“What doesn’t add up?” Fran said heatedly. “You know he lied about coming back to the house after the party.”
“I understand that, but listen to me. Kids who are barely eighteen are incredibly insecure. I work with them every day. They think they’re adults, but they’re not. When you confront them, they look for the easy way out, even if that means lying,” Aline said, her voice rising. “I’d be really nervous if a cop showed up today and took me in for questioning. I can only imagine how panicky I would have been ten years ago when I was eighteen.”
Fran was having none of it. “You can rationalize this as much as you want. I don’t care if he was a scared young kid. Alan Crowley killed Kerry, and he’s going to pay for it.”
“Fran, Aline,” Steve interrupted, “the last thing we need to do is quarrel with each other. The truth will come out at the trial.”
Fran had the last word. “At the trial when he’s found guilty, you mean.”
36
Alan was taken from the jail and escorted into the adjacent courthouse, where he appeared before a judge at about 11:30 A.M. The guards seated him next to a waiting Lester Parker.
His parents sat on one side of the courtroom, in the first row of the spectator seats. His mother gasped when she saw him in the orange jumpsuit. This time his hands were cuffed in front of him.
On the other side of the courtroom, in the front row, were Fran and Steve Dowling. When they made eye contact with him, he turned away.
The assistant prosecutor read the charges against him. Murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose—the golf club—and tampering with witnesses. The judge, a balding man with glasses pushed high on his forehead, turned to Lester Parker. “Counsel, how does your client plead?”
“Not guilty, Your Honor.”
Turning to the assistant prosecutor, the judge stated, “Your Office has moved to detain the defendant pending trial.”
The assistant prosecutor began, “Your Honor, the State has a very strong case against Alan Crowley. Our investigation has revealed that he attended a party at the home of Kerry Dowling the night of her death and became extremely jealous when another young man spoke to her. We allege that later in the evening, after everyone else was gone, he returned and struck her in the back of the head with a golf club. She fell into the pool in the backyard of her home. Her family discovered her body in the pool the next morning. He lied to a detective regarding his whereabouts at the time of the crime and induced several friends to lie on his behalf. They have since admitted that they lied. He also lied about handling the golf club that evening, but it has his fingerprint on it.”
The assistant prosecutor continued. “Your Honor, we are seriously concerned about the risk of flight if he were released. He faces life in prison. He has already tampered with witnesses and could seek to do so again.”
Alan lowered his head and closed his eyes as he listened to the evil picture painted of him.
Parker’s response was loud and forceful. “Your Honor, my client has no record of any kind. He hasn’t even had a traffic ticket. He has no history whatsoever of violence. He has lived in the same house in Saddle River with his parents since he was born. He is their only child. He graduated from high school three months ago and is scheduled to begin college at Princeton within a few days. He has absolutely no resources of his own.”
Parker continued, “Your Honor, I have been provided with some of the investigative reports. The prosecutor failed to mention that there were no witnesses to the crime. He also failed to mention that there are at least two other unidentified fingerprints on the golf club. One of those fingerprints may belong to the perpetrator of this terrible crime.
“The reports also indicate that Kerry had had an encounter with a young man who had very recently stopped to help her change a flat tire. The victim told friends that this young man had bought the alcohol for her party but had become angry and aggressive with her when she declined his request to be invited to the party. This person has never been identified but should be considered a person of considerable interest in this investigation.
“Your Honor, we no longer have a bail system. You either detain the defendant or you don’t. It would be a travesty for him to spend a year or more in jail awaiting trial. We intend to vigorously defend against these charges. The State has no basis whatsoever for considering him to be a threat to anyone in the community or a flight risk.”
Solemnly, the judge reflected upon the arguments. “This is a difficult decision. The defendant is charged with a heinous crime. I consider most carefully the prosecutor’s arguments in support of detention. But defense counsel has also offered strong arguments. The defendant is eighteen years old. I do not believe he is a strong risk of flight. There is no evidence that he represents a threat to any specific person in the community. Counsel has argued that there are no witnesses to this crime and the evidence is circumstantial. Under all of these circumstances, I am entering the following order.
“The defendant is released under the following conditions. He is to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet at all times. He may not leave the state of New Jersey without the permission of this court. He is to live at his parents’ Saddle River address unless he is at college, which I note is in the state of New Jersey. He is to have no contact with the victim’s family.
“The defendant shall be taken back to the Bergen County Jail, where he will be fitted
