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The prosecution began its rebuttal in the trial of accused murderer Samuel Adam Moen Lawson Tuesday, calling several witnesses who challenged the defense’s case.
Lawson, 30, is on trial for attempted murder and aggravated murder for a shooting at a county campground in August 2003 in which Noris Hilde was shot to death and his wife Sherl Hilde was shot and critically injured.
Lawson was on a weeklong camping trip in the area near Lemolo Lake and the Hildes had caught him using their campsite and tent the morning of the shooting. Later that evening, a man came to the campsite and shot the Hildes — and Sherl Hilde has testified that man was Lawson.
The prosecution called three witnesses who spoke against Tami Chartraw, a former Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance officer at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend who testified in support of the defense’s case earlier this month. The 1996 act protects patients’ privacy.
“I don’t believe she is a very truthful person,” said James Dover, vice president of human resources at the hospital.
Chartraw’s direct supervisor said the same. A subordinate to Chartraw said Chartraw had a reputation among management as being untruthful.
Chartraw, who no longer works at the hospital, testified that she was present during two of the interviews between Hilde and detectives while Hilde was being treated at the hospital following the attack.
Chartraw said that Hilde told detectives that she didn’t see her attacker and couldn’t identify him.
The prosecution, however, argues Hilde got a clear view of Lawson.
Hilde herself testified that she saw and recognized him as the man who’d been in their campsite earlier.
Chartraw said her job responsibilities included ensuring a patient could submit to an interview and sitting through interviews with law enforcement officers to monitor patients’ conditions throughout the interview.
All three witnesses said no hospital policy required a HIPAA officer to sit through interviews or monitor patient conditions. The prosecution presented a letter from the hospital’s attorney dated prior to Hilde’s admittance that reiterated that HIPAA has no such requirement.
The prosecution also called to the stand psychiatrist George Suckow of Salem, who said a person in Hilde’s position may have a heightened memory of the murder. He also said it’s possible for a person’s memory to improve over time or repress memories at first.
His testimony contradicted that of a Reed College professor and psychologist who told jurors a person under severe trauma who is providing an inconsistent description of what happened could have created a false memory.
“It’s a theory not commonly accepted in the medical community,” Suckow said of the Reed professor’s testimony.
Closing arguments are expected to begin Thursday.
• You can reach reporter Diane Huber at 957-4218 or by e-mail at dhuber@newsreview.info.
Lawson, 30, is on trial for attempted murder and aggravated murder for a shooting at a county campground in August 2003 in which Noris Hilde was shot to death and his wife Sherl Hilde was shot and critically injured.
Lawson was on a weeklong camping trip in the area near Lemolo Lake and the Hildes had caught him using their campsite and tent the morning of the shooting. Later that evening, a man came to the campsite and shot the Hildes — and Sherl Hilde has testified that man was Lawson.
The prosecution called three witnesses who spoke against Tami Chartraw, a former Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance officer at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend who testified in support of the defense’s case earlier this month. The 1996 act protects patients’ privacy.
“I don’t believe she is a very truthful person,” said James Dover, vice president of human resources at the hospital.
Chartraw’s direct supervisor said the same. A subordinate to Chartraw said Chartraw had a reputation among management as being untruthful.
Chartraw, who no longer works at the hospital, testified that she was present during two of the interviews between Hilde and detectives while Hilde was being treated at the hospital following the attack.
Chartraw said that Hilde told detectives that she didn’t see her attacker and couldn’t identify him.
The prosecution, however, argues Hilde got a clear view of Lawson.
Hilde herself testified that she saw and recognized him as the man who’d been in their campsite earlier.
Chartraw said her job responsibilities included ensuring a patient could submit to an interview and sitting through interviews with law enforcement officers to monitor patients’ conditions throughout the interview.
All three witnesses said no hospital policy required a HIPAA officer to sit through interviews or monitor patient conditions. The prosecution presented a letter from the hospital’s attorney dated prior to Hilde’s admittance that reiterated that HIPAA has no such requirement.
The prosecution also called to the stand psychiatrist George Suckow of Salem, who said a person in Hilde’s position may have a heightened memory of the murder. He also said it’s possible for a person’s memory to improve over time or repress memories at first.
His testimony contradicted that of a Reed College professor and psychologist who told jurors a person under severe trauma who is providing an inconsistent description of what happened could have created a false memory.
“It’s a theory not commonly accepted in the medical community,” Suckow said of the Reed professor’s testimony.
Closing arguments are expected to begin Thursday.
• You can reach reporter Diane Huber at 957-4218 or by e-mail at dhuber@newsreview.info.
