*Law and Order intro music begins to play* 

Welcome to the trial of Tabaka Vs. The people of Becton. Taking place Monday, May 16th, the fate of Mrs. Tabaka was left to the honest jury chosen anonymously by the court. The trial begins with Judge Senior Sebrina Castillo swearing in the jury, making sure they make sure they remain true and loyal to the court system and the court system only. Once that concludes, the prosecution (Ryan Albanese, Allyson Bautista, Giulia Begliardi and Giana DiLemme), begin their opening statement and then the defense makes their statement (it’s Connie Lemon, Bobby Colaneri, Ava McLaren, Valentina Reyes and Jordan Schmidt). Right from the beginning, the Prosecution claimed this case was about jealousy and greed. The Defense on the other hand described how their client is a dedicated staff member and there was a bigger, more guilty criminal responsible for the attack. Only the evidence shown later in the trial will be able to determine who is right and who is wrong.

After the openings, both the Prosecution and the Defense called their assortment of Witnesses. First Mrs. Settembrino, who testified to the assault and how she now feels unsafe in her own school. Settembrino claims to completely avoid the guidance office now and wonders why Tabaka would aim to destroy her marriage. Settembirno explains her confusion and sadness towards her fellow staff members. The next witness was RJ Healey, a forensic student from Mrs. Mackanin’s class, who is an expert in fingerprints. He testified that the assault weapon, the rolling pin, had the fingerprints of the suspect (Tabaka). He also stated in Cross Examination, that it was the only fingerprint located on it. 

The two next witnesses were Mr. Matos and Mr. Caputo, Mr. Matos witnessed DeSantis at Becton Regional at 6 am, earlier than any teacher. Not only was she there early, she was heading to the culinary room. Mr. Caputo testified that he found the note from Mrs. DeSantis to Mrs. Tabaka, stating she had the murder weapon in possession and to meet her upstairs in the morning. Finally, the next witness many of the jurors were anticipating to hear from– Mrs. DeSantis. The tension in the air split in halves as she walked to the witness stand. She states she considers Tabaka a close friend and would often ask her for favors such as getting coffee. Surely a brutal assault is not a favor. DeSantis even admitted to being at the school at 6 am and in fact, going to the culinary room. It was clear after this testimony that everything is not what it seems. 

After that impacting testimony, another forensic analyze was put on the stand, Amina Abada, who testified to groundbreaking evidence. Such as a picture of Mr. Sett with a heart around it, a black garbage bag, and hair found. On the basis of the handwriting, later on in the trial Sam Guzman, who is the expert in handwriting, testified to the fact the note was written by DeSantis. This was discovered by the unique way she writes her m’s… they look uppercase when they are not. DeSantis also puts the dot of the I at the end of the word she’s writing which was a big teller. 

So many great testimonies, either helping the case of one side or completely destroying the other’s case. It’s time for Tabaka to testify. Tabaka stated her close relationship to Mrs. DeSantis and spoke of the fact she mentioned Mr. Settembrino has been bullied by his wife and that DeSantis cared deeply for him. Shocking the jury and the public audience, Tabaka admitted to taking the money from DeSantis, stating she felt as though she was being bossed into it by her. Tabaka stated she would do everything differently if given the chance. 

That final testimony left the public gallery and jury in standstill. But the court must go on, once closing statements and Rebuttal (only Prosecution) are heard from the teams, the jury is left to deliberate and make the choice, guilty or not guilty? The tension in the court and among the peers inside is very apparent. The jury had been given three minutes to determine the fate of Mrs. Tabaka. When they returned, silence overcame the room, Judge Castillo asked if they were ready to give their verdict. The jury came to the decision of……..

GUILTY. Mrs. Tabaka will now spend six months in jail and will be fined $1,000!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the trial. The dedication and hard work placed by the law classes, the forensic classes, the jury, the judge and especially Mrs. DePeri and Mrs. Mackanin, who made the trial run as amazing as it did. It is astounding what the wildcat family will do to ensure justice is done right by one of our own.