Witness
Patricia Byrd
Prosecution jailhouse informant who testified that Donna Adelson confessed in custody and attempted to recruit her to spread a fabricated account implicating Katherine Magbanua.
Appeared Donna Adelson
105 lines · 3 appearances · 12 mentions
About
Called by the prosecution as a jailhouse informant, Byrd testified that Donna Adelson confessed in custody to doing what she was accused of and attempted to recruit Byrd to spread a fabricated account implicating Katherine Magbanua in exchange for tangible inducements.
Trial Record (15)
DA Donna Adelson Aug 22, 2025 – Sep 4, 2025
Appearances (3)
Direct
Patricia Byrd - Direct
Day 6 Cross Patricia Byrd - Cross
Day 6 Redirect Patricia Byrd - Redirect
Day 6 Mentioned (12)
Cross
Drina Bernhardt - Cross Jailhouse informant who testified earlier in Day 6. Zelman establishes Bernhardt and Byrd knew each other from prior incarceration — relevant to the defense theory that the two informants may have coordinated.
Day 6 Procedural Lunch Recess — On-Record Colloquy: Donna Adelson Consents to Jailhouse Informant Cross Strategy Listed state witness; jailhouse informant; subject of cross-examination strategy discussed in defendant colloquy
Day 6 Procedural Defense Motion for Judgment of Acquittal on Counts 1 and 3
Day 7 Direct Tarana Khan - Direct prosecution jailhouse informant at Leon County Jail; subject of Khan's interview and the inducement and confession denials
Day 7 Cross Tarana Khan - Cross
Day 7 Redirect Tarana Khan - Redirect Jailhouse informant who was the subject of Khan's January 2025 jail interview; her potential testimony about alleged defense inducements is the underlying dispute Khan's examination addresses.
Day 7 Direct Eddie Varnes - Direct
Day 7 Cross Eddie Varnes - Cross Jailhouse informant whose jail interview with Varnes is the subject of this entire examination; never called as a defense witness despite holding allegedly significant exculpatory information.
Day 7 Redirect Eddie Varnes - Redirect Jailhouse informant; her statements to Varnes and her status on the defense witness list are the focus of this redirect
Day 7 Procedural OJP — Testify/Remain Silent/Exhibit Arguments State proposed a one-line stipulation that Byrd was never listed on the defense witness list; court ordered it submitted in writing, signed by all counsel and the defendant, to be read before jury instructions.
Day 8 Jury Instruction Final Jury Instructions Named in the opening stipulation — stipulated fact that she was never listed as a defense witness
Day 9 Closing Closing Argument - Jackie L. Fulford
Day 9