Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Classmate testifies in middle school slaying trial
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- A teenager on trial for murdering a classmate had said it would be "cool" to be a serial killer years before the slaying in a school bathroom, a former friend testified Tuesday.
Throughout middle school, Michael Hernandez idolized the villains from the "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th" horror films, said Andre Martin, now an 18-year-old college freshman.
"He said it would be cool to be a serial killer one day," Martin said Hernandez told him in sixth grade, when the two boys were close friends.
Hernandez's behavior changed over the next few years at Southwood Middle School, Martin said. Hernandez withdrew socially, obsessed about exercise and told Martin and Jaime Gough that he believed he was mentally ill.
"Michael diagnosed himself as schizophrenic and having obsessive compulsive disorder," Martin said. "He just told us he believed he had those two mental illnesses."
Hernandez is charged with first-degree murder in Gough's death. He also is charged with attempting to kill Martin.
His videotaped confession was played for the jury Monday. On the tape, Hernandez, then 14, said he slashed Gough's throat and stabbed him after luring the other 14-year-old into a bathroom stall on Feb. 3, 2004. He also said he had tried a day earlier to lure Martin to the same stall to strangle and stab him.
Prosecutors have said Hernandez was executing a meticulously documented plan to kill Gough, Martin and Hernandez' own sister.
Defense attorney Richard Rosenbaum has argued that Hernandez was and is insane and not criminally responsible for the slaying. Hernandez faces life in prison if convicted. His trial was moved from Miami because of extensive media coverage.
Martin testified Tuesday that he and Gough met Hernandez in the second-floor bathroom on Feb. 2, 2004, Hernandez' 14th birthday. He said Hernandez told them he wanted to show Martin something in the handicapped stall. But Martin said he balked and suggested Hernandez show Gough first.
Martin said the situation seemed "odd" and "a bit off." He wondered why Hernandez wore a red jacket and baseball-style cap while standing outside the stall. Then the school bell rang for first-period classes, and the three boys agreed to meet there again the next day.
But Martin said he forgot that meeting and attended a business club class instead on Feb. 3. After Gough's body was found that morning, school and police officials "locked down" the campus. It wasn't until Martin got home that he saw a television news account of Gough being killed in the bathroom. He then notified police, who were questioning Hernandez.
"I thought possibly it could have been me the day before," Martin testified.
He said Hernandez had been an intelligent student with a variety of interests that included the Bible, cars, martial arts, video games and rap music. He said Hernandez had had a weight problem, but also had girlfriends in seventh grade before suddenly becoming more introverted and serious by eighth grade.
Rosenbaum asked Martin if he believed Hernandez was insane in February 2004.
"Insane? No," Martin replied. "But in my opinion, prior to the incident, he wasn't mentally stable. But not insane."
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
