Crash Into Me_ A Survivor's Search for Justice - Liz Seccuro [48]
ME: I assumed it did. It tasted very tart, very lime, and sour—very sour. Sour in a citrusy way.
CHAPMAN: Now you say you assumed it contained alcohol?
ME: I did—
CHAPMAN: Okay. Did you know?
ME: No, I do not.
CHAPMAN: Did you know if it contained any other substances besides alcohol?
ME: I do not.
CHAPMAN: At the time you got the [green] drink, before consuming any of it, how would you describe how you felt?
ME: I was not intoxicated. I was—I don’t know the term for it, but relaxed. Pleasantly relaxed. Not impaired.
CHAPMAN: Now, once you began to drink the drink that you had been given on the second floor, did the way you felt change in any way?
ME: It did.
CHAPMAN: Could you describe how it changed and over what time period that change took place?
ME: Almost with immediacy, but I don’t believe I was really attuned or alarmed by it, and over the next fifteen minutes I noticed that my limbs were—the best way to put it was they were sort of immobilized. They felt rubbery. Like a marionette, like they weren’t moving very well. It was my arms and legs.
CHAPMAN: The feeling that you’re describing, could you describe its onset and progression in terms of whether it was quick or gradual?
ME: It was very quick. It was not the sort of thing you would notice unless you stood up. It was much more marked on just—during my interactions there, just standing or sitting, it became most apparently obvious upon standing.
CHAPMAN: Now, were you moving about after you got the drink and—
ME: I was.
CHAPMAN: In what way and what places and what were you doing?
ME: I was in that room and just socializing with various people, making small talk. At times I was seated on furniture, at times I was standing.
And then:
CHAPMAN: Now, at that time did you know a William Beebe[?]
ME: I did not.
CHAPMAN: Let me ask you to look across the courtroom. The gentleman who’s seated between Ms. Quagliana and Mr. Lawrence—
ME: That is him.
CHAPMAN: Did you see that gentleman that night on the second floor?
ME: I did.
CHAPMAN: When did you see him in comparison to the drink that you got on the second floor?
ME: I don’t know when he came to be in that room, but I recall an awareness of him being there because we began to speak, so I don’t know exactly where he came from.
CHAPMAN: Could you describe to the Court the initial interaction that you had with him?
ME: It was very brief small talk, hi, how are you, introductions, where are you from, what’s your major, the sort of thing that you talk about when you meet somebody and are chatting at a party.
More questions followed about our conversation, Beebe’s level of intoxication, and my impairment at this point.
CHAPMAN: Now, to what extent do you think, and if you’re able to say, you were affected in terms of your ability to see and hear and speak?
ME: I was fine there. I could see very clearly.
CHAPMAN: Do you recall whether you remarked to anybody, to the Defendant or anyone else about how you felt?
ME: I don’t recall.
CHAPMAN: In the area you’ve described on the second floor, was there ever any physical contact between yourself and the Defendant?
ME: Yes, there was.
CHAPMAN: Can you remember what you were doing and how that happened?
ME: While we were talking, we were sitting and he said to me, “I want to show you something,” and he grabbed me by my arm and led me down a hallway towards a room.
CHAPMAN: Now, how did that strike you and in light of your awareness or lack of awareness of him, and the context at the time, would you tell the Court how you felt and what you thought and what you did?
ME: It struck me as bizarre because I didn’t know this person, but at this point in time, I was really not able to do much for myself, and I thought the best place to be when my friend came back was to be in this room so he could find me. I found it awkward and I found it socially bizarre.
CHAPMAN: Did you go?
ME: I did.
CHAPMAN: Did you offer any physical resistance?