Court Reporter: Gail's Trial, day 1

We're in the courtroom today where Gail Potter Tilsley Tilsley Platt Hillman McIntyre is on trial for murdering her most recent husband, Joseph. Up in the viewing gallery, Gail's supporters are biting their nails. The macabre nosy neighbours are biting their lemon sherbets. This reporter has made notes during the testimony and will report on them for you forthwith.

The prosecution had opened with a very damning statement, painting Mrs. McIntyre in a very black light. She's such a tiny thing, though, do they really expect folk to believe she could clobber someone bigger than her? I suppose stranger things have happened.

The first witness, a Ms. Tracy Barlow, apparently has shared a cell with the accused and testifies that the accused confessed to her the whole sorry tale. There was an odd bit of rumbling in the skies over the courthouse and the lights flickered a bit. Several of us thought there would be a real lightening storm there for a few minutes but it must have passed on. The Defence has made this witness look dodgey, however. Well, after all, she *is* in prison for murder herself and her own defence wasn't believed. The Defence also seemed to have touched a sore spot when he implied that Ms. Barlow might be doing this for her own gain. Ah ha! My instincts are saying they're right. The mother of this witness looks as if she's not so sure her own daughter is telling the truth, either.

There's one of them "expert" witnesses that tells the court that it's possible that the deceased could have been knocked overboard which is apparently the whole case that the defence is proposing.

The last witness for tonight is the daughter of the deceased, one Tina McIntyre who spews hateful things about her former step-mother. She thinks Mrs. McIntyre was obsessed with her husband, who was desperate to hang on to a man who brought her nothing but shame and heartache with his drug addiction, his depression and his financial debt. She accuses Gail of covering up Joe's death by sending his daughter text messages and flowers after his death so nobody would realize he was missing. That doesn't sound too good, does it? The cross examination tries to make Ms. McIntyre look as if she's totally unrealistic about her father's life and death, that she is blaming Gail because she can't blame her father. I don't know. It doesn't really wash with me, but this Joe does sound like quite a loser just the same.

We'll have more from the courtroom tomorrow!