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F U R T H E R P R O C E E D I N G S 2:30 p.m.
(The following proceedings were held in the presence of the jury and alternates.)
THE COURT: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
MR. SMITH: Your Honor, we call Sharon Shaw as a witness, please.
(Whereupon, SHARON SHAW was called as a witness, duly sworn, and testified as follows:)
D I R E C T E X A M I N A T I O N 2:31 p.m.
BY MR. SMITH:
Q Ms. Shaw, where do you live?
A Southern Pines, North Carolina.
Q How long have you lived in Southern Pines?
A Seven years.
Q At any time in the past several years, Ms. Shaw, have you taught any courses at Fort Bragg, North Carolina?
A Yes; I taught for the North Carolina State University branch at Fort Bragg, from about 1968 through '74.
Q During any of those years, Ms. Shaw, did you teach Colette MacDonald?
A Yes, I did.
Q Do you recall what year it was that you taught Colette?
A It was late 1969 or early--very early 1970.
Q When you say, "late 1969," do you actually mean November or December, that late?
A November, Decerrber, or January.
Q Did you ever have occasions, Ms. Shaw, to talk with Colette MacDonald?
A Yes, I did.
Q What kind of a student was Colette, and what did you teach her?
A She was in a course of mine in the American Novel. She was an incredibly good student.
Q Do you recall any particular things that she did that you appreciated as a teacher, that is any particular kind of work that she did?
A Well, one thing that I have remembered as a teacher was a paper she wrote for me on a James Baldwin novel we were talking about. The thing that struck me about the paper was that it was very sensitive, very insightful, just incredibly well written.
Q Did Colette participate in class discussions?
A Frequently.
Q Would you state whether or not Colette ever came up and visited with you after the clas-ses were over?
A Occasionally we would chat either after the class or during the break.
Q Ms. Shaw, have I exhibited to you a photograph of Colette MacDonald?
A You have.
Q Is there any question in your mind about whether the Colette MacDonald you taught is the same person about whom we have been conducting this inquiry?
A None.
Q Ms. Shaw, do you remember any of the subjects of conversation you had with Colette MacDonald after classes?
A I can't quote verbatim. I remember on one occasion she talked to me about the expected child that she was happy about.
Q And do you remember about when that would have been?
A It was very late in the term.
Q And would that again have been late 1969 or early '70?
A Yes, sir.
Q Ms. Shaw, were you around Colette enough to have any impression about whether she was a happy person?
A My impression of her was that she very happy, very articulate, very proud of herself and her situation.
Q Ms. Shaw, do you remember any particular classroom discussion in which Colette MacDon-ald was a participant?
A Yes, she was a regular participant in the discussions we had about the novels and work.
An evening that has stayed in my mind almost inevitably was a night there was a lot of anti-Green Beret sentiment on campus at Fort Bragg when I was there; and frequently, not just in the class Mrs. MacDonald was in but in several of my classes, something would trigger--al-though as I say, I am an English teacher or literature teacher--something would trigger some sort of fairly heated outburst about the Green Berets--anti-Green Beret. And the night that I think of in relation to Mrs. MacDonald, we had been talking about a novel, and somehow in connection with the novel the subject of violence or ideas about violence came up. And sev-eral students in the class who had been instrumental in publishing Bragg Briefs, which was an anti-military newspaper that some of the GI's were putting out, in relation to the subject of violence, made statements like, "Green Berets are all violent; they're all---"
MR. ANDERSON: OBJECTION, Your Honor.
THE COURT: OVERRULED.
BY MR. SMITH:
Q You may continue.
A "That they are all violent; they are all cutting people's ears off," and so forth. Anyway, the point that has stayed with me is, as one of the students was making this sort of com-ment, Mrs. MacDonald interrupted the student and with what was to me visible anger but still good-humored anger, said, "My husband is a Green Beret, and he is no murderer."
BY MR. SMITH:
Q Did you report this, Ms. Shaw, to anyone after you learned that Mrs. MacDonald had been killed?
A Yes, sir; I learned of the murder late at night driving back to Greenville from Fort Bragg, and about 8:00 o'clock the next morning I called the SBI wanting to give them this informa-tion. They sent a man to see me that afternoon.
MR. SMITH: Examine the witness.
MR. BLACKBURN: Just a moment, Your Honor.
(Pause.)
C R O S S - E X A M I N A T I O N
BY MR. MURTAGH:
Q Ms. Shaw, do you know at the time that Colette made this statement to you whether Dr. MacDonald had been overseas specifically to Vietnam or anywhere in Southeast Asia at that time?
A I don't know. I knew that he was a doctor and I knew that he was attached to the Green Berets.
MR. MURTAGH: No further questions, Your Honor.
MR. SMITH: No further questions from the Defense, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay.
MR. SMITH: Thank you very much, Ms. Shaw. The Defense calls Steve Shea to the stand, Your Honor.
(Witness excused.)
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