PHILADELPHIA — It was her own words that capital murder suspect Brooke Stringer had to answer for while being cross-examined by prosecutor Kristen Martin on Wednesday morning.
“You said you really wanted to see the autopsy results because autopsies don’t lie,” Martin said, referring to Stringer’s interview with then-Capt. Tonya Madison of Jones County Sheriff’s Department days after Stringer’s 6-month-old baby Rosalee died on Oct. 28, 2019.
Brooke Stringer on the witness stand during a break in testimony as court reporter Christa Little gathers exhibits.
Martin then pointed out that then state crime lab medical examiner Dr. David Arboe ruled the manner of death was homicide and asked Stringer if she thought Arboe was a liar.
“I never said the autopsy lied,” Stringer said, adding that she took issue with his statement that the agency’s policy was to “err on the side of homicide” if uncertain of a plausible cause that could lead to a severe enough brain injury to kill a baby.
Martin also noted that medical evidence ruled out the Oct. 2 injury the baby suffered at daycare as a possible cause of death.
“That’s what J.D. Carter said,” Stringer replied, referring to the JCSD investigator who later interviewed her and arrested her on Dec. 17, 2021. “State witnesses said so.”
Martin asked Stringer if she believed state’s witnesses weren’t trustworthy.
“I’m just saying they’re state witnesses,” said Stringer, who testified earlier that she had participated in a pair of mock trials with an A&E documentary crew that’s following her case and team of three attorneys. “I’m not calling anyone a liar.”
Martin also replayed the video of Stringer crying and saying, “He’s lying, he’s lying” — presumably referring to co-defendant and boyfriend Brandon Gardner — immediately after being confronted with the autopsy report.
One of the reasons she said that, she testified, was because Carter told her Rosalee’s skull was fractured when he showed her autopsy photos. He misspoke about that, confusing it with another case, he said in earlier testimony.
“Does that make a difference?” Martin asked. “Your daughter died.”
Stringer said, “Yes, as a mother, I was concerned. I called the Jones County Sheriff’s Department,” trying to get updates.
The brain hemorrhage and retinal tears were indicative of abuse, forensic pediatrician Dr. Scott Benton testified earlier, Martin pointed out. “That doesn’t matter?” she asked.
Stringer said, “He says that a lot, in other cases ... that’s what he does.”
Martin asked, “Do you think he gets paid to lie? Isn’t his job to protect children like Rosalee?”
Stringer said, “That’s what it says.”
Martin reminded Stringer that she told Benton that all she wanted was the truth of what happened to Rosie.
“I still do,” Stringer said.
But Martin noted that she doesn’t believe three experts’ opinions of how Rosalee died.
“I’m expecting the jury to hear both doctors’ sides,” Stringer said. “I think our doctors will give them a different point of view. I just want to know what happened to my daughter.”
On redirect by her attorney Tangi Carter, Stringer said, “Since I was arrested, multiple people have reached out and said they were falsely accused by Dr. Benton,” and that raised her suspicions of his findings.
Carter asked Stringer if she trusted people in authority before her arrest.
“I did,” she said.
Carter then asked her directly, “Did you kill Rosie?”
Stringer said, “No, ma’am.”
Stringer’s expert Dr. Stephen Godfrey of Missouri began testifying late Wednesday morning and was set to continue into the afternoon. Benton was also in the courtroom for the proceedings.
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