Caryn Kelley, 48, on trial for allegedly murdering her boyfriend Phillip Peatross, 46, in 2011, broke down and cried in court Thursday as she listened to her own voice on tape, according to news reports. The tape was from the night Peatross died, when she gave testimony to the police immediately afterward.
Peatross was shot in the face at Kelley’s College Park home in Orlando. Kelley has since given several different versions of what happened. At one point she said it was an accident. At another, her story was that she shot Peatross in self-defense, because she did not know it was Peatross in her home.
She even claimed that Peatross shot himself, which was ruled out by the medical examiner on Wednesday.
Peatross’s family could not contain their tears as they listened to Kelley on tape. As Kelley broke down in front of the courtroom – which the defense may have wanted the jury to see – the judge asked her to leave, which she did.
Judge Heather Pinder Rodriguez issued a statement that “if the testimony becomes too upsetting for you, and you cannot control your emotions, you need to step outside the courtroom, compose yourself, and then come back in. I know this is a lot to ask, but our system of justice demands it.”
As Memorial Day Weekend approaches, several witnesses are leaving town with holiday plans, which may pose a problem for the attorneys on both sides on Friday.
