Day 4 Report on Iowa Sexual Assault-Dementia Trial

On April 13, the fourth day of the trial of State of Iowa v. Henry Rayhons, the prosecution continued presenting evidence in the state’s case-in-chief.  Here are links to news sources covering the day’s events, including:

• From KIMT.com: Testimony of a physician from the care facility regarding his opinion regarding  Donna’s mental capacity, plus a description of video surveillance of the husband on the night in question, in which “you can see Donna being redirected to her room by Henry, after she had wandered through the halls.  Nearly  30 minutes later, Henry is seen leaving the room [and depositing her underwear in a hamper].”
• From KIMT’s Twitter feed: Excerpts of testimony from nurses and several staff members at the care center, including a report that a Care Center physician testified that “Just like an infant, a person can respond to stimuli. That doesn’t involve any consent given.”
• From the Des Moines Register: Reporting that a total of three doctors testified today and that “Dr. John Brady, who is medical director of Concord Care Center, testified that Donna Rayhons had severe dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease. He said any positive reaction to her husband’s affectionate advances could be termed a ‘primal response,’ not a conscious decision to reciprocate.”

Further, from the Des Moines Register, an account of the testimony of one of the physicians, a neurologist: “One of the doctors, neurologist Alireza Yarahmadi, disputed any notion that such an Alzheimer’s patient could vary greatly in her ability to understand what was going on around her. ‘When they’re severe, they’re going to stay severe,’ Yarahmadi testified.” 

The trial is expected to continue on Wednesday, April 15 (corrected, after learning no proceedings on Tuesday).