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University of Rochester Mock Trial Organization 2017 Tryout Information

Background on the Case:

Carmen Bell-Leon: Carmen is married to Kerry Bell-Leon. Carmen was having an affair with

Dylan Hendricks. On July 2, 2017 Carmen told Kerry about the affair and then Carmen

immediately left the country, fleeing to Ecuador. She refuses to come back to the United

States and is unavailable to testify in trial.

Kerry Bell-Leon: Kerry is Carmen’s spouse. Kerry is a pilot for Midlands Airways so Kerry

spends a lot of time away from home. On July 16, 2017, someone entered the Bell-Leon’s

apartment carrying a gun. Kerry managed to kick the gun away from the intruder, but then

the intruder attempted to strangle Kerry with an orange extension cord. Kerry survived the

attempted murder and alleges that the attacker was Dylan Hendricks, the person Carmen

was having an affair with.

Dylan Hendricks: Hendricks owns a food truck called Souper Soups. Hendricks had fallen in

love with Carmen and wanted Carmen to leave Kerry. However, Carmen was hesitant to

leave Kerry as they had signed a prenuptial agreement. Instead, Carmen told Hendricks to

“get rid of Kerry.” However, Hendricks contends that Hendricks was not the individual who

attacked Kerry Bell-Leon. Hendricks is the Defendant in this trial and is being charged

with attempted murder.

How to Tryout: Step 1: Sign up for a tryout time

Step 2: Decide if you want to tryout as an attorney, a witness, or both

Step 3: Attend your tryout!

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Step 1: Sign up for a tryout time

Tryouts will be held Saturday, September 9th. Please note that everyone who attends

their tryout will make it onto one of our four teams. Your tryout will simply give us an idea

of which team to place you on. But do not fear, as long as you tryout, you will get to

compete with us! Each tryout will last about 10 minutes. You can sign up here.

Step 2: Decide if you want to tryout as an attorney, a witness, or both

For Witness Tryouts:

A. You should start by choosing which one of the two witnesses you want to portray.

Read through each affidavit (witness statement) and decide which one better suits

you or which one you’d have more fun with!

B. Once you’ve chosen a witness, prepare a character. Here’s your chance to be

creative! Make up a backstory, use an accent, etc. See the one-page “Tips For Creating

A Great Witness” found later in this packet.

C. Learn the Direct Examination associated with your chosen witness. For this part of

the tryout, an Executive member will act as the attorney and ask you questions, just

like you’re testifying in trial. During this examination, the attorney is on your side!

This is your chance to tell the jury your side of the story. Each witness comes with a

scripted examination which you can find at the back of this packet. You’ll answer the

questions following the script, but delivering responses in the character that you’ve

created.

D. Following the Direct Examination, a different Executive member will act as a

Defense attorney for Dylan Hendricks. During this examination, the attorney is not

on your side. We’ll cross examine you, attempting to discredit your testimony. We’ll

ask you questions that make you seem dishonest or confused. However, it is your

job to convince the jury (and the rest of the E-Board) that Dylan Hendricks is guilty.

You must stick to the facts in the affidavit (witness statement) provided, although

we again encourage you to deliver your responses in the character that you created.

For Attorney Tryouts:

A. You’ll be playing the role of a Defense attorney for Dylan Hendricks. This means that

it is your job to bring up evidence which might help show that Hendricks is not

guilty of attempted murder. Start by choosing which one of the two witnesses you

want to cross examine.

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B. Write a cross examination. Ask your chosen witness questions which discredit

testimony that makes Hendricks look guilty. Rely on the facts in the provided

affidavit. See the page on “Tips for Delivering A Killer Cross Examination” later in this

packet.

C. Prepare a 2-3 minute speech defending a person. This could be anyone from your

mom, a fictional character, or someone you made-up. For example, you could write a

speech defending Scar against charges of murdering Mufasa. Or Mulan against

charges of identity fraud. Be creative! You pick the crime, you name the defendant.

Tell us why they shouldn’t go to jail! Feel free to make up any facts or evidence that

prove that your client is not guilty.

For those trying out as both an attorney or a witness:

A. Choose one witness to cross examine and one witness to portray.

B. You’ll start by playing the role of a Defense attorney for Dylan Hendricks. Write a

cross examination for your chosen witness. Ask questions that show that your client

is not guilty of attempted murder. You’ll ask the questions and an Executive

member will respond.

C. Following your cross, you’ll take the stand and play the witness you’ve chosen to

portray. An Executive member will act as a Defense Attorney for Dylan Hendricks.

We’ll ask you questions that attempt to make you look dishonest or confused. In

your responses, stick to the facts in your affidavit (witness statement), but

remember that you’re testifying on behalf of the Prosecution, so you’ll want to say

things that make Dylan Hendricks look guilty.

Step 3: Attend your tryout! Obviously, the most important part of your tryout is… your tryout. All tryouts will be held

in the Welles-Brown Room in Rush Rhees. Please arrive at least 5 minutes before your

tryout time. If you run into any issues on the day of your tryout, please don’t hesitate to call

or text our President, Deisy Abarca-Espíritu at (870)703-9068.

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Tips for Creating A Great Witness

1) Come up with a character. a. Creating a great witness starts long before you walk in the room. What is this

person’s story? How old are they? Where are they from? Do they speak with

an accent? Here’s your chance to be creative!

2) Make the jury like you. a. Choose a personality that people will enjoy and want to listen to. Smile when

appropriate and be enthusiastic about what you’re discussing. Speak with

volume and confidence!

3) Make the jury believe you. a. Yes, mock trial is fake. But it’s your job to make everyone forget that, even if

it’s just for a few minutes. That means creating a character that could be

someone you know and talking and acting the way a real-life person would

talk and act.

b. Suggestions: Avoid overreacting or caricature; it will make you seem less

believable. Don’t be afraid to use your hands when telling a story or making a

series of points. If something goes wrong, just keep going as though nothing

happened – we probably won’t even notice.

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Tips for Delivering a Killer Cross

1) Remember who you’re fighting for a. During these tryouts, when you are playing the role of an attorney, you will

be defending Dylan Hendricks from charges of attempted murder. So, you’ll

want to bring up evidence that shows that Hendricks couldn’t have done it –

that he’s not guilty.

2) Ask questions that elicit yes or no responses a. The goal of a cross examination is to discredit the testimony of the opposing

side’s witness while bringing up facts that are favorable to your side. The

challenge here is that the witness on the stand is not your witness – they are

not on your side. So, during a cross examination, the witness may not be

super open to giving you the answer that you want. So, you’ll want to frame

questions in such a way that there is only one answer.

b. Suggestion: Ask close-ended questions. For example, this is an open-ended

question: “What were you doing last night?” This type of question doesn’t

guarantee a specific response. Instead, it gives the witness room to ramble or

expand during their response – you want to avoid this during cross! This is a

close-ended question: “You were at SigChi last night, weren’t you?” Notice how

here we are stating a fact, but framing it as a question – cornering the witness

into a yes or no response – this is exactly what you want on cross.

3) Don’t let the witness steal your spotlight a. Cross examination is your time to shine! Ask questions dramatically. Stand

confidently. Use your hands to emphasize a point. Even if the witness isn’t

giving you the responses you want, keep going with confidence and

composure.

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AFFIDAVIT OF CHARLEY WATERS

After being duly sworn upon oath, Charley Waters hereby states as follows: I am over 18 1

and competent to make this affidavit. I am testifying voluntarily and was not subpoenaed or 2

compelled to testify. 3

My name is Charley Waters and I am currently a proud resident of Midlands, although I 4

have traveled to some of the most famous cities in the world. I make a living as a street 5

performer. I love my life. Well, everything but my love life. 6

During the weekdays, I play in the courthouse square in midtown. At night – including 7

the night of July 16, 2017 – I set up my station across from Sarah’s Music Café on Parker Street. 8

I am usually directly behind the Jaywood Building parking lot (where I was on July 16). From 9

there I can attract people from the best restaurants, clubs and even walking to and from their 10

cars. I like to get set up every evening around 5 P.M. This guarantees me the best spot. I 11

typically have a case open in front of me and a little mic and speaker that the folks at Sparkle & 12

Shade let me plug into their building. On a given night, I can make anywhere from $150 to $200, 13

but on weekend or festival nights, I can make a cool grand. During wedding season, I also get a 14

pretty steady business out of the bachelor and bachelorette party scene, especially if I am able to 15

play the betrothed’s “song.” Believe me when I say that I have every Celine Dion and Ed 16

Sheeran song committed to memory. 17

Since I tend to play the same places every day, I have gotten to know the local business 18

owners pretty well. The folks at the food trucks are a very friendly. Some of them even give me 19

free food. That’s how Dylan Hendricks and I got to know each other. Dylan has a permit for the 20

courthouse square in midtown, and Dylan operates there pretty much every day for the lunch and 21

after work rushes. I started talking with Dylan at the food truck one day, and we became friends. 22

Dylan is a good person. That’s why I don’t believe Dylan could be involved in anything 23

criminal. Dylan and I would talk a lot about our relationships and our dating struggles. 24

Turns out, we both used Tender and had both met up with the same person only to find 25

out the Tender profile was a ruse to sell Everest. I had no idea people used dating apps to sell 26

drugs, especially illegal ones! But one day I matched with “Mickey” and thought it was cool that 27

“Mickey” had all these little symbols of instruments on the profile. Little did I know, those 28

symbols were codes for where and how to get my hands on all sorts of little pills and powders. I 29

met up with “Mickey” once, on what I thought was a date, only to find out that “Mickey” was 30

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expecting to make a sale when “Mickey” offered me Everest. I was crushed. I didn’t buy 31

anything. Turns out Dylan had been through a similar experience with “Mickey” and also didn’t 32

buy the Everest. I’m not surprised. Dylan is way too straight-laced to ever do any kind of drug. 33

In addition to swapping bad date stories, we also shared the good ones. In February 2017, 34

I had recently gotten into a pretty nice relationship and Dylan had connected with someone 35

Dylan believed had marriage potential. Dylan showed me the Tender profile of “the one” and 36

right away I said, “I know that person!” I recognized the face in the profile. It was someone I had 37

seen downtown, but the person I knew seemed to be married with a kid. I always saw the person 38

with another person and a middle schooler. I was pretty sure they lived in the Jaywood Building. 39

Dylan told me unconvincingly that I must be mistaken, but something in the way Dylan spoke 40

made me thing Dylan was lying. 41

On a couple of afternoons in June 2017, I saw the person I thought was Carmen go up to 42

the food truck with a child in tow, ordering soup and giggling like a five-year old. It was pretty 43

gross, to be honest, but mostly I was just worried that Dylan was going to get really hurt. 44

I stopped seeing Carmen come around downtown at the beginning of July. I did not know 45

what happened until July 16, 2017. That day sticks out for a couple of reasons. First, like I said 46

earlier, I had set up shop by Sarah’s downtown at 5 P.M. that night. At around 7 P.M., I saw 47

Dylan pull the Souper Soups truck into line with the other food trucks. I’d never seen Dylan sell 48

soup downtown before, and Dylan had told me several times Dylan wanted to get a permit to sell 49

downtown but couldn’t get it approved. Then, later that night, I saw a receipt for a firing range in 50

my case wrapped inside a five-dollar bill. That happens sometimes – people drop pieces of paper 51

or gum wrappers in my case when they get wrapped up with the case in their pocket. I can’t be 52

certain when the bill and the receipt were dropped in my case because I am totally immersed in 53

making music while I’m playing, but when I was counting my earnings around 9 P.M., I saw the 54

money and the receipt. I picked up the receipt and read it. It was Dylan Hendrick’s receipt. I was 55

surprised because I did not think Dylan owned a gun. Dylan even told me that Dylan did not like 56

guns. I held onto the receipt so I could ask Dylan about it, but I never got the chance. 57

My set list was probably a little bluer than usual that night. I had a hard time 58

concentrating. I do remember looking at my phone around 10:20 P.M. to check the time. I played 59

two more songs, my original “Men aren’t Dogs, Dogs are Loyal” and a Miranda Lambert cover 60

which I’m guessing made it about 10:30 P.M. when I saw the person who I’ve come to know 61

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was Kerry Bell-Leon walk down Pearl Alley into the Jaywood Building parking lot. At the time, 62

I recognized Kerry as someone who was always around the area. I believe Kerry was the same 63

person I saw with Carmen sometimes, but I never told Dylan that. I didn’t want to cause any 64

trouble. The week before, I had even seen Kerry meet up with “Mickey” once over in the parking 65

lot behind the Jaywood Building. I’m assuming Kerry was meeting “Mickey” for a little pick-66

me-up. The night of July 16, when I saw Kerry walk into the parking lot, Kerry was a bit glassy-67

eyed and morose, maybe a bit clumsy. I couldn’t tell if it was from alcohol or drugs, but I had no 68

reason to think Kerry knew anything about Dylan or Dylan’s relationship with Carmen. 69

Kerry walked over to the parking lot behind me. Kerry went behind some cars and was 70

out of sight, but I could still hear. The voice I recognized as Mickey’s said, “Back for more, eh? 71

You gotta be careful. This stuff is addictive. It’s also not cheap, not that I’m complaining about 72

your business.” Kerry said, “I’m not in the mood today, Mickey. Let’s make this quick. By the 73

way, I’d appreciate it if you sold this junk somewhere else. My kid lives here. At least for now.” 74

I didn’t hear anything else for a few minutes and I didn’t see anyone leave the parking lot, so I 75

am not sure where they went. 76

Then Kerry came out from behind the cars and walked to the back entrance of the 77

Jaywood Building. Kerry got out keys, unlocked the door and went inside. The door swung 78

behind Kerry, but I’m not sure it closed all the way. 79

About ten or fifteen minutes after Kerry went inside the building, I saw someone else 80

under the maroon awning of the back door of the Jaywood Building. At first, I admit that I 81

thought it could be Dylan. I couldn’t see the person very well because it was dark out and the 82

person was only at the back door for three or four seconds. But the person looked to be around 83

the same size as Dylan, and the Souper Soups uniform is a dark t-shirt and pants or jeans, and the 84

person I saw was wearing dark clothing. The person was also wearing purple gloves. I feel like I 85

would have been surer, though, if it had actually been Dylan because I know Dylan so well. I had 86

also never seen Dylan wearing purple gloves before. Like I said, it was dark. 87

The person was carrying something. I think it was a gun, but I didn’t really get a good 88

look at what the person was holding. It was definitely something metal and bigger than a key. I 89

didn’t see the person holding anything else. As far as I know, Dylan doesn’t own a gun. 90

Whoever it was quickly went under the maroon awning, in the back door of the building, 91

and up the fire escape to the sixth floor. In the daytime, you can see who’s on the fire escape 92

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from outside the building, but it was too dark now, so I only saw a shadowy figure moving 93

around. Just after I saw the second person go through the door on the sixth floor, I heard 94

someone yell (I’m not sure who), then a crash, and then a second crash. A minute or two later, I 95

saw someone running down the fire escape. The person ran out of the back door of the Jaywood 96

Building under the maroon awning. Again, it looked like Dylan, but I didn’t get a good look. 97

This time, I didn’t notice the purple gloves. It was dark and this time the person was running so 98

the person was only under the awning for less than a second. But the person did run in the 99

direction of the food trucks, down Pearl Alley, in between Chuggies and Sparkle & Shade. The 100

person threw something in the dumpster behind Sparkle & Shade on the way into the alley. 101

I wanted to run to the food trucks to get a better look, but had to pack up my things. I did 102

it as fast as I could, but it was 11:10 P.M. by the time I got through the crowd to the food trucks. 103

I was relieved to see the Souper Soup truck was gone. I figured Dylan must have left before 104

everything happened. That’s a little early for a food truck to shut down downtown, but I thought 105

maybe Dylan didn’t know since Dylan had never sold downtown before. Moving a food truck 106

isn’t easy; it takes a lot of time to pack things up and close the truck down. I think it would be 107

hard for Dylan to get from the Jaywood Building to the truck and get it ready to move in 20 108

minutes. 109

The police arrived a minute later at 11:11 P.M. I talked to a Detective Nichols and told 110

the detective about what I saw, including the gun. I directed Detective Nichols to the dumpster 111

behind Sparkle & Shade. Detective Nichols put on some gloves and pulled out a gun from the 112

dumpster. Detective Nichols immediately put it in a bag. That was enough excitement for one 113

day, so I went home. 114

I swear or affirm the truthfulness of everything stated in this affidavit. Before giving this 115

statement, I was told I should include everything that I know may be relevant to my testimony, 116

and I followed those instructions. I know that I can and must update this affidavit if anything 117

new occurs to me until the moment before opening statements begin in this case. 118

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Signed: Subscribed and sworn to me on this 1st Day of August 2017: 120

Charley Waters Nilofar Ezigbo 121

Notary Public 122

Prosecution Direct Examination of Charley Waters

Carmen Bell-Leon was having an affair with Dylan Hendricks, a food truck owner. Dylan was in love with Carmen and wanted her to leave her husband, but Carmen was hesitant to do so as they had signed a prenuptial agreement. Instead Carmen told Dylan that she wanted him “to get rid of Kerry.” On July 16, 2017, someone entered Mr. Bell-Leon’s apartment in the Jaywood Building carrying a gun. After Mr. Bell-Leon kicked the gun away, the individual attempted to strangle Mr. Bell-Leon with an orange extension cord. The individual then ran out of the building and tossed the gun in a street alley. Mr. Bell-Leon alleges that the attacker was Dylan Hendricks. Authorities have charged Mr. Hendricks with attempted murder. The purpose of this prosecution-side direct examination is to elicit testimony from a witness who was outside of the Jaywood Building when the attack occurred.

1. Please state your name for the record: a. Charley Waters

2. What do you for a living? a. I’m a street performer! b. Expand on this answer by telling us how you ended up being a street musician. You’ll

find some details in the affidavit but feel free to be creative and come up with your own backstory!

3. Where do you usually perform? a. On weekdays, I play in the courthouse square in midtown. At night, I set up across from

Sarah’s Music Café on Parker Street, directly behind the Jaywood Building parking lot. b. Expand on this answer by telling us why you usually set up at this spot

4. Are you familiar with the Defendant in this case, Dylan Hendricks? a. Yes, Dylan owns a food truck called Souper Soups that he usually sets up in the

courthouse square where I play. I see him pretty much every day and so, we’ve become friends.

5. Let’s talk a bit more about your friendship with Mr. Hendricks, did he ever mention Mr. Kerry Bell-Leon to you?

a. No. But he did mention Kerry’s wife, Carmen Bell-Leon. In February 2017, Dylan told me he had met someone on Tender, a dating app we both use. He pulled up her profile and told me that he thought Carmen was “the one.” I was happy for Dylan, but the problem was that I recognized Carmen as someone I had seen downtown a lot - but I thought she was married with a kid. Her and her husband live in the Jaywood Building near where I play every night.

6. I want to talk to you about the night of July 16, 2017. That night, were you set up in your usual spot by Sarah’s Music Café?

a. Yes. 7. Did you see Mr. Hendricks that night?

a. Yes, around 7 P.M. I saw Dylan pull the Souper Soups truck in line with the other food trucks.

8. Did you see Mr. Kerry Bell-Leon that night?

a. Yes, around 10:30 P.M. I was Mr. Bell-Leon walk down Pearl Alley into the Jaywood parking lot behind where I was set up.

9. What happened next? a. A little while later, Kerry came out from behind the cars and walked to the back entrance

of the Jaywood Building. He unlocked the door and went inside. 10. After Mr. Bell-Leon entered the Jaywood Building, did you see anyone else follow him?

a. Yes. After about ten or fifteen minutes I saw someone moving around under the maroon awning of the back door of the building. They were holding something that looked like a gun. Whoever it was went up the fire escape to the sixth floor.

11. Can you describe that person to the jury? a. Well… it looked like Dylan. b. Use the information in lines 83-85, to describe why you think it was Dylan Hendricks.

Remember that Dylan is your friend, but you are under oath, so maybe hesitate as you deliver this answer.

12. After the second person entered the building, did you see anything else? a. Well, I heard someone yell, then I heard a loud crash - and then a second crash. A minute

or two later, I saw Dylan running down the fire escape and out the back door of the Jaywood Building. He ran in the direction of the food trucks, down Pearl Alley, in between Chuggies and Sparkle & Shade. As he was running, he threw something in the dumpster behind Sparkle & Shade.

13. What happened next? a. The police arrived at 11:11 P.M. I talked to a Detective Nichols and told him everything

that I saw, including the gun. Then, I directed the Detective to the dumpster behind Sparkle & Shade. He put on some gloves and pulled out a gun from the dumpster.

Thank you. No further questions

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AFFIDAVIT OF BAILEY BELL-LEON

After being duly sworn upon oath, Bailey Bell-Leon hereby states as follows: I am 13 1

years old. I know the difference between the truth and a lie. I wrote this statement by myself. 2

Everything in this statement is the truth. I am testifying because the court sent me a letter called a 3

subpoena. It said I had to tell the court what I know. 4

I was born on May 7, 2004. I’m a student at Midlands City Middle School. I will be in 5

the eighth grade starting in August 2017. My parents are Carmen and Kerry. Kerry is a pilot and 6

travels a lot for work. But Kerry brings me back cool things from the countries Kerry flies to. 7

Carmen is a stay-at-home parent. Carmen’s favorite country is Ecuador, which is where Carmen 8

grew up. The three of us live in condo number 6A on the sixth floor of the Jaywood Building. I 9

don’t have any pets, but I think I should have a pet. We have lived there since I was born. 10

My parents argue a lot. More than any of my friends’ parents. Sometimes they argue 11

when I have friends over. I think they started arguing more in 2014 right around Christmas. 12

Kerry got a big promotion and started working more days. I thought the arguing would get better 13

once we all got used to the new schedule. But it didn’t. 14

My piano lessons are always on Tuesdays from 4:00-4:30 after school. I walk to my 15

piano lesson after school and Carmen picks me up. I remember after my piano lesson on April 4, 16

2017, Carmen picked me up at Linda’s house. Carmen told me that we were going to stop pick 17

up dinner at a food truck. I thought it was weird. But Carmen is a horrible cook. Carmen never 18

makes food I like so I thought at least this way I would get to pick something that I like for 19

dinner. Carmen drove us to a food truck across the street from the courthouse on Leckrone Lane 20

in Midtown. The food truck only served soup. All I remember is that it was way too hot to eat 21

soup. But I like soup so I didn’t say anything. 22

I should have said something. There was only one person working in the food truck. That 23

person had a nametag that said “Dylan” on it and was wearing purple gloves. I think Carmen and 24

Dylan knew up each other. Carmen was being really embarrassing. Carmen made a couple of 25

really bad jokes and Dylan laughed really hard like they were funny. They weren’t funny. And 26

the soup was even worse than the jokes. 27

The next Tuesday (April 11) after my piano lesson, Carmen and I did the same thing. It 28

was worse. Both the jokes and the soup. In addition to suddenly becoming a comedian, Carmen 29

also became a fashion critic, telling Dylan that the maroon “Souper Delicious!” uniform t-shirt 30

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that Dylan was wearing brought out the color of Dylan’s eyes. I wanted to die. Dylan was still 31

wearing purple gloves, which looked dumb. When we got home, I told Carmen I was going on a 32

hunger strike. Carmen didn’t care about my hunger strike, but a few days later Kerry said if I did 33

not clean my plate at dinner I would be grounded. I got grounded. It was awful. Kerry took my 34

phone, so I couldn’t text my friends that whole week. 35

Carmen understood that it was cruel and unusual punishment not to have a cell phone, so 36

Carmen let use Carmen’s phone to call my best friends Sawyer. I knew I was just supposed to 37

call Sawyer and not play games on the phone, but Carmen was watching TV. When I opened the 38

phone to call Sawyer, I decided to do some snooping. I saw an app called Tender that had a heart 39

logo. I knew Tender was a dating app because I saw ads for Tender on the internet. I know that 40

people use Tender to find new friends and lots of people find their soulmate with Tender. I 41

decided to find out who Carmen was talking to on Tender. When I opened Tender, I saw that 42

Carmen had a few friends on the app. When I opened the app, the most recent person Carmen 43

had talked to on Tender was named Dylan. I looked at Dylan’s profile and saw that it said 44

something about soup. I screamed really loud and threw the phone on my bed. I did not read any 45

of the messages between Carmen and Dylan. Carmen came in, and I asked Carmen if Carmen 46

was talking to Soup Dylan on Tender. Carmen said that Carmen was. Carmen took the phone 47

back and told me I couldn’t leave my room until the morning. I told Carmen that I would tell 48

Kerry about Dylan. Carmen told me Carmen would buy me tickets to concert at the Midlands 49

Arena if I kept mouth shut. So, I did until I wrote this for the court. I am very good at keeping 50

secrets. 51

The next time I saw Dylan was June 1. My school doesn’t have air conditioning so we get 52

out of school early when it is really hot. We got early that day because it was like a million 53

degrees outside. I told Sawyer we should go to the pool, so we walked home at 12:30 P.M. so I 54

could get permission and get money and my swimsuit. When I walked in the front door to the 55

condo, I heard Carmen in the kitchen. Carmen said, “Well, I’ll have more free time as soon as 56

this month is over. Just look.” I didn’t know who Carmen was talking to, but the sound was 57

coming from the kitchen. 58

Carmen told me that Dylan and Carmen were talking about cooking because they both 59

like recipes. I asked if I could go to the pool with Sawyer and Caren gave me $25 for the pool 60

and to buy candy. When I was changing into my swimsuit, I heard them arguing. I heard Dylan 61

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say, “What are we doing? I want to stop sneaking around. You need to leave Kerry.” Carmen 62

said, “It’s not that easy. I had to sign a prenup, and I wouldn’t have a way to take care of Bailey. 63

We need to find another way out of this.” Then I went to the pool. 64

I heard Dylan in our condo one other time. It was June 25. Kerry was out of town for 65

work. I wanted to go to Sawyer’s house to watch a movie. Carmen was watching TV in the 66

living room and said it was okay. It was 2 P.M. I forgot my backpack and came home about 15 67

minutes after I left to get it. I used my key to come in the back door and grabbed my backpack 68

from my room. I didn’t say anything to Carmen as I walked in. I don’t think Carmen knew that I 69

came back. I was about to walk out the back door when I heard someone use a key to unlock the 70

back door. I hid in the corner of the utility room behind the back door as it opened. The door is 71

solid wood so no one can see you when you hide there. I saw Dylan walk in the back door. Dylan 72

was holding a key. Dylan walked into the living room. Carmen was still watching TV and the 73

TV was still loud. I stayed hidden in the utility room but peaked my head into the hallway when I 74

heard Carmen say, “Before we do anything else, we need to talk. I’m going to Ecuador next 75

week for a few weeks while Bailey is at camp. I want you to get rid of Kerry.” Then, I heard 76

Dylan say, “I’m not sure what you mean.” Carmen said, “I think you do.” Dylan didn’t say 77

anything back. That’s when I left out the back door to go to Sawyer’s place. I didn’t say anything 78

to Kerry about that conversation. I thought Carmen was staying in Midlands while I was at camp. 79

I asked Carmen the next morning if Carmen and Kerry were going to get a divorce. 80

Carmen told me that would never happen, but, if they did, I would have to live with Kerry. That 81

made me sad. I want my parents to stay together. 82

July 2, 2017 was super weird. I was packing for camp in my bedroom. I heard my parents 83

talking in their bedroom. Carmen told Kerry that Carmen had an affair with Dylan. Carmen said 84

the affair was over. Then Carmen said Carmen was going to Ecuador to see Carmen’s family. 85

Kerry was mad. Kerry said, “You can’t just leave. We have to work this out. You can’t just tell 86

me you were having an affair and then leave the country.” Carmen said, “Why not? You leave 87

the country every week.” Kerry responded, “That’s my job. We have to make this right. When 88

will I see you again?” Carmen responded with “I don’t know. Maybe never.” I tried to ignore the 89

argument. But then Carmen came into the room to talk to me. A few minutes later, Carmen was 90

heading out the door. I haven’t seen or heard from Carmen since that day. 91

4

On July 2, after Carmen left, I saw Dylan sitting in the Souper Soups food truck outside 92

the front of our building when I was home with Kerry. It was creepy. But I didn’t say anything to 93

Kerry. It was Dylan’s fault that Carmen left, so I decided to go tell Dylan how mad I was. I went 94

downstairs, out the front door, and up to Dylan’s soup truck. Dylan wasn’t selling anything and it 95

didn’t even look like Dylan had made any soup. I said to Dylan, “This is all your fault you stupid 96

soup slurper.” Dylan said back to me, “Don’t worry, Bailey. You won’t be seeing me anymore. I 97

plan on staying away from your entire family. Carmen left me and I don’t love Carmen 98

anymore.” Dylan looked sad and I believed Dylan, so I went inside to finish packing. 99

Kerry drove me to the bus for sleepaway camp at Riverside Camp the next morning, July 100

3. Camp was fun. I was supposed to be at camp for a month. But I left on July 17 because Kerry 101

got hurt. I know Kerry was supposed to be strangled, but I didn’t see any bruising or marks at all 102

when I went to the hospital on July 17. Around noon on July 17, 2017, I visited Kerry at the 103

hospital. I came back to the room after getting a drink from the soda machine, and Kerry was 104

talking to a doctor. The doctor asked, “Hi Kerry, I am just following up after getting your test 105

results. How are you feeling?” Kerry said, “Physically, I feel okay. But I’m really drained 106

mentally.” Then the doctor said, “Well that will happen when you take Everest. Can you 107

remember what happened last night?” Kerry responded, “Not really. It’s all a little hazy.” Then 108

Kerry looked at me in the doorway and said to the doctor “Can we talk about this later?” and 109

nodded at me. I know Everest is a mountain and sometimes people die when they climb it. We 110

went home from the hospital later that day. Now Kerry is home all of the time. I hope Carmen 111

comes home soon. 112

I promise that everything I wrote is true. I know that I have to write down everything I 113

know that could possibly be important. I know that if I remember anything that I forgot to write 114

down I have to update what I wrote even if it right before the trial starts. I promise I will do that. 115

116

Signed: Subscribed and sworn to me on this 1st da of August 2017: 117

Bailey Bell-Leon Areeb Rahimzadeh 118

Notary Public 119

Prosecution Direct Examination of Bailey Bell-Leon

Carmen Bell-Leon was having an affair with Dylan Hendricks, a food truck owner. Dylan was in love with Carmen and wanted her to leave her husband, but Carmen was hesitant to do so as they had signed a prenuptial agreement. Instead Carmen told Dylan that she wanted him “to get rid of Kerry.” On July 16, 2017, someone entered Mr. Bell-Leon’s apartment in the Jaywood Building carrying a gun. After Mr. Bell-Leon kicked the gun away, the individual attempted to strangle Mr. Bell-Leon with an orange extension cord. The individual then ran out of the building and tossed the gun in a street alley. Mr. Bell-Leon alleges that the attacker was Dylan Hendricks. Authorities have charged Mr. Hendricks with attempted murder. The purpose of this prosecution-side direct examination is to elicit testimony from Carmen & Kerry Bell-Leon’s child who witnessed various instances during which Carmen & Hendricks may have been planning the attack.

1. Please state your name for the record a. Bailey Bell-Leon

2. How old are you? a. 13 years old

3. Can you tell the jury a little bit about yourself? a. My parents are Kerry and Carmen Bell-Leon b. Expand on this answer to tell us who you are as Bailey. What does Bailey do, who is your

Bailey? 4. Are you familiar with the defendant in this case, Dylan Hendricks?

a. Yes b. Tell us how you know Dylan Hendricks, this information can be found in the affidavit but

feel free to expand as your character would 5. Did you ever see Dylan alone with Carmen Bell-Leon in your apartment?

a. Yes, I remember on June 1st and June 25th 6. You mentioned June 1st and June 25th, what happened between Carmen and Dylan on

June 1st? a. I heard Dylan say, “What are we doing? I want to stop sneaking around. You need to

leave Kerry.” Carmen said, “It’s not that easy. I had to sign a prenup, and I wouldn’t have a way to take care of Bailey. We need to find another way out of this.” Then I went to the pool.

7. I’d like to focus on June 25th, what was happening that day? a. Briefly explain what you were doing for the day b. ...I walked in the house

8. When you walked in your house did you tell Carmen you came in? a. No b. Tell us why not! This information may not be explicit in the affidavit but this is your

chance to come up with something interesting. 9. What happened next?

a. Dylan walked in, he had a key 10. When Dylan walked into the house what did Carmen say?

a. Carmen said “Before we do anything else, we need to talk. I’m going to Ecuador next week for a few weeks while Bailey is at camp. I want you to get rid of Kerry.”

11. What happened next? a. Dylan said “I don't think I understand what you mean” but then Carmen said “I think you

do” and Dylan was silent. I then went to the my friends 12. Do you know what type of relationship Carmen and Dylan were having?

a. They were having an affair 13. How do you know that?

a. I overheard Carmen and Kerry talking about it on July 2nd b. There was one damning quote that was said during that conversation - tell us what it

was. Thank you. No further questions.