audio or in the interview on September 18th, she said, "Taylor is not an easy target." Taylor shot the back of the head. Projectile in her skull that was removed. You've got the photos of a Smith & Wesson that this defendant gave to Brandon Beaty shortly before she was arrested. Now, I know the defense kept saying, "Well, she never told you to get rid of this. She never told you to do anything with it." She didn't because she's not that dumb. But what did she say to Brandon Beaty? She gives him this gun and she says, "I don't care what you do with it." She knows he buys, trades, sells guns. A serial number on it. And you heard from Investigator Wainwright that he put a trace on this. That revolver comes back to her father, John Britt. Ladies and gentlemen, Ashley McArthur had the motive. Ashley McArthur had the opportunity. Ashley McArthur murdered Taylor Wright and then she tried to cover it up with lies, concrete, and potting soil.