Jessica Woodin
18 years old
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Hit-and-run case comes to an end Capping two weeks at trial, emotional closing arguments were presented to a packed courtroom Thursday, ending the Arizona v. Mark Torre second-degree murder hearing and sending the jury into deliberation. "The speed isn't what caused the accident," said Larry Kazan, attorney for 29-year-old Mark Torre, who is being tried for the hit-and-run death of 18-year-old ASU freshman Jessica Woodin. "What caused it is ignoring the rules of the road, ignoring the red lights. If people start crossing the street whenever they want, there's going to be a heck of a havoc at intersections," Kazan added. The prosecution presented the jury with a different outlook however, and Deputy Attorney Michael Gingold relayed to the jury what he considered as the "reckless" manner in which Torre behaved on the night of Aug. 18, 2001. "He's trying to make excuses for his behavior, he could not tell you why he left the scene," Gingold said. "He was scared, he'd been drinking all night, speeding down the road, and split a girl in half. He was afraid the police would find out what he did." Gingold said Torre should be found guilty because he was intoxicated, and was driving carelessly at estimated speeds of 60-75 mph according to prosecution. "He didn't stop, he didn't call 9-1-1, he left the scene of the crime," Gingold said. "He took his car to a deserted spot at the side of the road, left it there and started on the four-hour trek to Nalabandian's house." Gingold said Torre acted with extreme indifference to human life when he left the scene of the crime. "There is no way the defendant did not know Jessica was either seriously injured or dead," he said. "He left her there dead in two pieces." Kazan rebutted with a request to the jury that they base their decision not on sympathy for either party, but on the facts alone. "The law requests the highest standard of proof in a criminal case," Kazan said. "It demands that you be firmly convinced. It's all or nothing in this case. In this case, it should be nothing." Kazan further lobbied for Torre by creating an image as a person, not a criminal. "He went to ASU, graduated summa cum laude, he was bright enough to get into Harvard law, he got into some trouble that night and wound up a year later working in a bowling alley," he said. Torre currently works as an assistant manager in an area bowling alley since leaving his position with international law firm Squire, Sanders and Dempsey. Kazan said his defendant's only crime was leaving the scene, since Woodin and her friend chose to cross against the light. "The only time a pedestrian has the right of way is in a crosswalk or when the light is green," he said. "You don't run out across the street on a red light because a car might hit you." Woodin was hit by Torre's 2001 Ford Mustang Bullitt as she was crossing near the intersection of McAllister Avenue and Apache Boulevard with her friend Nicholas Pitts at approximately 2:14 a.m., two days prior to the beginning of her first semester of classes. Before the closing statements began, Torre finished his time on the stand, pleading his case to the jury one last time. Visibly shaken and barely audible, Torre finished telling the jury what he did after the accident. Torre said he heard sirens when he got out of his car at 10th Street and Mitchell Drive and assumed they were meant for Woodin. "I never believed there was anything I could have done to avoid the accident," Torre said. Torre didn't turn himself in to authorities until two days after the accident and said he couldn't give a good reason why he left the scene. "There's no excuse for it," Torre said. "Something seemed wrong about the situation." Torre said he didn't understand why someone would be in the roadway. "I don't know why they ran in front of the car." Torre said. Torre and friend Paul Nalabandian got out and "just started walking" to Nalabandian's central Phoenix condominium. On the four-hour walk, Torre said he Nalabandian didn't talk much. "I thought I needed to turn myself in," Torre said. Torre plead not guilty to charges of second-degree murder. Woodin's step-brother, 29-year-old Ryan Savard, attended each day of the trial and recalled the last time he had seen Jessica. "She was only out there for a day; we had just taken her to the airport," Savard said. "I got the call two days later." Savard said he feels bad for Torre and his family. "No verdict is going to change anything," Savard said. "It's just all sad for both families; there's not going to be any good coming out of this." With the jury currently in deliberations, there is no scheduled time frame for a verdict.
Copyright © 2001-05, ASU Web Devil. All rights reserved 2 years later, 2 families struggle with shock of hit-run
Jim Walsh Jessica Woodin died a sudden, violent death two years ago, but fallout from a promising young life tragically lost in the hit-and-run alcohol-related collision will last a lifetime. Lives were irreparably changed on Aug. 18, 2001, when a new Ford Mustang driven by Valley attorney Mark Torre struck Woodin, 19, as she walked across Apache Boulevard, killing her on her first day at Arizona State University. Doug Woodin's pain from the loss of his daughter will never end, even though lawyers have negotiated a settlement with four of five defendants named in a civil suit that spawned a spate of legal finger-pointing. "The nicest little girl who ever lived was killed, her body cut in half," Woodin said. "An accomplished professional with two children lost much of himself, also." An insurance company paid a $150,000 settlement on behalf of a fraternity that served Jessica beer shortly before her death, but Woodin and his attorney, Mark Meltzer, declined to release the total value of all settlements. They say no amount of money can compensate Woodin and his ex-wife, Justine Talarico, for their loss. "When you lose a daughter that tragically, it's a death sentence," said Woodin, of Red Bank, N.J. "That's going to be with you the rest of your life." The settlements with all defendants but Torre, who is expected to settle later this year, "just seemed to lift some dark shadows," Woodin said. "I don't know why. As a father, you fight with the concept of accepting money from the death of a child. It's as bad as it gets, the conflict." Nearly everyone with a role in Jessica's death was sued. Axis/Radius, a nightclub that served Torre and attorney Paul Nalabandian, has settled, as has Z-Tejas, a restaurant where the men stopped for more drinks. Nalabandian also settled, along with Lambda Chi Alpha, the ASU fraternity. Meltzer said he cannot comment on any settlements with Squire, Sanders and Dempsey, the firm that employed Torre and Nalabandian before the collision. Woodin said the civil suits were minor compared with Torre's criminal convictions for negligent homicide and leaving the scene of a fatality. Torre is serving a 9½-year prison sentence, and his appeal is pending before the Arizona Court of Appeals. "You think, 'What's the use?' Every day, you are fighting the demons," said Woodin, assistant athletic director at a New Jersey high school. "This is a day-to-day thing. I've learned very emphatically that there is no such thing as closure." Once a promising young Harvard-educated attorney, Torre's license to practice law was suspended Aug. 1 by the Arizona Supreme Court, said Loren Braud, counsel for the State Bar of Arizona. Torre now makes 45 cents an hour as part of a labor crew at the Arizona State Prison at Safford. He declined an interview request. "I want to apologize to you for the cowardly manner in which I conducted myself after the accident," Torre wrote in a letter to Woodin while he awaited trial. "I am ashamed of myself. I know that shock and pain are not excuses for not going back to help Jessica. I will forever be haunted by this action." Woodin said he takes no pleasure in Torre's downfall but is pleased Torre is being held accountable. He said Torre's wife, two small children and parents are also victims. Mark never intended to hurt anybody," Woodin said. "It's how lives can be dashed in an instant. All good people and they end up in a terrible way." Woodin said Meltzer convinced him the settlement could help his family and deserving young people, while holding bars accountable. He said the settlement won't put a dent in the liquor industry, but he hopes the case will deter drunken driving and make bartenders think twice before serving drunk patrons. "The real responsibility lies on people who are distributing alcohol," he said. "They are skirting the issue because it interferes with their bottom line. That's too damn bad." Meltzer said defendants rarely admit responsibility in settlements, but "I think the fact that the defendants were willing to engage in settlement negotiations shows a recognition of responsibility." Although a jury decided Torre committed two crimes, "the civil proceedings determined that the parties shared in the responsibility for what happened that night," he said. Woodin said some of the settlement's proceeds will support the Jessica Woodin Memorial Scholarship Fund at Red Bank Regional High School to pay the tuition of needy students so they can attend nearby Brookdale Community College. Jessica had a 4.0 grade-point average at the school and was a cheerleader there, her father said. Reach the reporter at jim.walsh@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-7984.. Copyright 2004, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. |
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