Page 16

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

SEDONA, ARIZONA

SUNDAY, MARCH 19, 2023

3:00 P.M.

The transcript from the King County courtroom of Judge Randall Crowell was dated July 9, 1993.

As soon as Ali noticed that, she got back to Frigg. “What was the date of that previous interview?”

“That would be 1:30 p.m., June 8, 1992.”

“Was she allowed out on bail?”

“No. Her bail was set for five hundred thousand dollars. Neither she nor her parents were able raise that amount.”

“So she sat in jail for over a year while awaiting trial?”

“Correct.”

“What happened to the daughter?”

“She went to live with Donna Jean’s parents.”

Ali returned to the transcript. All Frigg had sent her was the defense portion of the trial.

JUDGE CROWELL

IS THE DEFENSE READY TO PROCEED?

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

WE ARE, YOUR HONOR.

JUDGE CROWELL

VERY WELL. YOU MAY CALL YOUR FIRST WITNESS.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

THE DEFENSE CALLS DONNA JEAN PLUMMER. GOOD AFTERNOON, MRS. PLUMMER.

That one caught Ali’s attention. It was unusual to have the defendant testify on her own behalf.

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

GOOD AFTERNOON.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

YOU WERE MARRIED TO THE DECEASED, KENNETH LEROY PLUMMER?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

I WAS.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

HOW LONG WERE YOU TOGETHER?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

EIGHT YEARS ALTOGETHER. WE DATED FOR THREE AND WERE MARRIED FOR FIVE.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU MARRIED?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

WE GOT MARRIED ON THE DAY I TURNED EIGHTEEN. MY FOLKS DIDN’T APPROVE….

ASSISTANT COUNTY ATTORNEY JACK MORRISON

OBJECTION. IS ALL THIS HISTORY NECESSARY?

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

IT IS, YOUR HONOR. THIS TESTIMONY PROVIDES BACKGROUND AS TO HOW THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE VICTIM AND THE ACCUSED EVOLVED, AND PROVIDES CONTEXT AS TO WHAT LED UP TO THE ACTUAL INCIDENT.

JUDGE CROWELL

OVERRULED. YOU MAY CONTINUE, MS. MAXWELL, BUT KEEP IT MOVING.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

YOUR PARENTS DIDN’T APPROVE OF THE RELATIONSHIP?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

NO, THEY THOUGHT HE WAS TOO OLD FOR ME AND TOO CONTROLLING.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

WAS HE CONTROLLING?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

I GUESS. BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS BECAUSE HE LOVED ME. AND I THOUGHT MY PARENTS WERE JUST BEING… WELL… PARENTS.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

WHEN WAS THE FIRST TIME HE BECAME VIOLENT WITH YOU?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

ON OUR WEDDING NIGHT. HE’D HAD TOO MUCH TO DRINK. I OFFERED TO DRIVE. WHEN WE GOT TO THE HOTEL, WE WALKED INTO THE ROOM, AND THAT’S WHEN HE HIT ME.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

YOU SAY HE HIT YOU. LIKE, SLAPPED YOU?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

NO, HE PUNCHED ME WITH A CLOSED FIST, RIGHT IN THE GUT. HE TOLD ME THAT JUST BECAUSE WE WERE MARRIED DIDN’T MEAN I GOT TO BOSS HIM AROUND. HE TOLD ME THAT IF I EVER TOLD ANYONE THAT HE HAD HIT ME, HE’D KILL ME, AND I BELIEVED HIM. I NEVER TOLD ANYONE.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

WERE YOU PREGNANT AT THE TIME?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

I WAS.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

WAS HE AWARE OF THE PREGNANCY?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

YES.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

WERE YOUR PARENTS AWARE OF IT?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

NO.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

THE ABUSE CONTINUED AFTER THAT?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

YES.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

DID YOU EVER REPORT IT TO LAW ENFORCEMENT?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

NO, I WAS AFRAID TO.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

DID YOU TELL ANYONE ELSE?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

NO.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

WHY NOT?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

I DIDN’T THINK ANYONE WOULD BELIEVE ME. HE NEVER HIT ME WHERE IT WOULD SHOW.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

WHAT HAPPENED PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT IN QUESTION?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

IT WAS SUNDAY AFTERNOON. MY DAUGHTER, AMY, WAS TAKING A NAP, AND I NEEDED TO GO TO THE STORE. I THOUGHT I’D BE HOME BEFORE SHE WOKE UP, BUT IT TOOK LONGER THAN EXPECTED. WHEN I GOT BACK, SHE WAS CRYING AND I SAW A HANDPRINT ON HER FACE. I ASKED WHAT HAD HAPPENED. KENNY TOLD ME THAT SHE’D SPILLED HIS BEER AND HE HIT HER.

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

WHAT HAPPENED THEN?

The remainder of Donna Jean’s direct testimony was almost exactly the same as what she’d said earlier in her interview with the detectives, so Ali skimmed through to the spot where the prosecutor began his cross-examination. At that point, Ali could tell things were going to go south.

JUDGE CROWELL

MR. MORRISON? ARE YOU READY TO PROCEED?

ASSISTANT COUNTY ATTORNEY MORRISON

WE ARE, THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR. NOW, MRS. PLUMMER, WHEN YOUR HUSBAND FIRST CAME TO THE DOOR AND STARTED THREATENING YOU, WHY DIDN’T YOU DIAL 911 THEN?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

I DON’T KNOW. I GUESS I WASN’T THINKING STRAIGHT.

ASSISTANT COUNTY ATTORNEY MORRISON

COULD YOUR NOT CALLING HAVE HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT YOU KNEW YOU WERE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT LOCKED DOOR AND ARMED WITH A DEADLY WEAPON?

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

OBJECTION.

JUDGE CROWELL

SUSTAINED, THE JURY MAY DISREGARD THAT QUESTION.

ASSISTANT COUNTY ATTORNEY MORRISON

WHILE YOU WERE SPEAKING TO YOUR HUSBAND, WHERE WAS THE WEAPON?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

IT WAS IN MY PURSE ON A SIDE TABLE NEXT TO THE DOOR.

ASSISTANT COUNTY ATTORNEY MORRISON

AND WHERE EXACTLY WAS YOUR HUSBAND WHEN YOU OPENED THE DOOR?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

HE WAS WALKING DOWN THE STEPS TOWARD THE SIDEWALK.

ASSISTANT COUNTY ATTORNEY MORRISON

WAS HE WALKING TOWARD YOU OR WALKING AWAY?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

AWAY, BUT HE WAS GOING TO THE TRUCK TO GET HIS—

ASSISTANT COUNTY ATTORNEY MORRISON

AND YOU STILL FELT AS THOUGH YOU WERE IN MORTAL DANGER?

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

OBJECTION. ASKED AND ANSWERED.

ASSISTANT COUNTY ATTORNEY MORRISON

I’LL WITHDRAW THE QUESTION. AT THE TIME YOU PULLED THE TRIGGER, WAS KENNETH PLUMMER ARMED WITH ANY KIND OF WEAPON?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

NO, BUT—

ASSISTANT COUNTY ATTORNEY MORRISON

AND WHERE EXACTLY DID YOU SHOOT HIM?

DONNA JEAN PLUMMER

IN THE BACK, BUT—

ASSISTANT COUNTY ATTORNEY MORRISON

NO FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR THIS WITNESS.

JUDGE CROWELL

MS. MAXWELL?

CHRISTINE MAXWELL

NOTHING AT THIS TIME.

JUDGE CROWELL

VERY WELL, THE WITNESS MAY STEP DOWN.

Ali sighed. She had little doubt that the only information the jury would have taken away from that portion of Donna Jean’s testimony was that Kenneth Plummer had been unarmed and walking away from her when he was shot in the back.

“What was the verdict?” she asked Frigg.

“The jury found Donna Jean Plummer guilty of voluntary manslaughter. She was sentenced to seven to ten years, with the sentence reduced by time served. She was in lockup for a total of eight.”

“Three years longer than she was married to the creep who beat her up on her wedding night,” Ali muttered. “What happened to her little girl?”

“Ms. Plummer’s parents raised her. Amy Plummer is now Amy Plummer Robbins. She’s currently thirty-four years of age. She graduated cum laude from the University of Washington and teaches seventh-grade math at Madison Middle School in West Seattle. She has one child, a six-year-old son named Jacob.”

“How did Donna Jean end up cleaning houses?”

“When she was released on parole, she went to work for a company that employed a team of workers. When that company went out of business a couple of years later, Donna Jean started her own cleaning service. The Brewster account was a carryover from her previous employer. She’s worked for the Brewsters on an individual basis two days a week for more than twenty years.”

Ali thought about what Frigg had just told her. Yes, Donna Jean had been at the Chuck Brewster crime scene, but had any of her blood or DNA been found on the victim? And since the Brewsters were clearly good customers of hers, what would be her motivation? Was Donna Jean’s previous conviction the reason the cops were seemingly determined to drag her into this investigation?

Ali posed that very question to Frigg.

“Most likely,” the AI answered.

“Are the investigators looking at anyone else?”

“They are in the process of contacting the people who attended the party. Mrs. Brewster claims not to have access to the complete guest list since most of the people in attendance were connected to her husband’s work. One of the guests was Mr. Brewster’s son, Adam. He was on a plane heading back to L.A. when the body was discovered. I’m not sure when he’ll be returning.”

“I wasn’t aware there was a son,” Ali said.

“They were evidently estranged for some time and had only recently reconciled.”

Ali thought about that for a moment. “The Brewsters are anything but broke,” she said. “What happens to their money if Clarice is convicted of murdering her husband?”

“Would you like to see the applicable statute?” Frigg asked.

“Yes, please.”

Seconds later the following turned up on Ali’s iPad:

The murderer will be deemed to have predeceased the victim under the WA slayer statute:

RCW 11.84.030

Slayer or abuser deemed to predecease decedent.

The slayer or abuser shall be deemed to have predeceased the decedent as to property which would have passed from the decedent or his or her estate to the slayer or abuser under the statutes of descent and distribution or have been acquired by statutory right as surviving spouse or surviving domestic partner or under any agreement made with the decedent under the provisions of RCW 26.16.120 as it now exists or is hereafter amended.

Ali read through the statute several times before she spoke again. “Blood and DNA notwithstanding, I hope whoever’s working this case is smart enough to follow Chuck’s money. If it’s not going to Clarice, you’d better believe it’s going to his son. What’s going on with her, by the way?”

“Clarice Brewster is still in police custody,” Frigg reported. “She pled not guilty at her preliminary hearing, but the judge refused to grant bail.”

“So although she’s in lockup, the cops are still looking at Donna Jean?”

“Evidently,” Frigg replied.

That’s when it occurred to Ali that perhaps Frigg had been correct to begin with. Maybe both Clarice Brewster and Donna Jean Plummer really were being railroaded, and the cops working the case couldn’t be bothered with looking at anyone else.