Janet Ricard testified about the school's efforts to locate the children after their absences, her observations of Jones, and school materials and memorial tributes connected to the children.
Witness
Janet Ricard
Lexington One school administrator and longtime educator who had worked at Saxe Gotha Elementary.
Appeared2019 Murder Trial
241 lines·9 proceedings·1 mention
About
Janet Ricard, a school administrator who knew Merah, Eli, and Nahtahn, testified on Day 12 about the school's concern after the children remained absent after August 28, 2014. She described unsuccessful attempts to contact Jones and the emergency contacts, the request for a welfare check, and a visit to the residence with law enforcement. She also identified photographs of the residence that the court admitted without objection.
Ricard said Jones had communicated normally with her and that she had not observed anything suggesting he was not of sound mind or afraid of the children. On cross-examination, she discussed school disciplinary incidents, including requests for punishments she considered unsuitable for children their ages, and confirmed that she did not make the DSS call. On redirect, she said the school reported a concern involving Nahtahn to DSS as mandatory reporters without deciding whether the concern was founded, and that Jones later became less willing to communicate and said he would homeschool the children.
On Day 27, Ricard returned to describe the children's school experiences and authenticate school materials, photographs, and leadership notebooks. After objections concerning school memorial evidence, the court admitted specified photographs over objection while directing that fundraising outside the school not be mentioned. Ricard also described a yearbook tribute and the beach-themed Jones Beach mural, and identified defense photographs from school-related settings before their admission without objection.
Key Points
Ricard described the school's efforts to locate the children after they remained absent, including contact attempts and a request for a welfare check. [1]
She said Jones had communicated normally with her and that she had not observed signs that he was not of sound mind or afraid of the children. [1]
Her testimony addressed requests for discipline she considered unsuitable for elementary-school children and the school's mandatory report to DSS. [1][2]
She later authenticated school materials and photographs and described school tributes created in memory of the children. [1][2][3]
Trial Record (9)
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