LAWRENCE CO.—Here’s your newsblast covering the morning session of testimony of the Tyler McQueen murder trial in Lawrenceville, followed by transcript:
Mike Vujovich
Disclosure NewsMagazine/DisclosureNewsOnline newsblast Wednesday, May 1, 2013 afternoon news blast.
We are in Day 3 of the testimony murder trial of 21-year-old Tyler McQueen.
McQueen is charged with three counts of first degree murder in the March 24, 2012 stabbing death of 78 year old Bob Westall in Westall’s sister’s apartment in United Methodist Village in Lawrenceville.
Illinois State Police Crime Forensic Scientist Eric Corey, testifying for the prosecution, was able to use physical evidence in the form of DNA to place McQueen not only at the scene of the murder but at the wheel of a car prosecutors say was part of a pay off in a murder for hire orchestrated by Westall’s niece, Helen Marie Westall.
Corey said blood stains found on a door knob to the apartment Westall was found murdered in belonged to Tyler McQueen. The blood on the outside knob of the door was said to match McQueen’s with the blood on the inside of the knob matching both McQueen’s and Robert Westall’s.
Blood on the steering wheel of the Oldsmobile prosecutors say Helen Marie Westall gave McQueen in her deal to have her uncle murdered belonged to McQueen, while blood on a floor mat from the driver’s side of the car belonged to Robert Westall.
Corey also testified that blood samples taken from the mattress Westall was found dead on belonged to the murdered man.
McQueen family members said, outside the courtroom, that Tyler’s blood at the scene doesn’t just prove that he was there but that it could very well indicate the blood could have been transferred by Helen Marie Westall who some say was present at the time of the murder.
Some actually go as far as to say it was she who wielded the knife and inflicted the injuries that killed her uncle.
After the jury was dismissed for lunch, a hearing in chambers by Judge Robert Hopkins, and of which Disclosure was the only media who bothered to attend despite an invitation by Judge Hopkins to all media present, featured defense attorney Matt Vaughn arguing a motion to be allowed to call Helen Marie Westall to testify.
Through her attorney Brad Vaughn, of Olney, and no relation to McQueen’s attorney Matt Vaughn of Fairfield, Westall announced she intended to assert her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.
Special prosecutor Mike Vujovich said that while he understood and agreed with McQueen’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial, that Westall also had a Fifth Amendment right not to be compelled to testify in any proceeding while she had charges pending.
McQueen’s attorney then announced he at least wanted Westall to take the stand and take the Fifth in front of the jurors, to which Vujovich said would result in giving an unfair and unspoken impression of Westall to the jurors.
Matt Vaughn said he was just looking to put a face to a name that jurors are going to hear during a three-hour DVD expected to be played either today or tomorrow.
“We could do that with a photograph,” Vujovich responded.
The motion to allow Vaughn to call Westall to the stand and force her to take the Fifth in front of jurors was ultimately denied.
Sources have told Disclosure the testimony is expected to wrap up tomorrow with the case going to the 10 women/2 men jury tomorrow afternoon.