June 27, 2000

     The fourth Mrs. Blackthorne was the first to cry on the stand in nearly three weeks of testimony about two families' heartwrenching history.

     Maureen Blackthorne sat in the witness chair thin, pale, her long hair tucked behind her ears, her body hunched over with her arms resting on her knees. She has stood by her husband's side since the night a San Antonio television station announced the "ex-husband did it." Maureen Blackthorne felt ready for this moment, but the years leading up to it had definitely taken their toll.

     She testified that "he (Blackthorne) wanted nothing to do with her (Sheila Bellush)" ... in fact "he would only contact her via fax."

     Maureen Blackthorne's family is from Venezuela, a culture where women tend to run the household. She and Allen Blackthorne have two young sons, 5-year-old Brandon and 2-year-old Jacob. She told jurors her house had rules: No golf on weekends and home by 6:30 for supper during the week.

     On the surface she seemed to have control, but underneath she loved and worshiped a man who always dominated his relationships. She testifed, "I told him I was not happy with his gambling." She asked him to stop. He didn't.

     Still Maureen Blackthorne held her own on the stand. Lead prosecutor John Murphy came at her with quick and painful accusations, with often-confusing questions. She never flinched. "I don't know Mr. Murphy ... I don't recall ... I'm not going to speculate Mr. Murphy," were her answers.

     Maureen Blackthorne and Murphy's ex-wife, Kitty, are friends. In fact Kitty Murphy lived with Allen Blackthorne for about a year after her divorce. The families have a history and the hostility hung in the room.

     Tears ran down Maureen Blackthorne's face as she testified about feeling bad for younger daughter Daryl, whom Maureen testified came to them asking them to fight for her in court.

      Allen Blackthorne decided on the second day of that 1997 custody hearing to give up his parental rights, effectively cutting himself off from Daryl. The older daughter, Stevie, had already severed her relationship with her father and stepmother.

     Murphy responded by stating Allen Blackthorne was so upset he went on a golf trip just after making the decision. Murphy continued "you were so concerned about the girls ... what did you do when you found out their mother was dead?"

     She answered simply "we had been advised not to do anything until this was all over."

      Her testimony wrapped up the defense's case. Closing Aruments begin Thursday.

      Earlier in the day the defense called a parade of prisoners to the stand. Each had a story to tell. Two remain locked up in the same federal detention facility as Blackthorne. But they also at one point shared a holding cell with convicted killer and co-conspirator Danny Rocha, Blackthorne's former bookie and golfing partner.

      Herman Betancourt started by saying he didn't want to testify but defense attorney Richard Lubin subpoeaned him. He told jurors that Rocha knew he was normally in a cell next to Blackthorne when Rocha "told me I could get a deal if I came out and said something against Blackthorne."

      Rene Garcia heard much of the same conversation except Garcia testified Rocha also bragged to other inmates "if he (Rocha) would testify against Blackthorne they were gonna let him (Rocha) go."

      During cross-examination, prosecutor Richard Durbin struggled to understand Garcia's strong Spanish accent when Garcia explained he pleaded on his charges. Garcia kept saying "I plea," it sounded more like "I-P."

      Once Durbin figured it out, U.S. District Judge Ed Prado interrupted "I thought he was talking about urinalysis."

      The courtroom erupted in laughter, Durbin returned to his seat, the Jury once again seemed interested in the trial.

      Then Patrick Frances Connelly walked into the room. The third prisoner-witness spent time in a Sarasota County cell with Danny Rocha in 1998. Connelly proved a colorful character: with a flat deliberate speech, plenty of courtroom terms like "penal system" and "stipulated," plus a book he bragged about writing on inmates he considered innocent sent to death row.

      He described surviving in an Illinois prison, not by joining the gangs, but by helping other inmates as a paralegal on their cases. Connelly says he came forward because he already considered Sheila Bellush's murder tragic. He didn't want "more of a travesty of justice for an innocent man (Blackthorne) spending his life in prison for something he didn't partake in at all."

     Connelly testified Rocha told him "even though we did (expletive) up, we'll be able to deal with this now" because "even though Mr. A didn't send us down here (Sarasota), I have an ace in the hole."

      Those in the gallery could only assume he meant Rocha planned to sacrifice Allen Blackthorne to land a better deal for himself.

      Now jurors face the ultimate job. For them it's a case about the Hatfield and McCoys ... the Bellushes and the Blackthornes. More than a decade of conflict crammed into 12 days of testimony filled with glimpses into the world high-stakes gambling, with risktakers and with men willing to bet their lives on almost anything ... maybe even murder.

      It's a story with no white hats.