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CNN BREAKING NEWS
Chante Mallard Testifies in Sentencing Phase of Trial
Aired June 26, 2003 - 17:25 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Earlier today, Chante Mallard was convicted of murder in that windshield case. She's now on the stand pleading for a more lenient sentence in the sentencing phase of this trial. Let's listen in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long you been a CNA?
CHANTE MALLARD: Since 1994.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And where did you get your training to be a CNA?
MALLARD: At Bishop Davis Learning Center. It's a nursing home?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. It is a nursing home?
MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did you learn there on the job at the nursing home?
MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now as a CNA, you had certain training, as far as CPR and that type of thing, didn't you?
MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you -- what time did you get off of work on October 25th?
MALLARD: I got off work at 10:00.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that 10:00 in the evening?
MALLARD: P.M.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when you got off work, what did you do?
MALLARD: I went home and I got some clothes, and I drove over to a friend's house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And is that the same T. Frey (ph) that we have seen testify here in court? MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know what time, approximately, you arrived at T.'s house?
MALLARD: 10:45 -11:00.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you got to T.'s house, who was there?
MALLARD: T., a guy named Tim, that I recall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know Tim's last name?
MALLARD: No, sir. I don't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had you ever met Tim before?
MALLARD: Once before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was Tim a friend of T.'s or someone else?
MALLARD: He was a friend of T.s
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you do when you got to T.'s house?
MALLARD: I began to get dressed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what was T. doing?
MALLARD: She was getting dressed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what about Tim? What was he doing?
MALLARD: Sitting there talking to her on and off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you have anything to drink at T.'s house?
MALLARD: Yes, I had one drink.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And tell the jury what kind of drink you had.
MALLARD: I had one drink of a gin and juice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when you say gin and juice, is that gin and orange juice?
MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was there any discussion -- let me ask you this. Did you smoke any marijuana at T.'s house?
MALLARD: No, sir, I didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And was there any discussion at T.'s house about taking any other type of drugs?
MALLARD: Yes. T. had informed me that she got an extria (ph) from Tim.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me move this microphone around because it's hard to hear you.
MALLARD: T. had informed me she got an X pill from Tim.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She told you she got an x pill from Tim?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what was the plan on it. When you say an X pill, do you mean ecstasy?
MALLARD: Yes, I do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what was the plan on taking this ecstasy pill?
MALLARD: She was wanting to give me half.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did you take half of the ecstasy pill?
MALLARD: Yes, sir, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you take it willingly?
MALLARD: Yes, sir, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how did it get into your mouth?
MALLARD: Supposedly T. had already took her half, and he told me that it was kind of crumbled stages, told me to hold my head back, and he dropped into my mouth. A half a pill and a few crumbs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So he put half a pill, you felt -- something that felt like half a pill and some additional .
MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how did you -- did you swallow it with water, or did you chew it or what did you do?
MALLARD: I chewed up. And followed behind -- I drunk some of my drink, some of the gin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About what time did you take the ecstasy pill?
MALLARD: About 11:50. I'm not actually for sure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 11:15?
MALLARD: 11...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. How long was it after you took the ecstasy pill that you and T. left to go to Joe's Big Bamboo Club?
MALLARD: A few minutes afterward.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, tell the jury, had you ever taken any ecstasy before this?
MALLARD: I took it at one other time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And where was that?
MALLARD: With T. at a guy names Artay House (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Artay, all one word?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like Arty, but Artay?
MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who was at Artay's house when you took the ecstasy pill once before?
MALLARD: T. and another guy. I can't recall his name.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Artay, was he there?
MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where does Artay live?
MALLARD: At that time he lived in Arlington, somewhere off of Pioneer in some apartments.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was about six months before the night that all this happened?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Approximately.
MALLARD: Approximately.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What were you and T doing over at Artay's house?
MALLARD: He was paying us to clean his apartment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And was Artay your friend, T's friend or whose friend?
MALLARD: Artay was her friend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you quo how long T had known Artay?
MALLARD: No, I don't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you took ecstasy on that occasion, what type of reaction did you have from it?
MALLARD: None.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't remember having any much of a reaction from that?
MALLARD: No, sir. None at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did T feel like she had a reaction from it?
MALLARD: I recall she said she did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just affected you differently than it affected her.
MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you take the same kind of pill?
MALLARD: I believe we had.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when you left there -- do you know where Artay lives now?
MALLARD: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know if he still has contact with T?
MALLARD: No, sir, I don't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go back to T's apartment on October 25. You left somewhere around 11:50?
MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you and T left, did you leave in your car?
MALLARD: Yes, we did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And who was driving?
MALLARD: I was driving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you and T take a drink with you in the car?
MALLARD: Yes, we both had one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you -- when you and T left, did anybody else go with you in your car? MALLARD: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did Tim do?
MALLARD: He went to go pick up her brother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's her brother's name?
MALLARD: Phil Johnson (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Phil what?
MALLARD: Phil Johnson.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did you ever see Tim and Phil Johnson, T's brother, again that evening?
MALLARD: Yes, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where did you see them?
MALLARD: At the club.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long does it take or did it take on that evening to get from T's house to Joe's Big Bamboo Club?
MALLARD: Twenty to 25 minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you got in the club, did you know anybody -- did you know anybody else in the club besides T, your brother and Tim?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who was in the club that you knew?
MALLARD: Clete Jackson.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you know Clete by another name?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does he have a few nicknames?
MALLARD: At that time I only knew him by one, because he has a few.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. And what nickname did you know Clete Jackson by at that time?
MALLARD: Vaughn (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vaughn.
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what name did T Know Clete Jackson by at that time?
MALLARD: Vaughn.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the way from T's house to the Joe's Big Bamboo Club, did you smoke any marijuana?
MALLARD: Yes, we smoked a joint.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once you were inside the club did you go over and talk to Clete Jackson?
MALLARD: Yes, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did he say anything to you about the condition you were in?
MALLARD: I don't really recall, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. When you were there at Joe's Big Bamboo Club, did you feel funny or feel the affects of the drug ecstasy that you had taken?
MALLARD: Yes, sir, eventually I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You had -- before this occasion, you had smoked marijuana and had a drink or two hadn't you?
MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And do you know what it feels like to smoke marijuana and have a couple of drinks?
MALLARD: Yes, sir, I do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On this night at Joe's Big Bamboo Club, was this feeling different than that?
MALLARD: Yes, sir, it was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was it a lot different?
MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How were you feeling?
MALLARD: Real loose, not in control.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you remember having trouble walking and breaking T's sandal. Do you remember that.
MALLARD: Yes, I recall that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you present when Clete Jackson and T had the discussion where he got angry with her about giving you ecstasy?
MALLARD: No, sir, I wasn't. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many drinks did you have at Joe's Big Bamboo Club?
MALLARD: I had two or three drinks that night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you left the club, were you initially behind the wheel of your car -- at the beginning?
MALLARD: Yes, sir, I was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And who was in the car with you?
MALLARD: T.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was Clete still at or near or around the club when you left?
MALLARD: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had he left earlier than you and T?
MALLARD: Yes, sir, he had.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How far did you drive before you were stopped by T?
MALLARD: Just a couple of feet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know the reason why T had you stop driving and she got behind the wheel to drive?
MALLARD: She said I was incapable of driving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And why were you incapable of driving?
MALLARD: Because of the pill I took and my behavior.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you agree to let T drive?
MALLARD: Yes, sir, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Earlier -- let me back up. I forgot to ask you something. Earlier in the evening at Joe's Bamboo Club, had you and Clete agreed to meet at your house later on?
MALLARD: Yes, sir, we did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did that ever happen?
MALLARD: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did T drive from Joe's Big Bamboo Club to her house?
MALLARD: Yes, sir, she did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, again, how long is that drive?
MALLARD: Twenty to 25 minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And in the 20 to 25 minutes, you certainly weren't over the effects of ecstasy, were you?
MALLARD: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was T in a hurry to get out of her car and get up to her apartment and get out of your car?
MALLARD: Yes, she was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why was that?
MALLARD: She had plans to meet somebody that night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did you ever go into her place?
MALLARD: No, sir. I just went ahead and got in the car and left because I knew she had plans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when you left T's house, where were you going?
MALLARD: I was going straight home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was anyone in the car with you?
MALLARD: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you have a cell phone?
MALLARD: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you even own a cell phone at that time?
MALLARD: No, sir, I didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you were driving home, what route did you take?
MALLARD: I took (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to 820 and I left on the side of 820.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that's the normal route you took from T's house?
MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After you got on 820 what did you do.
MALLARD: I stayed on 820 and exited 287.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And is the exit from 820 to 287 -- when you say 287 you mean 287 North? MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And was the exit from 820 to 287 is that a curve?
MALLARD: Yes, it is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a matter of fact, it almost makes a horseshoe or half circle, doesn't it?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you were going around that curve, what happened?
MALLARD: As a was going around the curve I hit Mr. Biggs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. And when you hit Mr. Biggs, did you see him before you hit him that you remember?
MALLARD: No, sir, I did not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. And what was the first thing that happened that made you know that you hit Mr. Biggs?
MALLARD: When I hit him there was a real loud noise and all this glass started flying in the car. Felt a lot of wind and the glass it was just cutting in my skin. It was just stinging me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you know what happened first when you heard the sound and felt the glass?
MALLARD: No, I didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you driving on the roadway when this happened?
MALLARD: Yes, I was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the first time you realized that a body had come into your car?
MALLARD: The wind and everything, I went ahead and exited Village Creek and I looked and that was the first time I noticed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So when you heard the sound and heard the crash, the glass was coming in and then the wind from outside and how far was it, do you think, to where you took the exit and saw you had a body in the car?
MALLARD: I can't be exact.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any idea how long it actually was?
MALLARD: I don't know whether seconds or a few minutes. I'm not exact. No, I really couldn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long would it normally take you if you came around that curve to take the Village Creek exit? Going the speed limit, how long would it normally take you?
MALLARD: Maybe a minute, maybe a minute and a half.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seemed like the time slowed down when this happened?
MALLARD: Yes, it did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you looked over -- when you took the exit and you looked over and saw that there was a body in your car, just tell the jury the position that the body was in.
MALLARD: Mr. Biggs came all the way inside of my car. He was -- I never seen his face. He was flat on the floor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which floor. Where on the floor?
MALLARD: On the passenger side of my car lodged underneath dashboard. And one leg was like going out the front glass.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how much of one leg was outside the front glass?
MALLARD: Like the crease or maybe the knee down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did the glass on the passenger side come in all the way?
MALLARD: Yes, it did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was there any glass left on the driver's side?
MALLARD: Very little. And then the rest of it was like -- it was folded in and it was all broke up. But it -- the car was like -- just stayed kind of together, but it was folded in. There was just very little of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened then?
MALLARD: I exited Village Creek and I made a left and I went over the overpass.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me ask you, what were you thinking then?
MALLARD: I didn't know what to think.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was it a -- were you startled? Were you scared? Tell the jury what you were feeling.
MALLARD: I was scared. And I didn't know what to do. And I was asking God to tell me what to do. I didn't know what to do. And I was just scared, and I was crying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did you make a left at Village Creek?
MALLARD: Yes, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then where did you go?
MALLARD: I made the first right over Martin Street, and I went up to the stop sign. And I stopped. I made that first right at the stop sign and I stopped right there at the stop sign. And I got out the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. What were you thinking at that time? What were you feeling?
MALLARD: I just said, I just didn't know what to do. And I was scared.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you trying to think what to do?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you able to think what to do?
MALLARD: No, I wasn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then when you stopped there, did you sit in the car for some time? Did you get out? Tell us what you did.
MALLARD: I sat in the car for a few seconds and then I got out of the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait a second, what were you doing when you were sitting in the car?
MALLARD: I was just screaming. And I got out the car, and I was just screaming, and I was crying. And I eventually walked around to the passenger side of the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, and when you walked around to the passenger side of the car, what were you thinking?
MALLARD: That I seen a man's head. And I didn't know what to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, and what did you do?
MALLARD: I touched his leg.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long did you touch his leg?
MALLARD: One, just one second.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what happened when you touched his leg?
MALLARD: I just started panicking more and I started screaming and I just started to cry and I just started yelling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, and do you know how long you stood outside the car?
MALLARD: No, I don't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you remember getting back in your car?
MALLARD: No, not really. No
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you start driving your car?
MALLARD: Yes. I stopped driving on Martin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did you eventually come to your street?
MALLARD: Yes, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know how long it took you to drive?
MALLARD: No, I don't recall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While you were driving, did you hear any sounds from Mr. Biggs?
MALLARD: Yes, that was the first time I heard him. He moaned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, and by this time was his legs all the way in the car?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever see him move again after that?
MALLARD: I really didn't even see him moving the first time. It's just when I heard him moan and I looked, his leg was in the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the first time you got out of the car, there was this much of his leg out, is it fair to say?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's your best recollection?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then the next time you looked around, his leg, -- his leg, that part of his leg was completely in the car with the rest of his body?
MALLARD: Yes, it was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know how long it was between seeing a leg, that much of a leg up by the windshield and then seeing no more?
MALLARD: No. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you saw your street, what did you think, and what did you do?
MALLARD: I just -- I didn't -- I wasn't really thinking. I mean, I was scared.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was there blood in the car, or do you even know at that time?
MALLARD: I seen a little bit of blood, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had anything happened to your arm?
MALLARD: I had scratches all over it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what were the scratches from?
MALLARD: When the glass came in, it scratched up my arm. And there was glass like on the arm rest, and I rubbed my arm on the arm rest, and that's how I got some of the other scratches.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you saw your house, what did you do?
MALLARD: I went home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you think about going home or is that just something you do or do you remember the thought process that you had?
MALLARD: No, I don't remember the thought process. I was just scared.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me back up. When you were on Martin Street, when you stopped there, how close were you to Martin Street and the stop sign?
MALLARD: I was right at the stop sign.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you as close -- your car as close to the stop sign as it is to Brenda the court reporter?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And is martin a well-traveled street or is it a residential street?
MALLARD: It's a residential street.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, is there -- do you know where a fire station is around there?
MALLARD: Yes, I do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever think to go to the fire station?
MALLARD: No, I didn't. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are familiar with all that area, aren't you, Chante?
MALLARD: Yes, sir, I am.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've heard the prosecutor show where the convenient scores were and the pay phones and the fire station and all of that.
MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you go to any of those places?
MALLARD: No, sir, I didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why didn't you?
MALLARD: I don't know. I couldn't think to do the right thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did it ever enter your mind to go to the fire station, to go the convenient store, to go to the pay phone?
MALLARD: No, sir, it didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you got to your house, what did you do?
MALLARD: I pulled in the garage and I let down the garage door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did you get the garage door open?
MALLARD: With my genie.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Genie automatic garage door?
MALLARD: Yes it is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when you got into the garage, how did you let the garage door down?
MALLARD: With the garage door opener.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Genie?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long did you stay in the car in the garage?
MALLARD: I can't be exact. Not very long.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What were you thinking at that time?
MALLARD: I was just thinking, I didn't know what to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you think you went home?
MALLARD: Because I was scared.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you look over at Mr. Biggs when you were sitting in the car the garage?
MALLARD: Yes, I did, one time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you see what position was he in?
MALLARD: He was inside the car, and underneath the dashboard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And where were his feet and what position was the rest of his body in -- do you know?
MALLARD: I didn't never see his face. All I could see was like his back side and his leg was like Indian crossed on top of each other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What were you scared of?
MALLARD: Because I didn't know what to do. And I had never seen no one like that before. I'd never seen anything like that before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you do whether you got out of your car?
MALLARD: I went in the house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What door did you go into the house through?
MALLARD: The garage and the kitchen door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From your garage to the kitchen is there any steps you have to go up?
MALLARD: Yes, there is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many?
MALLARD: There's two steps.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you got into the house, what did you do?
MALLARD: I fell down on the floor right near my kitchen door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you leave the door to the garage open?
MALLARD: Yes, it was open.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How far were you from the garage door when you were sitting on the kitchen floor?
MALLARD: I was right there at the door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pardon me?
MALLARD: I was right there at the door. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right there at the door there's a telephone, isn't there?
MALLARD: Yes, there is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you pick up the telephone and try to call anybody?
MALLARD: I called one person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who did you call?
MALLARD: I called T.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why didn't you pick up the phone and call 911?
MALLARD: Because I didn't know what to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you going to get T to show you what to do?
MALLARD: Yes. I needed help. I needed somebody to tell me what to do. I didn't know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever go back out into the garage?
MALLARD: No, sir, I didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about your brother James.
Why didn't you call your brother James?
MALLARD: It never even entered my mind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why didn't you call your mother or your father?
MALLARD: I don't know. It just never really entered my mind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you think you thought to call T?
MALLARD: I had just left her, and that's all that really entered my mind at that point in time. I didn't know what else to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you'd been drinking, right?
MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You'd been smoking marijuana?
MALLARD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You'd been doing ecstasy.
MALLARD: Yes, sir. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The police came, you were going to get in trouble, weren't you?
MALLARD: Yes, sir, I was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you think your parents would have said if you would have called them?
MALLARD: They would have been so ashamed of me. And I really didn't -- I was scared to tell my family. I was ashamed to tell my family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long did it take T to get there.
MALLARD: I don't know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened when T got there.
MALLARD: She came in the house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did she come into the house?
MALLARD: Through the front door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where were you when she came in?
MALLARD: I was in the living room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did T do when she got there?
MALLARD: She was asking me what was wrong. Then she went to the garage door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you tell T what was wrong, why you were there in the house?
MALLARD: Yes. I told her I had a car wreck and that I hurt someone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did she go look?
MALLARD: Yes, she did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did T say Chante, we've got to call the police, we've got to call 911?
MALLARD: No, she didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was T scared of something?
MALLARD: Yes, she was scared.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was T scared of?
MALLARD: Because she knew she had given me that x pill and she didn't want to get in trouble behind giving it to me. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what did you and T do?
MALLARD: She said she was going to leave, and I left with her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where did you go?
MALLARD: We went back to her house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you got back to her house, did you go in and try to call the police or did you tell T to drop me off, I want to call the police or drop me off, I need to call 911?
MALLARD: No, I didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not?
MALLARD: I still didn't know what to do, and she didn't -- she didn't make any suggestions. She didn't say what to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened when you got to T's house?
MALLARD: I was calling T.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was your mental state when you were in the house when T got there and when you rode away with T?
MALLARD: I was so sick. I was yelling. I was crying. And I was asking her, what should I do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did she ever recommend you call the authorities?
MALLARD: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This isn't T's fault, is it?
MALLARD: No, sir, it isn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: T didn't exactly tell the right story when she was here, though, did she?
MALLARD: No, sir, she didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you're not claiming this is T's fault because it's darn sure not, is it, Chante?
MALLARD: No, it's not her fault.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chante, did you try to find Clete?
MALLARD: Yes, sir, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many times did you call him?
MALLARD: A lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you try to find Terrance?
MALLARD: Yes, sir, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you drive around looking for him?
MALLARD: Yes, sir, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you know where Terrance was staying there?
MALLARD: No, sir, I did not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had you and Terrance been broken up for a while?
MALLARD: Yes, sir, we had.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long?
MALLARD: Maybe a month, maybe a month and a half.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When did you finally find Clete, when did you hook up with him?
MALLARD: That following morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the next day, when you saw Clete, were you still under the influence of ecstasy?
MALLARD: I still felt very funny.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you able to think things through and make decisions by that time the next morning?
MALLARD: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When Clete saw you the next day, he recognized you were still under the influence of ecstasy, didn't he?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Objection, leading your honor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sustained.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did Clete say anything to you the next morning when he saw you about how you looked?
MALLARD: I don't really recall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you meet with Clete were you upset?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you have Clete, and Tyrone take the body to the park.
MALLARD: Yes, I was with them. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you drive one of the cars?
MALLARD: No, I did not drive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ride in one of the cars?
MALLARD: Yes, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you help, Clete, take the car back that he borrowed.
MALLARD: Yes, sir, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever have an idea or talk about you burning the body?
MALLARD: Yes, sir I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever say that to anybody that it was your idea. Let's go burn the body?
MALLARD: No, sir. I did not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After you took the body to the park, what did you do?
MALLARD: We drove to a carwash on Rosedale (ph) and (unintelligible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you do then?
MALLARD: I threw the blanket in the trash.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you all go back to T's house?
MALLARD: Yes, we and Clete went back to T's house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After that, did you stay with T off and on after that?
MALLARD: I stayed with T like maybe two months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why were you staying at T's?
MALLARD: I didn't want to go back home at first. I didn't want to be there by myself and then after a while my utilities they got turned off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you able to go to work?
MALLARD: No. I had problems getting a way back and forth to work so I eventually lost my job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the days after that did you start to think that nobody was going to find out?
MALLARD: Yes.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Lou Dobbs in New York. You are watching and listening to Chante Mallard who just hours ago was found guilty of murder in Fort Worth, Texas, this trial lasting four days.
Today, the closing arguments wrapped up in the morning. The jury reached a verdict very quickly finding Chante Mallard guilty of murder in the case in which she struck a homeless man and his battered body smashed into the windshield. She drove the car home, parked it, left him in that car.
They found further that he could have lived had she sought help, but instead left the man in the car overnight. The jury making that decision very quickly. You are now watching and listening to her defense attorney asking her questions in the sentencing phase of this trial. This trial, as I said, now in the fourth day and the final moments. Let's listen in.
MALLARD: Yes, I really do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What were your feelings in the days and weeks after this?
MALLARD: I felt real bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you do to make yourself feel better?
MALLARD: I started drinking more, smoking, I was smoking a lot more than usual, just trying to take if off my mind because I just felt real bad. My conscience was really bothering me so bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But a short time after this you went out to the same nightclub with T, didn't you?
MALLARD: Yes, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you got there did you even recognize the inside of it?
MALLARD: No, I didn't and I stated that to T.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The night all this happened was that the first time you'd ever been in Joe's Bamboo Club?
MALLARD: Yes, it was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when you went a week later was that the second time?
MALLARD: Yes, it was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did you go do that?
MALLARD: I don't know. She wanted me to go back with her. I really didn't want to go and I went and I just sat there and I looked around. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you ended up having Derek (ph) come home with you, didn't you?
MALLARD: Yes, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you smoking marijuana and drinking?
MALLARD: Yes, I was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And why did Derek come home with you? Why did you let Derek come home with you?
MALLARD: Well at that time I couldn't -- I was ashamed to go to my family. I guess I just felt like I wanted some type of attention and I couldn't, I had nobody, so I guess I was just kind of weak at that time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, how long did you see Derek for?
MALLARD: After that maybe a month and a half.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you continue to use a lot of marijuana and alcohol?
MALLARD: Yes, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?
MALLARD: Because I was trying to take away the pain, the thoughts that just kept happening.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you had been smoking marijuana for some time before this happened, hadn't you?
MALLARD: Yes, I had.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For how many years?
MALLARD: I'd say about nine, about nine years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You started in '95, is that right?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This happened in 2001, about six years?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why have you smoked the marijuana for the six years leading up to this? What would it do to you that would make you want to smoke it?
MALLARD: It relaxed me. I just enjoy smoking it. It took my mind on other things. It eased my mind when I was upset.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had you developed a problem with marijuana? MALLARD: Yes, I had.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you have a problem with alcohol back then before all this happened?
MALLARD: No, not really.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you drink that much?
MALLARD: No, I had preferred to smoke.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You hadn't had any marijuana in the last, what, 16 months?
MALLARD: Sixteen months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifteen months, 16 months, something like that?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When did you go to jail Chante? That's what I'm getting at, when did you go to jail?
MALLARD: I went to jail on March 8th.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, you certainly you hadn't had any marijuana since March the 8th then, is that right?
MALLARD: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had you smoked right up until the time you went to jail?
MALLARD: Yes but not...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?
MALLARD: Not like usual but yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because you had a problem with it, didn't you?
MALLARD: Yes, I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you seen what drugs have done to your life?
MALLARD: Yes, I have. They have destroyed my life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you need treatment for drugs?
MALLARD: Yes. I want treatment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you want to make sure you never get back on drugs again? MALLARD: Yes, I do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell me why. Tell this jury why.
MALLARD: Because I have ruined lives of other people. I have ruined my family's life. I have put people through pain and I am so truly sorry. I am so sorry, Brandon (ph). I am so sorry for what I have caused your family. I am sorry for the pain that I have put my family through and I'm so sorry for the harm I've done to society. I really am very sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chante, why didn't you go tell your mother this, especially when you were over there on Thanksgiving with your whole family there that loved you?
MALLARD: I was so ashamed and because they just kept warning me of the people I was associating with and my lifestyle that I was just so ashamed. I just felt like I had let everyone down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you got caught, the police came to your house, didn't they?
MALLARD: Yes, they did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did you go down and give a statement?
MALLARD: Yes, I did.
DOBBS: Chante Mallard in a Fort Worth, Texas courtroom where her attorney, the defense attorney is asking questions in the sentencing phase of a trial that lasted four days.
I'm joined now by Jeffrey Toobin, CNN Legal Analyst, who's been following the trial. Jeffrey, this was a remarkably quick verdict. We've gone from closing arguments at the end of the morning to a verdict of guilty of murder and tampering with evidence to the sentencing phase.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: They don't mess around in Texas. I mean this thing went quickly and I think it went quickly because there really wasn't much of a defense here.
Chante Mallard has exactly one piece of good news in her life which is that she's not eligible for the death penalty. After that, it's pretty much all downhill for her and the jury, what's unusual about Texas is that the jury does almost all the sentencing and they could go anywhere from four to 99 years, so she's got a lot riding on, you know, her testimony here today.
DOBBS: A lot riding on it and the possible sentence is five to life.
TOOBIN: Ninety-nine years I think it is, which is effectively life, yes.
DOBBS: And in these cases where the jury has decided so quickly, I mean how often does one see that?
TOOBIN: It's very -- as we were saying earlier usually the law with juries, the folklore with juries is usually they wait to get at least lunch out of it before they make a decision. They didn't even wait for lunch.
You know it's just not a case that jurors are going to be at all sympathetic to the defense on and now, you know, with her sad life story perhaps, you know, on sentencing they'll take some sympathy but this is a pretty terrible crime.
DOBBS: It's a horrible crime and Texas justice or American justice it is swift certainly in Texas. Seventeen months ago she killed Gregory Biggs, a homeless man, 37 years old and that's 17 months ago. It took that long to get to trial, four days of trial, and then an almost immediate verdict. This is remarkable it seems to a layman.
TOOBIN: Right but that is on the slow side but not all that slow. It is slow to get to trial but especially in Texas but often around the country it's, you know, the trials themselves go pretty quickly.
DOBBS: Well this certainly has. If ever there appears to be an open and shut case this might qualify for that category?
TOOBIN: It certainly looks that way to me.
DOBBS: Jeffrey, thank you very much, Jeffrey Toobin our legal analyst. Jeffrey will be rejoining us to talk about the end of term judgments handed down and decisions of the Supreme Court today, many of them fascinating and some of them even important.
TOOBIN: Big day, big year.
DOBBS: Jeffrey, thank you.
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