By Jake Palmateer
Staff Writer
COOPERSTOWN _ The jury
in the trial of Justin Gillingham
failed to reach a verdict Monday
after nearly 3½ hours of deliberation.
Gillingham, 24, of Oneonta,
is accused of first-degree
rape, second-degree
attempted murder
and second-degree assault
in connection with
the alleged attack on the
then 23-year-old State
University College at
Oneonta senior at about
2:40 a.m. May 16 on a
dark path between campus
and Clinton Street. His trial
at the Otsego County Courthouse
before state Supreme
Court Justice Michael Coccoma
began last Monday with jury selection.
It will enter a seventh day
today when the jury resumes
deliberation at 9:30 a.m.
The jury was handed the
case from Coccoma for deliberation
at about 4:30 p.m. Jurors
took a 20-minute break at 5 p.m.
Food was delivered to the jury
room at about 6 p.m. The jury
also took a 15-minute break at
7:20 p.m.
Coccoma sent the jurors
home at 8:30 p.m. after emphatically
telling them not to think
about the case, discuss it with
anyone, do their own research
or visit the scene of the alleged
crime.
“You must resist that
temptation,” Coccoma
said.
The alleged victim
testified Tuesday that
Gillingham suddenly assaulted
her, raped her
and tried to kill her by
attempting to snap her
neck three times. The
defense is admitting an assault
occurred, but said in its opening
statement the alleged victim
first bit Gillingham’s tongue
while they were “making out”
on the path, and he punched
her in response and fled. Gillingham,
who testified Friday,
said he lied to police when he
told them he was jumped by
four men.
Both agreed they had just
met that night and smoked marijuana
together at Gillingham’s house
before he accompanied her back to
campus in her car.
Public Defender Richard “Otto”
Rothermel and Otsego County District
Attorney John Muehl delivered
closing arguments earlier on
Monday.
“It’s my privilege and awesome
duty to represent
an innocent man,”
Rothermel told the
12-member jury and
four alternate jurors.
Rothermel said
life was going “pretty
well” for Gillingham,
who had been
working a full-time
job after gaining a GED and culinary
certificate from the Oneonta
Job Corps Academy.
“He was a normal and everyday
kid until May 16, 2008,” Rothermel
said.
That day, Gillingham made four
mistakes _ getting involved with
the alleged rape victim; getting
involved with someone who had a
boyfriend; “losing it” when she bit
his tongue; and lying to the police
afterward, Rothermel said during
his 1½-hour summation.
But raping or try to kill the alleged
victim were not among those
mistakes, he said.
Rothermel went witness-by-witness
to explain what he said was
the evidence exonerating his client,
as well as the inconsistencies
in the police investigation and the
testimony of the alleged victim.
“The cracks in this case are like
the Grand Canyon,” Rothermel
said. “This isn’t an investigation.
This is an inquisition.”
In his 35-minute closing argument,
Muehl said Rothermel’s case
was focused on minor inconsistencies
in evidence and witness testimony.
“I submit to you those weren’t
even issues in the case. They were
brought up as red herrings,” Muehl
said. “Of course you are going to
have some inconsistencies. This
case is a year old.”
But Muehl said the woman’s version
of events is more consistent
over time than Gillingham’s.
“I submit to you that (the woman)
has no motive to lie about the rape
or the attempted murder,” Muehl
said.
Muehl said the defense’s suggestion
that the alleged rape and
attempted murder were somehow
staged by the woman defies common
sense.
“If she staged this
rape and attempted
murder, she should
have been a drama
major,” Muehl said.
“The bottom line is
if you believe (the
alleged victim), you
have to find the defendant
guilty.”
In his instructions, Coccoma explained
to the jury it could consider
a misdemeanor charge of thirddegree
assault if there was no
finding of guilt on the first-degree
rape or second-degree attempted
murder charge.
A conviction of second-degree
assault, a felony, is predicated on
whether the separate felonies of
first-degree rape and/or second-degree
attempted murder were committed
during the alleged assault,
Coccoma said.
