52 “Isn’t It True, Mr. Roth …”

The following day was Randy’s sixth day on the witness stand, and both he and Cody were getting tired. Brenneman, however, was showing no signs of letting up.

“Mr. Roth, when we recessed yesterday, I just asked you about your statements regarding the relocation of Tyson and Rylie during the press conference that you called on August 9th, 1991. Do you recall?”

“Yes, I do,” Randy said.

“Isn’t it true at that press conference that you misstated to the press the reason for the relocation of Tyson and Rylie?”

“I had been in control of the boys up until I believe one or two days prior to the press conference, and I had allowed them to go with relatives at the point in time where they were still staying when I received a phone call that they would not be coming back.”

“You allowed them to go with relatives because relatives wanted them. But you told the press, did you not, that it was because of the media coverage that the children had been, quote, relocated. Isn’t that accurate?”

“I can’t have a total recollection of what I would have stated. I do recall stating to the media that I had relocated the boys.”

Would it help his recollection if they replayed the tape? asked Brenneman. “Yes it would,” said Randy.

“Let’s see if we can’t locate it, Mr. Roth,” Brenneman said, and she asked Peters to find the place on the tape of Randy’s press conference.

Peters found the place on the tape of Randy’s press conference about the boys. The news reporter’s question followed by Randy’s answer came out of the television set:

“‘How did you feel about that?’

“‘I had to relocate the kids to prevent them from being exposed to the elements of the media on my telephone and in my driveway and it’s not fair—’”

Peters stopped the tape.

“Mr. Roth, when you made that statements that you just heard, that was a lie, wasn’t it?” asked Brenneman.

“I don’t believe so,” Randy said.

“In fact, Tyson and Rylie had been relocated, as you put it, because their mother’s will gave their custody to her best friend, Lori Baker, and you knew it, didn’t you?”

Randy insisted he was only trying to protect the boys.

“I believed it to be in the best interests of the boys to stay at relatives’ homes visiting as long as possible until the media lost interest in mass publishing their exposure, which they did from the very first day of the accident.”

“Actually, Mr. Roth, isn’t it a fact that you answered that question in that way to attempt to gain sympathy for how you were being treated in this whole matter and to use the boys to get that sympathy?”

Cody objected. Sullivan agreed. Brenneman returned to the safe deposit box.

“Let’s go back to the safe deposit box, Mr. Roth. You entered Cynthia’s safe deposit box on July 25th, 1991. You heard Lori Baker’s testimony, did you not, that the last time she saw that box it contained an original of Cynthia’s will and jewelry Cynthia was saving that had belonged to her husband Tom for her sons, Tyson and Rylie? “Do you recall that testimony?”

“I do. I also recall the bank representative stating that Cynthia had been in the box two times after that,” said Randy.

“Mr. Roth, do you recall that Lori Baker stated very emphatically that it was Cynthia’s desire to keep the jewelry that was in that box for her sons, Tyson and Rylie?”

“I recall Lori making that statement,” Randy said, referring to Lori Baker’s testimony.

“Well, Mr. Roth,” said Brenneman, “do you have that jewelry?”

“No, I don’t,” said Randy.

“Did you ever see it?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Is it in your possession?”

No, said Randy, he would have no use for it.

“The last person other than Cynthia, who is dead, and Lori, who testified the box was empty when she got there, the only other person to have access to that box was you, was it not, Mr. Roth?”

Cody objected again. “Overruled,” said Sullivan.

“I was the last person,” Randy said, “but as I stated earlier, Cynthia was in the box on two occasions between Lori having been in it and when I made my first and last visit.” Randy said he thought Cindy might have removed the items from the box to spare Randy any uncomfortable feelings in case the two of them visited the box in the future.

“I see,” said Brenneman drily.

Cody objected. “Your Honor, I ask that that remark be stricken.”

Sullivan agreed. “It will be stricken. The jury will disregard.”

But Brenneman’s disbelief of Randy was a bell that could not be unrung. She returned to the custody of the boys.

“Mr. Roth, you testified that you were upset because Lori advised you that Cynthia’s will placed the custody of her sons, Tyson and Rylie, with Lori Baker. Do you recall that testimony?”

“I don’t believe that Lori would have stated that the will stipulated the boys were supposed to go with her,” said Randy. “She told me that the boys would not be returning to the home.”

“I’m more concerned about your reaction, Mr. Roth. You were upset, weren’t you?” Brenneman was planting a seed here that she would soon use with devastating effect.

“I was upset that I was not involved in the decision-making process,” said Randy.

“In fact, on August 1st, when you talked to Detectives Peters and Mullinax, you specifically advised them that your wife Cynthia had no will, didn’t you?”

“In reference to the will, that Cynthia and I were never, [we never] reached a level where we would have obtained one,” Randy said. “That would have been the answer I provided.”

“You told Detectives Peters and Mullinax, [to] the best of your knowledge, [that] Cynthia had no will, yes or no?”

“She had no will between the two of us. I had never seen, I had never seen a will.”

‘I’m asking you what you told Detectives Peters and Mullinax on August the 1st, 1991, shortly after Cynthia’s death,” Brenneman persisted. “Did you or did you not, yes or no, tell those two detectives that Cynthia, your wife, had no will?”

“I did not believe that she had a will.”

“Is that a yes, Mr. Roth?”

“I told them she didn’t have a will that I was aware of.”

“Isn’t it a fact, Mr. Roth, that she did have a will, you found the original in the box on July 25th, and you thought that was the sole copy of the will?”

“I have never seen a will. I wouldn’t know what an original or independent will would look like.”

“Is that a yes or a no, Mr. Roth?”

“Will you re-ask your question?”

“Isn’t it a fact that on July 25th, two days after Cynthia died, you went into the safety deposit box, you found the original of Cynthia’s will, you thought you’d found the only copy, [and] you destroyed it? Isn’t that a fact?”

“There was nothing in the safety deposit box when I went to the bank.”

“I take it your answer is no, Mr. Roth. Is that your answer?”

“There was no will,” Randy again insisted.

“No; is that your answer?”

“No, there was no will.”

After a few more questions, Brenneman returned to the trap she had set earlier.

“You testified when Lori advised you that she was going to take custody, the boys were going to stay with her, Tyson and Rylie, you were upset. And isn’t it true that you testified you were upset because they took control of the boys away from you without your input?”

“That was my impression, that they—she called me and told me the family had gotten together and decided the boys won’t be coming back. Those were her words.”

“And your words were, it was the control of the boys being removed from you that upset you. Those were your words, weren’t they, Mr. Roth?”

“They took control of the boys. They took the control of any input that I might have been able to contribute to where the boys would like to stay,” answered Randy.

“And control over Cynthia and the boys and other people in your life is very important to you, is it not?” Brenneman shot back.

Cody objected. “Overruled,” said Sullivan.

“I don’t believe that I’m a control-type individual,” Randy said. “I allow everyone around me to have whatever input they would like to contribute to whatever we are doing.”

Brenneman pressed ahead. Wasn’t it true that Randy was upset mostly because if Tyson and Rylie lived with Lori Baker, he would no longer have access to their Social Security benefits?

“In fact, you were very well aware of that Social Security income, and it was you who was counting on that money. Isn’t that a fact?” asked Brenneman.

No, said Randy.

Wasn’t it true that Cindy had filed a joint income tax return with Randy for 1990, and that the return showed $6,000 in interest income, almost all of it from Cindy’s investments? Yes, Randy admitted.

“In fact, the year before you met Cynthia, isn’t it true that you filed an income tax return that showed that your total taxable interest income was $43?”

“That’s probably true in regards to interest income, yes.”

“Did you have any dividend income?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Did you have any investments of any kind that you reported to the IRS?”

“No, I’ve never had any stocks or bonds or anything along that line.”

“So when you married Cynthia Roth, you certainly didn’t have the big savings account, did you, Mr. Roth?” No, said Randy.

Wasn’t it true that Randy applied for Social Security benefits for Greg after Cynthia’s death, even though Greg was already collecting them from Jan’s death? And wasn’t it true that Randy told the Social Security people that Cindy and her first husband had been divorced, not that Tom was dead? In fact, wasn’t it true that Randy somehow couldn’t even recall Tom’s name?

It was the fault of the Social Security people, Randy answered. They had sent him the forms, told him what to put on them, he said. He hadn’t read them, just filled them out. It was the Social Security people who listed Cindy as having been divorced from Tom; he had nothing to do with it.

“Mr. Roth, isn’t it true that what you really were attempting to do was to recover Social Security benefits for your son Greg, and that in fact you had intended to do that from the time that you wrote your list that we went over yesterday, your list that puts SSI right under going to the attorney and right above dealing with insurance and right above going to the bank and checking on the bank account? Isn’t it a fact that you had been planning that right after Cynthia’s death?”

“No, that’s not a fact.”

“And the reason that you did it was the same reason that you went after Social Security benefits for Jalina, it’s because you wanted the money. Isn’t that a fact?”

“I did not attempt to apply for money for Tyson and Rylie. It was my express desire to communicate where the boys were at and their status. And as a result of that, the Social Security department asked me questions as to the status of any other children that existed in the marriage.”

But Brenneman was hardly interested in Randy’s explanation. She was closing in for the kill.

“And isn’t it a fact, Mr. Roth, that money is why you married Cynthia Roth?”

“No.”

“And isn’t it a fact, Mr. Roth, that money, insurance proceeds, is why you murdered your wife Janis?”

“That’s not true at all.”

“Why you murdered Cynthia, your fourth wife?”

“That’s—”

“Isn’t that a fact?”

“That is not a fact.” Randy was starting to break down.

“And in fact, money has been at the root of every insurance fraud scheme that you’ve committed that’s been testified to in front of this jury.”

“That’s—”

“Isn’t that a fact?”

“That’s totally incorrect. My lifestyle has never been indicative of having or controlling any large amounts of money.”

“Controlling people and controlling money is what your lifestyle is all about, Mr. Roth, based on this testimony that we’ve heard here. Isn’t that a fact?”

“No.” By now, Randy was biting his words off, on the edge of tears.

“I object, Your Honor,” Cody said. “That’s simply argumentative.”

“Well, the record will stand,” said Sullivan.

“No further questions at this time,” said Brenneman. Six days after Randy had first taken the stand, Brenneman was, for the moment, done with him. Now it would be up to Cody to try to rehabilitate Randy in the eyes of the jury.

“Redirect?” Sullivan asked Cody.

“Yes, Your Honor.” But Cody knew it was going to be an uphill fight.

Randy was finally weeping.