The Nancy Kissel Case - Part 38

From the Chinese-language media:

(The Standard)  Kissel admission caps trial's peak.  By Albert Ho.  August 8, 2005.

Accused murderer Nancy Kissel, who Thursday admitted she had used a heavy metal ornament to inflict the fatal injuries on her husband's head on November 2, 2003, faces another grilling from the prosecution today.  In what was the trial's most dramatic week, the court heard daily new claims about the deceased's character, much of it highly unflattering. The often graphic testimony added further twists to a murder case which has already featured sex, lies, drugs and betrayal.

The week began with Nancy Kissel taking the stand. She gave a graphic account of drug use and sexual abuse. In a soft-spoken voice, Kissel said that her husband, former Merrill Lynch banker Robert Kissel, was a controlling and abusive husband who demanded to be shown "respect'' when he forcibly sodomized her.

The week ended every bit as dramatically with Nancy Kissel accepting a prosecution contention that she killed her husband.

Kissel, 41, is accused bludgeoning her husband to death with a heavy metal ornament after serving him a pink milkshake laced with sedatives which left him unconscious at the foot of the bed.  

Nancy Kissel testified on Wednesday that the night of the murder had seen the couple argue about divorce. She said the dispute escalated into a furious struggle between her and her husband, who was wielding a baseball bat. Kissel said that she defended herself with the metal sculpture.

Kissel said that in resisting more sexual abuse, she knocked her husband on the head. After realizing he was bleeding, her husband came at her, swinging the baseball bat, and repeatedly saying, "I'm going to kill you, you bitch.''

In relation to the milkshake, alleged to have been laced with sedatives, she said she had made it for her children and that she would never harm children.

On Thursday, asked by her counsel, Alexander King, SC, whether she could recall how her husband ended up with five fatal wounds to his skull, she sat in her witness box, shaking, without reply.

Later Thursday, senior assistant director of public prosecutions, Peter Chapman, opened his cross-examination by asking, "Do you accept that you killed Robert Kissel?''  The accused replied "yes,'' and confirmed that she had used the metal ornament, the alleged murder weapon, to inflict the wounds.

Chapman then questioned her claims of Robert Kissel's alleged five-year history of alcohol and drug-fueled acts of forceful sodomy.

On Monday, the court was told the former banker's success in the banking world had changed him into a power-crazed, controlling workaholic who used cocaine to increase productivity.  But "the hours took their toll,'' said the accused, and by the time he arrived in Hong Kong, his mood swings and demand for undisputed respect resulted in him hitting his wife on several occasions. She also said that the sex abuse resulted in her suffering a fractured rib. When her husband found out that the birth of their third child, their first son, would clash with an important business trip to Korea, he lost his temper and hit her, she claimed.  At the same time, the banker "eventually came to love single malt whisky. It became his drink,'' said the accused. The stress and long hours of his work would result in drinking and cocaine use at night.  

Financially, he also became more controlling, she said.  In Hong Kong, he "condensed'' her spending, reducing her five credit cards to one. "It's easier to look at one statement than five,'' she said.

Tuesday, she said that the words "Sleeping pills, drug overdose, medication causing heart attack,'' which were found to have been typed on her computer in late August, 2003, were the result of her suicidal thoughts, she claimed. She said that she had sought ways to induce a heart attack in order to protect her children as she "wouldn't want my children to be affected - of going through the knowledge that their mother committed suicide,'' she said.

She also said on Tuesday that her relationship with Michael Del Priore, who helped wire up their house in Vermont, involved three sexual encounters around July. Del Priore's openness and willingness to listen to her talk about the burden of being a corporate banker's wife and effectively bringing up three children on her own caused her to break down in tears, she said.

"It was the first time anybody ever stepped forward and confronted me on an issue that scares a lot of people,'' Kissel said. Consequently, she said they kept up a relationship for the next few months, communicating through letters and phone calls.

Wednesday, Kissel described her version of events on November 2, 2003, the day she killed her husband. She said her recollection of that day was "patchy.'' In the afternoon she remembers a chaotic scene in the kitchen as all the children helped with the making of milkshakes.  Once the children had left, an argument began about divorce, she said. Seeing that her husband was holding onto a baseball bat, she picked up a metal ornament to confront him, she said. Waving a finger at her husband angered him, she said, and he then hit her and dragged her into the bedroom, trying to sexually abuse her.

As she was trying to crawl away, she swung the ornament behind her, without looking. "I felt that I hit something, and he let go,'' she said.  When the banker realized his head was bleeding, he reportedly said "I'm going to f****** kill you'' and started swinging his baseball bat, hitting the metal ornament which she raised in front of her face.  
But then? - "I don't remember,'' she said.

Chapman continues with his questioning today.

The following is a raw and real account of the court room proceedings, unedited for final publication.

The high profile murder of a top Merrill Lynch banker took a dramatic turn of events when accused murderer Nancy Kissel accepted on Thursday that she used a heavy metal ornament to the inflict fatal injuries on her husband.

Nancy Kissel, 41, was then subjected to an intense afternoon of questioning for details about the alleged history of persistent drug-fuelled, forceful sodomy.
With his very first question in cross-examination, Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Peter Chapman dealt with "just one little matter that (the accused) might be able to help us on; Do you accept that you killed Robert Kissel?'' he asked.  "Yes,'' she replied.

"Do you accept that you used that ornament to inflict those (fatal) injuries?''  "Yes,'' she replied.

Chapman noted that throughout the trial the accused had been taking notes and passing messages to her lawyers from the dock. With her knowledge of the prosecution case, "can you help us please, with which of those (prosecution) evidence, do you dispute?''

"I've heard a lot of people talk about what they participated in, what they saw, and what they said. I'm not sure it's about disputing, but trying to understand what's been said. So many people saying things of what I don't have any recollection. I'm not sure of whether it's about it being right or wrong,'' she answered.

Pressed further by Chapman, she said she "disagreed'' with the fact she was "hot-tempered'', a description offered by her former domestic helper, Maximina Macaraeg.
Nancy Kissel is accused of serving her husband a pink milkshake laced with sedatives, which left him unconscious at the foot of her bed as she bludgeoned him to death with a heavy metal ornament on November 2, 2003.

On Wednesday, she told the court there had been a furious struggle between herself and her husband in their master bedroom that night. After knocking her husband on the head with the alleged murder weapon while resisting more sexual abuse, Robert Kissel charged at her with a baseball bat, repeatedly saying, "I'm going to kill you, you bitch,'' she claims.  The decomposing body of the former Merrill Lynch banker was found in the early hours of November 7, 2003, wrapped in a rug in a storeroom at the Parkview residential complex. She has denied the charge of murder and is out on bail.

Earlier Thursday morning, she was asked by her counsel, Alexander King SC, whether she could remember how the fatal blows to the head of the deceased got there. She sat in her witness box in silence, shaking, and offered no reply.

Chapman's first line of questioning, and consequent response, stunned the courtroom just before the lunch break. When the trial resumed, the courtroom was packed to the brim with many in the public gallery unable to find a seat.

The prosecutor established with the accused at the beginning of his unrelenting cross-examination that apart from two occasions in 2003, she had never seen a psychiatrist and does not have a history of memory loss prior to that fatal night, November 2, 2003.

Chapman then took the accused to the beginning of her testimony where she described her life as student in New York juggling three catering jobs to fund her former husband's MBA and cocaine use.

"So what were the three restaurants that you worked at the time, do they have names?'' he asked. The accused explained that she knew people in the restaurant business who would phone her up when there were catering jobs available but she did "not really'' know of any names. In other words, "these three jobs you held at the same time were for nameless corporate catering-related organisations,'' said Chapman.

Referring to the deceased's alleged frequent cocaine use since his days as an MBA student, "you were supporting him, you were giving him the money'' how much would he spend on the drugs? asked Chapman.

"It would vary. Sometimes 100 dollars a day, sometimes more.''

"So you were giving him three to five thousand dollars a month?'' he asked.

"There were times he received drugs without paymentI don't know where he got those drugs from. On occasions, friends would give him drugs,'' she said.

"2, 500?'' he asked. "I don't know.''  "2,000?'' he asked. "I don't know.'' "500?'' he asked. "I don't know,'' she said.

"So how much were you shelling out for Robert's cocaine habit? Give us a figure Mrs Kissel,'' said Chapman.

She said she was unable to give a figure, since her financial support went to food, rent and various facilities, but that she was largely paying for the drugs in the beginning of their relationship. "And while all this was going on, you managed to purchase property in New York,'' noted Chapman.  She said she could not remember how the loft apartment in Greenwich Village was paid for.

Moving on to their relocation, "while he was in Hong Kong, where was he getting his cocaine from?'' asked Chapman. "I don't know,'' she replied. She said she never asked where he got his supplies from and did not know whether she used it on business trips.

"Did you remind him that countries around this area take a pretty dim view of hard drugs?'' asked Chapman. She said she only talked about the health issues and not the legal implications. "He's not much good to you busted in Malaysia on drugs charges is he?'' Nancy agreed.

When they came to Hong Kong, "did the frequency that he demanded anal sex change in any way?'' asked Chapman. She said it "increased tremendously'' towards 2002.
"How often each month would you be having forced anal sex with Robert Kissel?'' he asked. She said she never counted. "Give us a number Mrs Kissel.''

"It wasn't about how many times. It was a progression of how we were together. Starting in different positions. The ability to move into those positions. Progression of sexual activity. There were times that he got very frustrated, by my changing, moving into ways he didn't wantIt was a period in which things developed into something different. There was force involved.''

She said sometimes there would be cocaine involved, sometimes alcohol, sometimes both, sometimes neither.

"Did Robert Kissel ever wear a condom?'' asked Chapman. "No.''

"Did he ever use any lubricant or gel?'' asked Chapman. "No,'' she replied. "And he never had a problem effecting anal entry throughout this period?'' he asked. She said she would bleed from the anus, two times a year, each time for "maybe a day or two.''

While on business trips, "you wouldn't know he slept with other women in other countries and had anal sex with them, would you,'' said Chapman. Nancy agreed.
Chapman noted that two of the accused's close friends had sexually contracted HIV and died of Aids, including her maid of honour, Ali Gertz. "Did Gertz's fate ever cross your mind while you were passing blood'' as a result of forceful sodomy, asked Chapman. He noted that given the deceased's alleged cocaine habit, appetite for sodomy and frequent travelling, he might be considered "high risk.''

The accused said, "I had a huge awareness of Aids, when my friend was diagnosed'' and that she did not believe those factors would make him "high-risk.''

"In relation to these activities -- cocaine, alcohol fuelled anal sex with you by Robert Kissel. Did you at anytime tell anyone about it?'' asked Chapman.  "No,'' she replied, "it was something that was happening gradually in my marriage. Something I took responsibility for, not something you talk about to the girls.''

"During the more violent episodes that involved hair being pulled, ribs being broken and pain causing blood did you ever scream out?'' he asked.  "Did I scream out? I may have,'' she replied.  

"Did anyone ever hear you over five years?'' he asked. "I don't know, a lot of the time I was facing down. A lot of the time, I cried,'' she said,

"Have you ever been examined in relation to the results of forceful anal sex over this five year period?'' he asked. "No, it's humiliating,'' she replied.

The trial has been adjourned until Monday acommodate an appointment for a juror. Nancy Kissel will continue to be questioned before Justice Michael Lunn.

Yet another account from the same source:

Accused murderer Nancy Kissel, who accepted last Thursday that she had used a heavy metal ornament to inflict the fatal injuries to her husband's head on November 2, 2003, faces another grilling cross-examination today.  In the trial's most dramatic week of proceedings, day after day the court heard new claims about the deceased's character, adding to the twist of the murder case which has already heard a history of, gay porn, sex, lies, love and betrayal. Beginning with the claims that the former Merrill Lynch banker, Robert Kissel, was a controlling and abusive husband who demanded to be shown respect during acts of sodomy, last week's proceedings concluded with his wife admitting that she killed her husband.

Kissel, 41, is accused of serving her husband a pink milkshake laced with sedatives which left him unconscious at the foot of the bed as she bludgeoned him to death with a heavy metal ornament. She testified on Wednesday that on that fatal Halloween weekend, there had been an argument about divorce, which escalated into a furious struggle between her husband wielding a baseball bat, and herself with the metal ornament.  In resisting more sexual abuse, she knocked her husband on the head. After realising he was bleeding, her husband came at her, swinging the baseball bat, saying repeatedly "I'm going to kill you, you bitch,'' said the accused.  In relation to the milkshake, alleged to have been laced with sedatives, she said she had made it for her children and would never harm children.

When asked by her counsel, Alexander King, SC, whether she could recall how her husband ended up with five fatal wounds to his skull, she sat in her witness box, shaking, without reply.
Later Thursday, Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Peter Chapman opened his cross-examination, asking, "do you accept that you killed Robert Kissel?''
The accused replied "yes,'' and confirmed that she had used the metal ornament, the alleged murder weapon, to inflict the wounds. Chapman then proceeded with his questioning of Robert Kissel's alleged five-year history of alcohol and drug-fuelled acts of forceful sodomy on his wife.

Monday, the court heard that the former banker's success in the banking world changed him into a power-crazed, controlling workaholic who used cocaine to increase productivity.
But "the hours took its toll,'' said the accused, and by the time he came to Hong Kong, his mood swings and demand for undisputed respect, resulted in him hitting his wife on several occasions.

Sex became "predominantly oral sex for him and anal sex for me,'' she said. Once, as she resisted being flipped around into a position to facilitate his sexual preference, she said she "heard something pop'' and later realised she had fractured a rib.

When her husband found out that the birth of their third child, their first son, would clash with an important business trip in Korea, he lost his temper and hit his wife, she claimed.
At the same time, the banker "eventually came to love single malt whisky. It became his drink,'' said the accused. The stress and long hours of his work would result in drinking and cocaine use at night.  But instead of shying away, "it's what made him tick -- the power of it all, succeeding.''

Financially, he also became more controlling, subjecting her decorating duties on their luxury house in Vermont to methodical financial scrutiny, she claimed. In Hong Kong, he "condensed'' her spending, reducing her five credit cards to one.  "He wanted a better control over what I was spending. It's easier to look at one statement than five,'' she said.

Tuesday, she said that the words, "Sleeping pills, Drug Overdose, Medication Causing heart attack,'' which were found to have been typed on her computer in late August, 2003, were a result of her suicidal thoughts.  She said that she had sought ways to induce a heart attack for the protection of children as she "wouldn't want my children to be affected -- of going through the knowledge of their mother committing suicide,'' she said. 

She also said on Tuesday, that she had a relationship with Michael Del Priore, who helped "wire up'' their house in Vermont, which involved three sexual encounters around July.  Del Priore's openness and willingness to hear her speak about the burden of being a corporate banker's wife effectively bringing up three children on her own caused her to break down in tears.  "It was the first time anybody ever stepped forward and confronted me on an issue that scares a lot of people. People look at you and see change and they don't really want to know,'' said the accused. Consequently, they kept up a relationship for the next few months, communicating through letters and phone calls.

Wednesday, the accused described her version of events on November 2, 2003, the day she killed her husband. She said her recollection of that day was "patchy.''
In the afternoon she remembers a chaotic scene in the kitchen as the children all helped with the making of milkshakes. Since it had just been Halloween, they decided to add red food colouring to the milkshake to make it "Halloweeny.''

Once the children had left leaving, an argument began about divorce, said the accused. Seeing that her husband was holding onto a baseball bat, she picked up a metal ornament as she went to the doorway to confront him, she said. Her waving a finger at her husband angered him, who hit her and dragged her into the bedroom, trying to sexually abuse her, said the accused.
As she was trying to crawl away, she swung the ornament behind her, without looking. "I felt that I hit something, and he let go,'' she said.

When the banker realised his head was bleeding, he said "I'm going to fucking kill you'' and started swinging his baseball bat, hitting the metal ornament as she raised it in front of her face.
But then? "I don't remember,'' she said.

Thursday, she also told the court that she could not remember any of the events in the days after she killed her husband, which the prosecution alleged were part of her attempted cover-up.
Chapman then proceeded on asking for details of the banker's alleged history of alcohol and drug-fuelled sexual abuse, such as where he got his drugs from, how much was he spending, the frequency and injuries the accused sustained during the abuse, and why the risk of AIDS, given his frequent travels, had not been considered.

Chapman continues with his questioning today, before Justice Michael Lunn.

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