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    Part 3 of 4 
    Day 3 - Morning
 PRELIMINARY NOTES
 The day began at 9:00 PM sharp. Judge Piersoll (curly gray hair and glasses, 
    thin, very quiet and hard to hear — also hard to read him) without the Jury 
    present, did a lengthy ruling on what "hearsay" is, quoting AMAHI vs. US as 
    a precedent, saying, "The truth of the matter asserted is not hearsay."
 
 Then the Jury came in, looking nervous and very serious.
 
 DENISE MALONEY, Annie's oldest daughter, was called in by the Prosecution
     first — very impressive I thought, with black long hair and a strong intelligent
    
    voice. She was there with her sister and the chief of
     their Nation. She mostly related an April 2002 phone call to her and Debbie
    
    from Paul DeMain and Richard Two Elk, saying that Arlo wanted to talk to
     them. After discussing it because they "didn't like to talk to anybody
      publicly," they decided to talk to Arlo because Two Elk was Arlo's "brother" 
    (a false representation which Rensch exposed later in the Trial when Two
    Elk  took the stand), and because DeMain vouched for them. Arlo got on the
    phone 
    and said, "He felt sad he hadn't called. Angie, Theda, and John Boy
    were  calling her — my mother — a federal agent," relating what Arlo
    said. "He 
    said John Boy did it, but he wasn't present. He felt bad, he said." That
    was  about it. Short but powerful, a very impressive and prestigious witness.
    
    Although it does raise the contradiction that Arlo claimed to not be 
    present.
 
 CANDY HAMILTON was called next, far less impressive. She's often quoted as a 
    good friend of Anna Mae's, and yet she didn't seem to know much or add much. 
    She had only come in to the WKLDOC office in Rapid City on Thursday, 
    December 11, 1975, on her way to Russell Means' trial in Sioux Falls (even 
    though Rapid City is hardly on the way to Sioux Falls). She said, "We stayed 
    at Thelma Rios' and her mother's apartment around Maple Street, in North 
    Rapid, the Alphabelle Apartments. It was Thelma's mother's apartment, I 
    think. Thelma was in the process of moving in. She had been in a house on 
    Milwaukee... Thelma and Kathy's... then Dave Hill came in where we were 
    visiting in the kitchen, he just walked in and sat down. Soon after that I 
    went to bed, and in the morning I heard Bruce Ellison's voice downstairs. 
    Back at the WKLDOC House [712 Allen St.] we saw Bruce, Anna Mae, Lorelei and 
    Ted Means, Clyde Bellecourt, Madonna, and Thelma... I ran into Annie in the 
    kitchen where she was getting a cup of coffee. She had tears in her eyes and 
    was very unhappy."
 
 Mandel interrupted her and was very interested in Thelma's apartment and 
    house, showing photos of them and spending a lot of time going over the 
    front and back doors, where the kitchen was, etc., circling a front window 
    of the Allen St. house (which is still there, looking very much like it did 
    then).
 
 Candy continued, "By then, the next evening of the 11th, I didn't see 
    Annie." She said she then went to Sioux Falls via the Rosebud Reservation 
    with Ted and Clyde and somebody else she didn't know, emphasizing again that 
    she was going to Russell's Trial. When she talked to people about Anna Mae 
    over the following years, she quoted Madonna Gilbert as saying, "We just 
    told her (Annie) to get out of there." Candy started to say, "I heard Bruce 
    at Thelma's say ..." (but then Rensch objected and stopped the comment, he 
    and the State approached the bench for a long talk, as they did 3 or 4 times 
    during the day).
 
 Rensch then brought up, "John Stewart, an FBI Informant, said Annie was an 
    informant, correct?"
 
 Candy, "In October or November of '75, I heard that, yes, at Oglala."
 
 Rensch, "You heard she was an informant? But still you were her friend and 
    talked to her casually in the Allen St. house in the kitchen that night? 
    Miss Hamilton, you never dreamed she'd be killed?"
 
 "No."
 
 "She didn't ask for help or to call the police?"
 
 "No."
 
 Rensch did a good job of showing how Anna Mae could have run out of these 
    places anytime, but she didn't. He also demonstrated Hamilton's limited 
    knowledge of the matter.
 
 JEANNETTE EAGLE HAWK was called next. McMahon asked her briefly about 
    December 10 at the WKLDOC House. She said, "I saw Thelma, Bruce, Clyde, 
    Lorelei and Ted, and several legal workers in there." That was all. She was 
    not allowed to go anywhere but the kitchen.
 
 CLEO BATES was called next. She was married to Richard Marshall for 6 years 
    then, in Allen. She said Anna Mae came to her house. "Theda, Arlo, and John 
    brought the girl in. Anna was real quiet. Dick went with them in the bedroom 
    and then came out and said they wanted us to keep her there. I said no. 
    People were saying Annie Mae was an informer. And so they left."
 
 Rensch, "You never dreamed something bad would happen to her?"
 
 "No. Dick was on his release from his trial."
 
 It can be assumed that perhaps they were trying to protect her, as she 
    wasn't tied up, and Cleo did not believe Anna Mae to be at risk. This would 
    be in keeping with John's assertion that he was with Anna Mae while she 
    looked for a safe place to stay on the Pine Ridge Reservation. And again, 
    she could have run out the front door if she wanted to flee. It also seems 
    very significant that this is connected to Richard Marshall who, as you 
    probably know, is closely connected with Russell Means and the murder trial 
    a few months later in which Myrtle Poor Bear signed affidavits damning 
    Marshall for murder (just like she did against Peltier) at the exact same 
    time in February 1976 that the body, allegedly of Anna Mae, was found.
 
 RICHARD TWO ELK was called next. He came in, almost bald, waving eagle 
    feather fans to swear to, and immediately argued with Rensch and insulted 
    him. He said he was an educational consultant. It got very heated and ugly, 
    and the audience was laughing outright at his absurdities by the end of a 
    long hassle of a testimony.
 
 An AIM member from 1970 - 1975, he said he lived in Denver and Iowa. He is 
    not a blood relation of Arlo. "Graham was a friend of me and Arlo in 74 to 
    76 in AIM. 75 and 76 for certain. In 1994, from Federal Holding, we (Arlo) 
    talked. He got out of jail. Mid to late 80s we talked. At his aunt's house 
    in Denver. He told me in South Dakota they went out looking for somewhere to 
    go, to kill Anna Mae. Arlo told me they were trying to find somewhere to go. 
    To stop. They got out of the vehicle, John Boy and Annie Mae." His story 
    would change often, whether they went to Rosebud or not, for example."
 
 Rensch: "What school did you teach at?"
 
 Two Elk: "I can't divulge that."
 
 Rensch: "When did you live in Iowa?"
 
 Two Elk: "70, 73, 74."
 
 Rensch: " Did you ever live in the same place with Arlo?"
 
 Two Elk: "At Troy Lynn's, 73, 71."
 
 Then they had an incredible argument raising their voices because Rensch 
    said his statements were inconsistent, and Two Elk asked, "What's 
    consistent?" It was ridiculous. He made little sense, which was obvious to 
    everyone present — surprising considering he was a major witness for the 
    State. Rensch said, "Your answers are often inconsistent." Two Elk fired 
    back sarcastically, "All answers are different."
 
 Rensch: "You don't like AIM do you?"
 
 Two Elk: " I couldn't say that."
 
 Rensch: " Who are your blood brothers. Directly related brothers with the 
    same mother and father?"
 
 Two Elk: "Umm...what is the value of that to this case?" He finally said, 
    Aaron Two Elk.
 
 Rensch: "The truth of the matter, sir, you'll do anything to hurt AIM." He 
    then quoted some of Two Elk's Grand Jury testimony, "You asked him 'Did you 
    commit murder, Arlo,' and he said no."
 
 Two Elk: "I can't tell you that."
 
 Rensch: "You said it in the Grand Jury, it's right here in the transcript."
 
 Two Elk: " You say. I wouldn't say that."
 
 Rensch: "You're making this up as you go, aren't you?"
 
 Two Elk: No answer.
 
 Rensch: "DeMain's given you money. You love this man, he's your brother?" he 
    asked, pointing to Arlo.
 
 Two Elk: "Yes."
 
 Rensch: "Did Arlo tell you it was a .38 pistol?"
 
 Two Elk: "Yes."
 
 Rensch: "It was a .32. What he really told you at Troy Lynn's was that he 
    went to Rapid city and stayed in an abandoned apartment with his old friend 
    Tony Red Cloud. Did Arlo tell you that?"
 
 Two Elk: "No."
 
 They had another long heated argument about how many times Arlo talked to 
    Two Elk about Anna Mae. Two Elk changed his story as fast as they talked. 
    People were laughing by then. Two Elk said, "Depends on which time the 
    conversation changed. We talked many many times over a lot of years. 30 to 
    40 percent of the time Arlo said, 6 times, possibly a dozen."
 
 Rensch: "Huh?"
 
 Then Two Elk started laughing.
 
 Rensch: "Is this funny to you, sir?"
 
 Two Elk: " No, you're funny to me."
 
 No more questions, and the Judge abruptly told him he was dismissed. Some of 
    the jurors had smiles on their faces.
 
 JOHN TRUDELL was called next. He primarily related only one conversation 
    with Arlo and Troy Lynn on the street in Denver in 1988, in which Arlo 
    confessed to him the same story.
 
 He said he last saw Anna Mae in Los Angeles in September. "She was 
    concerned, mostly angry, at the accusations. Three of us stayed with her for 
    security, to protect her. But somebody called — I don't know who — and she 
    flew back to Denver. That was the last time I saw her or heard from her, 
    except for the ring she sent White Bear a month or so later."
 
 The most important thing he said, I think, which he said several times 
    emphatically, was that "it all hinges at that house (in Rapid City). 
    Somebody was telling them what to do. When they came out of that house they 
    were under instructions to kill her. They were not decision-makers. They 
    wouldn't have done it on their own. It's not something they thought up on 
    their own."
 
 Day 3 - Afternoon
 
 Robert Ecoffey was the only witness on the Stand this afternoon.
 
 Ecoffey: "Gladys Bisonette gave me the name of Al Gates, which led me to 
    Arlo Looking Cloud in '93. Ligature marks on Anna Mae's wrists clearly 
    indicated to me she was tied up, and they weren't from a bracelet. Detective 
    Abe Alonzo called me from Denver on September 6, 1994, and said he had Arlo 
    in custody on local charges. I went to Denver and interviewed Arlo, where he 
    said he didn't know anything. He wasn't even in Denver," he said, in 
    December 1975.
 
 But Denver Police said they had records Arlo was stopped on December 15, 
    1975 for a violation. They'd drop local charges if he'd cooperate in the 
    homicide investigation of Anna Mae. Arlo was then taken to South Dakota on 
    July 24, 1995, in custody again on local charges — he did not come 
    voluntarily. Ecoffey said Anna Mae had been taken to Knollwood Apartments in 
    Rapid City, tied up, to the abandoned apartment on a hill. No one was living 
    there at the time.
 
 Arlo: "No, I didn't take her to the WKLDOC office (after Ecoffey prodded him 
    to say so, after Mandel prodded Ecoffey to prod Arlo)."
 
 Ecoffey: "Alonzo, Ianucci, and I took Arlo to Wanblee, in custody in a US 
    Marshal's vehicle, and he agreed to a re-enactment, 3 miles north of the 
    Junction of 79 and 44. 'I fired the gun,' Arlo said."
 
 Ecoffey: "We located the weapon. It was buried under a bridge between 
    Interior and Wanblee. We stopped and looked for it but couldn't find it."
 
 Then they showed the VIDEOTAPE of Arlo's "confession" in the Denver Police 
    Department last March 27, 2003, which Judge Piersoll told the Jury "is 
    evidence, but the transcript of it is not." It was, frankly, sickening to 
    watch, how Abe Alonzo was obviously leading Arlo to make statements, 
    coercing him, etc. Arlo stated that he was still unclear and under the 
    influence of alcohol, and yet there they are, getting his signed and 
    videotaped narrative of everything.
 
 Cop: "Do you have a home address?"
 
 Arlo: "No."
 
 Cop: "Will you voluntarily talk?"
 
 Arlo: "Yes. [He then signs 2 documents]
 
 Cop: "Let's start back at Troy Lynn's."
 
 Arlo: "I don't know the date or anything, we were friends. I went to see Joe 
    Morgan. Theda was there, Troy Lynn, I never met John before. They said go to 
    the basement."
 
 Cop: "Have we made any threats or promises to you here today?"
 
 Arlo: "No."
 
 Cop: "Are you under the influence of drugs or alcohol?"
 
 Arlo: "A little bit of alcohol."
 
 Cop: "Did you meet John Boy Graham or Patton in the basement?"
 
 Arlo: "Yes, I guess. I never met him before. We stayed down there and the 
    girl woke up on the couch."
 
 Cop: "Was that Anna Mae?"
 
 Arlo: "I don't know. I never met her."
 
 Cop: "When you went to Rapid City, did Theda know where to take her?"
 
 Arlo: "I guess. She was driving."
 
 Cop: "John tied her up then?"
 
 Arlo: "I guess so." [He's barely coherent and muttering, very unsure of 
    himself.]
 
 Cop: "Where was Theda?"
 
 Arlo: "She went and got the keys for the house."
 
 Cop: "Tell us what you know and I'll fill in the blanks."
 
 Arlo: "We went somewhere on Rosebud, at some house."
 
 Cop: "Was that at Kills place?"
 
 Arlo: "I don't know. I was never there."
 
 Cop: "So you kept her tied up?"
 
 Arlo: "I don't think she was tied up."
 
 Cop: "When was she tied up?"
 
 Arlo: "I don't know."
 
 Cop: "Theda said, 'Go with John Boy," when you stopped the car?"
 
 Arlo: "It was getting toward morning on the road from Wanblee back to Rapid. 
    It was getting kind of blue outside."
 
 Cop: "John Boy and Annie got out?"
 
 Arlo: "Yeah. John Boy pulled out a pistol. He put it at her head. He shot 
    her in the head. She was praying. He gave me the gun. I thought he was going 
    to kill me."
 
 Cop: "She got shot and fell over the cliff?"
 
 Arlo: "Yeah."
 
 Cop: "Was it a revolver?"
 
 Arlo: "Yeah, I think so."
 
 Cop: "Who untied her?"
 
 Arlo: "I don't know."
 
 Cop: "Why was she shot?"
 
 Arlo: "I don't know."
 
 Cop: "Did Theda say she was an informant?"
 
 Arlo: "I don't know."
 
 Cop: "On the way to Rapid City from Denver you had stopped at Allen at 
    Richard Marshall's."
 
 Arlo: "No."
 
 Cop: "I know for a fact you did."
 
 Arlo: "No, I don't remember that."
 
 Cop: "You remember that?"
 
 Arlo: "No."
 
 Cop: "I want you to think about, that Cleo said you and John Boy and Theda 
    and Dick went in the bedroom. They asked if you could leave Anna Mae there, 
    but Cleo said no. I need you to be truthful."
 
 Arlo: "No."
 
 Cop: "Do you remember seeing Thelma Rios at the house in Rapid City?"
 
 Arlo: "No."
 
 Cop: "Do you remember seeing David Hill there? Do you know David Hill?"
 
 Arlo: "No."
 
 Cop: "I know you know these people."
 
 Arlo: "No."
 
 Cop: "She was tied up?"
 
 Arlo: "I don't think she was."
 
 Cop: "You said John Boy untied her."
 
 Arlo: "I don't know."
 
 The Prosecution rested its case. Rensch moved for an acquittal because he 
    said the Prosecution had prejudiced the jury against AIM. Judge Piersoll 
    denied.
 
 AGENT PRICE was called, but was only asked a few brief questions as to 
    whether he had developed informants in AIM, and whether Ann a Mae was an 
    informant. He said they did in fact develop undercover informants, but that 
    Anna Mae was not one of them.
 
 Rensch rested his case.
 
 An impression of the whole day is that Arlo's so-called "confession" is the 
    State's case, while using prestigious and impressive witnesses like Anna 
    Mae's daughter and Trudell who are being presented as saying these things 
    themselves, but are actually just repeating what Arlo told them much later, 
    in 1988 and 2002, replete with significant contradictions. As National 
    Director of AIM, it is surprising that this was all Trudell could say. He 
    actually said at one point, "No one really knew what happened." He also said 
    he had Sundanced with John Graham in the Spring of 1976, which would be only 
    a month or two after John had allegedly killed Anna Mae. It doesn't make 
    sense. But John Trudell and Denise seem to be buying into it, without really 
    knowing very much about the case.
 
 
    
    Part 4 >> |