It doesn't matter how many times I covered them, when a verdict is about to come down in a murder trial, I always get emotional. It's like covering a soldier's funeral.
I spent four of the last seven days invested in the Toby Lasure murder trial. After two and a half hours of deliberating they jury found him guilty of all three counts, murder, fleeing and evading police and leaving the scene of an accident. At this point, the jury is still deciding his sentence. It could be life plus five years.
The verdict came down about 5:40, one of the most invconvenient times, but thanks to support from our night crews and the best chief photographer a reporter can ask for, we got a great, quick report on the air on our 6:00 newscast.
This trial was one many in the city of Lexington had interest in. There are many reasons for that. The first is Christopher Tolliver was gunned down by his boyfriend Toby Lasure in the parking lot of one of the busiest shopping center's in the city. Lasure then led police on a high speed chase through town that ended at a mental health facility and Lasure did not come out of his car for three and a half hours. I did not cover much of it when it happened, but I remember it. Many people in this city remember it because things like that do not often happen in Lexington.
The victim in this case was well known around town. Born in Eastern Kentucky, he worked at Starbucks, but his passion was composing. He worked with the Lexington Children's Theater and touched many lives in his short time on this earth.
Just as an example of how much interest there was in this case, in one day, I put a message out that I was Tweeting about the case and gained 50 new followers on Twitter. I think some were just fans of LEX 18, but the majority were connected to the case. I got several messages thanking me for updating on Twitter.
This was a very intricate case. It was not just a murder, but a chase and a standoff. And it was not just Toby Lasure and Christopher Tolliver, but also involved, and who the defense put some of the blame on was Lasure's live-in boyfriend at the time Tony Devreaux. The rest of the blame was put on Lasure's mental state. He testified that he can't remember anything before the age of ten and suffered abuse through his whole life. A lot of that he blames on his family. All these people, his family, those who loved him had to sit through all this. All their dirty laundry, all their mistakes all the skeletons in their closet were made public through this trial.
For me it was uncomfortable. At first it's a story, then I wonder, what if that was me? So many people were pulled into the web of a man who is now going to prison for jail. After four days, it's difficult to separate yourself from those friends and family, on both sides. I can tell you with all certainty that everyone in the court room connected to the man on trial and the man who was shot twice, once in the head, once in the kidney, wished they could take it all back.
I don't know what all this emotion means. Does it mean I'm good at my job? Does it mean there's something more out there for me to help people? Does it mean I'm getting too involved? I don't know. What I do know, though, is I will go to bed saying an intense prayer for all those who are soaking the last four days and the verdict of murder in tonight.
1 comment:
I'm a little slow to read this...just reading it today.
I hadn't heard an update on this case until I read your blog. I appreciate you talking about it. I still remember the day it broke.
I'm like you. I got emotionally involved in trials too when I covered them. And, a wise reporter once told me that when you stop feeling emotions for the people involved in the stories, it's time to quit being a reporter. So I think the fact that you care and have emotions about it are important for you to tell the story in a way that conveys how awful it really is.
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