Day 6 Report from Iowa Sexual Assault-Dementia Trial
April 16, 2015 was the sixth day of trial in the criminal prosecution for sexual abuse in the third degree, in State of Iowa v. Henry Rayhons. The prosecution completed its case-in-chief, the trial judge denied defense counsel’s motion for judgment of acquittal, and the defense counsel called several witnesses for Mr. Rayhons. Today’s evidence, as described by various media sources linked below, included:
- Final Witness for the Prosecution: The state called a state criminologist to explain testing on various items of physical evidence,from the night in question. According to media coverage of the trial, the criminologist testified that “she did not find any seminal fluid in the sexual assault kit [on swabs from Donna taken on the night in question] but says that is not uncommon.” She testified there “appeared to be a seminal fluid stain in the inside of Donna’s underwear,” the same underwear that was alleged to have been deposited in a laundry hamper by the defendant on the night in question. Tests on the stain “detected DNA from [the defendant].”
- The First Witness for the Defense, the “Roommate:” The woman who shared Donna Rayhons’ room in the nursing home the night on question, was reported as testifying that “Donna had become a good friend. Someone who she could count on to go to activities and speak with.” She is reported to have testified she’s “uncomfortable talking about that day but says she does remember something happening, but only assumed that it was sex on the other side of the curtain.”
- A Clinical Physician (and Assistant Professor of Medicine from the University of Iowa): The defendant’s expert witness is reported as having given opinion testimony to the effect that based on review of evidence, “”I believe Donna would’ve been more likely to give consent than not.”
- Patricia Wright, a Daughter of Donna Rayhons (called by the Defense): Reported as saying her mother “lit up” whenever Henry Rayhons entered the room.
- The Son and Daughter of Henry Rayhons: Describing their relationship with their father, their father’s relationship with Donna, and their own respect for Donna.
As described by the Globe Gazette, there appeared to be especially poignant testimony from one of Donna’s daughters, Patricia:
In July, Donna Lou Rayhons asked her daughter, Patricia Wright, if she had seen Henry. “He can’t come anymore,” Wright remembered her mother saying.
“Mom was talking very softly. Much more softly than she usually did and she kept putting her hand to her head. My impression was she was very sad,” Wright told the jury. “Then she would say things like ‘I love him. I love my girls. I love him. I love my girls.’ And she would say that kind of repeatedly.”
As more reports are published from the 6th day of the Rayhons trial, I will try to capture them here with a supplement to this Blog Post.
UPDATE: Here is a link to a more detailed account of the trial testimony on Thursday from The Des Moines Register, explaining that Donna Rayhons had three daughters, including Patricia, from a prior marriage. One of the other daughters testified for the prosecution.