Direct examination of Karen Lee Crawford

📄 Direct examination of Karen Lee Crawford — Friday, July 1, 1994

Address:

C:\DEPT103\PRELIMINARY\1994\JUL\1\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-KAREN-LE.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 2 of 6

◀ Reconvening, ruling announcement, and discovery turnover Cross-examination of Karen Lee Crawford ▶

Witness: Karen Crawford
Examiner: Marcia Clark
Called by: Prosecution • Date: Friday, July 1, 1994 • Lines: 163

Mezzaluna manager Karen Crawford identified Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown and reconstructed their movements at the restaurant on June 12, 1994. She testified that Nicole called around 9:35 p.m. asking to speak with Goldman, after which Crawford gave him Nicole's recovered prescription glasses and saw him leave through the Gorham exit at about 9:50 p.m.; she also recognized a photographed envelope as the kind she used for the glasses.

# 1 MS. CLARK:

Thank you, your Honor. The people call miss Karen Crawford.

# 2 THE COURT:

Face the clerk and raise your right hand, please. THE COURT CLERK: You do solemnly swear the testimony you are about to give in the cause now pending before this Court, shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God.

# 3 KAREN CRAWFORD:

I do. karen lee crawford, CALLED AS A WITNESS ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE, WAS EXAMINED AND TESTIFIED AS FOLLOWS: THE COURT CLERK: Please be seated. State and spell your name for the record.

# 4 KAREN CRAWFORD:

Karen Lee Crawford, K-A-R-E-N, L-E-E, C-R-A-W-F-O-R-D.

# 5 THE COURT:

You may inquire.

# 6

DIRECT EXAMINATION

# 7

BY MS. CLARK:

# 8 Q:

Good morning, miss Crawford.

# 9 A:

Morning.

# 10 Q:

Please tell us what you do for a living.

# 11 A:

I work at Mezzaluna.

# 12 Q:

What do you do there?

# 13 A:

I'm a bartender, and I manage the restaurant on Sundays.

# 14 Q:

I'm going to ask you to sit forward, keep your voice up a little. It's hard to hear you. Comfortable?

# 15 A:

(WITNESS NODS HEAD).

# 16 Q:

Can you tell us again what you do at the Mezzaluna?

# 17 A:

I bar tend, and I manage on Sundays.

# 18 Q:

Where is the Mezzaluna located?

# 19 A:

It's on the corner of San Vicente and Gorham, in brentwood.

# 20 Q:

Is that near to the location of Bundy and Dorothy, or Bundy and San Vicente?

# 21 A:

Yes.

# 22 Q:

How long have you worked there?

# 23 A:

I've worked there for one year.

# 24 Q:

Were you employed there as the bar manager on June the 12th, 1994?

# 25 A:

Yes.

# 26 Q:

And do you recall that being a Sunday?

# 27 A:

Yes, It was.

# 28 Q:

Now, since it was a Sunday, what were your duties on that day?

# 29 A:

I got in at 3:30. I reconciled the books from the day before, set up for the evening. I run the floor, and at the end of the evening, I run the reports and close up.

# 30 Q:

What time did you get there on June 12th?

# 31 A:

3:30.

# 32 Q:

I show you a couple of photographs, people's 2 for identification. Can you tell me if you recognize who's shown in that photograph?

# 33 A:

Yes.

# 34 Q:

Who is that?

# 35 A:

That's Ron Goldman.

# 36 Q:

And showing you People's 3. Do you recognize who's shown in that photograph?

# 37 A:

Yes, that's Nicole brown.

# 38 Q:

Now, the person you've identified as Ron Goldman, how did you know him?

# 39 A:

I worked with him.

# 40 Q:

Did he work at the Mezzaluna with you?

# 41 A:

Yes, he did. He was a waiter.

# 42 Q:

And how long had he been working there?

# 43 A:

For about four months.

# 44 Q:

And that's as long as you knew him?

# 45 A:

Yes.

# 46 Q:

How did you know Nicole brown?

# 47 A:

I had seen her in the restaurant occasionally.

# 48 Q:

Did she come to the restaurant fairly often?

# 49 A:

As far as I know, she did. I only saw her, in the course of a year, three or four times.

# 50 Q:

During this three or four times that she came, did you ever speak to her?

# 51 A:

A couple of times, just to say hello, or to help her with something.

# 52 Q:

And enough to know her voice?

# 53 A:

Yeah.

# 54 Q:

On June the 12th, 1994, can you tell me if you saw Ron Goldman at the restaurant?

# 55 A:

Yes, he was there.

# 56 Q:

Was he working?

# 57 A:

He was working, yes.

# 58 Q:

And did you see Nicole brown there?

# 59 A:

Yes.

# 60 Q:

Do you recall what time she arrived?

# 61 A:

Her party arrived between 6:30 and 7:00 that evening.

# 62 Q:

When you say, "her party," she was not alone then?

# 63 A:

No.

# 64 Q:

How many people was she with?

# 65 A:

She was in a party of ten.

# 66 Q:

Did that party include children as well as adults?

# 67 A:

Yes.

# 68 Q:

At some point, did you notice at what time Nicole and her party left?

# 69 A:

They left, I would say, between 8:30 and 9:00.

# 70 Q:

Can you tell us if you remember what she wore that night?

# 71 A:

Yeah. She was wearing a black halter dress.

# 72 Q:

Was it short?

# 73 A:

It was mid thigh.

# 74 Q:

Now, so Nicole and her party left between 8:30 an 9:00?

# 75 A:

Yes.

# 76 Q:

At some point after they left, did you receive a phone call?

# 77 A:

Yes, I did.

# 78 Q:

Did you recognize the voice of the person that you spoke to on the phone?

# 79 A:

Yes, I did.

# 80 Q:

And who did you recognize that voice to belong to?

# 81 A:

It was the voice of the older woman in the party, in Nicole's party.

# 82 Q:

And the woman said something to you?

# 83 A:

Yes.

# 84 Q:

based on what she said, what did you do?

# 85 A:

I looked around the restaurant, and I also looked outside, for a pair of glasses.

# 86 Q:

Did you find it?

# 87 A:

Yes, I did.

# 88 Q:

Where did you find it?

# 89 A:

I found them outside, where I had seen them getting out of the vehicle. They were in the gutter, a few inches away from the curb.

# 90 Q:

So you saw Nicole and her party arrive?

# 91 A:

Yes.

# 92 Q:

And you saw them get out of the car?

# 93 A:

Yes.

# 94 Q:

And is that where you found the glasses?

# 95 A:

Yes, I found them right there.

# 96 Q:

And what did you do with them when you got them?

# 97 A:

I went back to the phone, told the woman I had found the glasses, and I put them in an envelope.

# 98 Q:

Did you ask her something?

# 99 A:

I asked her if she would be coming by the restaurant that evening to pick them up.

# 100 Q:

What kind of envelope did you put those glasses in?

# 101 A:

Business-size envelope, a long rectangular one, white.

# 102 Q:

Did you write anything on it?

# 103 A:

Yes.

# 104 Q:

What did you write?

# 105 A:

I wrote, "Nicole Simpson," and below that I wrote, "prescription glasses."

# 106 Q:

Did you seal the envelope?

# 107 A:

Yes, I did.

# 108 Q:

so then you asked if she would be picking up the glasses that night, she gave you a response to that, I take it?

# 109 A:

Yes.

# 110 Q:

And based on her response, you put those glasses into the envelope, wrote on it, "Nicole Simpson, prescription glasses," and sealed it?

# 111 A:

Yes.

# 112 Q:

And then where did you put the envelope?

# 113 A:

I placed the envelope behind the bar.

# 114 Q:

Did you get any other phone calls that night?

# 115 A:

Yes.

# 116 Q:

How long after that first phone call from the woman in the Nicole simpson's party, did you get the second phone call?

# 117 A:

I would say five minutes.

# 118 Q:

What time did you get the first phone call?

# 119 A:

I would say around 9:30.

# 120 Q:

And so the second phone call would be --

# 121 A:

9:35 or so.

# 122 Q:

Did you recognize the voice of the person on that second phone call?

# 123 A:

Yes, I did.

# 124 Q:

Whose voice was that?

# 125 A:

It was Nicole's voice.

KEY QUOTE

# 126 Q:

And you had a conversation with her?

# 127 A:

Yes.

# 128 Q:

Did she ask you to do something?

# 129 A:

Yes.

# 130 Q:

What was that?

# 131 A:

She asked me if I could get Ron on the phone.

KEY QUOTE

# 132 Q:

What did you do?

# 133 A:

I went over to where Ron was sitting, and I told him that Nicole was on the phone, and she wanted to speak to him.

# 134 Q:

What did he do?

# 135 A:

He took the call.

# 136 Q:

Did he stay by you as he spoke on the phone?

# 137 A:

Yeah, I was standing near him when he was on the phone.

# 138 Q:

And they had a conversation for a while?

# 139 A:

For a couple of minutes, yeah.

# 140 Q:

After they had that conversation, what happened next?

# 141 A:

I gave him the glasses.

KEY QUOTE

# 142 Q:

So, you had a conversation with Nicole, after which you gave the phone to Ron, who spoke to her, and then you gave Ron the glasses?

# 143 A:

Yes.

# 144 Q:

Did you see when he left the restaurant?

# 145 A:

Yes, I did.

# 146 Q:

And when was that?

# 147 A:

I would say at about 10 minutes to 10:00.

KEY QUOTE

# 148 Q:

Do you know what exit he used when he left the restaurant?

# 149 A:

He used the side exit that goes out to Gorham.

# 150 Q:

Is that exit near the bar area in your restaurant?

# 151 A:

Yes.

# 152 Q:

Do you happen to know who was tending that bar that night?

# 153 A:

Stewart was tending bar, Stewart Tanner.

# 154 MS. CLARK:

Your Honor, I have here a series of photographs. I'm going to ask that they now be marked as People's 4.

# 155 THE COURT:

All right.

# 156 MS. CLARK:

At this time, your Honor, I'm going to ask to mark the color photographs label on that as C and F. Showing it to the defense.

# 157 Q:

Miss Crawford, if you can, can you see this photograph?

# 158 A:

Yes.

# 159 Q:

I'm directing your attention specifically on People's 4, to the photograph labeled as F. Can you tell me if you recognize what that is?

# 160 A:

It's an envelope.

# 161 Q:

Does it appear to be the kind of envelope you used to put the glasses into, on the night of June the 12th, which you labeled, "Nicole Simpson, prescription glasses"?

# 162 A:

Yes.

# 163 MS. CLARK:

I have nothing further.

Temperature

routine

Key Quotes (5)

Karen Crawford

It was Nicole's voice.

Crawford identified Nicole as the caller who asked to speak with Ron Goldman shortly before he left the restaurant.

Karen Crawford

She asked me if I could get Ron on the phone.

This connected Nicole directly to Goldman that evening and explained how he became involved in returning the glasses.

Karen Crawford

I gave him the glasses.

Crawford established that Goldman took possession of the missing prescription glasses before leaving Mezzaluna.

Karen Crawford

I would say at about 10 minutes to 10:00.

This supplied an important approximate time for Goldman's departure from the restaurant.

Karen Crawford

It's an envelope.

Crawford recognized the object shown in People's 4, photograph F, as the type of envelope used to hold the glasses.

Evidence (4)

People's 2 for identification

A photograph of Ron Goldman, whom Crawford identified as her coworker and a waiter at Mezzaluna.

displayed for identification

People's 3

A photograph of Nicole Brown, whom Crawford recognized as an occasional Mezzaluna customer.

displayed for identification

People's 4

A series of color photographs labeled C and F; photograph F showed an envelope resembling the one Crawford used for the prescription glasses.

marked and displayed

Informal

Prescription glasses found in the gutter near the curb where Nicole Brown's party had exited its vehicle; Crawford sealed them in a white business-size envelope labeled “Nicole Simpson” and “prescription glasses,” then gave them to Ron Goldman.

discussed

Notable Exchanges (5)

Marcia Clark•Karen Crawford

Clark established that Nicole Brown's party arrived between 6:30 and 7:00 p.m. and left between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m.

routine

Marcia Clark•Karen Crawford

Crawford described receiving a call around 9:30 p.m., finding prescription glasses in the gutter where the party had arrived, sealing them in a labeled envelope, and placing it behind the bar.

revealing

Marcia Clark•Karen Crawford

Crawford identified Nicole's voice on a second call around 9:35 p.m.; Nicole asked for Goldman, who spoke with her and then received the glasses from Crawford.

revealing

Marcia Clark•Karen Crawford

Crawford placed Goldman's departure at approximately 9:50 p.m. through the side exit onto Gorham.

strategic

Marcia Clark•Karen Crawford

After People's 4 was marked, Crawford said photograph F depicted an envelope resembling the one she had labeled for Nicole's prescription glasses.

procedural

Witness Demeanor

(WITNESS NODS HEAD).

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 9077 • 163 lines • Prosecution witness

Preliminary Trial

Department 103