Chapter 275
Over the weekend, Naomi made a trip to the law firm and spent the rest of the time at home. The second hearing for Jessica's case took place on Monday.
As Naomi and Melanie entered the courtroom, Ivan kept his eyes on them with his hands in his pockets. He acted so arrogantly as if he had already won the lawsuit, and Naomi was powerless against him.
A rush of fury swept through Melanie when she saw Ivan's haughty attitude.
Seated at the spectator's bench, Kelly and Marshall felt a mix of regret and resentment as they watched his arrogant demeanor. They couldn't understand why they had failed to see Ivan's true colors earlier or why they had agreed to the marriage.
Everyone returned to their seats when the judges and jurors arrived. Seeing that the prosecutors and defendants were all present, the presiding judge announced the start of the second hearing.
The presiding judge turned to Naomi and asked, "The plaintiff attorney, do you have new evidence for the case? Are you maintaining the charge against the defendant for intentional injury and murder?"
Naomi stood up and replied, "Your Honor, in the case of our plaintiff, Jessica Coleman, who suffered injuries from a fall, we have new evidence to present.
"Therefore, we will maintain our charges against Ivan Reyes for intentional injury and attempted murder. Let's review the set of photos and videos proving the defendant's motive for murder."
Next, Naomi picked up the remote from the table and pressed a button. The nearby projection screen displayed images and videos of Ivan and Simone.
As the visuals played, Naomi explained, "The defendant, Ivan Reyes, met Ms. Simone Terrell at an upscale fitness club in town back in April. Ms. Terrell, aged 34, is a divorced, self-made entrepreneur.
"She runs two clothing production companies. Her business thrives both online and in physical stores. She runs multiple outlets and has a solid reputation and sales figures.
"Ms. Terrell is rather affluent. We found out that, over the past seven months of knowing Ivan Reyes, she transferred a total of 260 thousand dollars to him. In addition, she bought him a Mercedes-Benz SUV worth over two million dollars."
Upon hearing Naomi's recount of Simone's background, Ivan's face drained of color, and the veins in his neck bulged.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
He immediately rose from his seat and pointed at Naomi. "Damn it! What kind of evidence is that? Simone and I are friends. This is an invasion of my privacy." "Why are you so worked up?" Naomi asked.
Seeing Ivan interrupting Naomi's delivery and cursing in court, the presiding judge banged his gavel and said sternly, "Defendant, please control your emotions. The plaintiff's attorney, please provide evidence relevant to this case."
Ivan sat down and fought to resist the urge to lash out after hearing the judge's warning.
Naomi said calmly, "Your Honor, this is the start of the evidence."
The judge replied, "Okay, please continue."
Naomi glanced at Ivan before continuing to present the images and videos. "The defendant claims that he and Ms Terrell were just friends, but MsTerrell we have evidence showing several instances of them checking into hotels together over the past seven months.
"The longest recorded time spent together was nine hours. I won't go into details about what a man and a woman would do in a hotel room.
"Furthermore, from the photos of their daily interactions, it's clear that they are more than friends-they are in a romantic relationship.
"With that being said, the defendant committed adultery. Hence, we have reason to suspect that when then victim, péssica Coleman, refused to accept Ivan Reyes' decision to end his marriage and pursue a relationship with Ms. Terrell, he resorted
to murder.
*Perhaps Ivan Reyes didn't want Ms.
Terrell to see him as someone who abandoned his wife for money. So, he chose topush Jessica Coleman off the building and concocted a suicide story to gain sympathy and favor from Ms. Terrell,
*We are of the view that the second scenario seems more plausible. Based on the investigations, the defendant had been exploiting the victim's fall to garner sympathy and financial gain.
"He claims to have been caring for her throughout her hospitalization. However, based on the records, he only visited Jessica twice, and each visit was less than
20
minutes.
"The time spent visiting my client was much shorter than his time spent with Ms. Terrell in a hotel room."
At that moment, Kelly burst into tears, while Marshall trembled with rage.
A scumbag and cheater like Ivan could have ended the marriage without resorting to such extremes. Why did he have to take Jessica's life? It was a human life!
After hearing the initial evidence presented by Naomi, the spectators started cursing Ivan and asserting that he had harmed Jessica,