July 20, 1995 - Part 2
July 20, 1995 - Part 2
(10:30:01)(tape # 10116 begins) Mr. BEN-VENISTE. In fact, later that evening you and Sergeant Braun had advised the Foster family that this was an apparent suicide? (10:30:12) Mr. ROLLA, Yes, I did. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Do you recall that evening that Webster Hubbell asked to be allowed to break the news to Mrs. Foster, but that you declined to allow him to do that? I'll get into the reason, the good reason for that in a moment. Mr. ROLLA. I have a good reason if that happened, but we never, talked to him at all that night. The only contact we had with him was when he moved Investigator Braun out of the way from Cheryl Anthony. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. We've heard testimony about that, and we'll get to that. You have no recollection of Mr. Hubbell asking to be permitted to break the news (10:31:08)(tape #10115 ends) to Mrs. Foster that her husband was dead? Mr. ROLLA. I was already at the front door when they were coming up to the first landing. I've never talked to them. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. The reason why you needed to break the news and advise Mrs. Foster was because your manual and your training tells you that you are the appropriate person to do that? Mr. ROLLA. We had, supposedly, close friends of the family with us, two friends, Mr. Watkins and his wife. We didn't want a whole bunch of people. Let me explain to you what happens when you, make a death notification. Even if he did it, the question is going to be why, what, when, who, where, and they're going to have to come to us anyway. So what happens when you make a death noti- fication is you break the news, very grievous, a period of intense mourning, grief, and then, whether there's shock, whatever, there's a period of information exchanged. The family wants to know what happens and we tell them, and we get information from them. It may seem a little cold or heartless. We were not. We were very sensitive. It's probably the worst thing we have to do is tell someone their loved one is dead, for whatever reason. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. You weren't doing this out of coldness or heartlessness, that is, being the ones to advise Mrs.Foster. You were doing it out of training and the instruction of your manaual and the authorities that you looked to for guidance; correct? Mr. ROLLA. That's correct. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Did you tell Mrs. Foster that no suicide note had been found in Fort Marcy Park? Mr. ROLLA. No, she never asked that question, and I didn't advise it, 161 Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Did you advise anyone there that evening that no note had been found? Mr. ROLLA. I tell you, I don't know if anyone asked me that question. I don't remember. I may have told them. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. If they asked you, you would have told them? Mr. ROLLA. No, it was not a secret. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. These people were grieving; they were looking to you for help as well as comfort from their friends and relatives; correct? Mr. ROLLA. Yes; correct. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. There wasn't any reason why you wouldn't tell them? Mr. ROLLA. No, there would be no secret about it. Mr. BEN-VENISTE, In fact, you've indicated that you did search for a suicide note at the scene of Mr. Foster's death? Mr. ROLLA. We searched the scene, searched his person. His vehicle was on the scene. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. You didn't search his person at the scene, did you? Mr. ROLLA. After it was pronounced, we emptied his pockets. Yes, I did remove his personal property and search them. Mr. BEN NISTE. At the scene or at the hospital? Mr. ROLLA. At the scene. We went to the hospital because I happened to miss his car keys in his right front pants pocket. Mr. BEN-VENISTE, So you made a cursory search of Mr. Foster's pants pockets, but you did not at that time locate the set of keys to the car? Mr. ROLLA. That's correct. I neglected to turn his pocket inside out. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. You did not find a note, clearly? Mr. ROLLA. No, there's no note. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. You looked in his suit coat, which was in the car, did you not? Mr. ROLLA. Yes, I did. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. You did not find any note in the suit coat? Mr. ROLLA. No. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. You looked in his car, did you not? Mr. ROLLA. Yes. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. You looked on the dashboard? Mr. ROLLA. I searched the car, the trunk, the interior, the papers that were in the vehicle. There was no note. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. You looked through the papers. You looked on the seats. Did you look under the seats? Mr. ROLLA, Yes. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. In the front and back? Mr. ROLLA. Front and back. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Did you look under the carpet in the front? Mr. ROLLA. Under the mats. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. You looked under the mats. Did you yank up the carpet? Mr. ROLLA. No, I didn't pull up the carpet. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Did you look under the hood? Mr. ROLLA. No. 162 Mr. BEN-VENISTE. I mean, obviously you're not going to look in all of these places because your training teaches you that people who commit suicide and leave notes leave those notes where they will likely be discovered; is that correct?