Defense Rests In Ryan Murder Trial
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
After calling three witnesses to the stand, the defense rested its case in the Jason Ryan murder trial this morning. Ryan is accused of the 2001 murder of Jill Phillips.
The prosecution followed by calling one rebuttal witness, and Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Rex Reed told the jury he was giving the attorneys the rest of the day to prepare their final arguments, which will be heard Wednesday morning. The jury will receive final instructions from Reed beginning at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, and final arguments will follow. Once the arguments are finished, the case will be handed to the jury for deliberations.
The defense's last witness, forensic pathologist Dr. John E. Pless, testified that he reviewed the autopsy performed on Phillips' body by Dr. Scott A. Wagner. Pless stated that the autopsy was "thorough and complete," and he had "no question of (the autopsy's) accuracy."
Pless explained the difference between possible (almost anything is possible), probable (more likely to occur 50 percent of the time), highly probable (about 85 percent of the time) and with reasonable medical certainty (likely to have occurred, or at least 90 percent accuracy).
Pless then said he disagreed with Wagner's assessment that the cause of Phillips' death was "homicidal violence" because there was nothing on or in the body to suggest that there was another person involved in her death. He said he could not determine Phillips' cause of death to a reasonable degree of certainty or a probable degree of certainty.
He also testified that it was possible that Phillips' death was the result of suicide, accidental drowning or homicide because anything was possible.
"I know of nothing that is probable in this case," said Pless when asked what the probable cause of Phillips' death was.
The defense also called Jan Hall, a friend of Phillips, to the stand. Hall said Phillips had a big heart and "would give the shirt off her back" if someone needed it. Hall also said Phillips "fell easily and fell very hard" in relationships, and that Phillips tended to have short-term relationships.
Hall testified that she thought Phillips was about to break up with Matt Lauer.
The first witness to take the stand today was Joshua Allriedge of Mishawaka. Allriedge met Ryan when Ryan was dating Allriedge's sister two summers ago. Allriedge said he and Ryan went fishing several times that summer and never noticed any reluctance to fish on Ryan's part.
The prosecution finished its case with a rebuttal witness, Sam Whitaker. Whitaker said he interviewed Hall on two occasions for about 15 minutes each time. Whitaker said he asked Hall about all of Phillips' friends and Hall knew very few of them.
After Whitaker's testimony, the prosecution rested. The defense had no rebuttal witnesses. Final arguments begin Wednesday morning.Differing opinions on polygraph testing were the main focus of day four of the Jason Ryan murder trial Monday as the prosecution rested its case and the defense started to present its side.
Ryan is accused of the 2001 murder of Jill Phillips, whose body was found June 10, 2001, in Turkey Creek near Syracuse.
Monday four witnesses took the stand, while the deposition of another witness was read to the jury. Three of the witnesses testified about polygraph testing.
The polygraph test results and information were allowed in evidence because it was a stipulated test, allowed by Indiana state law. Polygraph tests monitor the body's physiological responses in three categories: breathing, sweating and heart activity.
Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department Detective Sgt. Travis Marsh, who is a licensed polygraph operator, explained the workings of polygraph tests and told the jury that he administered a polygraph test to Ryan on Sept. 8, 2001.
The format used in Ryan's polygraph was a modified general question test, also referred to as an MGQT, that is best used in situations where there are some unanswered questions in the investigation of a crime. After the procedure of the polygraph was explained, the jury was shown a DVD made from the original video of the polygraph. However, technical difficulties prevented the jury from seeing the entire test on the video. The jury saw the test being set up, the explanation of the procedure to Ryan and eight of the 10 questions asked before the equipment failure halted the video.
When asked, "Are you attempting to withhold any information about what happened to Jill?" Ryan replied, "No."
Marsh said the test showed Ryan was "lying to that question."
When asked "Did you remove Jill's clothing found at Turkey Creek?" Ryan answered, "No."
Ryan was "lying to that question," said Marsh.
And when asked, "Did you cause Jill's death?" Ryan also replied, "No."
According to Marsh, the test revealed Ryan was "lying to that question."
Overall, Marsh said, the test was "deceptive," that Ryan was not telling the complete truth.
Later Warsaw Police Department Lt. Steve Adang was called to the stand. Adang, who also is a licensed polygraph examiner who has administered between 1,200 and 1,500 polygraph tests, told jurors that he performed a quality control review of Marsh's polygraph examination.
Adang reviewed copies of the charts and video of the test administered and said his findings concurred with Marsh's determination. Adang explained that he did not used the results from the first of the three charts taken because Ryan was "consistently clearing his throat and sniffing," which made the test difficult to read. However, the exclusion of the first test did not invalidate the rest of the test results. Adang said that two charts can prove a valid deceptive response.
After Adang left the stand, the defense called its first witness, George Baranowski.
Baranowski, a polygraph examiner who is a part-owner of Mindsight Consultants in Michigan City, testified that he disagreed with Marsh's and Adang's findings.
According to Baranowski, the MGQT should be used for utility purposes only, and that the MGQT should be only the first stage of testing. In other words, another test should have supplemented the original MGQT to be more accurate. It was Baranowski's opinion that a different type of polygraph test, the zone-specific issue test, should have followed the MGQT.
Baranowski also said the questions asked in the polygraph could have been better. When asked what his opinion of Ryan's MGQT, Baranowski said it was "an invalid test."
The first witness of the day, Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department Detective Sgt. J.D. Ayres took the stand and testified that he got involved in the murder case when Phillips' body was found July 10. After helping secure the scene, take photos and recover the body, Ayres left for a training session and was gone until Aug. 29, 2001. When Ayres returned, he interviewed people who knew Jill, tracked down telephone numbers and later interviewed Ryan and helped with the production of the Crime Stoppers video that aired on local television stations.
In the interview, Ryan told Ayres he hadn't seen Phillips since 1999, and said that he hadn't talked to Phillips in 10 months. Ayres also asked Ryan about the red Geo Tracker he sold. Ryan told Ayres that he got rid of the vehicle because he wanted a four-wheel drive, but never said the vehicle caught fire.
Ayres also secured search warrants for hair and saliva samples from Ryan and Jasmine Phillips. The samples were used to run a paternity test, proving Jasmine was Ryan's daughter.
Ayres testified that he discovered Ryan tried to obtain a passport in November 2002. He was not aware if Ryan got the passport or if Ryan planned to leave the country.
On Jan. 25, 2003, Crime Stoppers received a call from a person who said he had information regarding Phillips' murder. The caller was later identified as Adam Chrzan, and his deposition was read to the jury during Monday's installment of the trial.
In the deposition, Chrzan said he had become friends with Ryan and later the two lived together for a time.
Chrzan said he was an alcoholic and had a bad memory sometimes. However, Chrzan remembers a night at Ryan's apartment when Chrzan and a friend suggested going fishing under Logan Bridge in Mishawaka near the apartment complex they were in.
Chrzan said after asking Ryan to go fishing several times, Ryan said that he would never go fishing again because he didn't "want the memories, the memory of what she looked like."
The trial resumed today at 9 a.m. as the defense continued its case. [[In-content Ad]]
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After calling three witnesses to the stand, the defense rested its case in the Jason Ryan murder trial this morning. Ryan is accused of the 2001 murder of Jill Phillips.
The prosecution followed by calling one rebuttal witness, and Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Rex Reed told the jury he was giving the attorneys the rest of the day to prepare their final arguments, which will be heard Wednesday morning. The jury will receive final instructions from Reed beginning at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, and final arguments will follow. Once the arguments are finished, the case will be handed to the jury for deliberations.
The defense's last witness, forensic pathologist Dr. John E. Pless, testified that he reviewed the autopsy performed on Phillips' body by Dr. Scott A. Wagner. Pless stated that the autopsy was "thorough and complete," and he had "no question of (the autopsy's) accuracy."
Pless explained the difference between possible (almost anything is possible), probable (more likely to occur 50 percent of the time), highly probable (about 85 percent of the time) and with reasonable medical certainty (likely to have occurred, or at least 90 percent accuracy).
Pless then said he disagreed with Wagner's assessment that the cause of Phillips' death was "homicidal violence" because there was nothing on or in the body to suggest that there was another person involved in her death. He said he could not determine Phillips' cause of death to a reasonable degree of certainty or a probable degree of certainty.
He also testified that it was possible that Phillips' death was the result of suicide, accidental drowning or homicide because anything was possible.
"I know of nothing that is probable in this case," said Pless when asked what the probable cause of Phillips' death was.
The defense also called Jan Hall, a friend of Phillips, to the stand. Hall said Phillips had a big heart and "would give the shirt off her back" if someone needed it. Hall also said Phillips "fell easily and fell very hard" in relationships, and that Phillips tended to have short-term relationships.
Hall testified that she thought Phillips was about to break up with Matt Lauer.
The first witness to take the stand today was Joshua Allriedge of Mishawaka. Allriedge met Ryan when Ryan was dating Allriedge's sister two summers ago. Allriedge said he and Ryan went fishing several times that summer and never noticed any reluctance to fish on Ryan's part.
The prosecution finished its case with a rebuttal witness, Sam Whitaker. Whitaker said he interviewed Hall on two occasions for about 15 minutes each time. Whitaker said he asked Hall about all of Phillips' friends and Hall knew very few of them.
After Whitaker's testimony, the prosecution rested. The defense had no rebuttal witnesses. Final arguments begin Wednesday morning.Differing opinions on polygraph testing were the main focus of day four of the Jason Ryan murder trial Monday as the prosecution rested its case and the defense started to present its side.
Ryan is accused of the 2001 murder of Jill Phillips, whose body was found June 10, 2001, in Turkey Creek near Syracuse.
Monday four witnesses took the stand, while the deposition of another witness was read to the jury. Three of the witnesses testified about polygraph testing.
The polygraph test results and information were allowed in evidence because it was a stipulated test, allowed by Indiana state law. Polygraph tests monitor the body's physiological responses in three categories: breathing, sweating and heart activity.
Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department Detective Sgt. Travis Marsh, who is a licensed polygraph operator, explained the workings of polygraph tests and told the jury that he administered a polygraph test to Ryan on Sept. 8, 2001.
The format used in Ryan's polygraph was a modified general question test, also referred to as an MGQT, that is best used in situations where there are some unanswered questions in the investigation of a crime. After the procedure of the polygraph was explained, the jury was shown a DVD made from the original video of the polygraph. However, technical difficulties prevented the jury from seeing the entire test on the video. The jury saw the test being set up, the explanation of the procedure to Ryan and eight of the 10 questions asked before the equipment failure halted the video.
When asked, "Are you attempting to withhold any information about what happened to Jill?" Ryan replied, "No."
Marsh said the test showed Ryan was "lying to that question."
When asked "Did you remove Jill's clothing found at Turkey Creek?" Ryan answered, "No."
Ryan was "lying to that question," said Marsh.
And when asked, "Did you cause Jill's death?" Ryan also replied, "No."
According to Marsh, the test revealed Ryan was "lying to that question."
Overall, Marsh said, the test was "deceptive," that Ryan was not telling the complete truth.
Later Warsaw Police Department Lt. Steve Adang was called to the stand. Adang, who also is a licensed polygraph examiner who has administered between 1,200 and 1,500 polygraph tests, told jurors that he performed a quality control review of Marsh's polygraph examination.
Adang reviewed copies of the charts and video of the test administered and said his findings concurred with Marsh's determination. Adang explained that he did not used the results from the first of the three charts taken because Ryan was "consistently clearing his throat and sniffing," which made the test difficult to read. However, the exclusion of the first test did not invalidate the rest of the test results. Adang said that two charts can prove a valid deceptive response.
After Adang left the stand, the defense called its first witness, George Baranowski.
Baranowski, a polygraph examiner who is a part-owner of Mindsight Consultants in Michigan City, testified that he disagreed with Marsh's and Adang's findings.
According to Baranowski, the MGQT should be used for utility purposes only, and that the MGQT should be only the first stage of testing. In other words, another test should have supplemented the original MGQT to be more accurate. It was Baranowski's opinion that a different type of polygraph test, the zone-specific issue test, should have followed the MGQT.
Baranowski also said the questions asked in the polygraph could have been better. When asked what his opinion of Ryan's MGQT, Baranowski said it was "an invalid test."
The first witness of the day, Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department Detective Sgt. J.D. Ayres took the stand and testified that he got involved in the murder case when Phillips' body was found July 10. After helping secure the scene, take photos and recover the body, Ayres left for a training session and was gone until Aug. 29, 2001. When Ayres returned, he interviewed people who knew Jill, tracked down telephone numbers and later interviewed Ryan and helped with the production of the Crime Stoppers video that aired on local television stations.
In the interview, Ryan told Ayres he hadn't seen Phillips since 1999, and said that he hadn't talked to Phillips in 10 months. Ayres also asked Ryan about the red Geo Tracker he sold. Ryan told Ayres that he got rid of the vehicle because he wanted a four-wheel drive, but never said the vehicle caught fire.
Ayres also secured search warrants for hair and saliva samples from Ryan and Jasmine Phillips. The samples were used to run a paternity test, proving Jasmine was Ryan's daughter.
Ayres testified that he discovered Ryan tried to obtain a passport in November 2002. He was not aware if Ryan got the passport or if Ryan planned to leave the country.
On Jan. 25, 2003, Crime Stoppers received a call from a person who said he had information regarding Phillips' murder. The caller was later identified as Adam Chrzan, and his deposition was read to the jury during Monday's installment of the trial.
In the deposition, Chrzan said he had become friends with Ryan and later the two lived together for a time.
Chrzan said he was an alcoholic and had a bad memory sometimes. However, Chrzan remembers a night at Ryan's apartment when Chrzan and a friend suggested going fishing under Logan Bridge in Mishawaka near the apartment complex they were in.
Chrzan said after asking Ryan to go fishing several times, Ryan said that he would never go fishing again because he didn't "want the memories, the memory of what she looked like."
The trial resumed today at 9 a.m. as the defense continued its case. [[In-content Ad]]