All documents below were obtained via publicly available court records. Because these documents were obtained through publicly available means, there may be redactions or other changes within the document.
Transcripts from the 2017 Preliminary Hearing with Annotations
- Lila Ortega Testimony (Kyle Zoellner's girlfriend at the time)
- On page 19 Ortega testifies that she lost her phone earlier in the party and called Zoellner using Casey Gleaton's phone.
- She testfies to the altercation between the two men at the front door and Zoellner starting on page 26. She reports that Zoellner was not aggressive and denies being aggressive herself. She reports that the males were the first to become hostile and physical.
- Page 34 Ortega describes approximately 30 people exiting the house after the initial confrontation at the door and she testifies that the group become agitated and surrounded Zoellner while some of the females began fighting her. Pg 36 she identifies one of the girls as Lawson's girlfriend.
- Pg 39 she describes running to Zoellner who is on the ground by the tree and being hit by several people.
- Pg 41 she describes lying over Zoellner as several individuals continue to kick him.
- Pg 42 she says the attack stops and the males disperse. She testifies that Zoellner is unconscious at this point and remains unconscious until a police officer "yanks him up"
- Pg 43 she reports hearing someone say they are going inside to grab their pistol.
- Starting on page 49, Ortgea testifies that Zoellner's chef's knife bag was found inside the house by his "music stuff" and that it was not touched by them. On page 52, she testifies that Zoellners knives were kept inside the house and were not in the car on the night of the party.
- Casey Gleaton Testimony (Friend of Lila Ortega at the time)
- Beginning on page 98, Gleaton testifies that she and Ortega went out front to call Zoellner to pick them up then returned to the house to dance for 15-20 minutes while waiting for Zoellner. She testifies that Ortega used her own phone to make the call which potentially contradicts Ortega's testimony that she had already lost her phone at this point and made the call to Zoellner with Gleaton's phone.
- Gleaton testifies that Ortega lost her phone while dancing inside after making the call to Zoellner. Gleaton does testify that she gave her phone to Ortega while in the front yard after Ortega discovered that her phone was missing and Ortega did make a call with it at this point.
- Gleaton testifies on page 105 that she and Ortega searched for the missing phone for about 10 minutes and Ortega became "a little hysterical".
- She testifies to the start of the altercation between the men at the front door and Zoellner on page 113. This part is fairly consistent with Ortega's earlier testimony.
- Page 129 Gleaton testifies that Ortega returned from Saint Joseph's Hospital and she believes she retrieves an orange and black bag from Zoellner's car (presumably his chef's knife bag). She testifies that she hears Ortega say "There's usually four in here, but there's only three". See Det. Dockweiler and Alex Begovic's testimony below for more discussion of the knives.
- Starting on page 165, Gleaton testifies that Zoellner was knocked unconscious and Lila Ortega was lying on top of him when Gleaton saw Josiah Lawson fall. She testifies that it was 5-6 minutes between Zoellner being knocked out and her seeing Lawson collapse.
- Page 171 she says that she heard someone say that they were going inside the house to get their "piece" or "gun" during the fight and prior to Lawson being stabbed.
- Naiya Wilkins Testimony (Attended the party with Lila Ortega, Casey Gleaton and Angelica McFarland)
- Pg 199, Wilkins describes Zoellner being beaten by multiple people. This is similar to the testimony of Ortega and Gleaton.
- Pg 200 she reports that Angelica McFarland used pepper spray on "Those guys who hit Lila in the face and kept hitting Kyle."
- Starting on page 201, Wilkins describes two men and Ortega helping pick Zoellner up before another male returns and "attacked" him.
- Pg 217 she reports seeing 6-7 men beating Zoellner while he is in the fetal position. On pg 218 she goes on to say that Zoellner was unconcious.
- Starting at pg 246, she describes laying over Zoellner with Ortega in an attempt to stop the group from continuing to beat him.
- Pg 249 she describes that, while laying over Zoellner with Ortega, she heard someone say that someone had been stabbed. This seems similar to Gleaton's testimony (above) of seeing Lawson collapse while Ortega was laying over Zoellner.
- After hearing the comment about a stabbing, Wilkins describes seeing the two men and Ortega trying to carry Zoellner before another male returned and continued striking Zoellner.
- Pg 256 Wilkins says that she was accused of having a knife by the police. She said "He [a police officer] came into my work and said that I needed to be able to prove that I didn't have a knife in my fanny - pack."
- Pg. 257 she reports receiving a death threat by phone after the incident. She says that she reported this to APD Detective Eric Losey and another officer a couple days later.
- Officer Krystle Arminio
- Paris Wright Testimony
- Pg 325 Wright testifies that he is a member of "Brother's United" (BU), Lawson was the president and there were approximately 17 members on the night of the party. He goes on to say that there are now 16 members on the day of his testimony (approximately 2-3 weeks after the party). This appears to be in reference to Keundry Clark's removal from the group after Lawson's death. See Clark's testimony below for more.
- Pg 341 Wright describes Lawson's girlfriend, Renalyn Bobadilla as being aggressive and that she looked like "she wanted to fight, and the two girls and Kyle looked like they didn't." On pg 342, when asked in Bobadilla was the aggressor, he replies "Yeah".
- Pg 346 Wright testifies that he is walking on the sidewalk on Spear Ave with Lawson when Lawson says "I need to go check on my girl [Bobadilla]" . In response to this, Wright says "I had stopped him to tell him that she was just doing what she always does..."
- Pg 348 He reports that he then hears females screaming in the cul de sac and returns to investigate. He reports that he returns to find Bobadilla fighting with the blue haired girl (Ortega) and the blonde girl with the fanny pack (likely Wilkins)
- Pg 351 Wright testifies that he then found Josiah Lawson holding Zoellner in a headlock. He says that neither Lawson or Zoellner said anything and that he saw nothing in Zoellner's hands and did not see a knife.
- Pg 353 he says he separated Lawson from Zoellner because "I didn't 't want him to kill anybody." When asked if Zoellner was unconscious he replies "Yeah, he was" He reports seeing blood on Lawson after seperating the two.
- Pg 361 Wright testifies that he asked Zoellner if he stabbed Lawson but then punched Zoellner before he could answer.
- Pg 362 he report that the blue haired girl (Ortega) and the girl with the fanny pack (likely Wilkins) were grabbing his T-shirt.
- Pg 363 he testifies that he is standing while punching Zoellner who is on the ground.
- Pg 367 Wright testifies that Elijah Chandler went directly to Lawson who was in the grass partially "hidden" by a tree that was covering him
- Pg 373 Wright says that at no point in the night did he see a knife.
- Pg 374 he denies hearing anyone say anything about a gun.
- Pg 375-376 he reports directing a police officer to Zoellner on scene. He believed the officer's name was Dockweiler and he knew Dcokweiler because he had met with him 2-3 times since the incident. Detective Todd Dockweiler never responded to the crime scene. See Dockweiler's testimony below
- Pg 377 he testifies that Zoellner was alone when he directed the police officer towards him. He reports that the girls were down the driveway towards the house at this point. This contradicts other testimony that the girls were with Zoellner when the police arrived.
- Pg 378 He reports that when he directed the officer to Zoellner, he said "He stabbed my friend". He then says "No, I lied". He testifies that he then sees the girls that were with Zoellner talking to the police officer and he approached and told the officer that the girls were lying.
- Pg 402 Cross examination begins
- Pg 429 "I mean, we are Brothers United, and we stand together at all points."
- Pg 431 Wright says that a detective asked for his phone then provided a warrant for the phone after he refused to provide it voluntarily
- Liliana Jasso Testimony (A Friend of Renalyn Bobadilla, Josiah Lawson's Girlfriend)
- On direct examination starting on page 448 and again on cross examination starting at page 459, Jasso describes seeing a male being carried away by two other males from the area where Josiah Lawson's body was located, presumably after the stabbing. She testified that she believed the males were helping the male they were carrying off.
- Kyle Castillo Testimony
- Pg 465 arrived to party in one car with Lawson, Bobadilla, Kristoff Castillo and Annalecia Johnson (Kyle Castillos girlfriend). He testifies that he and his brother Kristoff do not drink.
- Pg 466 Castillo testifies that they arrived to the party between 11 PM and 1 AM, stayed for "30, 40 minutes max" and their whole group, including Lawson, went to leave at "like 1:00, 1:30"
- Pg 469 Castillo describes being approached in front of the house on the porch by a male that he identifies as Zoellner and two females. Pg 473 he reports that Lawson is next to him at the start of this encounter.
- Pg 474 when asked about Zoellner's behavior before the initial confrontation, Castillo says "He came up to me, and I can honestly say, like, the way he came up to me, like, he wasn't trying to have a problem or nothing like that." Castillo testifies that one of the females with Zoellner was the one that became aggressive and accused them of having her phone. He reports that it was a female with black hair. Lila Ortega had blue hair on the night of the incident, but Castillo is presumably refering to Ortega at this point.
- Pg 476 "Like, I can honestly say that he was being polite."
- Pg 477 Castillo testifies that the physical altercation began with Lawson's girlfriend, Renalyn Bobadilla, fighting with one of the girls that was with Zoellner. He then says "and that's when Josiah and him [Zoellner] got into it."
- Pg 477-478 Castillo testifies that he did not see Lawson punch Zoellner but believes that "he probably did" He testifies that Zoellner was on the ground at this point. Castillo denies that he or his brother Kristoff punched Zoellner and is asked "So, is it your understanding the only person left to have punched out the defendant would be Josiah?". He answers with "Yeah. Probably, yeah"
- Pg 478 he testifies that Bobadilla is fighting with the other girls at this point. He is asked "And was Renalyn the aggressor?". He replies "Yes."
- Pg 480 Castillo testifies that Zoellner is still on the ground at this point. Pg 481 he denies that anyone was punching or kicking Zoellner at this point.
- Pg 486 he reports that he begins walking down the driveway towards Spear Ave with Bobadilla, Lawson and Kristoff Castillo. Annalecia Johnson had already walked out toward the street before the fight began
- Pg 488 he says denies seeing injuries on Josiah at this point as they are walking on Spear. He reports hearing Lawson ask someone to take him home and assumed that Lawson had gotten into that other person's car. Lawson was no longer with their group after this.
- Pg 489-490 Castillo says that he walked a good distance down the street and turned back to the cul de sac after realizing Annalecia Johnson was not at the car. He reports that he heard crying when he returned and saw Lawson lying in the bushes on the right side of the cul de sac. He reports that Lawson was stabbed and bleeding.
- Pg 493 he denies seeing a knife or hearing anything about a knife or gun.
- Cross exam strarts pg 495
- Pg 496 - 497 when asked if the party broke up closer to 3:00 AM he says he does not believe that is accurate. The first 911 call about the fight was received at 3:00:26 AM according to the Police Foundation report.
- Pg 516 Kyle Castillo reports talking to a Journalist from Mad River Union. Pg 518 he reports that the journalist asked him about Zoellner's injuries that were visible in his mugshot and Castillo testifies that he recalls responding by saying "It was the three of us against him, and he was on the floor"
- Pg 519 he denies that he, his brother or Lawson caused any of the injuries to Zoellner that were visible in the mugshot.
- Kristoff Castillo Testimony
- Pg. 523 he reports arriving at the party around 12:00 AM. Pg 524 he reports that they went to leave after about an hour
- Pg 524 he reports that there were around 300 people at the party.
- Pg 525 Similar to Kyle Castillo, Kristoff Castillo testifies that they left as a group with him, Kyle Castillo, Lawson and Bobadilla with Annalecia Johnson walking to the street towards the car ahead of them.
- Pg 527 he report the start of the interaction about the lost phone with two girls and a male that he identifies as Zoellner. 527-528 he reports that Zoellner was not aggressive and was polite at this time.
- Pg 528 He reports the black and blue haired girl (presumably Ortega) became aggressive and accusatory.
- Pg 529 he reports that Bobadilla was being a "a little bit" aggressive
- Pg 530 he reports that Bobadilla and the Black and blue haired girl (presumably Ortega) began fighting.
- Pg 531-532 he reports that Lawson was fighting with Zoellner at this point. He reports seeing both Lawson and Zoellner punching each other.
- Pg 533 Kristoff Castillo testifies that his brother, Kyle Castillo was involved and pushing both Zoellner and Lawson in what he believed was an attempt to stop the fight. This is potentially contradictory to Kyle Castillo's testimony
- Pg 534 He testifies that Lawson punched Zoellner and "...put him on the ground."
- Pg 534-535 he testifies that the fights stop around this time and the blond girl sprays pepper spray
- Pg 537 In a possible contradiction of his brother Kyle Castillo's testimony, Kristoff Castillo says that they walked around the house looking for help after the pepper spray was used
- Pg 537 he says that he now walked back out towards the street with only his brother. He denies that anyone else was with them at this point, which is a potential contradiction of his brother Kyle Castillo's testimony that Lawson and Bobadilla were behind them.
- Pg 538 he reports walking back towards the house from Spear ave after realizing nobody else was at the car. When he returned to the cul de sac, he reports hearing Bobadilla screaming and seeing Josiah laying in the bushes on the right side of the driveway
- Pg 539 he reports seeing the black and blue haired girl (presumably Ortega) with Zoellner who was laying on the ground on the left side of the driveway.
- Pg 540 He denies seeing a knife. He reports hearing and seeing a male yell that Josiah had been stabbed. He identifies that male speaker as the male who was doin CPR but says that he did not know the mans name. (Elijah Chandler later testifies to doing CPR)
- Pg 544 he reports that he and his brother Kyle did not drink at the party and do not drink.
- Pg 545 on cross examination, he does report using marijuana
- Pg 559 Kristoff Castillo testifies that he believed Zoellner was knocked out and that he told his brother, Kyle Castillo, "I think he's knocked out" after the first fight seperates.
- Jason Martinez and Det. Eric Losey Testimony - This contains the testimony of Jason Martinez and Detective Eric Losey at the preliminary hearing for criminal charges against Kyle Zoellner in May 2017.The remaining complaint of Zoellner's lawsuit alleges that Det. Losey's mischaracterization of Martinez's statement amounts to malicious prosecution. In the charging summary, Losey writes that Martinez witnessed the stabbing and identified Zoellner and Lawson by name. Martinez later testified that he never knew the names of the males he witnessed fighting and that he never saw a knife or witnessed stabbing. On page 846 of the transcript starting at line 23 (pg. 62 of this document) Losey admits to this error. In his testimony, Martinez states that he witnesses the fight between the two males - which Losey incorrectly described as the stabbing - in the grassy area while he is standing halfway down the driveway next to a red mustang style vehicle. No physical evidence was located in that grassy area. A pool of blood that formed the start of the blood trail to the location where Lawson was found stabbed was located on the driveway next to a red mustang and the knife that police recovered was located underneath the mustang. In its ruling in at the end of the preliminary hearing, the court points out the inconsistency between Jason Martinez's statement and Paris Wright's statement. This is also mentioned by the prosecution in closing arguments when Deputy DA Rees says that he does not know how to reconcile Martinez's statement with the testimony of others.
- Keaundrey Clark Testimony
- Pg 607 Keundry Clark testifies that he was at the party in the house when he heard a commotion outside and people began to exit the house into the front yard. he estimates that there were 50-80 people at the party at this point.
- Pg 608 He reports arriving to the party at 1 AM and that the commotion occurred "a couple" hours later.
- Pg 609 Clark testifies that he exited the house and was standing on the bottom step of the porch where he saw blood on the ground and two people in a combative, fighting stance. He reports that the blood is in a large pool in the driveway.
- Pg 610 Clark testifies that he was a member of "Brothers United" (BU) but is not anymore.
- Pg 611 he reports that he was kicked out of BU due to other members being upset with him over events that occured on the night of Lawson's death. He denies that he was upset with other members of BU. He says that he was never told why the other members were upset with him.
- Pg 612 he reports that Paris Wright, who he had know through BU, was one of the two males in a "combative" stance and he was within 20 yards of him.
- Pg 612 Clark testifies that the garage door was open and the light from the garage helped him see Paris Wright. Earlier testimony from others said the garage door was closed
- Pg 613 Clark identifies the male that was in the fighting stance with Wright as Zoellner
- Pg 614-615 he testifies that he returned to the house to locate more BU members to help but was unsuccessful
- Pg 616 he reports that he returned to find one of the girls attempting to carry Zoellner away while the other was "attacking" Wright. He reports seeing Wright punch Zoellner as the girl was attempting to carry him away
- Pg. 618 he denies seeing anyone with a knife.
- Pg 619 Clark reports hearing Wright ask Zoellner "is that a knife". Clark states that Wright and Zoellner were alone at this point. In Wright's testimony above, he does not report saying this and denies ever seeing a knife.
- Page 621 Clark testifies that after Wright knocked Zoellner to the ground, people who were exiting the house began kicking and punching him while he is on the ground. He says this was a group of "No more than ten.".
- Page 622 when asked if it looked like they were "beating the crap out of the defendant", Clark responds "yes". He testifies that the two girls were on the ground with Zoellner at this point. This is in possible contradiction to Wright's testimony.
- Pg 623 Clark reports that Wright was part of the group beating Zoellner, another possible contradiction of Wright's testimony
- Pg 625 Clark report finding Zoellner with Elijah Chandler doing CPR and Jason Martinez holding Lawson's feet. Clark reports seeing a wound to the left side of Lawson's abdomen.
- Pg 630 Clark testifies that he asked the police f Zoellner would be released because he had heard that that was a possibility if more witnesses did not come forward.
- Page 633 Clark testifies that he recalls telling Detective Eric Losey about two days after the incident that he may have seen somenthing in Zoellner's hand during the altercation. He then testifies that he does not recall seeing anything in Zoellner's hand.
- Pg 634 cross examination begines
- Pg 634 Clark denies drinking or using drugs at the party
- Renalyn Bobadilla, Elijah Chandler, Officer Jacob Mckenzie, Officer Devon Nilsen, Detectives Eric Losey, Detective Todd Dockweiler, Alex Begovic Testimony and Closing Arguments
- Renalyn Bobadilla - Starts on page 686 (Direct began on page 642 and is currently unavailable)
- Elijah Chandler - Starts on page 714
- Officer Devon Nilsen - Starts on page 801
- Detective Todd Dockweiler - Starts on page 850
- On pages 875 and 876, Det. Dockweiler testifies that fingerprints were collected from Kyle Zoellner and Lila Ortega for comparison to the print on the knife found at the scene, but no fingerprints were collected from members of Brother's United or other individuals who reported involvement in the fight that preceded the stabbing. As of the time of the preliminary hearing, no match was found for the fingerprint on the knife.
- On Det. Dockweiler's first day of testimony, he testified that during their second search warrant on Zoellner's apartment, APD had seized a bag containing the cooking knives that Zoellner used in his work as a chef. Dockweiler believed that the bag was missing a paring knife as he found two knives in the bag which was supposed to contain a set of three knives. At the start of his second day of testimony (pages 228-229 and 239-242) Det. Dockweiler testifies that he did additional investigation overnight and located the knife that he previously believed to be missing in a side pocket of the knife bag. It was also testified to that the knives in Zoellner's bag were "Mac" brand. The knife located at the homicide scene was a longer "JA Henckels" brand knife.
- Alex Begovic
- On pages 248-249 Alex Begovic, Zoellner's employer at a catering company, testifies that he knows that Zoellner uses only 3 kitchen knives at work, all being "Mac" brand.
- On page 249-250 Alex Begovic, upon being shown an image of the knife that was located at the homicide scene, testifies that he has never seen that knife in his kitchen, he has not seen Zoellner use that knife and that he has never seen that type of knife in use in a professional kitchen.
- This transcript also contains the closing arguments from the prosecution and defense. Closing arguments begin on page 256 of this document (marked 909 in the transcript) and provide a good summary of the prosecution and defense cases.
Closing Arguments and the Court's decision and reasoning are also available here: