12:09 PM CST on Monday, March 1, 2004

From 11 News Staff Reports

The Susan Wright murder trial was the scene of more high drama and disturbing reenactments again Thursday. Wright is being tried for the murder of her husband, Jeff.

Creative movement was the theme again Thursday as the prosecution continued its case against the former stripper and mother of two. In another dramatic reenactment, Prosecutor Kelly Siegler dragged Harris County Medical Examiner Dr. Dwayne Wolf across the courtroom, saying that's how Susan Wright dragged her dead husband to his grave in their backyard.

Susan Wright had claimed she used a dolly to move the body, but dragging wounds on the victim's back don't support her story, according to Dr. Wolf.

Wright sobbed during much of the graphic testimony. The judge later asked defense attorneys to keep Wright's emotional outbursts to a minimum.

"And you're tied up, do your hands like this," Seigler instructed Dr. Wolf during her demonstration. "And you're trying to get loose. And I have the knife, could you stab somebody that way?" "Sure," answered Dr. Wolf.

Wolf testified that the wounds on Jeff Wright's back could have been inflicted while he was tied to the bed, something the defense claims is impossible,

The medical examiner then got off the stand and played the part of the victim. The state showed evidence that Jeff Wright was dragged the night his wife buried his body.

Dr. Wolf testified that Jeff Wright was stabbed more than 200 times, not 193 as previously reported. Autopsy photos and charts were used to show jurors where each wound was located. He said Wright was stabbed 46 times in the chest, 23 times in the neck, 22 times in the stomach and seven times in the groin area.

KHOU-TV Wright sobbed during much of the graphic testimony. The judge later asked defense attorneys to keep Wright's emotional outbursts to a minimum.

Dr. Wolf testified that the victim didn't die right away and likely suffered a great deal during the attack. "None of these injuries would have caused instantaneous death," he told jurors. "And there's no indication he would have lost consciousness immediately from any of them."

The autopsy showed Jeff Wright bled to death. Wolf said the stabbings continued after Wright was already dead and that the victim was high on cocaine when he died.

Later the state introduced evidence that two days after the murder, "She said I'm not happy, you're not happy with this marriage and things are not working," said Seigler. "Yes she said things were not working," answered Scott Paul, a Harris County family violence investigator.

Susan Wright arrived at the family violence unit to report being abused. She showed investigators cuts on her hands and bruises on her legs. She wanted to file charges against the man who had actually been dead for two days.

"Does that sound like self-defense to you?" asked Seigler. "No, ma'am," answered Paul.

The defense claims Susan Wright had a psychotic break with reality. "It didn't seem like at that time Susan was trying to put on some charade?" asked her attorney, Neal Davis. "Not to me at the time, no," said Paul.

Thursday afternoon the jury heard from a CPS caseworker and saw a video of the Wright's son, four-year-old Bradley Wright, as he was interviewed by a social worker. On the tape he said his father had hit him four times in four days in January, the month his father was killed. He also told caseworkers he had never seen his parents fight.

KHOU-TV Prosecutors re-enacted the bloody crime scene on the same bed where Jeffrey Wright died.

Wednesday was also a shocking day of events inside the courtroom. Wright's deathbed was brought in as evidence.

The bloodstained bed, state exhibit No. 56, was brought in to the courtroom. It is where Jeff Wright was stabbed repeatedly.

Just the sight of the bed brought tears to the eyes of Jeff Wright's father.

Despite objections by the defense, "It's overly theatrical and I think it's overly prejudicial to the jury," said Neal Davis.

The blood-stained mattress was allowed into evidence, but the state was just getting started.

An assistant district attorney was strapped to the bed with neckties -- just like the victim. The prosecutor Kelly Siegler straddled him and pretended to stab him repeatedly. There is no question Jeff Wright was stabbed 193 times, tortured, say prosecutors, in the most brutal ways.

Susan Wright is accused of stabbing her husband after tying him to the bed. She could barely contain her emotions as the detective and the demonstration continued.

"Did you see anything consistent with a stab to the penis? No to the penis itself, no because you saw what? More of a nick, superficial slicings."

Then there was candle wax. "Started in this area, went down between scrotum and upper thigh."

And the mystery of the missing knife tip. "What did you find sir?" "Tip of knife," "Where? "Tip of skull."

There were more objections, but to no avail.

After nearly 30 minutes, Susan Wright, a mother of two, a defendant facing life in prison for the brutal killing couldn't take it any more.

Another piece of damaging evidence brought to light in court Wednesday was that Susan Wright applied for and did the paper work in order to get money from the crime victim's compensation fund two days after the murder, claiming she was the victim.

The defense said years of abuse lead to the killing and that Jeff Wright was high on cocaine that night and actually grabbed a knife first, hit the couple’s son, then beat and raped Susan Wright.