1/11/13 - Jurors listened to testimony and, for the first time, audio evidence in the murder trial of Jerome Kowalski Thursday. Kowalski is accused of killing his brother Richard and sister-in-law Brenda Kowalski, who were shot to death in 2008. After finishing the testimony of Kowalski's son Jared that began yesterday, jurors heard from Michigan State Police Detective Christopher Cooriveau, who retrieved a note found by Jared and identified as being in the defendant's handwriting. Cooriveau read the note aloud for the jury. It began by saying, "I am sorry to all. I think I killed Rick and Brenda." The note goes on to say that he had no memory of the event and that he had blacked out and thought it was a dream. It also explained where to find tens of thousands of dollars and stated, "I don't want to go to jail." Cooriveau also contradicted testimony from yesterday from Cynthia Pietrzak, claiming that she told police in 2008 that Kowalski had knowledge of the cause of death without being told, and that she believed he was the killer. Jurors also heard about two hours of audio recorded when police first made contact with Kowalski to inform him about the killings. Then-state police trooper Craig Felix, who made the contact, confirmed that Kowalski said during that meeting that he had heard about the killings that morning, even though police were only called out to the scene in the afternoon. Stay tuned to WHMI for continuing coverage as the trial plays out. (TD)
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