 Elmore cross-examined and asked several questions regarding the time
of night Gill saw the SUV. He asked Gill how he knew the time, and
if it could have been earlier or later. Gill said he had a good idea
of what time it was because he stayed up and spent time on his
computer after returning home. The third person to testify in the
afternoon was David Gleason. Questioned first by Ed Parkinson,
the appellate prosecutor, Gleason said that he has known Cline for five
years. In 2009 they were good friends and co-workers.
He said he was also friends with Jody Alberts and had introduced
the two. Gleason also testified that he was with Alberts in Peoria
when her son died.
Guided by Parkinson's questioning, Gleason said that at the time
of the incident, he was not questioned by police but later went to
the state police on his own with information he had about the case.
Gleason's information was via a set of text messages that had
been exchanged between himself and Cline on the night of Aug. 22.
Parkinson shared slides of the texts from Cline with the jurors.
The first text from Cline to Gleason indicated that Lucas Albert
was a "tired boy" and that he had fallen over the rat cages. This
text came to Gleason at 7:06 p.m.
At 9:31 and 9:35 p.m. Cline sent additional text messages. In the
latter he referred to the child with an expletive, saying he was
"out," then saying, "I'm worried."
The next morning additional texts came from Cline. At 8:52 a.m.:
"don't know what the [expletive] happened. Going to shoot myself.
Fine when I put him down." At 1 p.m.: "Cops are here, I'm going to
jail." Later another message: "[expletive] up, going to jail"; and
at 2:25 p.m.: "need time to think, thinking about shooting myself."
At 2:43 p.m., one word, "why." The texting continued throughout the
afternoon. At 3:12 p.m. Cline's text read: "do you realize the balls
it takes to pull the trigger"; at 3:24 p.m., "never again, can't do
this, I love you" and "[expletive] cops won't let me leave"; at 3:28
p.m., "you're wrong, he was fine, don't get it he was fine, like a
bad dream"; at 5:40 p.m., "Can't talk, too much emotion, cops are on
me, probably will be charged with child endangerment."
In another text, Cline addressed Gleason using a racial slur.
Parkinson asked when he took the text messages to the police, and
Gleason replied it was a few days after the child died. He was asked
if he went on his own, and he said it was. Parkinson also asked if
Gleason had been concerned for Cline, and Gleason said he was
because Cline had talked about shooting himself.
During cross-examination, Elmore addressed the language used in
the text messages. He asked if Cline commonly addressed Gleason
using the racial slur, and Gleason said "yes." He asked if Gleason
would use the same word for Cline, and Gleason said sometimes he did.
He then asked if that was the type of language the two would use
in public, in the courtroom for example, and Gleason said "no."
Elmore asked if Cline often used the [expletive] word, and
Gleason said "yes."
Elmore then moved on to the text where Cline wrote, "I'm
worried." He asked Gleason if he'd ever seen Cline with Lucas
Alberts, and Gleason said "no." He asked if Cline had children of his
own, and Gleason said "yes." Elmore asked if Cline loved his kids and
was trusted with his kids. He also asked if Gleason had ever heard
Cline use inappropriate language when referring to his own kids.
Gleason said "yes" to all.
Elmore also drew attention to Cline being worried and upset over
the alleged accident.
An additional text mentioned "Jody's keys' being left on the
steps of Cline's apartment. Elmore asked if Gleason went and got the
keys. Gleason said he did.
The attorney then talked about the text messages being considered
confidential conversations with a friend, not meant for the public.
He asked Gleason if he was always honest with Cline. Gleason said
"yes." He then asked if Gleason expected Cline to be honest with him,
and Gleason said "yes."
In closing, Elmore asked if Gleason told Cline he was going to go to
the cops with the messages. Gleason said he did not.
In redirect, Parkinson asked Gleason if Cline referred to his
own kids as "little [expletive]." Gleason replied, "I don't know, he
may have."
Parkinson also asked about the text at 9:35 p.m. Saturday night
that said, "I'm worried," versus the text the next afternoon that
said Lucas "was fine." But Elmore objected to the question and it
went unanswered.
[to top of second column] |
The final two witnesses of the day were Jennifer Henry and Dawn
Henry. Both women are employed at the Sunshine Daycare in McLean.
Lucas Albert had been attending the day care since he was 8 weeks
old.
Jennifer Henry testified that on Friday afternoon before Lucas
Albert died, he was picked up at the day care by Cline. She was
asked if that was normal, and she said, no, it wasn't. She'd never
seen him there herself and had to verify that he was permitted to
pick up the child.
Jennifer Henry works with 2- to 3-year-olds, and Dawn Henry works
with infants to toddlers. The women testified that Lucas Albert was
transitioning from one classroom to the other and that both had
spent time with the youngster that day.
Wright questioned Jennifer Henry and asked if Lucas Alberts was
still in diapers. She confirmed he was. She was asked if she had
changed his diaper that day, she said "yes." She was asked if she
noticed any bruising on the child when she did so, she said she did
not.
Jennifer Henry was also asked about accidents at the school and
the procedure for reporting accidents. She explained that accidents that
left a mark on the child had to be reported in writing as mandated
by the Department of Child and Family Services. She was asked if the Alberts child had any such accidents in the days before his death.
She said she didn't recall any.
She was asked about the child's personality and demeanor. She
said he appeared to be a normal child. The week of transition
sometimes makes children a little timid and he was, and the week is
also tiring, and he was tired.
When Jeff Page took over cross-examination for the defense, he
questioned the number of falls small children take and whether or
not they are all reported. Jennifer Henry was adamant that if the
accident makes a mark or looks like it will develop a mark, a report
is prepared.
He questioned it again, saying, "You document every injury at day
care?" She affirmed. He then asked about who does the documenting,
the teacher or someone else, and Henry replied: "The witness."
When Dawn Henry took the stand, she confirmed that she had known
Lucas Alberts since he was 8 weeks old, and at the time of his death
he was transitioning between classrooms.
She verified that she had not seen any bruises on the boy on his
last day at the day care. She was also asked if he was displaying
any unusual behavior, and she confirmed he was a little "clingy,"
probably because of the transitioning.
At the end of the prosecution questioning, the defense said they
had no questions for the witness.
Judge Thomas Harris then advised the jury that they were done for
the day. He admonished them not to speak about their day and not to
read or watch media coverage of the trial.
Court will resume Friday morning at 9.
[LDN]
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