One of the attendees at the trial took many pages of handwritten notes. As she types them up, I will be posting them to the blog.
SECTION TWO OF TRIAL NOTES
Transcribed as hand-written during the trial by Bethany.
NOTE: Here is most of Tina Anderson's testimony on the stand. The words in parenthesis are my own thoughts that I wrote down during the case. I did not record Wayne Coull's questions word for word, so I did not write down his questions. The words Tina said are word for word, and if I was not sure she said something, I left it out because I want to stay as close to what was actually said in the court room.
*Tina Anderson takes the stand
-Tina walks in to the stand, and Wayne, her lawyer, is asking her questions. (I did not write the questions, just Tina’s answers).
Tina: I got my undergrad degree in music from Maranatha Baptist Bible College. Got a Master’s in Education from University of Arizona.
Tina: I wasn’t expecting to get a call from Detective DeAngelis. It came out of the blue. He talked to me for 1 and ½ hours. Immediately after the call with Detective DeAngelis, I contacted the family that adopted my child to let them know that the police were reopening this case. I wanted them to know so they could be prepared.
Tina’s teen years: I have a brother named Tom Dooley. He is a year older than me. My mother is Christine Leaf. My step-father is Dan Leaf. (Dan Leaf was imprisoned for more than a year for 2nd degree assault, for using a belt to beat Tom and Tina).
I had a really good education. It was very strict at Trinity Christian School (school associated with Trinity Baptist Church, Concord NH). I had about 15 other classmates. I loved babysitting, love kids. My mom worked full-time and went to school. I babysat for the Harrisons and for the Willis family. (Wayne Coull asked Tina to identify Ernie Willis, and Tina pointed to Ernie in the courtroom).
Wayne is questioning Tina about the time Ernie took her on a driving lesson
Tina: I remember my mom did not want to teach me to drive, she did not feel comfortable. So Ernie Willis said he would teach me. We went driving once, and nothing happened. The second time we went out, we drove to a parking lot somewhere. Ernie told me to pull over so we could switch places, so he could drive. When I got out, Ernie pushed me into the back seat, and raped me.
Wayne asks some more questions:
Tina: I believe I said “no” but I can’t really remember. I was shocked. I got home and took a hot shower. I felt so dirty.
Wayne asks some more questions:
Tina: Yes, Dan Leaf molested me when I was young, ages 9-12. I told Chuck Phelps about Dan. It was very tough.
Wayne questions Tina about the second time she was raped.
Wayne apologizes to Tina for being graphic, but asks her to specifically explain what she means by the word “rape” and Tina said “his penis entered my vagina.” (This was explicitly stated several times during the trial to make no mistake as to what actually happened. Ernie was arguing that he only “touched” Tina the first time in the car).
Tina: it was evening time when Ernie came to my house. I opened the door and let him in. I believe he locked the door behind him. I can’t remember if he pushed me on to the couch or if he just kept inching closer til he pressed me down on the couch. I said “no,” I said “stop” and then I just blanked out. When he was done, he just left. Didn’t say anything, just left. I did not use any sex protection.
Wayne Coull asks Tina to explain what her dress was like and what standards her church and school enforced.
Tina: I did not have to buy maternity clothes, because my clothes were very baggy. We had to wear shirts no lower than 2 fingers below the collarbone. Very baggy clothing.
Wayne Coull questions Tina about the pregnancy:
Tina: I don’t know why, but I called Ernie when I found out about being pregnant. I had no boyfriend, I was not interested in boys. I had good grades, played the flute, loved music. At my school and church, we were taught that physical intimacy with the opposite sex was not good. We did not hold hands with boys or touch at all. I finally told Sarah Harrison that I was pregnant. I got a small sense of relief because Sarah was very calm. Sarah called my mom, Chris, and Chris called Chuck Phelps.
Wayne questions Tina about when Chuck Phelps came over:
Tina: I was scared to tell Chris because she was still with Dan, and he had sexually abused me, too. I felt attacked by the Phelps. They interrogated me for hours. Linda Phelps kept grilling me, badgering me and asking me tons of questions. At one point, she asked me if I “enjoyed it.” I was utterly shocked that she would ask me that. It was torture. The meeting went on for hours. Finally, Chuck told me I would have to apologize for the 1% of wrong that I had contributed to being raped. Chuck said that I opened the door to let Ernie into my house. He said when I opened the door, I became guilty for part of the rape. I felt terrible. Tina said she had to get an AIDS test and give the results to Tammie Willis.
Wayne Coull questions more about what things Chuck Phelps told Tina:
Tina: Chuck Phelps read a passage in Deuteronomy that said if a young girl did not cry out for help when a man lies with her, that the people will take the girl outside the city gates and stone her. (Deuteronomy 22:23-24). I was devastated when he read that verse to me.
Wayne Coull asks her what happens after her pregnancy is made known:
Tina: I was only allowed to leave my house with people from Trinity Baptist Church. I was expelled from school. I was not allowed to talk to my grandparents, my brother, or my aunts. Patty Martinez, a second grade teacher at Trinity Baptist Church wrote a statement with me that I was made to read in front of the whole church.
Wayne asks about the service that Tina was made to confess her “sins.”
Tina: We had the usual evening church service. Then Chuck Phelps had all the kids leave the auditorium. Phelps told the congregation that there were two separate situations that needed to be brought before the church for “church discipline.” Ernie got up and apologized for being unfaithful to his wife. Then I was made to get up and read a letter about sinning by having sex and getting pregnant. I was devastated. I felt like my life was over. There were hundreds of people in the church building. I wasn’t allowed to tell my grandparents where I was going when I was sent away to Colorado. I wasn’t allowed to tell them they had a grandchild.
I was sent away to live with complete strangers. The family was the Landrys.I did not know them. They were very quiet, stern. I was very lonely. Diane Landry homeschooled her kids. I wasn’t allowed to talk to any kids my own age at church or anywhere else. Chuck Phelps made a survey for me and sent it out to several different families so that I could choose a family to send my baby away with. I felt very helpless and sad. I did not want to be pregnant. But I also did not want to give my baby away, I wanted to care for my child. I was forced by the pastor in CO, Matt Olsen, to apologize to Tammie Willis, Ernie Willis’s wife. I sent her a written apology.
My baby was born at Lutheran Medical Center.
Wayne shows the jury pictures of Tina with Matt and Diane Olsen and Tina’s baby. There’s also a picture of Tina, the baby, and Diane Landry.
Break for Lunch at 12:30pm.
Return to court at 1:30pm, and Tina again takes the stand, and picks up where she left off at the hospital.
Tina: I was not allowed to have friends in high school. When I returned home, I was not allowed to return to the school at Trinity. I was home schooled. After high school, I enrolled in Maranatha Baptist Bible College (MBBC). While I was there, one day I told one of my friends about being raped. I got called to the Dean of Women’s office. They had called Chuck Phelps and he told them to tell me to keep quiet. It was over. Forgive and forget.
Wayne asks Tina what happened a year ago, when the story broke.
Tina says that she turned down interviews with CNN, Good Morning, America, and Oprah. She says “I have no relationship with my mother. I lost my job at the Independent Fundamental Baptist college I was teaching at.” (Tina taught music at IBC, International Bible College in Arizona). Tina also said, “my mom was doing what she was told was the right thing to do.”
1:55pm: Cross-examination from defense attorney is next
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