Thursday, 4:30 PM
Courtroom drama in Cape Cod murder trial
(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)
Jan Worthington, the first cousin of murder victim Christa Worthington, was photographed in April 2005 at the arraignment of the accused killer. Jan Worthington testified today in Barnstable Superior Court.
By Megan Tench, Globe Staff, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent
In drama that rivaled a television courtroom thriller, defense attorney Robert A. George yelled at a murder victim's cousin on the witness stand today during the trial of a man accused of killing a fashion writer in her Cape Cod home.
George was trying to highlight what he saw as inconsistencies in the stories Jan Worthington told police immediately after the 2002 murder and the version the screenwriter recounted on the radio for an HBO documentary crew in 2004.
When speaking for the filmmakers, Jan Worthington said she saw Christa Worthington's body, went inside her Truro home, checked her cousin's pulse and then searched the house for a phone to call police. Police reports referenced by George, however, had Jan Worthington peeking inside the door but going no further.
"You told [police] on Jan. 9 that from your vantage point at the doorway you saw your cousin and you entered the house perhaps one or two steps," George said. "Didn't you say that to him?"
"I must of," said Jan Worthington, who has made $60,000 for selling the movie rights to the slaying for two projects that haven't been completed.
"Well you were lying then when you spoke to [a police trooper] or you were lying when you were [speaking] to HBO and the radio," George said, his voice rising.
"Which is it?" George continued. "When were you telling the truth?"
Jan Worthington sat silent for a moment. "I was telling the truth on WRLN radio," she said.
The slaying of Christa Worthington, 46, in January 2002 drew world-wide media coverage. She was found in January 2002 two days after she was killed, lying half-naked on her kitchen floor. Her toddler, Ava, was in the home and found unhurt, but smeared with her mother's blood.
Christopher M. McCowen, 34, is charged with murder, armed burglary, and aggravated rape. He could face life in prison if convicted.
