A Florida man on trial for tried homicide abruptly axed his legal professionals Wednesday so he may personally cross-examine the alleged sufferer — his ex-wife.
Trevor Summers, 45, is accused of sneaking into the house of his then estranged partner, Alisa Mathewson, in March 2017 to hold out a murder-suicide plot.
Prosecutors stated Summers hogtied Mathewson — the mom of his 5 youngsters — with Christmas lights and raped her in the course of the two-day ordeal.
The sufferer appeared badly shaken Wednesday after realizing that her tormentor was set to interrogate her at his leisure.
“Good morning, Ms. Mathewson,” Summers stated, as his ex-wife teared up and seemed away with no response.
The defendant quizzed her about their intercourse life earlier than prosecutors objected — and challenged the declare that he had raped her after coming into her residence by means of a window.
“You broke into my dwelling in the midst of the night time… attacked me and tied me up,” Mathewson stated after considered one of his questions. “Sure, you threatened me to have intercourse with you. You raped me!”
“So that you’re calling it rape?” Summers responded.
“It’s!” Mathewson stated. “That’s the definition of rape. To return into somebody’s dwelling and assault them and tie them up after which have intercourse with them! That’s the definition of rape!”
In line with prosecutors, Summers later left the house and drove with Mathewson in the hunt for a secluded marina the place he deliberate to constitution a ship, kill her, after which himself.
However the captive seized a possibility to flee when Summers stopped at a Walmart. Mathewson sneaked out of the automobile and ran across the parking zone whereas screaming for assist.
An worker known as police after recognizing Summers frantically shoving her again within the automobile and dashing off, prosecutors stated.
Mathewson testified Monday that Summers drove her to a secluded space and slashed her wrist to punish her for the escape strive.
The saga lastly concluded with Summers chopping his neck and making an attempt to strangle Mathewson with a rope earlier than officers arrived on the scene and positioned him in custody.
The trial will proceed into the night.
