Opening Statements

In the early evening hours of November 16, 2012, the defendant, Patricia MacCallum, executed her husband, Michael Christopher MacCallum. She shot him with 9-10 bullets while he was sleeping in a tent along the Applegate River.

As near as I can remember, these are the words that the assistant district attorney, Joe Allison, used at the start of his opening statement, to begin the trial. Before speaking these words, though, other business had to take place.

Motions in limine

The trial began at about 9:00 AM with the discussion of a few more motions in limine:

1. Motion by the People to not allow the leniency letter and plea agreement given to Amber Lubbers into evidence. Mr. Allison said that the letter and agreement were irrelevant now that Amber has served her sentence and that she is just like any other witness, now. Mr. Duncan objected claiming that the leniency letter and plea agreement are a crucial to the case for the defense.

• Denied. The defense will be allowed to present the leniency letter.

2. Motion by the People to not refer to Amber Lubbers’ felony conviction to accessory after the fact.

• Denied.

3. Motion to correct a transcript dated 2/19/13 from “firearm” to “semi-automatic firearm”.

• Granted, correction made.

4. Motion by the People to allow jurors to ask questions of witnesses during the trial.

• Granted.

5. Mr. Allison showed a picture to the court of Patricia wearing a gang-type beany and holding the handgun that was allegedly used in the crime in a gang type of pose. He told the judge that he wanted to use the picture in his opening argument.

• Denied. Too inflammatory.

At about 9:40, the jury was brought in and the trial began. The judge welcomed the jury and thanked them for serving. She introduced Mr. Allison for the People and Mr. Duncan for the defense and spoke about their roles in the trial. She told them that the trial would begin with opening statements by Mr. Allison, followed by opening statements by Mr. Duncan. She told them that these opening statements are not evidence, they simply provide a roadmap or an introduction to the People’s case and the defense case, respectively. After the opening statements, the People and the defense will present evidence in the form of testimony by individuals and will also present physical evidence. She pointed out that because the defendant is presumed innocent, the defense does not actually need to do anything because if the People cannot show that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant cannot be convicted.

She then went into a rather long set of jury instructions. These included:

• You cannot discuss anything about the trial with anyone, included family members, friends, or each other. When the testimony is over, you can discuss the evidence only in the jury room and only when all the jurors are present.
• You can consider only the information presented in court. You cannot do any research outside of court.
• Don’t talk to anyone in the courthouse. If anyone approaches you, do not speak to them and walk away, if you have to. If anyone continues to try to speak with you, let the bailiff know and the court will make sure that they stop.
• Keep an open mind until the end of the trial and you have heard all the evidence.
• Do not let bias or public opinion influence your decision.
• Once the trial is over and the jury has made their decision, you are welcome to speak with anyone about the trial. However, you must wait at least 90 days if you are going to be paid for anything regarding the trial.
• You will be issued notebooks to take notes during the trial. The notebooks must remain in the courtroom. Place them on your seats when you leave the jury box.
• You should not be biased against the defendant just because she was arrested. The fact that she was arrested is not evidence.
• The People must prove their case against the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. That does not mean beyond all doubt. If the People cannot prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must decide that the defendant is not guilty and she will go free.
• You must ignore all objections and not speculate about what was not allowed to be asked or allowed to be answered. If testimony is stricken from the record, it cannot be considered in making your decision.
• When listening to the testimony of witnesses, you must determine whether the witness is speaking the truth or not. If you believe that the witness is not speaking the truth, you can decide to disbelieve only that part of the testimony or all of that person's testimony.
• You may write down a question for a witness on a page in your notebook, tear out that page, and hold it up for the deputy to pick up. I will discuss that question with the attorneys and ask it of the witness, if it is appropriate. You cannot ask a question of a witness after the witness has been dismissed.

These instructions were read rather quickly by Judge Dixon and it was a little difficult to get them all down. For a complete set of the jury instructions that were used for the trial, click on: Jury instructions.

Opening statement of Mr. Allison for the People

Mr. Allison began with the statement at the top of this post. He then introduced himself and apologized in advance to the jury for saying anything that might be disturbing to them. He said that the evidence will show that Patricia and Christopher MacCallum were married and had a 3-year-old daughter at the time of his death. That Chris and Patricia MacCallum were separated in 2011 and were working on a reconciliation at the time of Chris' death. Both Chris and Patricia had cell phones. Patricia's sister, Amber Lubbers, was also separated from her husband at the time of Chris' death. He will present the evidence in the same order it was discovered.

On a display board he listed the dates Saturday, November 16, through Wednesday, November 21, 2012, and gave the following events on that timeline.

Friday, November 16: Patricia and Chris went camping along the Applegate River. They set up a tent by a fire ring. Patricia said that she wanted to go home, but Chris didn't want to. Patricia said that she left Chris at the campsite with her gun and a lantern.

Saturday, November 17: Patricia said she went back to the campsite and did not find Chris there. She returned home.

Monday, November 19: Patricia reported Chris missing to Deputy Biddle at the Jackson County Sheriff's Office. Deputy Biddle began to try to find Chris as a missing person. After dark, Deputy Richards was sent to the campground, but didn't find anything.

Tuesday, November 20: Two deputies went back to the campground and found a tent rolled down the side of a cliff with something heavy in it, consistent with a body.

Wednesday, November 21: Another group of law enforcement officers came to the campsite to retrieve the tent and gather evidence from the campsite. A body was found in a sleeping bag in the tent, wearing a t-shirt and underwear. The bullets and shells found were consistent with the gun that Patricia owned.

Mr. Allison then presented a diagram of a human body labelled with the bullet holes found in Christopher. 

Mr. Allison said that detectives returned to question the women and found several inconsistencies in their statements.

• Patricia said that she had returned home early from the camping trip because of her toddler. The security photo from Food 4 Less the day of the camping trip shows that they had no children with them.
• The US Bank ATM camera in Jacksonville does not show Patricia's car passing by on Saturday.
• Patricia said that she and Amber Lubbers got out of the car at the campsite to look for Chris, but Amber said that she stayed in the car.
• No lantern was ever found at the campsite.
• Tent pegs and a tent pole were found at the campsite, which Patricia said she had visited.

One of the witnesses you will hear, named Jeremy Hills, will tell you that in September 2012, Patricia told him that her life would be so much better if Chris was dead and asked him if he knew someone who could do the job. Jeremiah Hills had a BDSM (dominant/submissive) relationship with Patricia and Jeremiah overheard Chris and Patricia arguing about that relationship.

We will also show that Patricia was active on a dating website after Chris and she reconciled on September 7, 2013.

Amber Lubbers, when she was arrested, was given leniency for her testimony. She will tell you that in the summer of 2012, Patricia told her that she wanted to take Chris on a camping trip, kill him, and make it look like an accident. Plan A was to push him into the river. Plan B was to tie a rope on him and, while he was crossing the river, pull on the rope so he would fall in to the river.

About 5:00 PM on Saturday, November 16, while Chris was asleep in his sleeping bag, Patricia and Amber sat in the tent texting back and forth. Patricia texted to Amber that Chris was not coming home with them and asked her for help after the murder was over.

While Amber crouched by the car, Patricia shot seven rounds into Chris and then returned to the car and asked Amber for the other magazine they had with them. She returned to the car and emptied that clip, as well. What Amber reports in her testimony agrees with what detectives found at the campsite.

Opening statement of Mr. Duncan for the defense

We will find that Amber Lubbers is not Patricia's sister. In fact, they are not related at all.

Amber Lubbers had been to the campsite previously.

Chris had a habit of disappearing which is why the missing person report was so late.

The defendant told the police exactly where the campsite was.

Amber Lubbers will be a critical witness in this case. She was interviewed at least five different times and these different interviews are inconsistent. When she was arrested on December 7, 2012, she was interviewed twice, but only after she had been granted immunity. She said that one plan was to pull Chris into the river, but she also said that the river is only two feet wide.

The clothes that Amber Lubbers was wearing in the security video at Food 4 Less were never found, while the clothes that Patricia was wearing were found in her home during a search. They found Amber's shoes and Chris' jacket at the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store.

Amber Lubbers doesn't know where things are in Medford. She doesn't know where the Food 4 Less is, nor the major roads.

As to Jeremiah Hills, we will find that Chris was open to a BDSM relationship and wanted to learn from Jeremiah. When Patricia said she wanted to get rid of Chris, she meant that she didn't want a three-way relationship between them.

Finally, Mr. Duncan says that the Chris MacCallum was shot at the campsite, but only after Patricia and Amber had left.

First witness: Deputy James Biddle, Jackson County Sheriff's Office

Deputy Biddle has been a police officer for 24 years, including four years as a US Air Force MP. He appears to be a competent and helpful police officer. He looks like the kind of person who inspires confidence. At about 11:20 or 11:30 on Monday, November 19, he received a missing person case from dispatch with Patricia's telephone number. He called Patricia and she reported to him that her husband, Michael Christopher MacCallum was missing.

Although he never interviewed her in person, he confirmed her voice in court as being the one he remembered hearing over the telephone. During that first telephone call, Patricia gave him her identifying information and all the information that he needed for a missing person investigation. She said that Chris had last been seen Friday evening, November 16, 2012, at a campsite along the Applegate River. She told him exactly how to find the campsite. She told him that Chris was wearing a leather jacket, jeans, and a gray or black shirt.

When asked who was there, she said that it was a family outing and that she had a toddler. She did not mention Amber Lubbers. She told him that as it got dark, she was cold and didn't feel well and wanted to go home because she had kids and had a toddler. She said that Chris got angry because he wanted her to stay, so she decided to leave and then come back the next day to pick him up.

Detective Biddle asked her what equipment he had and she said he had a tent, sleeping bag, camping gear, a lantern, food, water, his wallet, his cell phone, and that she had left her handgun, a Springfield 911, .40 caliber, semi-automatic with two magazines. She did not mention the black rope that was subsequently found at the campsite.

He asked her what she had done since leaving him at the campsite and she said that she had returned the next day, Saturday, November 17, 2012, but he wasn't there. She knew it was the same campsite because of the waterfall that is nearby.

From the Clerk's Docket and Minutes

9:45 - In session
10:10 - Jury enters the courtroom, the court pre-instructs the jury
11:15 - Recess
11:35 - In session
12:00 - James Patrick Biddle begins testifying
12:40 - Recess

End of day 1, Deputy Biddle's testimony will continue the following day
Last update: 11/19/13 - Return to the Patricia MacCallum trial home page