Christopher Corbitt — Cross/Redirect/Recross
1,119 linesJUDGE EVERETT: Nothing ever strange happens in my trials.
JUDGE EVERETT: Is Miss Cappleman here yet?
MS. DUGAN: She is. She had to run out, but we can go ahead and continue.
JUDGE EVERETT: Okay. All right. Does the defense have any argument to raise concerning the transcript?
MS. MEYERS: We do, Your Honor.
MS. MEYERS: Your Honor, the transcript that was — well, let me take a step back. As Your Honor recalls, the recording has significant portions that are inaudible.
MS. MEYERS: Correct. I understand the court's ruling that when there are portions that are audible, the recording can be heard, and we certainly accept that.
MS. MEYERS: The difficulty — the difficulty with the transcript is there are so many portions of it that are marked unintelligible.
MS. MEYERS: We originally received paper copies of what Mr. McElveen, who is the person who did the enhancements, created.
MS. MEYERS: And the transcript that we received was divided into two sections.
MS. MEYERS: The first section, which I believe was 38 pages, had the word "inaudible" appear 121 times. The second transcript, which was 12 pages, had the word "inaudible" appear 45 times. What the state has now done is they've taken the audio and video of the recording and put it on a — I'm not sure what, I don't know what kind of program — and then with the transcript scrolling underneath it. And they've actually excised the word "inaudible" and replaced "inaudible" with ellipses and dashes, which can give the jury the impression that what is being said is the most important part and that everything else, it doesn't really matter. And in that instance, Your Honor, the transcript becomes the evidence, and that is why we cannot stipulate to its use as a demonstrative aid. Now, we understand that Magbanua took the stand yesterday and suggested that she can now attest to its authenticity.
JUDGE EVERETT: Well, I don't think she suggested. She said it's accurate.
MS. MEYERS: She said it, Your Honor. Now, I think reasonable minds probably can agree that there are some truth-telling issues that Ms. Magbanua — some of which she admitted to, others she did not. But in her previous trial, when Ms. Dugan played various clips — not the entire recording, but various clips without the transcript — of the audio and video from the Dolce Vita recording, Ms. Magbanua said repeatedly, "I can't hear that. I don't hear that. I didn't hear that." So she's certainly changed what she's had to say. But it remains, Your Honor, that if the transcript is allowed on a recording that has so many portions that are inaudible — Katie Magbanua cannot be heard virtually at all. Mr. Adelson's statements are often inaudible. If the transcript is allowed to roll with the dashes, with the ellipses, it becomes the evidence. That becomes what the jurors are going to fixate upon, and that is exactly what Martinez said should not happen.
JUDGE EVERETT: Well, let's take this step by step, because I believe — I want to make sure at least we're all talking about the same thing. There is an actual copy, paper copy of the recording that could be provided.
MS. MEYERS: Your Honor, we received it in discovery.
MS. MEYERS: I don't know that that's what the state intends to use.
JUDGE EVERETT: Then let's clarify that point. Is the state wanting to use, then, a paper transcript that has been prepared and already disclosed, or are you wanting to roll the words under the video itself?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: The latter, Your Honor, but it's the same transcript that's been applied to the video for demonstrative purposes.
JUDGE EVERETT: Right, I believe Ms. Meyers has already indicated it's not in fact the same, because the portions that would otherwise refer to being inaudible in the transcript do not appear the same in the video.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay, so we want, in the video, the word "inaudible" to appear instead of...
JUDGE EVERETT: I believe that's what they're suggesting as a part of, or at least part of, their objection because it isn't not exactly the transcript itself.
MS. MEYERS: Well, to clarify, Your Honor, that's not — I'm not just guessing that. I'm simply using that as a justification for why this shouldn't come in. The transcripts are clear — there are so many portions that are inaudible that the transcripts just shouldn't be used. I don't think under Martinez they're appropriate.
JUDGE EVERETT: Well, Ms. Meyers, this was why during the evidentiary hearing I specifically asked the question — if Ms. Magbanua testifies, at that point there is someone who is a direct participant in this conversation who can verify the authenticity of either the recording or any transcript that has been prepared.
JUDGE EVERETT: I'm not sure whether or not you all were expecting her to testify or not.
JUDGE EVERETT: She has. She has testified that it's authentic.
MS. MEYERS: Well, I think given her previous testimony in the last trial, Your Honor, where she said she couldn't hear, she couldn't hear these very same statements that were presented to the jury in that case on clips, I think we have a credibility issue at a minimum. I don't know why she suddenly determined that she can hear everything that's being said when she couldn't at her trial in 2022.
JUDGE EVERETT: Am I to determine her past testimony as far as ruling on this specific point?
MS. MEYERS: No, Your Honor, but at a minimum, I think we ought to be entitled to do a voir dire of her to determine what she can hear and what she can't and why she suddenly changed.
JUDGE EVERETT: Well, Ms. Cappleman, any additional argument?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: No, sir. I think her prior statements regarding — no, but I'm going to — yes, I think her prior statements are not in evidence. I don't recall her being impeached with those prior statements regarding the wire. That opportunity was present during cross-examination. I don't think an additional voir dire is required.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I think we have met the standards under Martinez and would ask that we be permitted to use the transcript merely as a demonstrative aid with the cautionary instruction that Your Honor would give.
JUDGE EVERETT: Well, cautionary instruction definitely will be given as it pertains to this recording, as since the beginning.
JUDGE EVERETT: I believe the defense has already raised previously: up to 30 minutes of the beginning of the recording cannot be heard, so on that basis alone, cautionary will be given.
JUDGE EVERETT: The other point about the transcript that would potentially be under the video matching what the court reporter has actually prepared, I do believe is a fair one, and it cannot be inaccurate in any way if it's going to be used even as a demonstrative. Ms. Meyers?
MS. MEYERS: Just to clarify, I believe in her trial last year, Ms. Magbanua, when clips were played — obviously we were not there, but I believe — well, we were not arguing — I believe Ms. Dugan presented them to Ms. Magbanua and said, "Did you hear that? What did you mean by that?" And Ms. Magbanua's response time and time again was "I didn't hear that." So it's — she was given that opportunity. She did testify under oath, but she could not hear it. And that doesn't even account for all the statements by Ms. Magbanua and Mr. Adelson on the recording that cannot be heard. So I think that if the transcript is given as it — in the version that the state wants to use, those words become the evidence, because those words are the ones that the jury is likely to fixate upon. And then with the ellipses and the dashes, as I said, it does suggest that there's more there but it doesn't really matter, when in fact there's more there but nobody can see them.
JUDGE EVERETT: No, Ms. Meyers, I am in agreement with you — that part has to be accurate if it's going to be used. There's not going to be any guesswork. The foundation, though, for using this as demonstrative aid can be laid among multiple witnesses.
JUDGE EVERETT: Ms. Magbanua has already provided the initial layer with authenticating the transcript as accurate and correct. Any further foundation that needs to be laid for the introduction of demonstrative aid, the state will have to properly lay.
JUDGE EVERETT: But as far as using the demonstrative, it has to be accurate in all respects.
JUDGE EVERETT: Ms. Cappleman, do you understand what I'm saying?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I think what you're saying, Your Honor, is that you'd like the word "inaudible" to be present on the demonstrative if it's present in the transcript.
JUDGE EVERETT: That is correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Okay.
JUDGE EVERETT: Before it's shown to the jury, if the defense wishes to engage in any further voir dire with the witnesses that are going to lay the foundation on this topic, I'll allow them to do so.
JUDGE EVERETT: But as far as considering her past trial testimony for the basis of making this ruling, she has testified under oath in this trial that the transcript is accurate and correct. Correct.
JUDGE EVERETT: The court will accept that representation.
JUDGE EVERETT: She was subject to cross-examination.
JUDGE EVERETT: If the defense is going to call her again to dispute this point or for some other relevant purpose, you have the ability to do so.
JUDGE EVERETT: Let's bring them in.
JUDGE EVERETT: Everyone can be seated.
JUDGE EVERETT: Good morning, members of the jury.
JUDGE EVERETT: We are going to continue with the examination — examination of Sergeant Corbitt.
JUDGE EVERETT: Last night when we left off, the state finished its direct examination. The defense is now going to have its opportunity to cross-examine him.
JUDGE EVERETT: When the defense is ready, you may examine.
MR. RASHBAUM: Thank you, Your Honor.
MR. RASHBAUM: Sergeant Corbitt, good morning.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Good morning, sir.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you testified yesterday about phone records.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I did, yes, sir.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Phone records are only kept for a certain amount of time, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: So you subpoenaed these records back in the 2014-15-16 time frame, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, most of the records would have been obtained primarily in the 2014-2015. Those additional records obtained just prior to the intercept.
MR. RASHBAUM: In the PowerPoint presentation that you showed yesterday, there was no new data in there since the arrests of Sigfredo Garcia, Luis Rivera, and Katie Magbanua back in 2016, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: In the presentation? We have no new data.
MR. RASHBAUM: Let me ask it differently. The presentation may have changed.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: But you didn't receive any new data since that point in time?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: So everything in that presentation you had back in 2016?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, we should have.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you're aware that Mr. Adelson wasn't arrested until 2022, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: So it's fair to say that whatever is in your presentation, someone didn't think it was enough to arrest Mr. Adelson, correct?
MS. DUGAN: Objection to speculation and relevance.
JUDGE EVERETT: Relatives.
MR. RASHBAUM: I'll move on.
MR. RASHBAUM: When you're doing your analysis, you are just plopping data in and looking for patterns, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's one of the things I do, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: It's hard, believe me, I know. And let me say this: the amount of work was tremendous in putting this investigation together, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It was, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: The amount of work in 2014 and 2015 in going through bus videos and ATM videos and SunPass records and phone records must have been thousands and thousands of man hours, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And ultimately you got the two shooters, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: We did.
MR. RASHBAUM: As well as Katie Magbanua, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And those records led you right to them, but it was a lot of work and amazing work, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It was a thorough and complete investigation, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Amongst a lot of agencies, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, when Charlie Adelson was arrested in 2022, the phone companies no longer had records for 2013 or 2014, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It would depend on which company. Some would, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: But AT&T didn't, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: AT&T may have, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Well, if I told you they didn't, would you believe me?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Uh, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. And if you don't have the phone records, you also don't have cell site data, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And so if you don't have the phone records and you don't have the cell site data, you're limited to the phone records that you have, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And your records began in May of 2014, right? Your phone records.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: So if we wanted to see the patterns of these calls at time periods before May of 2014, we are not able to do so, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
JUDGE EVERETT: Now, whoever's phone is going off, turn it off or leave the courtroom.
JUDGE EVERETT: Please continue.
MR. RASHBAUM: Thank you, Your Honor.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, I think you said on direct that when you look at the call detail records, there's sometimes duplication.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: There is, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Yes. So sometimes one call will look like three calls?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And cell site data, you talked about it a little bit on direct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Cell site data isn't for every single call, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: No, we do not have cell site data for every call. If the call does not reach the handset, then we would see a record of that attempt, but there may not be cell site data associated with that particular event.
MR. RASHBAUM: And with text messages, sometimes you can get cell site data and sometimes you can't, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It's largely dependent upon the carrier. Certain carriers do provide cell site location for text messages and others do not. For instance, Verizon.
MR. RASHBAUM: What about AT&T?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: AT&T does provide location information with text messages.
MR. RASHBAUM: But in your call detail records, aren't there instances where there are text messages and there's no cell site data associated with those text messages?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: So again, there may be attempted messages that do not reach the handset where there may not be location. And then we kind of talk about text messages as a singular thing, but really we have messages that are completed through the carrier that go through the carrier's network. And then we have things such as iMessage, which from Apple devices, iOS devices, that don't go through the normal carrier network. And so we don't see records at all for those in the call detail records that the carrier provides. So there are a lot of messages that we see for which there is no associated location information or events in the carrier records.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. And it's scary that I am doing this with you with my technological inefficiencies. But let's talk about iMessages a little bit. So iMessages are when an iPhone user is speaking to an iPhone user through text messages, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: So if Charlie Adelson and his parents are messaging each other, it will often go through iMessages, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And associated with that, you wouldn't see cell site data, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, SunPass records, you got them in 2014, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: In 2015. I was not the one who received those directly, so I don't know exactly when they were obtained.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay, but you testified to some SunPass records yesterday, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't believe that we did.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Are you aware that in 2022 you can't get SunPass records back in 2014?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I was not.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Let's talk about frequency reports. And you mentioned this a bit yesterday, but I want to make sure it's clear.
MR. RASHBAUM: You said that one thing that you look at as an investigator is frequency reports, right? Meaning the amount of times that people are calling each other.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you said that you're looking at that to see if there are co-conspirators. I think that's one of the words you used, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: And that is one of the things we're looking for, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: But frequency reports can also be seen between wife and husband, girlfriend and boyfriend, mother and son, and daughter and father, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: So the fact that a mother and a son and a girlfriend and a boyfriend call each other a lot doesn't necessarily make them co-conspirators. Is that fair to say?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's fair.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Depends on your perspective, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Okay. Now, these calls and call logs and frequency reports, they don't tell you what people are actually saying, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: The records that I have from the carriers, no. We have no content with that.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. You're just seeing the calls.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you're just seeing or looking for some patterns.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: But sometimes those patterns can bring about false positives or false assumptions, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Well, the patterns are what they are. The communications happened, they're there in the records; their relevance or meaning, you know, could be varied.
MR. RASHBAUM: And their relevance or meaning sometimes determined by guesswork, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I wouldn't say guesswork.
MR. RASHBAUM: Assumptions?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I think the call patterns are looked at in conjunction with other information, other evidence, other things that are going on at the time. And the totality of that would lend whatever relevance to those calling patterns.
MR. RASHBAUM: Fair enough. So let's look at the totality of these calls, okay?
MR. RASHBAUM: So let's start with July 1.
MR. RASHBAUM: And from July 1, you can tell from text messages that there was an incident between Sigfredo Garcia and Charlie Adelson, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes. Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And so what I'm going to be talking to you about today is not only your report and your call records, but in trying to find out the patterns, you looked at Mr. Adelson's and other people's text messages, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you can see from those text messages that this confrontation between Sigfredo Garcia and Mr. Adelson caused a lot of stress.
MR. RASHBAUM: You can see that, right, in the text messages?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: For instance, you can see in the text messages that for the only time, the only time in your investigation, there's text messages from Charlie Adelson's dad to Charlie Adelson after midnight.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't know that that's the only time, but it could be.
MR. RASHBAUM: Well, you would agree that at 12:38 in the morning, his dad texts Charlie and says, "Are you home?"
MR. RASHBAUM: And Charlie says, "Yes, home safe," and the dad has a thumbs up. Do you agree with that? When you went through your investigation, you saw that, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Well, I certainly don't remember every one of the tens of thousands of messages, but I can look it up real quick and confirm that.
MR. RASHBAUM: And are... these times adjusted?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Okay.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay, so it's either 12:38 a.m. or 8 o'clock in the evening?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It's 12:38.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Okay. I can confirm that as well.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It's on the second.
MR. RASHBAUM: Judge, while he's looking that up, can we have a brief sidebar?
JUDGE EVERETT: You may approach.
JUDGE EVERETT: You may continue with your examination.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did that refresh your record, Chief?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I'm not finding those messages at that time.
MR. RASHBAUM: So there is a message from Harvey Adelson to Charlie, or from Charlie to Harvey, saying "trying to return your call." That's at 8:10 in the evening on the second. We're talking July 2nd. We're talking July 2nd at 12:38 in the morning, and if you want to look on your thing at 8:38 in the evening, that's fine as well. It's not there either, because—
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I've not adjusted this. Are you sure that you have all the text messages?
MR. RASHBAUM: This is one of the extractions.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I'm not sure where that came from. I don't recognize that format that you have.
MR. RASHBAUM: I believe that it does, yes. But you don't have those, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I do not see those in what I'm looking at right here in the timeline.
MR. RASHBAUM: So I'll move on.
MR. RASHBAUM: Talked about this June 2nd, 2014 rental car pickup, remember this? And during your testimony, you put Miss Magbanua at the rental car pickup, correct? Consistent with that?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: If Miss Magbanua testified yesterday that she knew nothing about the first trip and had nothing to do with renting the rental car, that would be a lie, right?
MS. DUGAN: Objection to speculation.
JUDGE EVERETT: You may rephrase if you're capable.
MR. RASHBAUM: If she testified yesterday that she had nothing to do with being near the rental car and knowing about the first trip, that would not be consistent with your data, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't know her testimony, but it would not be consistent with the location of the handset.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, Charlie Adelson's handset wasn't located anywhere near the rental car on that day, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And in fact, looking at his text messages, you could tell that he was working as late as 9:05 that evening, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Again, I don't recall the content of every message, but there was nothing that I recall associating him with the rental of the vehicle.
MR. RASHBAUM: May I approach, Your Honor, to try to refresh the witness's recollection?
JUDGE EVERETT: Yes, you may.
MR. RASHBAUM: Does this refresh your recollection that he was leaving the office at 9:05 p.m. that evening?
MR. RASHBAUM: Under this message here that you have, start these three messages here.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: There's nothing about leaving the office. There's a request to put something in a safe — "thanks again" — but I don't see anything that says "I'm leaving."
MR. RASHBAUM: What's this "something in a safe"?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: "I left a container of bone on your desk. It's in a blue box that says Zimmer on it. It's about 500 in bone."
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Do you know what Charlie Adelson does for a living?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: What does he do for a living?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: He is a periodontist.
MR. RASHBAUM: And does he work with bones?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: He does.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. And do you know that he works with a dentist called Bloom?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I'm not familiar with that name.
MR. RASHBAUM: And that dentist's office is in northern Fort Lauderdale?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Not familiar with that.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. And so when you looked at that day to see where he was located, indicated this text message meant nothing to you, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It just indicates that something was left in an office, and there's not a temporal there's not a time with that. "I just left something in your office. I'm leaving now." There's nothing in that exchange that gives me an idea of where he was at that particular time.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: And so, no, I did not consider that in that. We look at the cell-site locations primarily, primarily — but again, I have nothing that associated Mr. Adelson with the rental of that vehicle.
MR. RASHBAUM: Can you agree that when that message is sent, it's at 9:05 p.m., correct, in your report?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, sir.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. You can agree that on your chart — remember you did that chart with all the red and blue arrows?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: You can agree on your chart his first phone call is to Katherine Magbanua at 8:57 p.m.?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Again, not having memorized every call, let me—
MR. RASHBAUM: It's the first page of your chart.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: The first call that evening, um, yes, was at 8:57 p.m.
MR. RASHBAUM: If you take my word that he was leaving the office at around nine o'clock, would that indicate that that call was made from the car?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: If he was leaving the office, then it could have been made from the car, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. And there are no text messages before that call between him and Ms. Magbanua, correct?
MR. RASHBAUM: The last text message is at 6:41 that evening, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Again, I can look at that. I will take your word. I do not recall any text messages that evening relevant to the rental of the vehicle.
MR. RASHBAUM: The next page of this exhibit has a callback from Katherine Magbanua. You see that?
MR. RASHBAUM: At 9:17 p.m.?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct. Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: The first call is only a minute long, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: She calls him back. There's nothing odd for a girlfriend to call a boyfriend back on the phone, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: The next page has a text message at 9:31 from Wendi Adelson to Harvey Adelson. You see that?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Harvey Adelson's Wendi Adelson's dad, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you have any idea what that text message said?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't know that we looked at that.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Oh, I'm sorry. I don't recall what the text message was.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Nothing of relevance to that rental of the vehicle.
MR. RASHBAUM: But relevant enough to put it on this chart.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It's just a record of the communications. So the communication occurred. So it's included as in that series of communications.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, 2022 — I have no access to Ms. Adelson's text back then, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: We have the forensic extraction of her handset, which could contain that text message.
MR. RASHBAUM: What if I told you it doesn't?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Then it doesn't.
MR. RASHBAUM: So we have no idea what that text says. It could say anything.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I'm not familiar with what the content of that text message is, no.
MR. RASHBAUM: The next call you have is a call from Charlie Adelson at 9:44 to the Adelson residence.
MR. RASHBAUM: He calls his parents, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And again, using my time frame, he still could be in the car, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: He could be.
MR. RASHBAUM: By the way, when you went through the patterns, did you notice that he makes a lot of calls to his girlfriend and his parents in the morning and in the late evening?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: He makes a lot of calls at all times, but yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you notice more calls in the morning when he's driving to work, in the evening when he's driving home from work, than in the middle of the day?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That would be correct, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. And are you aware that Charlie Adelson was working at the Adelson Institute the next day?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I was not.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware that he had a big surgery the next day at the Adelson Institute?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I was not.
MR. RASHBAUM: We're going to get back to the residence calls, but let's just put a thumbtack on that for right now.
MR. RASHBAUM: By the way, when he calls the residence on this call, he's calling from his own cell phone, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: He's not calling from a friend's phone?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: He's not calling from a pay phone?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: He's not calling from a landline?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: The next call you have is a call between Katherine Magbanua and Sigfredo Garcia, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Same with the next — the next one we'll skip over. It's between the killers, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Garcia and Magbanua?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, Harvey Adelson calls Charlie Adelson at 10:16, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And this is cell phone to cell phone?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: That call happens at 10:16, and it lasts for about five minutes, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct, five minutes and 18 seconds.
MR. RASHBAUM: And immediately thereafter, Charlie Adelson calls his dad back. Is that fair to say?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes. Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware that at the time that these calls happened, the Adelsons — you have them living—
MS. DUGAN: Objection to count.
JUDGE EVERETT: I'll let you finish the question first, but go ahead.
JUDGE EVERETT: You may finish your question.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware — where did you think the Adelsons were living, Donna and Harvey Adelson, at the time of these phone calls?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't believe they were living at the Icon at that point. I believe they were living further north.
MR. RASHBAUM: Would it surprise you that they were living further south part-time at a place called the Continuum?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I'm not familiar with that.
MR. RASHBAUM: Well, did you look at the cell phone — uh, the text messages where they're talking about sharing a place at the Continuum?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I do not recall those.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you know whether the Continuum has bad cell phone reception?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I'm not familiar with that at all.
MR. RASHBAUM: Would these two calls that you have as two different arrows indicate that the call could have gotten cut off and Charlie's calling his dad back?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: The call could have ended for any number of reasons, and there's nothing in the records that would tell me it was cut off for a service reason versus just the conclusion of the call.
MR. RASHBAUM: But the calls are immediately after one another, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Not immediately — they are six minutes apart with no calls in between.
MR. RASHBAUM: Right — no calls between any of the involved parties?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: So there could be — if we were to expand and look at all of Charlie's calls, there could be calls to other persons, or Harvey Adelson could have calls to other persons. This summary is limited to just calls between our subjects, and there are no additional calls between our subjects in that time frame.
MR. RASHBAUM: Fair enough.
MR. RASHBAUM: Skipping two away, You then have a call at 10:41 between Katie and Charlie?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And did you look to see whether there were any text messages in between this call?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I do not recall any text messages that evening in Mr. Adelson's return.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: There was a picture sent that was not retained, and that was the only communication that I saw in the iCloud return.
MR. RASHBAUM: And the last three sheets have nothing to do with any calls or text messages involving any of the Adelsons, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now I want to talk to you about this sheet right here, which is, uh, this landline sheet. You recall this?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you talked about how it was very significant to you that there were so few contacts between Charlie Adelson — or anyone — Charlie Adelson's phone and his parents' house phone, their landline. Remember testifying to that yesterday?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: And remember testifying that this was an indication for you when people use landlines that they might be wanting to disguise things. Do you recall saying that?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That was a question that I was asked. If there was a perception that cell phones were less secure than landlines, I do believe that perception exists.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That was my answer to the question.
MR. RASHBAUM: And this point was important enough to you that you made a whole slide on it.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I was asked to review the frequency of communications from the cell phones compared to the landline, and how frequently the landline was contacted versus their cell phones.
MR. RASHBAUM: On all of the calls to the Adelsons' landline, are they all from Charlie Adelson's cell phone?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: The — ones, yes. We were looking at Charlie Adelson's cell phone. That chart is based exclusively from his cell phone.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: So we're looking at the cell phone contacts between his cell phone, their cell phones — his cell phone and their residence — is what we're looking at.
MR. RASHBAUM: If he were to call from the office or call from other places, that would not be included. Is that an indication that he wasn't trying to disguise anything?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't know if he's trying to disguise anything or not. Again, I was asked to look at the frequency of communications between the two numbers.
MR. RASHBAUM: By the way, this landline — did you look at whether the phone number has ever changed since 1978?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I have not.
MR. RASHBAUM: Let's move on to June 5th and the surveillance of Professor Markel's home and the return travel to Miami.
MR. RASHBAUM: You went through Charlie's text messages on the 5th during this time period, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I reviewed them at some point, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you reviewed them to see if there was anything out of the normal or routine, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Looking for any information that was related to this travel, the incident, anything like that.
MR. RASHBAUM: When you reviewed them, did you see anything in this time period in the text messages that looked off?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Again, with hundreds of thousands of messages, I certainly did not attempt to memorize them all. I can look at that day and see. I don't recall anything that appeared off or appeared, you know, that stood out to me.
MR. RASHBAUM: You were asked about a birthday present. Do you recall that?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Was there anything in the text messages discussing a caterer?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: There was, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Was there anything in the text messages discussing how Charlie Adelson was working on getting a caterer for the birthday party?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you recall if those text messages were on June 5th, 2014?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't recall the exact date. Again, I can look that up.
MR. RASHBAUM: But let me try to help you. Okay — may I approach, Your Honor?
JUDGE EVERETT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: On — June 5th. Do you recall that Charlie Adelson was working late?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I do not.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you recall that his parents were going — talking about going — to yoga?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I do not.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now — I want to move to June 6th and the location of the rental car. Now, the first thing you had behind this slide was a text message between Wendi Adelson and Professor Markel. Do you see that?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: And I'm sorry, which?
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Let me show you so you can —
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes. Okay.
MR. RASHBAUM: And this is a text message where Wendi Adelson — and it's in evidence, Your Honor — where Wendi Adelson asks Professor Markel whether he's in Tallahassee July 14 to 18: "I just want to know if I can have the kiddos on the 16th, thanks," and she says, "Yes, you can." You see that? Mr. Markel says yes — I'm sorry, Professor Markel says, "Yes, you can." See that? Are you aware that there was a birthday party on the 5th in South Beach for Harvey's 70th birthday?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And are you aware that the next slide you have Ms. Adelson down in South Beach. Are you aware that she attended that birthday party on the 5th and stayed in town on the 6th?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, in your experience, is it normal for co-parents to text each other about visitation of kids?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Kids? Sure.
MR. RASHBAUM: By the way, she's asking whether she can have the kids on the 16th, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: She's asking for the date range of the 14th through the 18th.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: And, "Yes, if I can have the kids on the 16th."
MR. RASHBAUM: You're aware that Professor Markel's murder happened on the 18th, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I am, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Didn't happen on the 16th, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you're aware that Professor Markel had custody of the kids on the 18th, the day that he was murdered, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: By the way, just moving back very quickly — and I don't know where your slide is on this — but regarding July 2nd, after the incident.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, sir.
MR. RASHBAUM: Can you pull that slide up where you have a text message between Charlie Adelson and Katie — a series of text messages?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: So that will be slide 28, and — and one of the — can we put slide 28 on the screen? Is that possible?
MR. RASHBAUM: Oh.
MR. RASHBAUM: I'll do it from here. Hold on.
MR. RASHBAUM: Actually, the witness can. Can you put it on the screen?
MR. RASHBAUM: Any mistake here, by accident, Sergeant Corbitt?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It's possible.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: These were cut and pasted from the actual Cellebrite report.
MR. RASHBAUM: Isn't it true that Charlie Adelson said, "This really sucks"?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It's possible.
MR. RASHBAUM: Can you check?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I can.
MR. RASHBAUM: Let me see if I can help.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: You are correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Can we put that back? Can we put the other one back on the screen now?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Sure.
MR. RASHBAUM: True that Ms. Magbanua said these two statements, not Charlie Adelson?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Charlie?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, that's — correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Going back to June 6th, you showed Charlie Adelson staying at Ms. Magbanua's residence that evening, correct?
MR. RASHBAUM: Well, you show him there at 12:30 in the morning and 11:46 in the morning, right?
MR. RASHBAUM: On the 6th?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: On the 6th.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes — with the events that we looked at, that he had an event at 12:30 a.m. and then the next event at 11:46 a.m.
MR. RASHBAUM: And that would be consistent with him leaving his parents' party — his dad's party — and staying in South Beach at his girlfriend's house?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It could be, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And looking at the text messages, could you tell that the family was going to get back together in South Beach the next day for dinner?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: There was conversation to that, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, if we could move to July 14th.
MR. RASHBAUM: Your analysis through the text messages and through the cell site data shows that Charlie Adelson had dinner — or met up. I don't think it says dinner. Oh, it actually does. Had dinner with Katie Magbanua on the evening of the 14th, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: That would be inconsistent with — if there's testimony in this courtroom by Ms. Magbanua saying that she did not have dinner with him that evening, that would be inconsistent with your data, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: What I have is a text message indicating that they could eat closer to her residence, and there is location information that Mr. Adelson traveled to that area, traveled away from that area. I don't know exactly where Midtown is, where the request to eat was, and then travel back to her residence — what they did, I do not know.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Now, what you do have, and this is important. So I want you to go to this page of your exhibit. You have him leaving — Charlie Adelson leaving the area around 12:42 a.m., correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: He has events consistent with the area for residents at 12:42, and then the next event at 1:02 has traveled some distance, so yeah, somewhere after 12:42 he would depart that area.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. And you have a phone call from Sigfredo Garcia — a call from Katie to Sigfredo Garcia at 12:48.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: So that would be consistent that that phone call was made after Charlie Adelson left the residence, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: If you're looking at patterns, it might indicate to you that Katie wanted to make a call to Sigfredo without Charlie being there, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It could be.
MR. RASHBAUM: By the way, you have no phone calls whatsoever between Charlie and Sigfredo Garcia or vice versa.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you have no indication anywhere in this chart through cell phone data or otherwise that Katie ever called Sigfredo when Charlie was with her?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I certainly have not analyzed months of location data to see if they could possibly be together when a phone call was made to Mr. Garcia.
MR. RASHBAUM: Well, let me ask you this question.
MR. RASHBAUM: There's a lot of pages in your exhibit with a lot of dots.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: On any of those dots — none of those dots show that Charlie Adelson was with Katie Magbanua when she ever called Sigfredo Garcia, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: July 15, 2014 — the Prius rental.
MR. RASHBAUM: What color was the Prius?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Green.
MR. RASHBAUM: It wasn't silver, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: The Prius was not silver. It's a mint metallic green.
MR. RASHBAUM: And is Prius a Toyota or a Nissan?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It is a Toyota.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you did the arrow sheet again for calls on the 15th, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: This time you did it a little bit differently, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: What was different this time versus the way you did it previously?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It was just contacts between persons as opposed to breaking down each individual call.
MR. RASHBAUM: And these contacts between persons — some of them might have been callbacks or misconnections or voicemails, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Judge?
JUDGE EVERETT: Yes, sir.
OFF RECORD: Sir, I'd like to say something in private to the bailiff.
JUDGE EVERETT: We'll take a brief recess. Members of the jury please follow the bailiff.
JUDGE EVERETT: ...and that's preventing them from being able to follow the testimony itself.
JUDGE EVERETT: Obviously, you all admitted to sit here about the trial that unfolds, but nothing has obstructed the jurors from their job, which is to pass it in.
JUDGE EVERETT: If you need to speak with each other and it's going to become louder, then a whistler is required.
JUDGE EVERETT: Gallery, as you are watching the testimony, please avoid from either nodding your heads that you're agreeing with, disagreeing with, or overtly gesturing in any way that may affect the jurors. Thank you.
JUDGE EVERETT: Be seated.
JUDGE EVERETT: Mr. Rashbaum, you may continue with your examination.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. So I think where we left off — I might go back a little bit. Where we left off, we were talking about your slides from July 15th and how they were different than the previous slides. Can you just repeat for the jury how they're different?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes. The first time we looked at the calls — shorter time frame — and we looked at each individual event.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: For this, they were summarized — all the calls are there. They were summarized in the pictures with arrows as just the totality of contacts between certain people, so the total number of contacts and the duration of those contacts. That's correct, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware that from the text messages there were some billing issues that Charlie was having with his mom that day? Do you recall that?
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Um, are you aware, um, that his mom was trying to figure out about a bill with a company and what she should do with it —
MS. DUGAN: Objection to hearsay.
JUDGE EVERETT: Sustained.
JUDGE EVERETT: You may ask the question a different way.
MR. RASHBAUM: I'll move on from it. Um, one moment. Are you aware that on that day Mr. Adelson purchased a vehicle?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I'm not.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware of anything in the text messages about partnering in a limo?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I know that there's conversation at various times about a limo, but I don't recall specifically from that day.
MR. RASHBAUM: You don't recall that that was the day when he and others closed — closed on a window on a limo?
MR. RASHBAUM: Now you talk — you have a slide about a July 15th meeting between Garcia and Magbanua.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: During this meeting, you can tell from cell site data that Mr. Adelson is about an hour north, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe so.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now let's talk about your slides on July 17th. The slides on July 17 — you again have no idea what Mr. Adelson is discussing with Donna Adelson, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't recall the specifics of any communication that day.
MR. RASHBAUM: And on the 17th, there's two communications with Ms. Adelson between Charlie and Donna, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That sounds correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And then there's a bunch of communications between Katie, Sigfredo, and Louis Rivera, correct? Several slides. And there's — I believe there's more than two between —
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Oh, that's Wendi. Yes, there's — I believe I see at least three on the 17th, four if you count the one in early morning the 18th, between Charlie Adelson and Donna Adelson. And then, yes, there are a number of communications — communications between Ms. Magbanua and Mr. Garcia.
MR. RASHBAUM: So we're going to get to the one early in the morning on the 18th.
MR. RASHBAUM: There's a communication early in the morning on the 18th between Charlie Adelson and Katherine Magbanua. You see that, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, sir.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you know whether that communication had to do with a fight they had had earlier in the day?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't.
MR. RASHBAUM: And the — the communication with Donna Adelson that morning at 1:02 is a zero-second call, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Would that be consistent with what I call a butt dial?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It could be a butt dial. It could be an unintentional dial. It's obviously a very, very short duration and was terminated very quickly.
MR. RASHBAUM: By the way, there's a couple calls that evening between Charlie and Katherine Magbanua. You see that, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: I know you said that you look primarily at days where events occurred, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: But it makes sense that you would also look at days when events don't occur, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: But we did, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: So was it common on days when events didn't occur that Charlie Adelson would almost always speak to his girlfriend late at night?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: They spoke frequently, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And almost every night they spoke, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I would agree with that, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And that would be on a regular day versus an event day, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Let's move on to July 18th.
MR. RASHBAUM: And the first document you have is a calendar entry from Wendi Adelson, and that entry is deleted, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you know of people who delete their calendar entries after they occur?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I'm sorry?
MR. RASHBAUM: Let me rephrase. Do you keep a calendar?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you know of people who, when the event occurs, they delete it from their calendar?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: It's pretty common, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't know how common it is, but it certainly happens.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you have a call at 8:09 in the morning from Wendi to Donna, and then a call at 8 or 9 in the morning from Donna to Wendi?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And then you have — well, let me ask you, were you aware that there was a Best Buy repairman coming to fix a TV that day?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And were you aware that the warranty for that TV was in Donna and Harvey Adelson's name?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I was not.
MR. RASHBAUM: You — then have an 8:11 text where Donna is telling Wendi that Best Buy called her, meaning Donna?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Would that be consistent with the warranty being in Donna and Harvey's name?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It could be.
MR. RASHBAUM: You then have a text from Wendi Adelson, which says, "This is so sweet." Do you remember that?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Could you tell that it was a picture?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't know that it was a picture.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Do you know what it was?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Just a text that said, "This is so sweet."
MR. RASHBAUM: And that ominous text, scary text, that was also deleted, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It was, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now — You then have a call between Charlie Adelson and Wendi Adelson at 9:12 that lasts for only 29 seconds. Is that consistent with not reaching the recipient of the call?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes. Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And then you have another slide with a call at 9:19 where Wendi Adelson calls Charlie Adelson back, and they speak for 18 minutes, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, through your investigation, are you aware that Charlie Adelson was working in Jupiter that day?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I do not recall that.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Do you happen to know how far Jupiter is from Charlie Adelson's house?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It's a distance.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Would it surprise you that it can be a two-hour drive?
MR. RASHBAUM: And do you know when he started work that day in Jupiter?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I do not.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Do you know about what was —
JUDGE EVERETT: One moment. Bailiff, please escort out the person who's found his ring.
JUDGE EVERETT: The gallery's conduct during the trial — If there are any more issues with phones, murmuring audibly, or anything else, you are leaving the trial.
JUDGE EVERETT: I hope I am making myself clear.
JUDGE EVERETT: Mr. Rashbaum, you may continue.
MR. RASHBAUM: Thank you, Your Honor.
MR. RASHBAUM: That morning, through text messages, could you tell that there was an issue between Wendi Adelson and Professor Markel regarding some swimming and the boys?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you know if Charlie Adelson and Wendi Adelson were talking about that?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I do not.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you know if Charlie Adelson and Wendi Adelson were talking about the fight that he had with Katie Magbanua the day before?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I do not.
MR. RASHBAUM: And with all of these calls on the 18th, you have no idea what they're discussing on the phones, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct. We don't have any recordings of those, so we don't know what was said during those communications.
MR. RASHBAUM: By the way, there's several back-to-back calls in here between Charlie Adelson and Catherine Magbanua. Do you remember that?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And the calls are pretty short in duration, and then there's a longer one?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware that there's cell site issues on the turnpike going to Jupiter?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I'm not.
MR. RASHBAUM: And just so everyone's clear, when you did these graphs, in parentheses is the length of time of the call, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: So if there's a call for, for instance, 11 seconds, it's probably not a connection, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Voice to voice, it could possibly be, but more likely not, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you have a call between Catherine Magbanua and Charlie Adelson at 10:07 a.m.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Looking at the text messages around that period of time, in the text messages, are there discussions about dinner that night?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't recall.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you recall discussions about Charlie getting dinner with a friend?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: There was a conversation about that, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And do you recall discussions back and forth about whether he would get dinner with the friend or whether he would get dinner with Catherine Magbanua?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe so, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And it was a bit of an exchange back and forth, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I remember several messages about dinner and timing, if I recall.
MR. RASHBAUM: I want to move on to Wendi Adelson's travel on the 18th and cell site locations.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Okay.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what I'd like to do — well — Let's try it just verbally, but I want to do it carefully. Okay, if you look at your timeline, the first document you have — and maybe you can pull it up, actually — is that ABC Fine Wine and Spirits receipt?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay.
MR. RASHBAUM: And I want to be — particularly — I'm particularly looking at times, okay? Times are important in this case. All right, so on that receipt we see that Wendi Adelson, um, bought the liquor and paid for it at 12:49 p.m. Is that fair to say?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, if you can go to — I think it's the next page, but let's see.
MR. RASHBAUM: Perfect.
MR. RASHBAUM: You'll see Wendi Adelson is nowhere near Trescott at 12:30, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Well, depending on what you mean by "nowhere near."
MR. RASHBAUM: Let me ask you this.
MR. RASHBAUM: She's here at 12:30, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Her handset's communicating with a cell site there.
MR. RASHBAUM: And Trescott's all the way down here, and there her handset is communicating with another cell site, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you certainly would agree you can't see Professor Markel's house from here, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I would not exclude his residence from possibly being serviced by that cell site. We actually see that Mr. Rivera's handset, also AT&T, communicates with that cell site when he was there.
MR. RASHBAUM: So your testimony is that Wendi Adelson isn't here?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: No, I would certainly not say she's at that definitive point. That's the location of the cell site that her handset is communicating with, and as we know, the cell sites have a relative coverage area, so that's not saying that she is specifically at that point.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you know how far the house is from ABC Liquor?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: The house is very close to ABC Liquor.
MR. RASHBAUM: Like two minutes away, right?
MR. RASHBAUM: So is it fair to say that, let's say it took her 10 minutes to buy the alcohol that she used, what she was getting, and it's two minutes away.
MR. RASHBAUM: Well, let me ask you, 12:47 is how many minutes after 12:30?
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you recall a call at 12:30, the only call, the first call, between Katherine Magbanua and Sigfredo Garcia?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: It's an important call in this case.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, sir.
MR. RASHBAUM: And that call happens at 12:30, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, sir.
MR. RASHBAUM: 12:30 is before Wendi Adelson is pinging on this cell site, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And again, you say, Wendi Adelson, that cell site could be picked up from over here, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It could, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: But it could also be picked up by where the cell site is, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you know if there are other cell sites closer in this area?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: There are not. Between those two, no.
MR. RASHBAUM: There aren't?
MR. RASHBAUM: This is the closest cell site to Professor Markel's house?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: No, it's not the closest cell site. There are, between the two cell sites that you're referencing there, there are no other cell sites between those two.
MR. RASHBAUM: Let me rephrase the question.
MR. RASHBAUM: There are closer cell sites to Professor Markel's house than this cell site here, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, throughout the afternoon of July 18th, there are very few text messages between Charlie Adelson and anyone else, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't recall how many there are.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you recall that people are texting him, and when he's getting back, he's saying, I'm in a lot of surgeries, that he had a lot of surgeries that day?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Again, I don't recall the specifics of each message.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you recall, though, that there are several text messages between him and his friend Mike about dinner that night, and there's one text message between him and Katie confirming that he is going to go to dinner with her that night?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe that's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: By the way, the text messages between Charlie and anyone that day, nothing out of the ordinary, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Nothing that I recall, no.
MR. RASHBAUM: Nothing that you thought were important enough during the day — I'm not talking about the night — nothing that you thought was important enough to put on your PowerPoint, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you recall there being one phone call with Katie in the afternoon?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Afternoon of the 18th?
MR. RASHBAUM: The 18th. I believe it was at, give or take, 1:24 p.m.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe that's correct. If you no longer need this, I can bring it down and confirm.
MR. RASHBAUM: And that call occurred after a text message where she said that her phone was dying?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't recall that specific message.
MR. RASHBAUM: But do you recall her texting him about asking him how work was?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And do you recall that he didn't get back to her for a while?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And do you recall that, uh, there's text messages indicating that he worked late that evening?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, he indicates that he was just finishing work around, around 8:20, 8:23.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, at some point he gets a text message from his mother, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And that is after Wendi Adelson has called Donna Adelson from the police station?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe so, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And, uh, do you recall what the text message said?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Uh, call us as soon as possible, ASAP.
MR. RASHBAUM: And, uh, after that, did you see a phone call where he communicated with Donna Adelson? Had a call with Donna Adelson?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: There is an outgoing call at 8:29, 7:13.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: So, yes, there are calls between them, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And there's one call that lasts a little bit longer?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, there's a 6-minute and 31-second call.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: There's a 5-minute and 47-second call.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. And, uh, after that call, are there text messages where he's telling people that he doesn't feel — he doesn't feel good? I think you showed them.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: There's a call after that point to Katie. Is that fair to say?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: There is, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Uh, now you talked about a couple — Katie texts him at 6:01 p.m., before he's spoken to his mom, right? It's on your, one of your sheets.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, there's a couple of texts before then.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. And those texts are about work, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Including at 6:01, before he's heard from his mom, he's about to start a big case, correct? He's doing surgery.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I would assume so, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And at 8:23, he texts her back. She asks if he's at work, and he texts her back, and he says, just finishing. I'm not really feeling good. Maybe we can just hang out at my house.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And that would be consistent that that text was after he heard whatever he heard from Donna Adelson, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, what you see on your map of Katie's whereabouts then is that she's a little bit all over the place, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Meaning her phone is a little bit all over the place.
MR. RASHBAUM: It's traveling.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And it's going to different locations.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe that for the period of time we're talking, her handset is consistent with leaving her residence and traveling to Mr. Rivera's residence.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you know if her handset went to her friend Yindra's residence where she was hoping to get a babysitter last minute?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Certainly. So there was calls, communications with Yindra, and her residence is on the way to Mr. Rivera's. So there was certainly an opportunity for her to be able to stop.
MR. RASHBAUM: And on those calls, or through your investigation, you learned that Katherine Magbanua was in a pinch because she didn't have a babysitter, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe that's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And so she was scrambling to find someone who could watch her kids.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And she needed a babysitter because she needed to go that evening to Charlie Adelson's residence, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't know if she needed to go, but it appeared to be the plan.
MR. RASHBAUM: Well, there wasn't really. Sergeant, you have a chart where you show Charlie Adelson leaving Jupiter. I know they're estimations, but he's driving south at around 9:19 p.m.?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct. Okay.
MR. RASHBAUM: And Jupiter was where he was working that day?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe so, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you have him arriving at his house at approximately 9:40 p.m., give or take.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, I believe that's the first event with location that would be consistent with his house.
MR. RASHBAUM: And through your investigation, you know where he lives, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: You know that he lives in an area that is a stone's throw from the turnpike, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct. Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Like, I mean, when I say a stone's throw from a turnpike, you can literally throw a stone and hit the turnpike, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you understand that when you're going to Tallahassee from Miami, the most direct route — you like routes, I know that — the most direct route is to take the turnpike, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It would be, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you know at that point in time, Donna and Harvey Adelson were living in Miami part-time.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: So I want to take you to these text messages between Donna and Charlie.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you have them in front of you?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I will in just a second.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, sir.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. So at 8:59 p.m., Donna says, outside your house.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you don't know from that text whether she's actually at his house or on the turnpike outside his house, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: From that text message alone, no.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. And no SunPass records were ever taken to show her actually getting off the turnpike to go to his house, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Not that I'm aware of.
MR. RASHBAUM: And I can't get those records today, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Again, not that I'm aware of.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Now, that text "outside your house" is at 8:59 p.m.
MR. RASHBAUM: How many minutes later does Charlie Adelson respond to Donna?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: About 20 minutes.
MR. RASHBAUM: So his text back is 20 minutes later, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: So now you're at — my math is not good — but you're at 9:19 p.m., right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what does he say in his response?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: 10 minutes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you take that to mean that he's still 10 minutes away, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Okay. Now, by the text messages, you know that Donna and Harvey Adelson arrived in Orlando at around 1:11 a.m., correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe that's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you do that same analysis that you did with Wendi's route as to whether they could have gotten to Orlando at that time, had they waited at Charlie's house for 30 minutes and then dropped off money and done whatever else the state says that they did with him?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: In looking at their cell site locations very briefly, it is consistent with him traveling at least by his residence. And not knowing how long or how lengthy of a stop it would have been, with the cell sites and the general locations, I certainly could not exclude them having stopped. If it were five minutes, then it doesn't make that drive — obviously, they did reach Orlando when they did, five minutes one way or the other.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I could not deduce that from the cell site records.
MR. RASHBAUM: But it's not five minutes.
MR. RASHBAUM: It's 20 minutes plus 10 minutes plus whatever amount of time they would have stopped.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Your testimony is that if they left Charlie Adelson's house at 9:30, they only stopped for one minute.
MR. RASHBAUM: Your testimony is that they could have made it to Orlando by 1:11?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I did not analyze the amount of time that traveled for that. I certainly can. And again, not by communication, but by cell site location, I certainly could.
MR. RASHBAUM: The cell site location doesn't show them at Charlie's house, right?
MR. RASHBAUM: By the way, do you remember what the weather was like that day?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I do not.
MR. RASHBAUM: Let's go to July 19th.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you did some analysis regarding the money drop and who was at different locations during the money drop, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Charlie Adelson was nowhere near that location, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: In fact, during your investigation, you can see that Charlie Adelson didn't leave his house for 24 hours, almost 24 hours, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe that's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: By the way, during your investigation, you can see text messages where people were trying to go out with Charlie that day, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe so, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And he was refusing, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: He was telling people that he was taking naps and didn't feel well. Do you remember that?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: By the way, during your investigation, are you aware that within three weeks, Charlie Adelson spent $3,000 of his money buying camera equipment for his house?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I'm not aware of that.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you see that in the text messages?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't recall that.
MR. RASHBAUM: You don't recall that in the text messages? Anywhere in the text messages?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Now, you brought up a series of text messages between Charlie and Katherine Magbanua the next day regarding the weather outside.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: You have no context for those text messages, right?
MR. RASHBAUM: You don't know what those text messages are about, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Only by their content.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, the government put in a whole host of text messages through you, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you recall text messages between Charlie and his mom when they were leaving Tallahassee?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: On which day?
MR. RASHBAUM: On the 21st.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe so, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you recall what those text messages said?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I do not. Again, I can certainly look at them.
MR. RASHBAUM: Can you look at text messages on 7-21 at around 12 o'clock p.m.?
MR. RASHBAUM: And then again at 12:18 p.m.?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I'm sorry, on the 21st?
MR. RASHBAUM: Yes. Would you like me to approach with them? Will that help you?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: You can. I'll confirm.
MR. RASHBAUM: ...you referring to that "we all do, we just have to be strong"? That's on the... that's... on the... at 12:18?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And then at 12?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And then this one right here?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did Charlie Adelson indicate to his mom in these text messages his feelings about what had happened? There is a message that says "I feel so bad for them." Did... Donna Adelson respond to Charlie about how the family had to be in response?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: She did.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did she say what Wendi needed?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Uh, her message is that "we just have to be strong and supportive, um, they need family right now. Just got in car now. Got in car now."
MR. RASHBAUM: Those text messages weren't in your PowerPoint, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: They were not.
MR. RASHBAUM: There are a bunch of texts that were included after July 18 between Charlie and Katie showing that they had a nice relationship. Is that fair to say?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you have any idea the context of any of those texts — why Charlie was being nice to Katie?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I only have the content of the messages of themselves.
MR. RASHBAUM: Fair enough.
MR. RASHBAUM: The state also showed you a bunch of texts related to Wendi Adelson's divorce. Do you recall that?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And during those texts, you can see that Donna Adelson in particular is upset?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes. At least that's what the messages say.
MR. RASHBAUM: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are most of the messages initiated by Donna Adelson or Charlie Adelson?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe most by Donna.
MR. RASHBAUM: There's a text on March 4th, 2014, in your PowerPoint where Donna says, "37 miles to Gainesville."
MR. RASHBAUM: "I can't talk now, but I'll text you before we stop in Gainesville where I can go to the bathroom and have a moment of privacy. Then I'll call. Please pick up because I have very limited alone time today."
MR. RASHBAUM: "Erase this text after you read it." First of all, did Charlie Adelson erase the text?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Most of his text messages — that's difficult to determine from the iCloud return whether they've been deleted or not.
MR. RASHBAUM: This text you can tell was not deleted, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I would have to review that real quick.
MR. RASHBAUM: I'll move on, it's okay.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you aware that Donna Adelson was with Harvey Adelson on their way back from Tallahassee?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I would deduce that based on the content of the messages.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. And are you aware that they were throwing a surprise party for Harvey Adelson?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I know they were throwing a party.
MR. RASHBAUM: Well, have you seen the invitation in your investigation where it's a surprise party?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I have not.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Could this text be about the surprise party?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It could.
JUDGE EVERETT: Please wait for the objection to be ruled on, Sergeant.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Apologies.
MR. RASHBAUM: Well, the next text, we don't have to speculate.
MR. RASHBAUM: Donna says, "We'll stop in five minutes and I can speak to you privately about Dad's birthday gift when I'm out of the car." Who would be in the car with Donna?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Harvey.
MR. RASHBAUM: And — By the way, this is one month or so before the text we talked about earlier where Charlie's getting a caterer for paella for the birthday.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe so, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And — By the way, that text regarding the caterer — that's on June 6th, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe so, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: In your PowerPoint, you don't have that text, but you have a text on June 7th, the very next day.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And Charlie says, "Have fun, still working on Dad's birthday present."
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: That's one day after he talked to his mom about the caterer, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: There's no mention about a murder on this text, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: There's no mention the day before about a murder, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: There's mention about a caterer the day before.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: There is.
MR. RASHBAUM: Your Honor —
JUDGE EVERETT: You can set this up. Take your time.
MR. RASHBAUM: So...
MR. RASHBAUM: The demonstrative's objective is showing the jury... Oh, sorry.
COURT STAFF: We're going to shut that down.
MR. RASHBAUM: So you've gone through all the call records that you provided in this case, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: At some point, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. And so you're familiar with patterns of calls on days other than the days that you provided in your PowerPoint, correct?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Judge, I move in Demonstrative Exhibit B at this point in time.
JUDGE EVERETT: Any objection from the state?
MS. DUGAN: Yes, sir. I think that the witness would need to be able to say that this is accurate compared to the records in the case.
JUDGE EVERETT: Mr. Rashbaum, please show the exhibit to the witness so that way he can verify the accuracy.
MR. RASHBAUM: I'll bring it up.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: If this was the document provided previously, I have had a very limited amount of time to look at it. There are some things — I've made a few notes. There are some, you know, inconsistencies with it that I could probably talk about some of, but I have not had a chance to review the entire thing. And it would take some time.
MR. RASHBAUM: Judge, may we go sidebar?
JUDGE EVERETT: Any additional issues as to the accuracy of any one graph we'll address separately.
JUDGE EVERETT: Go ahead.
MR. RASHBAUM: So you looked at call records for May 2, 2014?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, sir.
MR. RASHBAUM: And this was a non-event day, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't know.
MR. RASHBAUM: Not an event that you were told by the state to look at, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And it's one of the first days of records that we have in this case, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And these are the subjects that you were looking at for the event days that you looked at with the state, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you have a call from Charlie to Katie at 12 in the morning that day, right? 16-minute call?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you have another call at 12:19 for 3 minutes and 45 seconds.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Pretty much directly after each other, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And then you have a call between Katie and Sigfredo Garcia at 6:42 in the morning for 36 minutes.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: And then you have a call at 7:18 in the morning between Katie and Sigfredo, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And then you have a call between Katie and Sigfredo at 8:36 in the morning, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's actually...
MR. RASHBAUM: I'll move on from that one.
JUDGE EVERETT: It's a text message. The witness is permitted to explain. Go ahead, sir.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That is a text message from her records that's reported in Central Time.
MR. RASHBAUM: Fair enough.
MR. RASHBAUM: Text message, not a call.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: At 9:36, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Then you have a call from Harvey to Donna at 8:52 in the morning.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Then you have a call from Donna to Harvey at 9:10 in the morning.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Then you have a call from Charlie to Donna at 9:25 in the morning.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Then you have Katie call Sigfredo three times, 9:32 to 9:34 a.m.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Then Charlie calls Katie, 9:34 a.m.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Then Charlie calls Donna, 9:35 a.m.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Then Katie texts Sigfredo, 9:36 a.m.
MR. RASHBAUM: Then Katie calls Charlie twice.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I don't show both of those calls, but there's at least one, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Please move on. Then Charlie calls Katie twice.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I show one at 9:40.
MR. RASHBAUM: A return call at 9:43.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, there is the outgoing at 9:44.
MR. RASHBAUM: Yes. Then Charlie texts Katie at 10:19.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe that's correct. Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Katie texts Charlie at 10:42.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I— believe that's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Harvey calls Donna at 11:04.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Donna texts Harvey three times, between 12:29 and 1:23.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: Donna calls Harvey at 1:27.
MR. RASHBAUM: Sigfredo calls Katie at 1:45.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I do not show that call.
MR. RASHBAUM: I'll move on.
MR. RASHBAUM: Harvey calls Donna at 3:20.
MR. RASHBAUM: At 1:53?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes. Yes, at 1:53.
MR. RASHBAUM: I'm sorry, at 1:53, I apologize. I guess Wendi text Charlie at 2:33.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And this goes on and on, right? You've seen this exhibit?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Sigfredo calls Katie twice at 11:51 and 12:29 in the morning. It's the last activity of the day.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I— do not show those.
MR. RASHBAUM: You still on the second?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It bleeds over to the next day.
MR. RASHBAUM: That's— okay.
MR. RASHBAUM: We'll move on.
MR. RASHBAUM: And if we go to May 7th, another random day, you've had a chance to look through it.
MR. RASHBAUM: Similar phone activity, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: There is, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: May I have one moment, Your Honor?
JUDGE EVERETT: Take your time.
MR. RASHBAUM: If we had the records in January, February, or March, you don't know if those patterns would be any different, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I do not.
MR. RASHBAUM: No further questions, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: Redirect.
MS. DUGAN: When defense first began asking you questions, they talked about duplication. In the presentation that you showed the jury yesterday, have all of the duplicates been taken out of that presentation?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes. For all the call summaries, I went and looked at each call and looked at the recipients' records to see if there were indications of voicemail, routing, and did my best effort to remove anything that was not an individual completed actual communication.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. Just wanted to make sure we're not seeing twice of every single event in your presentation.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: The only place there would be duplicates would be like in a frequency report or when things were tallied because those are across thousands of records. So in those, the duplicates may be there, but in frequencies, we're kind of looking at relevance. And those duplicates duplicate themselves across all the callers. But in any of the summaries or any of the individual call patterns, we are looking at just individual events.
MS. DUGAN: And when you say summaries and call patterns, you mean those flurries where we show the data from the records followed by kind of like the talking heads with the arrows?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. All right. The July 2nd message where we made a mistake — there was the Katherine Magbanua was the one that was calling Sigfredo an effing pussy.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: That was her saying that, not Charlie Adelson.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. Were you trying to put some of these messages into the presentation this weekend while working some 12-hour shifts?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, I was.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. So, but in that message, is Katherine Magbanua letting Charlie Adelson know that Garcia is this scary, violent man?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It would not seem that.
MS. DUGAN: She's calling him a P-word?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes, she is.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. Or telling Charlie Adelson that Sigfredo Garcia is one?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. And she's also saying that his actions, Garcia's actions, are childish.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: I just want to make it clear. For the car rental in June when Sigfredo Garcia rented that silver Nissan sedan, we have no indications that Charlie Adelson was physically there at the rental location or anything like that, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: We do not.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. Okay. What your testimony was, was that Katherine Magbanua was on the phone with Charlie Adelson while she was consistent with being at Comfort Rental, and then they had that 25-minute call on her way home from Comfort Rental.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. Just in general, when a person calls a landline, is that a suspicious thing?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It is not.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. Is the reason that this — Charlie Adelson's calls to his parents' landline — did that stand out to investigators because Charlie Adelson was the person on the wiretaps talking about calling people back to a landline or on a landline?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MS. DUGAN: The July 6th text message between Wendi Adelson and Dan Markel — you said it's normal for co-parents to text about children and visitation schedules, you would expect that, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I would, yes.
MS. DUGAN: Is the reason that that message in particular stood out to investigators is that because of the date range Wendi Adelson referenced in that text message?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MS. DUGAN: And the date range that she referenced — was that the week of Dan Markel's murder, the 14th through the 18th?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It was, yes.
MS. DUGAN: And during that date range, the 15th, you said, was when the Prius was rented?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: The 16th, you said, was the travel to Tallahassee?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: You said the 17th was the surveillance of Dan Markel?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: And the 18th was the murder?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: Defense asked you, this Prius — it was green, right? You know it wasn't, it wasn't silver. Was the actual color of the Toyota Prius silver pine mica?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I believe that's correct. I referenced as a metallic, like mint green.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. And this was a four-door sedan?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: We saw both in your presentation with the State and when defense had an opportunity to ask you questions — Wendi's cell site locations when she's on the phone on the day of the murder, from her home down to ABC Liquors. Those circles that were on the screen, those are the cell site locations that she's communicating with, right? Not her locations.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Absolutely. I hope that's clear. Those are the locations of the cell towers that her handset is wirelessly communicating with.
MS. DUGAN: And that cell site that she's communicating with at 12:35 when she's on her way to the liquor store — that cell site services the area of Trescott Drive?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It could, yes.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. And so does the — when she's down on her way a little south of there to the liquor store, that cell site services that area?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. And the reason that her cell site locations — investigators looked at those — was based on Officer Brandon reporting seeing a vehicle much like hers come up to the crime scene around that hour of day on the day of the murder?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct, based on the data.
MS. DUGAN: Could her location, could her cell site location, be consistent with her going up to the roadblock as Officer Brandon described?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It could, yes.
MS. DUGAN: Defense asked you about — there was also a message in all of the defendant's iCloud where, and he showed you the message, his mother, Donna Adelson, wanted him to send her info, as in like the name or number of a caterer.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. Now, in that message that the defense showed you, she said the word "caterer," right? Not "birthday gift" or "birthday present"?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: And did that text message say to erase it after he reads it?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It did, yes.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: I'm sorry — the caterer message that the defense showed you just now?
MS. DUGAN: I'm sorry.
MS. DUGAN: I'm talking about the caterer message that the defense showed you today.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: And you're asking if that's the one that had the delete?
MS. DUGAN: Right.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It did not.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. Okay. So she says, "Can you send me the name, the info for a caterer?"
MS. DUGAN: And then it didn't say "delete this after reading" or anything like that?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MS. DUGAN: And it didn't say anything about a birthday gift or a birthday present in that message?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: In that message? No.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. In the messages that we showed the jury yesterday from March 4th, she says "delete this after reading" when she says she wants to make a private call to him when she gets to Gainesville, when she's in the bathroom — that's the one that says "delete after reading"?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. And in the follow-up message a few minutes later, she says it's about dad's birthday gift?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: And then in June, three months later, after the June trip to Tallahassee by the shooters, she says — he says he's still working on the birthday gift for dad, and she says, "I know you'll come through for me"?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. And they talked — do they talk about a birthday gift in that exchange, or a birthday present, or do they talk about a caterer present on July 18th, the day of Dan Markel's murder — does Charlie Adelson's statement that he's not feeling well, that text comes after a call with Donna Adelson, but does it come before Katherine Magbanua comes to his house that night?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It does, yes.
MS. DUGAN: That same night, on July 18th, in the message from Donna Adelson to Charlie Adelson, does she say she's outside his house?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It says "outside your house," yes.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. Does it say "I'm on the turnpike near your house"?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It does not.
MS. DUGAN: When she says she's outside his house, I mean, I guess we don't know how long she stayed, you know, whether she—
MR. RASHBAUM: Objection, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: What's the objection?
MR. RASHBAUM: Objection.
MR. RASHBAUM: Foundation.
JUDGE EVERETT: All right, Mr. O'Connor, you can clean up the foundation on this issue.
MS. DUGAN: From the messages alone, do we know how long she stayed there?
MR. RASHBAUM: Objection, Your Honor.
MR. RASHBAUM: Foundation.
JUDGE EVERETT: Overruled. She's going to lay the foundation.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: We do not.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. From the messages alone, do we know if she left something in his house for him?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: We do not.
MS. DUGAN: All we know is she said she's outside his house, and he says ten minutes.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: So in the presentation yesterday, we showed the communication between the parties, meaning the heads and the arrows, on days that we know are significant days in this investigation, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. Defense showed you some communication, they say, on random days — May 2nd and May 7th, I believe it was.
MS. DUGAN: I want to look at, briefly, in this case, the bargaining evidence. I want to show you a couple of things from that divorce file that were going on during that time, around the time of the beginning of May.
MS. DUGAN: This document — does this appear to have been filed toward the end of April, April 24, 2014?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. And it says "former husband" — would that be Dan Markel?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: Former husband's second request to produce to former wife?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. And Dan Markel is requesting Wendi Adelson to produce for inspection and copy the following documents.
MS. DUGAN: And then if you go over to page four, here are his requests.
MS. DUGAN: And he wants her employment contract, her pay stubs showing all her income earned, her checking account statements, her income tax returns, TIAA-CREF retirement account information, any information about removing funds from Schwab accounts, a detailed list of all of the items, marital items, she may have taken from the home.
MS. DUGAN: That was his request in April of 2014?
MS. DUGAN: April 24th?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. And then on May 2nd of 2014 — that would have been the first day of messages that the defense showed today, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: Or not messages — communication back and forth.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. On May 2nd, 2014, on this day, Dan Markel is moving to compel Wendi Adelson — so he's asking the court to basically force or order Wendi Adelson to respond to that motion, to his second request to produce, that motion that was filed on April 24th?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: May 2nd, 2014. Does it appear that— Wendi Adelson was informed that a hearing was set on Dan Markel's motion to compel?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. And the hearing was set on the 2nd, and the hearing was supposed to be — though it appears to be May 6th?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: Dan Markel files a memorandum of authorities to enforce the marital settlement agreement and motions for sanctions.
MS. DUGAN: Is that right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: I'm just going to try to get through this.
MS. DUGAN: Looks like a pretty lengthy motion. Is that fair to say?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: All right. So on May 7th, after that motion is filed by Dan Markel, on May 7th, 2014, does Wendi Adelson's attorney then motion the court to be able to withdraw as her counsel?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Yes.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. So on May 7th — that was the second day of communication that the defense showed today?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: Her attorney is trying to now withdraw from her case?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: So on both May 2nd and May 7th, even though there wasn't a trip to Tallahassee at that time by the shooters, there were significant events going on in the divorce in this case. Doesn't it seem so?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It does, yes.
MS. DUGAN: All right. And those days, May 2nd and May 7th, they were days before these June and July trips to Tallahassee where the shooters drove up to kill Dan Markel.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Correct.
MS. DUGAN: So could these have been days where there was some discussion about the plan to kill Dan Markel?
MR. RASHBAUM: Objection, Your Honor.
MR. RASHBAUM: And speculation.
MS. DUGAN: Okay. I'll move on.
MS. DUGAN: I'm going to show you what I'm going to mark as State's 129 A and B.
JUDGE EVERETT: Be seated. Sergeant, if you need to take a break, you can sit down.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Thank you, sir.
JUDGE EVERETT: Mr. Rashbaum, does your client need to use the restroom?
JUDGE EVERETT: We'll be in recess until 11:30.
MS. DUGAN: We still have a dispute as to the exhibit.
MR. RASHBAUM: Judge, we have no objection as to the exhibit.
JUDGE EVERETT: Very well. Please bring in the jurors.
JUDGE EVERETT: As we finish with the sergeant, are you going to be able to complete Jimenez and Bronstein this morning?
MS. DUGAN: Yes, Your Honor.
MS. DUGAN: Before you bring the jury in on Jimenez and Bronstein, I would request, Your Honor, to ask the media not to show their faces. They are still engaged in undercover operations.
JUDGE EVERETT: Very well. Well, for — both Court TV and anyone else who's reporting on this matter, if you please could not take any images of the law enforcement officers.
JUDGE EVERETT: As a compliment, I assume they are law enforcement of some sort.
MS. DUGAN: I'm sorry, Your Honor. They're law enforcement officers. Yes, sir, they're FBI officers.
JUDGE EVERETT: Please do not broadcast or disseminate any images or identifiers as to the undercover officers.
MS. DUGAN: And, Judge, that includes Jimenez, Bronstein, and also Special Agent Kendall, who will be the — or there's a witness in between — but those three witnesses we'd ask to talk to.
JUDGE EVERETT: All right. Three are in the courtroom.
JUDGE EVERETT: Be seated. Ms. Dugan, you may continue with the examination of Sgt. Corbitt.
MS. DUGAN: Thank you, Judge. No further questions.
JUDGE EVERETT: You have something to say, Mr. Rashbaum?
MR. RASHBAUM: Just a brief recross, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: I usually do not permit recross. As it's literally going to be one question.
MR. RASHBAUM: I was hoping for three questions.
JUDGE EVERETT: Let's get it down to one.
MR. RASHBAUM: All right.
JUDGE EVERETT: You may recross as to your one most important question that you need to.
MR. RASHBAUM: May I have one moment with Miss Meyers to figure out which one I want to use?
JUDGE EVERETT: Go ahead.
JUDGE EVERETT: One equals one.
JUDGE EVERETT: Keep that in mind, please. Go ahead.
MR. RASHBAUM: 12:31, Ms. Adelson's phone hits this cell tower, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: That's correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: We can agree that that's pretty far from Trescott, right?
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: It is, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: No further questions.
JUDGE EVERETT: On the mark. Sergeant, you may step down.
CHRISTOPHER CORBITT: Thanks, sir.
JUDGE EVERETT: Please call your next witness.