CALIFORNIA
Oakland Tribune
By Tracey Kaplan @mercurynews.comcontracostatimes.com
Posted: 06/27/2012
The receptionist heard the priest call for help and saw someone hit him a couple of times — but she can’t identify the assailant.
The only other eyewitness in the San Jose priest-beating trial said she saw suspected assailant Will Lynch pacing and screaming that the cleric had ”ruined his life” by molesting him and his brother as children. But it’s unclear whether that witness actually saw Lynch hit the priest because she has given three different accounts of the incident — including a new version during her testimony Wednesday.
With the prosecution winding up its case, the outcome of the trial could turn on how the panel regards the testimony of those two former employees at the priest’s retirement center — receptionist Carol Santos and health care coordinator Mary Margaret Eden.
The two women are among the six witnesses prosecutor Vicki Gemetti has called to the stand since the trial started last week — including a wireless expert and three law enforcement officers.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.