Victim-impact testimony begins
The victim-impact testimony has started in Joseph Duncan’s sentencing trial. Little Dylan’s aunt, Brandy Hoagland, her voice breaking, said, “He was really affectionate, he was just a little teddy bear. … It’s been pretty traumatic. It’s just a huge hole in our heart and an emptiness in our life.” Dylan’s maternal grandmother, Darlene Torres, told of how Dylan and Shasta were inseparable playmates. “They played together a lot, I mean, whenever you seen one, you usually seen the other,” she said, clutching a tissue. Jurors also heard from Dylan’s 3rd-grade teacher, and were watching a video of a class musical when there was a technical problem with the video clip and the court moved to a 15-minute recess. Duncan has been watching the testimony, but mostly looking down. Jurors watched the screen, some nodded as Dylan and his classmates sang, and some darted looks at Duncan then back at the screen. Jurors also took notes on clipboards as the relatives spoke of their loss.