3.James McConnell — Direct/Cross/Redirect
555 linesJIM MCCONNELL, being first duly sworn, testified as follows:
COURT CLERK: Have a seat, sir. Once you're seated, state your full name spelling your last.
JAMES MCCONNELL: James McConnell, M-c-c --
THE COURT: She's got to look at you. You're talking for her benefit. All right. Now.
JAMES MCCONNELL: James McConnell, M-C-C-O-N-N-E-L-L.
DIRECT EXAMINATION By Mr. Hubbard:
RICK HUBBARD: Mr. McConnell, where do you work?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I work at Intel Corporation.
RICK HUBBARD: How long have you been at Intel?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Twenty years.
RICK HUBBARD: What are your duties at Intel?
JAMES MCCONNELL: It's varied. I've been anything from design engineer developing hardware component to management, and today I'm back to design engineer.
RICK HUBBARD: Back in 2014 what were your duties?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I was manager.
RICK HUBBARD: Manager. And you work at the Columbia plant?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: Has that the plant since closed and then -- or been moved?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes. They shut it down and relocated a lot of people.
RICK HUBBARD: And do you still work --
JAMES MCCONNELL: I do.
RICK HUBBARD: -- for Intel, just offsite?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yeah. The site is in -- actually up in Cary, North Carolina, but I still stay here.
RICK HUBBARD: Go ahead and just speak up a little bit more. That would be great. Okay? As a manager back in 2014 -- I want to ask you this. Back at that time how long had you been a manager by 2014?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I would -- I don't know exactly. I'm thinking maybe about three years.
RICK HUBBARD: During that time as a manager did you happen to know Tim Jones?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did.
RICK HUBBARD: And how did you know him?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Tim actually reported to me.
RICK HUBBARD: So he was an employee there?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Correct.
RICK HUBBARD: I want to show you what's been marked State's 9. Do you recognize that?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I do.
RICK HUBBARD: What is this?
JAMES MCCONNELL: That would be an Intel badge with Tim Jones' picture.
RICK HUBBARD: Your Honor, I offer State's 9 into evidence.
THE COURT: Any objection?
CASEY SECOR: No objection.
THE COURT: No objection. State's 9 is in.
RICK HUBBARD: Thank you, Your Honor. (Whereupon, State's Exhibit number 9 was admitted into evidence.)
RICK HUBBARD: Mr. McConnell, what did the Columbia office do back in the office when they had a plant here?
JAMES MCCONNELL: We were primarily responsible for what they call server chip validation, which the server chip in this case was a CPU which is the main brains of the computer. And we did the hardware validation of that looking for internal flaws prior to shipment and making sure it worked as expected, or specification.
RICK HUBBARD: As a manager, about how many people would you have under your care?
JAMES MCCONNELL: About that time I had about 20.
RICK HUBBARD: And did you have them broken up into groups or teams?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did, yes.
RICK HUBBARD: Did Tim Jones belong to a team?
JAMES MCCONNELL: He did. He was on a team of, I think at the time, was four people.
RICK HUBBARD: So he and three other people?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Correct.
RICK HUBBARD: What were his responsibilities?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Tim, as part of the team, Tim was responsible, let me back up. The team was responsible for validating something in what they call coherenting, ability to share data without error if possible. And he was part of that team. And I don't remember his specific role in that other than they each kind of supported each other and collectively responsible for delivering that part of the product.
RICK HUBBARD: Let me ask you this. When you talked about these chips, in layman's terms, was the job to try to find if there were bugs in them before you ship them out?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Right. So when -- when silicone first showed up, chips first showed up, we had a test plan. We executed that test plan, which meant we would develop software to test it. And then we had the ability to validate, just to make sure it worked as expected. And we would look for flaws. And then we would actually debug down to the component level of the flaw and work with other teams to get it resolved.
THE COURT: Hold on, they are having technical problems. We will stand down real quick. They can resolve their issues and we're going to continue on. Sorry for that interruption. All right. Mr. Solicitor.
RICK HUBBARD: Thank you.
RICK HUBBARD: Mr. McConnell, backing up. You were over approximately 20 people. You had teams and Mr. Jones was on a four-man team?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Correct.
RICK HUBBARD: Part of the task was to look for bugs in these chips before you ship them out to corporate customers?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: Now, your responsibility as manager can you tell me what your roll was at the plant at that time with these individuals you supervised?
JAMES MCCONNELL: So my roll was to have, you know, regular scheduled meetings with them to talk about, you know, any issues they were having with work, anything they need, anything I can help with. I did yearly annual reviews. I represent the team in most of the management meetings. So I would go and present data, status and roll that up to the next level management up or I also represented them in the vertical teams or horizontal teams so that, you know, they -- they focused on being engineers. And I focused on primarily being the manager and the person who is the leader, if you will, who kind of disseminated their status and information.
RICK HUBBARD: Did you end up having, or did you have as part of your responsibilities one-on-one meetings with people on your team that you were supervising?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: About how often would you do that?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I tried to have it every two weeks.
RICK HUBBARD: These were one-on-one meetings?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: So that included you sitting down with Mr. Jones at times?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Correct.
RICK HUBBARD: Were you also responsible or the person they'd go to if they went on vacation and were sick, all that personnel stuff?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: You mentioned performance reviews. How often would you do those?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yearly.
RICK HUBBARD: Those reviews, would those come in play whether you kept somebody and whether somebody would do well enough to be qualified for a raise?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: I'm going to talk to you a little bit more about that in just a minute. As someone who was supervising, what type of qualities did you look for in employees and did Intel look for? What were you looking for in an individual?
JAMES MCCONNELL: So we primarily hired almost exclusively engineers. So people who had typically computer engineering degrees. If we needed somebody with software skills we might go after somebody who had a computer science degree. I think the bulk of engineers we hired were probably computer engineers. We looked for people who could work well in teams, who were autonomous, who could -- self-motivated, self-driven, and obviously, you know, their -- if they're graduating with a degree in engineering they're already intelligent. And I know based on the type of degree they have primarily what their school background was. So we would use all of that to make the determination of hiring. And then based on what they want to do when they showed up we would try to meet their goals as engineers and employees to push them to an area that they wanted to focus on.
RICK HUBBARD: Does it sound right Mr. Jones was hired on around 2014 -- 2011?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I believe so, yes.
RICK HUBBARD: Did he appear to you to meet the qualities you were looking for in an Intel employee?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did not interview him, but after he was working for me, absolutely.
RICK HUBBARD: And you mentioned his education. I want to show you what's been marked State's ID 10. From Mississippi State, you see course catalog and grades for Timothy Ray Jones, Jr.?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: Okay. Have we gone over these just briefly?
JAMES MCCONNELL: We have.
RICK HUBBARD: Your Honor, I offer these into evidence.
CASEY SECOR: No objection.
THE COURT: Without objection, admitted State's 10. (Whereupon, State's Exhibit number 10 was admitted into evidence.)
RICK HUBBARD: Thank you, Your Honor.
RICK HUBBARD: Mr. McConnell, and you're going to have to make sure you speak in that microphone. I might draw you away. The course description, and more particularly the type of classes he took, classes like on algorithms and computer architecture, and data communication networks. Were those types of classes that your employees as computer engineers and electrical engineers would take?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes, that would be consistent.
RICK HUBBARD: And going through this were you aware when he was at Mississippi State he graduated Summa Cum Laude?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Actually, I did not know that. I mean, I saw his GPA on there, yes.
RICK HUBBARD: You weren't part of the interview team that hired him?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Correct.
RICK HUBBARD: But as far as the team that you all would gather at Intel, you all weren't looking just for any engineer, is that safe to say?
JAMES MCCONNELL: That's safe to say.
RICK HUBBARD: Mississippi State, you all had a number of hires from there?
JAMES MCCONNELL: We did.
RICK HUBBARD: Did you also have some from Clemson and other regional schools as well?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Correct.
RICK HUBBARD: And based on your interaction with Mr. Jones, did he seem equipped intellectually to do the job?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: Now, when you would get somebody in with an engineering background, you all didn't just dump them out on the floor of the plant?
RICK HUBBARD: What did you all do?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Typically we gave them a mentor. So collectively as a management team we would bring in new hires so we would understand the places that we need, we needed help or new engineers would role into. And then we would identify those, give them a buddy or a mentor. And then that person would then be responsible for kind of bringing them into the team atmosphere. So they -- sometimes people wouldn't always come to a manager, but they always could go to this other person and that person stayed with them a lot and guided them through the process of coming to Intel or working at the Columbia site.
RICK HUBBARD: Is that also how new employees were educated on their role in that plant?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: And Mr. Jones did fine with that?
JAMES MCCONNELL: He did.
RICK HUBBARD: Now, you mentioned you were in charge of evaluations. Would that have included evaluations of Mr. Jones' work?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: I'm going to show you what's been marked as State's ID 11. Job evaluations. These were done by you --
JAMES MCCONNELL: Correct.
RICK HUBBARD: -- for Mr. Jones?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: And I want to look at three separate years. There's 2011. You see that?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I do.
RICK HUBBARD: 2012?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: And 2013?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: And I'm going to get about the salary information, but you see that, too. That's from Intel as well as to Mr. Jones?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes. It looks like salary information. I don't know very much about his salary in terms of --
RICK HUBBARD: We'll get to that.
JAMES MCCONNELL: Okay.
RICK HUBBARD: Your Honor, I offer this into evidence, State's 11.
CASEY SECOR: No objection.
THE COURT: State's 11 without objection is admitted. (Whereupon, State's Exhibit number 11 was admitted into evidence.)
RICK HUBBARD: Thank you.
RICK HUBBARD: Mr. McConnell, I'm going to have you hold that and I'm going to go back here and look off another copy, if that's all right. That 2011 evaluation, what time range does that cover?
JAMES MCCONNELL: That covers June through December.
RICK HUBBARD: So approximately when he was hired until the end of the year?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: The evaluations were done when?
JAMES MCCONNELL: We did -- they were given around April. They were done, obviously, before that in terms of my writing them and having, you know, meetings and stuff about them. But it was for the year previous. So for this one through December of 2011, he would have received that sometime in March probably of the next year.
RICK HUBBARD: Very good. That first six month period that he was there -- let me ask you this. Your rating system. Can you give us an idea of the categories that individual, how you would rate them?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes. We have, I guess, four categories. There's IR, which is improvement required, which is very infrequently given, very low percentage. Some years maybe not at all. We have satisfactory, which is where the majority of the people fall, we have exceeds expectation, which is one level above that and then an outstanding.
RICK HUBBARD: The satisfactory you say is the majority. Do you know roughly a percentage that --
JAMES MCCONNELL: It's probably 70 or 75 percent.
RICK HUBBARD: That first six month period, how did you rate Mr. Jones?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Satisfactory.
RICK HUBBARD: The following year, December 2012, how did you rate him?
JAMES MCCONNELL: He's rated satisfactory.
RICK HUBBARD: And December of 2013 how did you rate him?
JAMES MCCONNELL: He was rated exceeds expectations.
RICK HUBBARD: Looking at that rating, you've got some comments in there as well. I just want to make sure your comments, because you're the evaluator, correct?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: Now, in that form there's some -- there's a number I see occasionally, 360. Can you explain what that means if somebody sees that?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yeah, if they see 360 -- it probably says 360 feedback. That typically comes from peers. So either unsolicited or solicited, often if an employee worked a lot of time with somebody I would maybe ask them, hey, why don't you give me your opinion of how they did, what you saw, how they performed. And that helps me because I can't see everything. So that was good feedback that oftentimes made it into focal's or reviews.
RICK HUBBARD: Looking at that final evaluation, and it probably should be the last page under written comments. You have on there what Intel looks for, and you have, "We believe we have the best prized people in the industry."?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I do.
RICK HUBBARD: And as to Tim Jones do you have in there where you have written as a grade three engineer, "Tim exceeded expectations of delivering results in 2013 and has been promoted to a grade five."?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I do.
RICK HUBBARD: So he got a promotion?
JAMES MCCONNELL: He did.
RICK HUBBARD: You have also in there, Tim is always willing to take on challenges and help others. Tim has demonstrated that in challenging times he can work hard and deliver quality results?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I do.
RICK HUBBARD: You also have in there, "Throughout the year Tim has taken on additional work and is part of a highly functional team that has met all milestones throughout the year."?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Correct.
RICK HUBBARD: And those were your comments about --
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: -- justifying the exceeding expectation grade?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Exactly.
RICK HUBBARD: And I mentioned earlier to you about a raise. Let me ask you this. Would you agree that when he was hired, based on what you have there, that when he was hired he was making approximately $69,000?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I don't know if that -- that's certainly within the realm of what a starting engineer would make for his grade level.
RICK HUBBARD: And you were aware that following this evaluation he got a promotion?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: I believe it went into effect in April of 2014?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: His final pay range was approximately $81,000?
JAMES MCCONNELL: That sounds correct.
RICK HUBBARD: I also want to show you what's been marked State's Identification Number 12. Do you recognize this?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes, I recognize the recommendation letter.
RICK HUBBARD: A recommendation letter to -- was it to a school or company?
JAMES MCCONNELL: It was to school, to Georgia Tech.
RICK HUBBARD: On whose behalf?
JAMES MCCONNELL: On Tim's behalf.
RICK HUBBARD: Your Honor, I offer this into evidence as State's 12.
CASEY SECOR: No objection.
THE COURT: No objection, State's 12. (Whereupon, State's Exhibit number 12 was admitted into evidence.)
RICK HUBBARD: Thank you.
RICK HUBBARD: And I'm going to let you hold that. Did Mr. Jones come to you and ask you to give him a recommendation?
JAMES MCCONNELL: He did.
RICK HUBBARD: Based on your time working with him or him working with you, Tim Jones, did he come to you a number of times seeking advancement of degrees and education, or talking about opportunities?
JAMES MCCONNELL: He did talk about opportunities, yes.
RICK HUBBARD: And was this an opportunity for a class or a course he could take at Georgia Tech?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: And you wrote a recommendation for him?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did.
RICK HUBBARD: Looking at State's 12 on what you wrote, following that final page, did you write, "My experience with Tim has shown that he demonstrates the ability to take requirements, making times, (phonetic), and provide quality output to management oversight."?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did.
RICK HUBBARD: "He has received positive feedback from multiple teams for his effort and commitment to the job."?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: Did you also write, "Tim should do great as a student at Georgia Institute of Technology. He is clearly intelligent and has many traits that would make him successful in his career."?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: "He provides well in group settings. He is not afraid to speak his mind. Tim is also fun to work with, which is an important trait of working long hours either at a job or at school."?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I wrote that.
RICK HUBBARD: Finally, "Tim has the initiative and support that should enable him to be successful working towards an advanced degree."?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: Were you aware if he followed through with that opportunity?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I am not aware.
RICK HUBBARD: Let me talk to you a little bit more about what you knew on a more personal level. Were you aware that at some point while he was in Intel's employment that he became divorced?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I was aware.
RICK HUBBARD: Were you aware that he had as many as five kids?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I was.
RICK HUBBARD: Did he ever explain to you why he got divorced?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I believe so. I think at one time he had talked about the fact that his wife had -- had an affair.
RICK HUBBARD: Did he also indicate he had no support, or is that something that you deduced?
JAMES MCCONNELL: More of I think I deduced that.
RICK HUBBARD: Tell me what an Employee Assistance Program is?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes. Intel has what they call EAP, Employee Assistance Program which allows anonymously people to call in and get support for various activities or life events that they're going through, and that's made available to all Intel employees. I'm not part of it. It's outside the scope of my management role. I just make sure that the employees know that there's -- there's this number and opportunity they can take advantage of.
RICK HUBBARD: Did you discuss that with Tim Jones?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did.
RICK HUBBARD: What was he primarily looking for?
JAMES MCCONNELL: If I remember correctly, he was asking about a nanny, and I -- I believe that actually that resource even had the ability to help with that. They could prescreen based on your -- your requirements and give you a list of names.
RICK HUBBARD: Did you also suggest this program for another reason?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did also mention the fact that if he wanted just to talk to somebody the program was free. At least initially I think you could get five counseling visits for free and that he certainly should take advantage of those if he needed to.
RICK HUBBARD: Was this when he was going through the divorce or right after the divorce?
JAMES MCCONNELL: It would have been around that time, I believe.
RICK HUBBARD: And is that why you suggested it?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: As far as sick leave and vacations, how much time was he afforded in vacations?
JAMES MCCONNELL: For his grade level he was given three weeks. Intel is about three weeks.
RICK HUBBARD: Did he take advantage of that opportunity?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: And as far as sick leave, would you say he took more time or less time than the average employee?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I would say he was on the high end.
RICK HUBBARD: Did that cause you any concern as a manager?
RICK HUBBARD: Why is that?
JAMES MCCONNELL: He continued to do his job. You know, we work in a pretty high, it is a high tech area and we're expected to do our job. So if he needed time, like lots of employees, could go to a doctor's appointment with their child, they came back, they did their job. They might work in the evening, maybe, you know, after hours, whatever it took.
RICK HUBBARD: Let me ask you since I mentioned the five kids. Would that also account for sick leave, sick time, taking the kids to doctors, things like that?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: Knowing that he had those kids and he was single, was it any concern for you if he called in sick or said there was a doctor's appointment?
JAMES MCCONNELL: No concern.
RICK HUBBARD: How would you describe Intel's policy for its employees that had kids and needed time off?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I can speak for the Columbia site. I think we're quite, it was quite good. I mean, we -- everybody -- lots of people had families and kids and we all made time and effort to attend as much as we could of our child's things during work hours, and Intel's management, myself speaking, I supported it.
RICK HUBBARD: Now, you mentioned earlier something about a Georgia Tech application, that he was always exploring opportunities. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
JAMES MCCONNELL: He mentioned a few opportunities or -- yeah, opportunities. He went to -- let's see. He told me about he was looking at medical school. He had told me about the online Master's degree here. He told me he was talking to an Intel manager overseas, I believe it was in Penang, about maybe a software job. So he definitely was looking at other opportunities.
RICK HUBBARD: In Penang. Is that South Korea?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Correct.
RICK HUBBARD: Intel had a plant over there?
JAMES MCCONNELL: They did, or do.
RICK HUBBARD: And medical school. Were you aware that he actually applied for medical school?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I can't recall. I know he talked about it. I don't remember him saying he followed through with the application.
RICK HUBBARD: So you are not aware that he actually got accepted or not at the school?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I was not.
RICK HUBBARD: In the discussion about medical school, at least in talking about it, is that towards the end of time he worked for you all?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I honestly don't remember exactly when we had the discussion.
RICK HUBBARD: Not so much -- let me ask you this. The information you have, is that within the last few months of him being employed with y'all, as opposed to early on in his career with y'all?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I'm not sure I understand the question. Sorry.
RICK HUBBARD: I tell you what, I'll move on. You just knew he was talking about it, you weren't aware if he got accepted?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Correct.
RICK HUBBARD: Okay. Good enough. At some point did you begin to see and notice some changes in Mr. Jones?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: When about did this take place?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I'd say the summer of '14.
RICK HUBBARD: The summer of '14? So June, May, somewhere in there?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yeah, somewhere in there probably. Yeah.
RICK HUBBARD: What did you notice?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I noticed that he had been -- he looked like he was definitely losing some weight. He had started smoking. He looked a bit tired, I think, is the way I would phrase it. And kind of, maybe a little haggard, like he was, you know, had a lot on his mind, a lot to do.
RICK HUBBARD: Knowing he was a single father of five, did that raise any red flags with you?
JAMES MCCONNELL: It did not.
RICK HUBBARD: You knew he was on his own at that point?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I do.
RICK HUBBARD: As far as work what, if anything, did you notice?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Again, about that same time, I remember that -- you know, he -- he was pretty diligent about his on time deliverable's and during that time some of them started to slip. He still continued to do work. His work was still good, it's just that it was coming in later than expected.
RICK HUBBARD: The quality of what he was doing at Intel was still there, he just slipped out on his delivery?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: At one time I think you had mentioned the words maybe, and out of sorts. What do you mean by those words?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I think for out of sorts he was distracted. He would, I mean, he was coming to work and I think looking like he was, I guess, tired, that he was, occasionally he would come in a little later than normal. We didn't have a fixed start time. But when he was there he seemed distracted that he was either thinking of something else, and I think I attributed that somewhat to his family life. And it also showed itself in that his work was starting to slow down in terms of how fast he was getting it done.
RICK HUBBARD: But even with that, the quality was still there?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I believe so.
RICK HUBBARD: And you mentioned smoking. Did you see him smoking, or how did you know he was smoking?
JAMES MCCONNELL: No, I never saw him, but he definitely smelled like smoke. And I actually gave him kind of a hard time about it.
RICK HUBBARD: Because he had kids?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Because he had kids, yeah.
RICK HUBBARD: August 28th of 2014, is that the last day you all had Tim coming into the office?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: That weekend, was that Labor Day weekend?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: So that Monday the 1st, was that a Holiday for your office?
JAMES MCCONNELL: It was.
RICK HUBBARD: So September 1st?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: That's a Holiday?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yeah.
RICK HUBBARD: Now, him not showing up on the 29th -- Friday the 29th, August 29th, did that cause you any concerns, or did you even know at that time?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Actually, as of that day I didn't even know.
RICK HUBBARD: September 2nd, which is a Tuesday, day after Labor Day, were you all working again?
JAMES MCCONNELL: We were.
RICK HUBBARD: And did he show up that day?
JAMES MCCONNELL: He did not.
RICK HUBBARD: What, if anything, did you do at that time?
JAMES MCCONNELL: That day I texted him and asked him -- so it's common when employees decide not to come in. They typically just send an email. We have a calendar. They send a calendar invite that says I'm going to be out, say, Friday or whatever, and I hadn't received any of that. So I sent him a text asking if I had just missed it or if he had forgot to send it.
RICK HUBBARD: Had he always been diligent in letting you know where he was in the past?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I would say yes.
RICK HUBBARD: He always communicated?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I believe so.
RICK HUBBARD: Do you recall ever having to go find him or text him to figure out where he was?
JAMES MCCONNELL: No. I don't recall.
RICK HUBBARD: But on this Tuesday, September 2nd, you sent him a text, did I miss an email?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Correct.
RICK HUBBARD: Do you recall if you sent him yet another text that same day a little later?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did.
RICK HUBBARD: And did you get a response to either of your text messages?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did not.
RICK HUBBARD: September 3rd, Wednesday, did you see Mr. Jones at work?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did not.
RICK HUBBARD: What did you do?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I think in the morning I sent him another text, and maybe even at least one more throughout the day, all the way until the evening asking him to give me a call.
RICK HUBBARD: Did you hear from him?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did not.
RICK HUBBARD: Did you send him another text that same day?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did.
RICK HUBBARD: Do you remember what you had asked?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I don't.
RICK HUBBARD: Let me show you a printout. Do those look like the substance of the texts you sent on the 2nd and the 3rd?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes, they do.
RICK HUBBARD: Your Honor, I'd like to offer these into evidence. This one has not been premarked, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay.
COURT REPORTER: Judge this will be number 49.
THE COURT: 49?
COURT REPORTER: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: I understand.
RICK HUBBARD: It's my fault.
THE COURT: And that's without objection?
CASEY SECOR: Yes, sir. (Whereupon, State's Exhibit number 49 was admitted into evidence.)
THE COURT: All right. Folks, you all know some of the exhibits are kind of planned. They get prenumbered because Joy asks them to do that. And so, it makes it move a little faster when they have been done. Because there's already so many stickers already used that's why this is 49 and the last one was 12. She keeps track of all that, what comes in, just so you know why they're out of order. It's just the way it comes in. All right?
RICK HUBBARD: Thank you, Your Honor.
RICK HUBBARD: So, Mr. McConnell, again, I'll let you have that microphone. September 2nd, do you see the time of your first text?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I do.
RICK HUBBARD: What time is that?
JAMES MCCONNELL: 1:19 p.m.
RICK HUBBARD: And what did you send Mr. Jones?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I said, "Hey, you coming in to work today? Did I miss an email or other?"
RICK HUBBARD: At 1:53 p.m. that same day what did you send him?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I texted him just there with a question mark.
RICK HUBBARD: September 3rd, which is that Wednesday of 2014, how many texts did you send?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I sent three.
RICK HUBBARD: What time was the first one?
JAMES MCCONNELL: 8:11 a.m.
RICK HUBBARD: 11:00 a.m.?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Sorry, 8:11 a.m.
RICK HUBBARD: 8:11 a.m. Okay. I may have misheard you. What did you ask him at that time?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I said, "Hey, I've been trying to get in touch with you. Please give me a call when you get this."
RICK HUBBARD: Okay. Did you send a second one?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did at 12:11.
RICK HUBBARD: So four hours later, and what did you ask?
JAMES MCCONNELL: "Hey, are you there?"
RICK HUBBARD: And then when was your final one?
JAMES MCCONNELL: At 7:02 I sent one that says, "Please give me a call.
RICK HUBBARD: 7:02, that's p.m.?
JAMES MCCONNELL: P.M.
RICK HUBBARD: Is that after work hours?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: Did you ever hear from Mr. Jones?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I never did.
RICK HUBBARD: On the 4th, that Thursday, did he come in?
RICK HUBBARD: What action did you take along with Intel?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I believe that we started the process of getting him terminated.
RICK HUBBARD: Was it clear to you he wasn't coming back?
JAMES MCCONNELL: It was pretty clear.
RICK HUBBARD: He had always responded to your -- or had always communicated with you in the past?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
RICK HUBBARD: Do you recall when you heard about Tim being arrested in Mississippi?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I don't know exactly when, no.
RICK HUBBARD: Was it soon thereafter?
JAMES MCCONNELL: If it wasn't that week, could have been earlier the week after.
RICK HUBBARD: Had law enforcement been out to Intel looking for Mr. Jones as well, to your knowledge?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I believe so.
RICK HUBBARD: Were you at some point made aware that he was charged with killing his five children?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I was.
RICK HUBBARD: How did that strike you?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Shocking, difficult to hear.
RICK HUBBARD: As someone who had had many one-on-ones with him, did you ever see that coming?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Never.
RICK HUBBARD: Did you ever think he was capable of doing what he did?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did not.
RICK HUBBARD: As someone who supervised people that come to you with concerns and complaints, did anyone ever come to you and say something's going on with Mr. Jones?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Never.
RICK HUBBARD: What was the, what was the feeling at that Intel plant in Columbia when this news was broken?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Just like myself, I think everybody was shocked. It was, they couldn't believe that it happened.
RICK HUBBARD: What did Intel do to deal with this situation?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Intel brought in a number of counselors for everybody to meet with. They brought them in, I believe, for the entire week. And people were just -- they were made available. Anybody could schedule an appointment, one or more if you needed, to just sit down and talk to somebody. Make sure that every employee had the option, opportunity to talk to somebody.
RICK HUBBARD: In your dealings with Tim Jones, did you ever observe anything in him or in his behavior that caused you to be concerned as to his mental status?
RICK HUBBARD: Was there anything in his job performance that raised a red flag about his mental status?
RICK HUBBARD: Again, as a supervisor, did anybody come up to you prior to this and say they had concerns about his mental status?
RICK HUBBARD: After this occurred, after this news broke did anybody come up from Intel and say, "Jim, I probably should have told you, I had concerns for Tim's mental status."?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Nobody did.
RICK HUBBARD: Is it fair to say no one saw this coming?
JAMES MCCONNELL: That's a fair statement. Mr. McConnell, thank you.
THE COURT: Mr. Secor.
CROSS-EXAMINATION By Mr. Secor:
CASEY SECOR: Hello, Mr. McConnell.
JAMES MCCONNELL: Howdy.
CASEY SECOR: I just want to go over a couple of things the Solicitor talked to you about.
JAMES MCCONNELL: Okay.
CASEY SECOR: Tim worked for you for three years. Is that about right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: That's about right.
CASEY SECOR: And you were his direct supervisor?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
CASEY SECOR: And your desk was literally right around the corner from his?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
CASEY SECOR: So close that you could hear him when he was talking on the phone for the purposes of Intel work?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
CASEY SECOR: The other people on that team were Todd Schelling, is that right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: He's one.
CASEY SECOR: And Brice Mankowski?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
CASEY SECOR: And was there a fourth?
JAMES MCCONNELL: There was, the changes sizes over, I mean, it is kind of common. There was a John Curreri.
CASEY SECOR: Right.
JAMES MCCONNELL: That's probably the four that were there then.
CASEY SECOR: And as you've told the Solicitor he was a good employee, met expectations, at least early on for the first years that he was there, right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: He met expectations, yeah.
CASEY SECOR: And you enjoyed working with Tim?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did.
CASEY SECOR: You didn't know anything really about his personal life though, right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did not.
CASEY SECOR: And some of the things that were unusual, at least, in the circumstances or the context of -- you didn't know where he lived?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did not.
CASEY SECOR: You found out later that he used a P.O. Box and that was unusual to you for a coworker?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
CASEY SECOR: And I assume you didn't know at all that DSS was involved in the Jones family's lives during that period of time?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did not.
CASEY SECOR: After Tim's divorce you -- you knew that he had considered moving back to Mississippi where his family lived, right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did.
CASEY SECOR: And that was because you assumed he was wanting help with being the sole parent of the five children?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did, yes.
CASEY SECOR: And then that's when you referred Tim to Intel's Employee Assistance Program?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I don't totally remember the dates but, yeah, I would put those two pretty close together.
CASEY SECOR: Okay. And he did take your advice and stayed on? He did stay on at Intel?
JAMES MCCONNELL: He did.
CASEY SECOR: And he also was -- in addition to his work at Intel, he was also volunteering at a local high school, right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did hear about that, yes.
CASEY SECOR: And what was that? If you could just tell the jury what that program was.
JAMES MCCONNELL: It was the Robotics Club. So he would volunteer with high school students to build a robotic device. I'm not totally up to speed on it, but I'm going to guess it was probably capable of, you know, going to a course and he probably helped them write the software, maybe design a little hardware, and get the product -- or get it done.
CASEY SECOR: And that's something that other people at Intel did as well, right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: There were a few, yes.
CASEY SECOR: But did Intel put any pressure on people to do those things?
CASEY SECOR: So Tim was doing it totally on his own?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Absolutely.
CASEY SECOR: Compared to other people who worked under you at Intel, Tim had a lot of irons in the fire in terms of his ideas about his life, right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I would say it's fair.
CASEY SECOR: And what I mean by that is looking for additional opportunities outside of his job?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Right.
CASEY SECOR: But your understanding is he was happy in his position at Intel, right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: That was my understanding.
CASEY SECOR: But he came to you with ideas about other things, including jobs overseas, right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Right.
CASEY SECOR: Different jobs within Intel?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
CASEY SECOR: Medical school?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
CASEY SECOR: And graduate school?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
CASEY SECOR: And no one else on your teams or that you worked with was coming in with those kinds of ideas on such a regular basis?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yeah. Probably the most common would maybe be somebody that can go to graduate school, but none of the others. Sorry. I should be careful. There's obviously people move around inside of Intel. But it would be like they've made a decision and they're going to have that one choice, if you will.
CASEY SECOR: Right. You were his direct supervisor?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I was.
CASEY SECOR: So was it a little bit unusual for one of your -- somebody working underneath you coming to you to talk about different jobs?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Not until they were pretty firmly entrenched in the fact that they were going to go.
CASEY SECOR: And you talked to the Solicitor about him being out sick more than most people, and you attributed that to childcare reasons, right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: And five kids bringing home sicknesses. So it wouldn't surprise me if Tim got -- was exposed to a bit more bugs than most people.
CASEY SECOR: And that's why you gave him a little bit more leeway than you might have given somebody else?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I would have given anybody leeway, but he definitely got it.
CASEY SECOR: Right.
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yeah.
CASEY SECOR: From the time that he started in 2011 -- that's when he first started at Intel, right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
CASEY SECOR: Until August of 2014, you definitely noticed significant changes in Tim?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I noticed the summer of '14. Prior to that I would honestly say I didn't think I noticed any changes.
CASEY SECOR: Okay. And I just meant from the time that he started until the time that he ended there were changes, but the changes were close to the end of his time?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Correct. Yes.
CASEY SECOR: And those changes would include losing weight, right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
CASEY SECOR: Lagging a bit getting his work done?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
CASEY SECOR: Being out of sorts or distracted?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
CASEY SECOR: Haggard, as you said?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
CASEY SECOR: Taking up smoking?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
CASEY SECOR: And he missed six days of work in June of 2014. Do you recall that?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yeah. I think that was just in the last three months, if I remember right.
CASEY SECOR: Yeah, I believe it was -- yeah, in June it was six days.
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yeah.
CASEY SECOR: And then he was on vacation at the end of June.
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
CASEY SECOR: And you understood that to be him taking the kids to Disney World?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Disney World, yes.
CASEY SECOR: And then he told you in August 25th, 2014 he couldn't come to work because his eye had been scratched?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes.
CASEY SECOR: And you saw him the next day and he looked a little bit tired and out of sorts as you said, right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Right.
CASEY SECOR: But despite all those things he was promoted in 2014, right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Correct.
CASEY SECOR: And that was in spring of 2014?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Right.
CASEY SECOR: And despite all of those changes that you saw in his physical appearance and in the work that he was doing, you never at any time suspected that he was on drugs?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I did not.
CASEY SECOR: And if you had at any time suspected that he was on drugs, you obviously would have done something about that within Intel, correct?
JAMES MCCONNELL: I would have, yes.
CASEY SECOR: Overall your opinion of Tim was that he was a good worker but he had a lot of responsibility in his home life. Is that fair to say?
JAMES MCCONNELL: That's fair.
CASEY SECOR: And he didn't have much support, as far as you knew?
JAMES MCCONNELL: As far as I knew.
CASEY SECOR: And that you felt that his transition from Mississippi to South Carolina had been difficult?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yes, from the support aspect.
CASEY SECOR: Yes, sir. But your impression of him was that he was somebody that loved his children very much, right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yeah, he -- he didn't talk about that a lot with me, but the few conversations, one, he showed me a picture. Yeah, I got that impression very much.
CASEY SECOR: In the picture -- the time he showed you the picture was very close in time to the kids' deaths, right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: It was.
CASEY SECOR: And his demeanor when he showed you the pictures, that he was proud and happy?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Yeah. He's going to show them off a little bit.
CASEY SECOR: May I have just a moment?
THE COURT: Sure.
CASEY SECOR: Thanks, Mr. McConnell, I appreciate it.
THE COURT: All right. Anything else, Mr. Hubbard?
RICK HUBBARD: I'd like to follow-up.
THE COURT: Sure.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION By Mr. Hubbard:
RICK HUBBARD: You were asked about spotting all these changes. The changes that you discussed began in the summer of 2014, right?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Correct.
RICK HUBBARD: And his last day was in August -- August 28th of 2014, correct?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Correct.
RICK HUBBARD: You've not seen all this, the smoking and the haggard look, prior to sometime that summer?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Not to my recollection, no.
RICK HUBBARD: When Mr. Jones showed you his photos of his kids did he ever say he was scared of his kids?
JAMES MCCONNELL: He did not.
RICK HUBBARD: Did he indicate any kind of fear of Nahtahn or any of his boys, or his girls?
JAMES MCCONNELL: He did not.
RICK HUBBARD: And, Mr, McConnell, I didn't ask you this. But obviously that plant is closed down; is that correct?
JAMES MCCONNELL: That's correct.
RICK HUBBARD: When did it close?
JAMES MCCONNELL: They shut the doors at the end of 2017.
RICK HUBBARD: Was there talk about it closing as early as 2014, or when did that start?
JAMES MCCONNELL: No. They made the announcement in April of 2016.
RICK HUBBARD: So had there been any talk about it prior to that?
JAMES MCCONNELL: Prior to that we thought the site would actually grow some.
RICK HUBBARD: Mr. McConnell, thank you.
THE COURT: Okay. You can step down. All right. I'm going to let the jury go to the jury room for the purpose of ordering lunch and take a short break. As soon as you all have gotten your order selected we'll get you back in here. So you all let me know, Madam Clerk, when you all get that done. We'll get back in here and call our next witness. So, lawyers, we're going to be done for about 10 minutes, maybe more. But when they're ready we're going to come back in. Okay, all right. Don't talk about the case.
(Whereupon, the jury was excused from the courtroom.)
THE COURT: Let's bring the jury in. (Whereupon, the jury came into open court at approximately 11:41 a.m.)
THE COURT: All right. I'm going to ask you another question about comfort. Cool in here, warm in here? I've got on an extra layer. I like it cool. Whitney has a blanket over her legs. Everybody does their own thing. I want you all comfortable. How is it? Is it okay? If you need a blanket, you can bring one. It's perfectly okay to do that. I saw you, that's when I thought about it is when I saw you. You want to borrow Whitney's blanket? She's a law clerk. I'll give it to you. Okay. I want to make sure you all know we can adjust a little bit. With a big room with a lot of people it moves slow. So we'll just keep going. You may bring blankets in here if you want to, little lap things. Make yourself comfortable. Call your next witness, please.
SUZANNE MAYES: The State calls Christina Ehlke.