DADE CITY, Fla. — One of the biggest highlights from Monday was hearing Vivian Reeves, Curtis Reeves’ wife, testify on the stand.
She describes the moments leading up to the shooting as scary and says she’s not sure what exactly she saw within those few seconds.
However, Vivian did confirm to the prosecution that she never saw anything thrown at Curtis, never saw her husband punched, or heard him indicate he was being attacked. She told the defense that she did see Chad Oulson lean over his seat when he was facing Curtis.
We also heard from a couple of experts: Dr. Donna Cohen, a Professor Emeritus at USF specializing in aging studies, and Bruce Koenig, a forensics audio and video analysis expert.
Below, you’ll find detailed updates from each testimony on Monday.
4:45 p.m. update:
Most of the afternoon was spent hearing from expert witness Bruce Koenig. He’s a forensics video and audio expert and spent much of his time working for the FBI. He now owns a business, Bek-Tek, which specializes in providing forensic analysis.
Koenig says the defense hired his services in June of 2014. Much of his time on the stand was spent detailing his experience. During his time with the FBI, he worked in forensics and dealt with cases like the Monica Lewinski recordings, and recordings from the Reagan assassination attempt.
Koenig was asked to explain topics like metadata, video systems, and pixels in videos and images.
During his time on the stand, jurors were asked to rewatch surveillance video from the theater where the shooting occurred. When asked by the defense if the video he reviewed is fair and accurate, Koenig says yes.
12 p.m. update:
We heard from a key witness who was inside the movie theater: Curtis Reeves’ wife, Vivian Reeves. She was sitting right next to Curtis, and behind Chad and Nicole Oulson at the time of the shooting. Vivian says she and Curtis have been married for 54 years.
Vivian describes once they had been sitting in the movie theater, her husband quietly asked Chad to put his phone away.
"Curtis leaned forward toward Mr. Oulson, and spoke so softly, I thought that I heard the word 'phone,' but I cannot be sure," Vivian said.
She says Chad responded with profanity and said he was just texting.
“It scared me,” Vivian said about Chad’s response toward Curtis. After the first contact, she says her husband got up to go speak with a manager outside the theater. She says she wanted to just move seats at this point.
During questioning from the prosecution, lawyers said Vivian could have gone with her husband if she felt scared of Chad, especially if she was going to be waiting alone.
“I was more ticked off that this was happening,” Vivian said.
Once Curtis returned to the theater, Vivian confirms to the prosecution that Curtis initiated contact with Chad for a second time.
During the second point of contact, Vivian says she saw her husband lean back with his leg out as Chad Oulson stood up. She says she thought it was a movement Curtis was making to create distance between him and Chad.
However, the prosecution points out that Vivian never mentioned this in a previous hearing. When asked about seeing the moment, she says, “No, but I wish I had.”
In Monday’s testimony, she discusses her husband’s body language that she saw. Vivian says her statements in a previous hearing were made about seeing popcorn thrown at her husband.
Vivian says she never saw Chad in their aisle, and never saw him climbing over a chair. She never saw an object thrown at her husband, and never heard her husband be hit. She also confirms to the prosecution she never heard any hitting or sounds from Curtis that indicated he was being attacked. However, she tells the defense Chad had been leaning over his chair toward Curtis.
“I didn’t know what happened and I couldn’t believe it. I had never been more scared in my life,” Vivian said, describing how she felt after the shot was fired.
Vivian describes the event happening so fast, and she can’t remember if she closed her eyes or looked away in the seconds before the shooting.
10:30 a.m. update:
Curtis Reeves' wife, Vivian Reeves, who was sitting next to him in the movie theater at the time of the shooting, is taking the stand.
10:15 a.m. update:
The first witness called to the stand by the defense is Dr. Donna Cohen. She’s a Professor Emeritus at the University of South Florida and is considered a qualified expert in aging, elder justice and other related fields.
The defense asked questions about aging, like what causes it and when it starts to happen. Cohen says aging begins around the ages of 25 to 30 and agrees with the defense that aging is “universal.”
When asked if the United States is an ageist society, Cohen says yes, but we are not the only ones.
“Ageism reflects the negative attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors toward older people…” Cohen explained before an objection from the prosecution.
Cohen says there are many factors that change when you age, like “biopsychosocial functions.” Cohen says the “psycho” part of these factors includes changes to how one handles their behavior, emotions, etc.
When asked by the prosecution how much Cohen charges an hour, she says $425. Throughout the course of this case, the state confirms with Cohen that she has made more than $2,000 as an expert witness.
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Monday is expected to bring more witnesses from the defense in the trial of movie theater shooter Curtis Reeves.
Friday saw testimony from two key individuals: Reeves' son, Matthew Reeves, and his daughter, Jennifer Shaw.
Matthew was in the theater at the time of the shooting and gave his version of events, which was different from what other witnesses have testified.
Jennifer spoke about her father's fragility, saying it was a "harsh reality" to realize her parents are aging and could not do everything they used to be able to do.
Reeves faces charges of second-degree murder for killing Chad Oulson, and aggravated battery for injuring Oulson's wife, Nicole. If convicted, he faces a minimum of 25 years for second-degree murder with a firearm.