Prosecution's Final Witness Reveals Disturbing & Graphic Details On Day 10 Of Capital Gazette Shooting Trial
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- Day 10 of the Capital Gazette shooting trial was held on Tuesday and the prosecution introduced their final witness.
The psychiatrist who interviewed the defendant for 20 hours shared testimony that described some of his interactions with the defendant.
This doctor said he interviewed the defendant for about 20 hrs. & there were several interviews.
— Avajoye Burnett (@AvajoyeWJZ) July 13, 2021
"I found [the defendant] to be very open. [The defendant] was very willing to talk. He wanted to tell his story," the expert said. @wjz @wjz
**Please be warned that some may find the following details disturbing**
The psychiatrist testified that Jarrod Ramos was proud of what he did and his only regret was that he didn't kill more people.
According to the doctor, the defendant said when he shot the first victim, Rebecca Smith, Wendi Winters was charging toward him with a trashcan. He then shot and killed Winters. The psychiatrist also said the defendant talked about minimizing the legacy of Winters' bravery.
After the shooting ended, the doctor testified that the defendant started searching for a computer to send out a tweet and when he found Gerald Fischman hiding.
The doctor said that "his eyes lit up when he saw Mr. Fischman. He ran back to the conference room, picked up the shotgun, went up to Fischman and said 'It's Gerald time." Fischman was shot and killed.
WARNING - Disturbing Content
— Avajoye Burnett (@AvajoyeWJZ) July 13, 2021
The Dr. testified that "his eyes lit up when he saw Mr. Fischman. He ran back to the conference room - he picked up the shotgun."
The Dr. said the defendant "...went up to Fischman and said "It's Gerald time.""
Mr. Fischman was killed.
@wjz
The doctor said to the court that the defendant "..was proud of what he'd done and he took pleasure in that." He "..only regrets that he didn't kill more people."
The Doctor named two additional people who the defendant said he was searching for that day. They were reporters who worked for the Capital Gazette at the time but they hid until police arrived.
The defense experts testified that Jarrod Ramos has autism spectrum disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and delusional disorder.
WARNING - Disturbing Content
— Avajoye Burnett (@AvajoyeWJZ) July 13, 2021
The Dr. named two more people who the defendant said he was searching for that day, but those people were able to escape.
The Dr. named those survivors and they were witnesses who testified last week Friday.@wjz
Defense attorney Malcolm Ruff commented on the case. "Essentially what we would have is a battle of the experts, a battle of the reliability of those experts and the processes that they went through in order to reach the conclusions that they did," said Ruff. "Whether or not this defendant actually had or lack the substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of his actions."
It was also revealed in court that by the time the Capital Gazette was attacked on June 28, 2018, letters were simultaneously being sent to various addresses around the state.
WARNING - Disturbing Content
— Avajoye Burnett (@AvajoyeWJZ) July 13, 2021
Earlier, the psychiatrist said the defendant tried to minimize Wendi Winters' bravery.
She stormed the shooter w/ a trashcan after he shot Rebecca Smith.
The defendant then shot and killed Winters'.@wjz
One document went to Maryland Courts and prosecutors revealed some of the contents.
The shooter wrote "If this is how the Maryland Judiciary operates, the law means nothing. You are too cowardly to confront those lies and this is your receipt. I told you so."
The defendant lost previous lawsuits and lawyers said he believed that the whole court system was conspiring against him.
The prosecution also tried to prove that the defendant had the ability to change his behavior depending on who's around him.
The expert said the defendant wouldn't speak with some nurses, but he would speak with correctional officers. The expert previously said if a person was reviewing just one set of reports, they would get the impression that the defendant was mute. @wjz
— Avajoye Burnett (@AvajoyeWJZ) July 13, 2021
A prosecution witness said the defendant refused to speak with nurses who could assess his abilities but then those same medical professionals would watch him speak with other staff members.
The first psychiatrist who testified in court on day 10, determined that the defendant is criminally responsible.
Defense attorneys criticized the diagnosis because the doctor never independently interviewed the defendant.
"It's also significant that the defense has had substantial strides in trying to cut away at the veracity of the reliability of the prosecution's experts because they are saying
[he hasn't] had the hands-on feel of this defendant and knowing what he's going through, and so how could that person give a reliable expert opinion." says Ruff.