Christopher Strawn’s case is now in the hands of 12 of his peers.
Strawn, on trial for the Oct. 20, 2015 shooting death of Brandon Cook, is representing himself and had one final chance to offer his argument before the jury began to deliberate at just before noon Wednesday.
Prior to his closing arguments, Strawn cleared his throat and said he’s not much of a public speaker.
Forty-seven minutes later, he wrapped up his remarks. He meandered through all of the witnesses who have appeared in the trial and tried his best to discount the evidence that Assistant District Attorney Amy Paige has presented throughout the past two weeks.
This is Strawn’s second trial for Cook’s death, as a mistrial was declared in the initial case in February. If a verdict is not reached by the end of the business day Wednesday, deliberations will continue Thursday and throughout the week.
Strawn maintained his innocence, repeating his claim that he was in bed when the murder took place that night and that he had no reason to kill Cook.
“Now it will be in your hands, and I did mention this, the judicial process,” Strawn said, gesturing to the jury. “That’s why you guys are here, right?”
Cook, who was 30 at the time of his death, worked at Juneau’s Safeway grocery store and at the Alaska Airlines ramp at the Juneau International Airport. He had lived in Juneau for nearly a decade since moving from Oklahoma. His parents flew up from Oklahoma earlier this week, hoping to see a verdict.
Prior to Strawn’s defense, Paige spent 20 minutes of her own taking the jury back through the evidence. She showed photos of Cook, photos of the trailer, photos of the pieces of a shotgun stock that were found in Strawn’s residence and the boots that were taken from Strawn’s residence.
The closing argument also brought the sole eyewitness, Tiffany Johnson (formerly Albertson), through all the evidence again. Paige replayed Johnson’s 911 call from that night, demonstrating the terror Johnson felt in the moments after she said she saw Strawn shoot Cook in the head with a shotgun.
“Hurry,” Johnson’s voice pleaded over and over on the recording of her speaking with a police dispatcher.
Tears rolled down Johnson’s face as she sat in the front row at the Dimond Courthouse on Wednesday and listened to the phone call, her body shaking with sobs under a yellow hoodie.
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The alleged murder weapon was never found, Paige said, but Johnson’s testimony stated that she saw Strawn using a shotgun with a shortened stock. The pieces of stock found in Strawn’s residence, Paige suggested, could reveal that Strawn was altering a gun to make the stock shorter.
Strawn’s pants recovered from that night were soaking wet from the knees down, Paige pointed out based on the testimony from Sgt. Sterling Salisbury. Strawn has mentioned (and mentioned again Wednesday) that his job as a handyman results in his pants often being dirty and wet.
“These pants were soaking wet, as per the testimony of Sgt. Salisbury, from the knees down,” Paige said, pausing often for emphasis. “Soaking wet, a lot like somebody who had been walking a trail when it’s pouring rain in the middle of the night. A lot like somebody who may have been hiding a murder weapon.”
Strawn, 34, faces charges of first-degree and second-degree murder, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, third-degree assault and weapons misconduct. When he took the stand as a witness Tuesday, Strawn acknowledged that he knew he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
When Paige cross-examined Strawn, she pointed out to him that he wouldn’t get to raise his child if he were sent to prison, and he acknowledged that he had quite a bit to lose. Paige used this comment at the end of her closing arguments, saying that Johnson has no reason to lie on the stand because she’s already lost so much, from her sense of security to her close friend, Cook.
Strawn, on the other hand, has more motivation to play with the truth to benefit himself, Paige argued.
“In this case, Mr. Strawn has everything to lose,” Paige said. “He testified to that. Tiffany, she’s already lost everything she had because of him.”
Strawn didn’t respond to that assertion in his closing statement, but did respond to Paige’s argument that Strawn couldn’t pinpoint the exact time he went to bed on the night of the murder. On Tuesday, Strawn testified that he went to bed sometime between 10:30 and 11 p.m. that night.
“I didn’t actually look at my watch when I went to sleep,” Strawn said, “but I did give a pretty close (estimate of) time.”
Brandon C. Cook is seen in this undated photo. (Courtesy of Brandon C. Cook’s family and friends)
