BULLETIN
17 YEARS LATER,
CALLAHAN GUILTY
COOPERSTOWN – A jury this morning found Casey Callahan guilty of murder in the second degree for the Jan.19, 2000 death of his wife, Elizabeth Welsh Callahan.
The verdict came in around 11:30 a.m. District Attorney John Muehl prosecuted the case throughout the week, calling 21 witnesses. In the final hours of the trial yesterday morning, Callahan himself was called to the stand by his attorney, William Schebaum.
ANATOMY OF A MURDER TRIAL
DAY ONE: Monday, Sept. 11
• IN OPENING REMARKS, District Attorney Muehl paraphrases suspect Callahan: “I can kill someone and get away with it.”
• TRUCK DRIVER George Borrowdale describes witnessing Callahan’s rig running over wife Elizabeth
• FOUR MONTHS EARLIER, two witnesses testify, Callahan describes a “perfect crime” similar to resulting crime
DAY TWO: Tuesday, Sept. 12
• WIFE’S PSYCHIATRIST says Elizabeth was under “severe emotional stress”
• ELIZABETH KICKED by husband while pregnant with son Connor, niece testifies
DAY THREE: Wednesday, Sept. 13
• WIFE’S LAST WORDS to husband, “I love you,” investigator testifies
• ACCUSED TESTIFIES, “I wasn’t best husband, …but I loved her”
DAY FOUR, SUMMATIONS: Thursday, Sept. 13
• PROSECUTOR MUEHL: “Four tires ran directly down the center of her body … You can’t do that by accident.”
• DEFENSE LAWYER SCHEBAUM warns against “speculation, emotion or even dislike.”
DAY FIVE: Friday, Sept. 14
• JURY FINDS CALLAHAN GUILTY
