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Staff writer Joseph Neff can be reached at 829-4516 or joseph.neff@newsobserver.com
Staff writer Craig Jarvis contributed to this report.
Lawyer Joseph B. Cheshire V speaks to reporters on the steps of the Durham County courthouse April 10, 2006, telling them that no DNA was found on Crystal Mangum. At right is defense lawyer Bill Thomas.
Staff File Photo by Chuck Liddy
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Audio: Bill Thomas
Defense attorney Bill Thomas recounts his April 4 meeting with Mike Nifong, where Nifong described the accuser as credible and intelligent.
Thomas recalls organizing a group of veteran lawyers to visit Nifong and urge him to look at evidence that no rape occurred, and to slow the rush to indictment.
Defense attorney Bill Thomas recounts his April 4 meeting with Mike Nifong, where Nifong described the accuser as credible and intelligent.
Thomas recalls organizing a group of veteran lawyers to visit Nifong and urge him to look at evidence that no rape occurred, and to slow the rush to indictment.
Five important moments
MARCH 16 AND MARCH 21, 2006: Crystal Mangum looks at photographs of 36 of the 46 lacrosse suspects. She identifies none of them as the three men who attacked her. She said they used the names Adam, Brett and Matt.
MARCH 31: Mike Nifong orders Durham police investigators to show Mangum photos taken by police of the 46 players.
APRIL 4: Mangum looks at the 46 photos and identifies four men as her assailants.
APRIL 11: Nifong meets with Mangum. He later tells a judge they did not talk about the case.
APRIL 12: Nifong files a motion under seal saying he plans to indict Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty.
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Mangum had said that no condoms were used and that at least one, if not all, of her attackers ejaculated. The SBI found no semen, blood or saliva from what she said was a vicious 30-minute assault. She had told a nurse at Duke she had one drink that evening, but she told doctors at UNC Hospitals that "she was drunk and had a lot of alcohol that night."All this could have prompted a lot of questions. But Nifong later told a judge that Mangum was too traumatized to speak: "No statements were made by Crystal Mangum, and no questions were asked of her regarding this case, which is a fact."Nifong later told a judge that he had never discussed the case with her at all, flatly contradicting Thomas' account of their April 4 meeting.Thomas, meanwhile, was putting together a delegation to meet with Nifong. He chose the other lawyers he thought Nifong would most likely listen to: James D. "Butch" Williams Jr., a highly regarded Durham defense lawyer; and Wade Smith of Raleigh, the cordial dean of the North Carolina defense bar.Smith did most of the talking. "Please slow down," he said to Nifong.Smith asked for a dialogue and said the defense lawyers would open their files and share with Nifong all the evidence they had gathered. They hoped he would see that the charges were false.Nifong put his hands over his ears, Smith said. So he let Nifong speak.'I know a lot more'"Gentlemen, I know a lot more about this case than any of you do, and I'm going to proceed as I see fit."The meeting had lasted less than 10 minutes. As the lawyers stood to leave, Nifong grew visibly angry and launched into a tirade: "And by the way, you can tell that [expletive] Cheshire that ..."Williams cut Nifong off: "Don't even go there. We don't want to hear about Joe."As the lawyers walked down the hallway to the elevators, they shook their heads. There was no talking with Nifong. He was going to obtain indictments, and nothing would stop him. The lawyers did not know whom he would indict; they thought the most likely candidates were the three captains who lived in the house.They were wrong. Two days earlier, Nifong had filed a motion under seal with Superior Court Judge Ronald Stephens. Nifong would indict Reade Seligmann, a sophomore, and Collin Finnerty, a freshman. The defense lawyers had considered them to be the least likely candidates.(Staff writer Craig Jarvis contributed to this report.)
