Although grief and loss have been common themes of her talk show, Oprah Winfrey on Wednesday called the three-day murder trial on which she served as a juror “one of the saddest, saddest experiences I’ve ever had.”
About 20 minutes after finding Dion Coleman, 27, guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm in the death of Walter Holley, Winfrey said reporters missed the real story when they focused what she called “unnecessary and unwanted” attention on her role as a juror.
“The bigger story here for me is that a man is dead, murdered supposedly over $50, and that the real war is still going on in the inner-city streets every day with young black men killing each other,” Winfrey, 50, said.
And for all of Winfrey’s fame and fortune, several of her fellow jurors said during a news conference after the verdict that they felt comfortable around her during deliberations, which began at 4:24 p.m. Wednesday and lasted a little more than two hours.
“She’s a very genuine person, very down-to-earth and a joy to be around,” said jury foreman John Fallert, 36, of Brookfield.
Arthur White, 43, of Chicago, who works in pest control and sat on Winfrey’s right side throughout the trial said, “it was inspirational” to serve on a jury with her.
“She’s just one of us. She’s a normal person. We as a group got very close to her,” he said.
The trial became a lens through which the media billionaire and other jurors caught a glimpse of what can sometimes be brutal urban life.
The trial started late Monday afternoon after Winfrey was selected as a juror, with the prosecutors calling Holley’s mother, Irene, to the stand.
“I will never forget that as long as I live,” Winfrey said of Irene Holley walking into the courtroom. “When she was first asked to state her name … and how many children do you have, she said: `Four. But I used to have five.’ This is what happens every day in this country.”
The testimony about life in the West Side neighborhood nicknamed “The Dog Pound” –including one witness who said she used marijuana, crack and heroin daily–was a “reality check,” Winfrey said.
Despite the gruesome nature of the case, Winfrey invited jurors to come to her show for a reunion shortly after the verdict was read in court about 6:45 p.m. Winfrey said she hopes to get the group together on Monday.
“I was, the whole time, thinking `I could have her on my show. I could have her on my show. I could have her on my show,’ ” said Winfrey as she pointed to other jurors.
As Winfrey and the other jurors retreated to the jury room to begin deliberations Wednesday afternoon, Judge James Linn instructed them to render a verdict based on the facts of the case.
After initially failing to reach a unanimous vote, Winfrey said the jurors discussed each question they had about the case.
At 5:10 p.m., the jury came back with questions about who was with Coleman when he was found in Minnesota and if the gun used in the murder was a 9 mm Luger handgun. The jury also asked for a large posterboard.
Linn dictated a note to the jury, telling them a posterboard was unavailable and that they had “heard the evidence, continue your deliberations.”
The evidence, however, had been the subject of heavy scrutiny over the last three days, especially the testimony of eyewitness Lisa Michelle Smith.
Smith, 20, testified that she saw Coleman shoot Holley in the 4400 block of West West End Avenue. The two had gotten into two fistfights after Coleman traded a fake $50 to Holley for real cash the night of Feb. 25, 2002, prosecutors said.
After the second fistfight, Coleman left, returned minutes later with a gun and shot Holley, prosecutors said.
More Top Picks Why People With Adhd Struggle With Mornings
Detective Gregory Jones, an 18-year veteran investigating the murder, said Holley was shot at least eight times in the face, forearm and hands, causing 11 gunshot wounds.
Jones also testified that Smith picked Coleman as Holley’s killer out of a photo lineup six hours after the shooting and again picked Coleman out of a lineup in June 2002 after he was arrested in Minnesota for allegedly using a fake driver’s license.
But under cross examination, Smith admitted that she initially told police that Holley gave the phony $50 to Coleman, an inaccuracy that public defender Cynthia Brown tried to capitalize on in her closing arguments.
“She said Walter went to the store. She said Dion went to the store. What else has she changed?” Brown said.
Coleman faces a minimum of 45 years to life in prison.
While the media focused on Coleman’s trial, Laneare Drayton sat in the second row of the gallery, wondering why no one was paying attention to other murder cases on Linn’s docket Wednesday.
Drayton’s daughter, Kyeko , was strangled just days after her 22nd birthday. A sanitation worker emptying street-sweeping debris found Kyeko Drayton’s body Aug. 2, 2002, in the 12000 block of South Avenue O in Chicago, according to Drayton and news reports.
Drayton was in court for a status hearing for Brandon Evans, 20, who was charged with first-degree murder and trying to conceal a crime.
“You’re only here for Oprah,” Drayton of Markham, said to reporters during a recess.
Drayton stayed for the rest of Coleman’s trial on Wednesday and listened as Winfrey made it clear that while she was proud to serve on a jury, she felt celebrities did not make fit jurors.
“It’s very distracting to have people who are known serving on the jury,” Winfrey said.