Court adjourned for todayPosted Mar12, 2008 at 03:43 PMAfter the defense announced that it had rested its case, Circuit Judge Ray Grubbs told jurors it would be a good time to let them go for the day. They were instructed to return at 8:45 a.m., when they will hear their instructions for the sentencing phase and closing statements from the prosecution and the defense. Morva's mother, Elizabeth Morva, has had to stay outside the courtroom for the entire trial in case she was later called to testify. The defense did not call her and she was finally allowed in, just before court adjourned for the day. Attendance today has been high, with several Montgomery County deputies in plainclothes sitting on the prosecution's side of the room and many of Morva's friends choosing to sit on the defense side after they had testified for him. Several of Morva's supporters gasped today when they learned that he is kept locked up for 23 hours a day at the New River Valley Regional Jail. Morva again won't testifyPosted Mar12, 2008 at 03:30 PMThe defense has rested in the sentencing phase of William Morva's trial. Morva did not testify. Psychiatrist: Morva has personality disorderPosted Mar12, 2008 at 02:52 PMDr. Bruce Cohen, a forensic psychiatrist who conducted extensive interviews with Morva and his family members and reviewed documents related to Morva, just took the witness stand and testified that he found Morva to have schizotypal personality disorder and narcissistic tendencies. Also, he said, Morva's IQ is in the range of "superior intelligence" and is in contrast to the "very little he has accomplished" in his life. In conversations with Morva, he said, he found that Morva had planned his escape - but not necessarily the murders -- in advance. Cohen is the thirteenth witness to testify for the defense today. Morva's mother has not taken the stand, and it's unclear if she will. Friends of Morva taking witness standPosted Mar12, 2008 at 11:20 AMJurors have heard from six people this morning who knew William Morva in happier times, from his guidance counselor to several high school friends. They have described him as a friendly, smart person who cared a great deal about other people. One said he was against guns. |
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