D'oH! Good Lord that would hurt!

kwm · 12-14-2007, 12:10 PM

Castration Or Self-Defense?
Jurors hear two different tales of what happened.

Steve Reed
Reporter

What really happened during the early morning hours of Dec. 26, 2006?

Jurors deciding the fate of Rebecca Arnold Dawson heard two extremely different versions of the alleged castration which sent Kevin Russ to the hospital.

Which story they believe will determine whether or not the 35-year-old Lillington woman charged with the crime walks free.

Her attorney, Jason Wunsch, said Ms. Dawson continues to maintain her innocence.

Ms. Dawson was charged with malicious castration and assault inflicting serious bodily injury after Lillington Police responded to a domestic call and found Mr. Russ bleeding severely, with sections of his scrotum ripped from his body. Doctors at Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital were able to make repairs.

Jury selection began this week, and when the jury was impaneled shortly after noon yesterday, it was comprised of eight women, four men and one female alternate.

'Out Of Control'

Out of control - that's how Assistant District Attorney Charles Bullock described Ms. Dawson in court on Tuesday.

"On Dec. 26, 2006, the defendant was drinking and out of control," Mr. Bullock said. "A lot of jokes have been made, but the charges which involve one's ability to reproduce are very serious."

Ms. Dawson and her 15-year-old daughter went to a Christmas party at the Lillington home of Kevin Russ and his girlfriend, Niki Costello.

"Kevin had a few beers, the others had some wine and Rebecca Dawson drank non-stop," Mr. Bullock told the court. "Kevin and his girlfriend went to bed and left Ms. Dawson and others at the party."

A friend told Mr. Russ that Ms. Dawson was in no condition to drive home. Mr. Russ, who sleeps in the nude, put on a robe, went to the front of the house and persuaded Ms. Dawson and her daughter to spend the night, Mr. Bullock said.

"When he's checking the door, Mr. Russ hears a confrontation between Ms. Dawson and his girlfriend," Mr. Bullock said. "Ms. Dawson cold-cocks him in the eye and takes another swing. When he steps between the women and starts to back Ms. Dawson away from Ms. Costello, Mr. Russ feels excruciating pain."

Mr. Bullock said Mr. Russ felt Ms. Dawson reach up inside his robe and grab his scrotum, and felt blood begin to flow.

"He then opened his robe and saw his scrotum ripped and his testicles exposed," Mr. Bullock said. "When Ms. Dawson saw the wound she tried to go after it. He struck her with his fist as hard as he could."

Officer Testifies

Lillington Police Cpl. Ronnie Bass and his partner were the first to arrive at the scene. Officer Bass and Ms. Dawson were friends and had known each other for years.

"I considered her a very close friend," Officer Bass said. "You could sit down with her, drink a beer and shoot the bull.

"He asks her, 'Becky, what's going on?' Mr. Bullock said. "Ms. Dawson replied, 'Let me go, Ronnie, let me go.'"

Ms. Costello called for Officer Bass to go inside the house and see Mr. Russ. Officer Bass, now a deputy with the Lee County Sheriff's Office, said he was shocked by what he saw.

"I went in the bedroom and Mr. Russ had his hands cupped in front, his eye was swollen shut and there was blood on his face.

"I asked him who did this," Officer Bass said. "He said, 'Becky.'"

Officer Bass said he then told Ms. Dawson she was under arrest.

"She fought like a man and I had to get physical to get her in the patrol car," Officer Bass said. "She kept saying, 'We're (expletive deleted) friends. I can't believe you're doing this. Let me go.'"

Officer Bass said it took 10 minutes to get Ms. Dawson to the patrol car. After trying to talk her into the car, he said he took his flashlight and began striking Ms. Dawson on her leg, thighs and calves. He said using the flashlight was an appropriate technique in which he is trained and which he performed properly.

It took 30 blows with the flashlight before he could get Ms. Dawson completely inside the car, Officer Bass testified.

"She tried to kick me between my legs but I turned and she hit my thigh," he said. "Then during the last four or five blows she spit a mouthful of blood on me."

After an ambulance took Mr. Russ to Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital, Officer Bass said Ms. Dawson kicked out the windshield of his patrol car. He said police had to take her legs out of the car and shackle them, and put a face piece on her to keep her from spitting or biting.

She cursed all the way to the magistrate's office, screaming and yelling, he said. Officer Bass said he keyed open his lapel mike so the police could hear her outburst.

Excessive Force?

Under cross-examination, Mr. Wunsch tried to suggest Officer Bass has a history of using excessive force and that Ms. Dawson was reacting to that use of force.

Mr. Wunsch had earlier requested copies of Mr. Bass' personnel records from the City of Lillington and the City of Dunn. Judge Steve Balog had already determined there was nothing significant in the Lillington records and ruled them inadmissible.

Before court began yesterday, attorney Gerald Hayes and Fraternal Order of Police attorney Mike McGinnis appeared before Judge Balog and asked him to keep the Dunn records sealed.

At the lunch break, Judge Balog gave Mr. Bullock and Mr. Wunsch a portion of Officer Bass' Dunn personnel record for review and possible use.

When Mr. Wunsch attempted to reference Officer Bass' past conduct, Mr. Bullock objected.

Judge Balog then ruled the file contents irrelevant and inadmissible and told attorneys Hayes and McGinnis he probably should not have released the material to attorneys in the first place.

Two Sides

In his opening statement, Mr. Wunsch painted a decidedly different scenario of the night's events than that of Mr. Bullock.

"Ms. Dawson and her daughter are alone at Christmas," Mr. Wunsch said. "So she called Niki Costello and was invited over to her house. Her daughter went off with the other teenagers. Ms. Dawson joined the other adults and there were drinks. There was tequila and shots and Mr. Russ left the party to get more alcohol."

Mr. Wunsch said Ms. Costello went to bed and Ms. Dawson began to feel drowsy from the alcohol and crawled in bed next to Ms. Costello.

"Ms. Dawson was awakened by Mr. Russ who asked if she would like to participate in a threesome," Mr. Wunsch said. "Ms. Dawson ignored him and she said Mr. Russ continued to ask.

"Ms. Dawson said Mr. Russ got in bed with them, Ms. Costello awoke, became ill and vomited," he said. At that point, Ms. Dawson said she was going to leave and started to exit the room.

"But when she saw that Niki was sick, Ms. Dawson headed towards her, Mr. Russ followed her into hallway and demanded she get out of the house," Mr. Wunsch said. "Ms. Dawson told him she had to get her daughter and shirt first and Kevin Russ hit her on the back of the head and in the face."

Ms. Dawson said she fled to the bedroom. Mr. Wunsch said Mr. Russ grabbed Ms. Dawson by her biceps and pinned her against the wall.

"She just had her nails done, dug them into his testicles and told him to let her go," Mr. Wunsch said. "At no point did Ms. Dawson have a plan to tear his scrotum. What happened was an accident."

Mr. Wunsch said Ms. Dawson stumbled while still gripping Mr. Russ' private parts and the injury was unintentional.

In the remaining moments of the afternoon session, Mr. Bullock focused on Mr. Russ' career and training.

A Department of Defense contractor, Mr. Russ is a former federal air marshal who has also served in special forces. A self-defense expert, Mr. Bullock asked the alleged victim if he was trained to kill with his bare hands.

"Unfortunately, yes," Mr. Russ responded.

Mr. Russ' testimony about the alleged castration is expected to continue this morning.