Chapter 15 - THE TRIAL BEGINS
March 14th arrived with a sharp spring rain that washed away the last traces of winter snow.
The Cook County Criminal Courts building was swarming with television news vans. The case had captured the national headlines: *“The New Year’s Ice Box Trial: Doctor Mom Takes Down Freeloading Family.”*
I arrived at 8:30 a.m. with Victoria, Marcus Reed, and my children’s trauma therapist, Dr. Aris Thorne. Calvin and Molly were at home with Maria; the judge had ruled that their depositions and video testimony would be presented in camera to protect them from the media circus.
When we entered Courtroom 402, the gallery was packed to capacity.
Arthur Sterling and Julianna were seated in the reserved family section behind the prosecution table. When Julianna saw me, she reached out and squeezed my hand tightly. “We’re with you, Lauren,” she whispered. “All the way.”
At 9:00 a.m., the jury was led in. Twelve men and women from every walk of life—teachers, mechanics, accountants, nurses.
Prosecutor Kenneth Vance stepped to the center of the courtroom floor for his opening statement.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” he began, his voice ringing with quiet authority. “This is not a case about a family misunderstanding. This is not a case about a New Year’s Eve party that got slightly out of hand. This is a case about calculated, cold-blooded cruelty.”
He walked toward the defense table, pointing a finger directly at Ross and Evelyn.
“On December thirty-first, while Dr. Lauren Vance was at St. Jude Memorial saving the lives of strangers, these two defendants turned her home into their private playground. And when two innocent children—ages nine and twelve—inconvenienced their social climbing, they did not send them to bed. They did not call their mother. They stripped them of their coats, locked them out in five-degree weather, and wedged a steel bar into the door to make sure they couldn't escape.”
Ross kept his head down, staring at his legal pad. Evelyn had her face buried in a damp handkerchief, sobbing audibly until Judge Higgins gave her a warning glance.
“You will see the video,” Prosecutor Vance continued. “You will hear twelve-year-old Calvin Vance banging on that glass until his knuckles bled. You will hear nine-year-old Molly Vance asking her brother if she was going to die before her mother came home. And you will see defendant Evelyn Vance look through that glass, tell her son to keep them out there, and go upstairs to take a sleeping pill.”
The prosecutor turned back to the jury, his eyes burning with conviction.
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“The State will prove beyond all reasonable doubt that what occurred on that balcony was depraved-heart assault, felony child abuse, and attempted manslaughter. And we will ask you to hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
***
