Drina Bernhardt testified on Day 6 that Donna Adelson wrote a script for her to study and use in proposed testimony about Katherine Magbanua. The defense challenged her account by examining her cooperation, criminal exposure, and possible incentive to provide information.
Witness
Drina Bernhardt
Donna Adelson's jailhouse acquaintance who alleged that Adelson wrote a proposed testimony script and promised benefits.
AppearedDonna Adelson
178 lines·14 proceedings·10 mentions
About
Drina Bernhardt testified for the State on Day 6 about becoming friends with Donna Adelson in jail and reporting their conversations to law enforcement. She acknowledged 27 prior convictions and said she initially hoped cooperating might help her own case.
Bernhardt identified State's Exhibit 62 as a script she said Adelson wrote for her to study and use in proposed testimony about Katherine Magbanua. She denied that Magbanua had made several statements included in the script. She also described receiving jail packages and phone access, with additional items promised in connection with reciting it.
On cross-examination, defense counsel questioned Bernhardt about her cooperation, release timing, probation violations, possible 15-year sentence, and the documentation of her interaction with Adelson. Although she gave qualified recollections about some details, she maintained that Adelson wrote the script and that she had not supplied its underlying story. On redirect, Bernhardt said she had no current plea offer but hoped to receive one, and she reaffirmed that she did not know the story well enough to tell Adelson what to write.
Trial Record (14)
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