Thursday, 4:30 PM
Jury in Worthington trial asks judge about police interrogations
By Megan Tench, Globe Staff, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent
The jury deliberating in the Christa Worthington murder trial asked the judge this afternoon if police were allowed to record interrogations.
At issue is a six-hour interview of Christopher M. McCowen, 34, in which state police investigators say the defendant admitted that he beat the victim the night she died after they had had consensual sex. McCowen claimed, according to police, that a friend who was with him that night in Worthington's Truro home was the real killer.
The interrogation, which police did not record, was criticized by the defense who alleged that detectives tried to pressure McCowen into a confession.
The jury asked if, "police officers have the option to record a statement," in a written note passed to Barnstable Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson.
"Yes, they do have the option," said Nickerson, who explained that state law merely required that a person be notified that they are being recorded.
Today marked the seventh day of deliberations in the high profile case packed with dramatic turns. On Tuesday, a juror was removed after five full-days deliberations because of a telephone conversation she had with her boyfriend, who was jailed in connection with an unrelated shooting in Falmouth.
This morning an alternate took the dismissed juror's place, and the 12-member panel had to begin deliberating from scratch.
Worthington, 46, was found in her home in January 2002 lying half-naked on the kitchen floor, dead from a stab wound to the chest. McCowen, her trash collector, faces aggravated rape, burglary and murder charges and could face life in prison if convicted of the most serious counts.
On Friday, jurors asked Nickerson to redefine "reasonable doubt." The case has made headlines across the globe.
