Kathy E <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: I apologize for being late in the summaries today. =================================================== Crystal Miller, the 21-year-old mother of young victim Jasmine Miller, took the stand today and defended herself against the insinuations by Suzanne Johnson's defense that she may have been a frustrated mother. Crystal recalled the short life of her six-month-old daughter, reiterating the previous testimony of her husband Travis that Jasmine was a happy, healthy baby. She said she carefully screened daycare providers and decided to bring her Jasmine to Suzanne Johnson because she thought Johnson was very nice and capable. Crystal even had her mother meet Johnson to ensure that she was making the right choice for Jasmine. However, Crystal testified that she noticed a change in Jasmine's behavior once she was under the care of Johnson. According to Crystal, two weeks before her death, Jasmine began to eat less than her usual jar of baby food and to sleep more. She also said her daughter occasionally seemed to be sore when she lifted her and became increasingly fussy. However, Crystal admitted that she did not suspect that there was a problem with Johnson. She only thought that Jasmine was having problems adjusting to the weaning process she was undergoing. And, Crystal said, Johnson never told her about any problems she had in handling Jasmine. Johnson always told her that things were fine with the infant. Crystal recounted dropping off Jasmine at Johnson's house on the morning of June 24, 1997. She said Jasmine began crying at the sound of Johnson's voice and cried up until the moment she left the house. She said Johnson called her that morning before she dropped off Jasmine and appeared to be upset about not being paid for her daycare services, they YMCA was supposed to pay her but there was a mix up in paperwork, and they weren't going to pay, Miller called the YMCA up and straightened it out, but had already agreed to pay Johnson out of her own pocket in a previous signed agreement if the YMCA didn't pay. This testimony implied that Johnson was upset with the Millers and may have taken her frustration out on baby Jasmine. When getting up to leave Miller testified that Jasmine reached out to her, "she wanted her mother, she wanted to get away from Susan" that statement was objected, to due to the fact she said what the baby wanted, but the statement that Jasmine was reaching out to her was allowed to stay in. When Sue was walking away with the baby she made a comment that stuck with Crystal, "I don't think Jasmine likes me". That was the last time Crystal saw Jasmine alive and the first time that Sue even hinted there was a problem with caring for Jasmine. "She [Jasmine] was my first child...she meant everything to me," Crystal said tearfully as she described her daughter. "Whoever I entrusted with Jasmine's care, I trusted as much as I trust myself." During cross-examination, Crystal fended off defense attempts to portray her as a woman embittered and isolated by an unexpected pregnancy. She told defense attorney Marc Carlos that she planned to drop out of college after her freshman year before she even became pregnant with Jasmine. Miller said she was disappointed with the communications program and decided to terminate her studies to settle down and begin a family with her high school sweetheart, Travis Miller. Crystal acknowledged that she got a job in May 1997 not because the family needed more money but because she wanted to get out of the house and thought it would be a good time for Jasmine to begin interacting with other children. In addition, Crystal revealed that about a month prior to her death, Jasmine fell from a king size bed. Suzanne Johnson's defense is most likely to use that admission later in the trial to support its theory that Jasmine Miller really died from a pre-existing head injury that was not caused by the defendant. Before Crystal Miller took the stand, defense attorney Carlos continued his cross-examination of forensic pathologist Dr. Jan Leestma and got him to admit that the science behind alleged child abuse cases is not exact. Dr. Leestma said that it is extremely rare, but not impossible, that children die from falling out of 30 -inch high chairs, or equivalent heights. The doctor also said an accidental fall could result in injuries similar to Jasmine's fractures. However on redirect by the prosecution, Dr. Leestma reiterated that he thought Jasmine's fatal injuries were caused by a deliberate act of child abuse. He also said that he thought Jasmine was fatally injured around the noon hour of June 24, 1997. Dr. Leestma estimated that Jasmine's pre-existing head injuries occurred around late May, which is the time Johnson started caring for baby Jasmine. Crystal Miller is expected to return to the stand to finish her cross-examination by the defense today -- Kathy E "I can only please one person a day, today is NOT your day, and tomorrow isn't looking too good for you either" http://members.delphi.com/kathylaw/ Law & Issues Mailing List http://pw1.netcom.com/~kathye/rodeo.html - Cowboy Histories http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/2990/law.htm Crime photo's Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
