5.April Hames — Direct/Cross/Redirect/Recross
518 linesBOYD YOUNG: Your Honor, the defense would call April Hames.
APRIL HAMES, being first duly sworn, testified as follows:
COURT CLERK: Have a seat, ma'am. Once you're seated, state your full name, spelling your last.
APRIL HAMES: My name is April Hames, H-A-M-E-S.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. YOUNG:
BOYD YOUNG: Good afternoon, Dr. Hames.
APRIL HAMES: Hi.
BOYD YOUNG: Can you tell the jury a little bit about yourself?
APRIL HAMES: Sure. I grew up in this area and went to undergraduate at the University of South Carolina Honors College. Then moved to North Carolina to get my Masters and my Doctorate. My Doctorate is in marriage and family therapy, and that involves studies in child development and family relations.
BOYD YOUNG: Now, are you a hired expert in this case?
APRIL HAMES: I am not.
BOYD YOUNG: How did you get to be involved with Tim Jones?
APRIL HAMES: On May the 3rd, 2012, Tim came into my office for marriage therapy. He came by himself. I invited Amber. He said he wanted Amber to come. Amber -- at the time, it was my understanding she did not have a driver's license and she was caring for the kids at home and she was not able to make it from where they lived in Leesville to my office on St. Andrews Road. So I met with Tim to work on -- when we discovered that Amber wouldn't be able to make it, I did suggest maybe she could have a conference call. And he said he went home and discussed that with her and she was not interested in it at that time, according to what Tim said. So we worked together on, at the time, making him the best man and best husband that he could be given the circumstances.
BOYD YOUNG: When you have a new patient come in, do you get them -- do you have them fill out a form?
APRIL HAMES: I do.
BOYD YOUNG: Can you tell us what religion Tim put down as his religion?
APRIL HAMES: I have my notes here, I'm going to look to be sure. Pentecostal.
BOYD YOUNG: And did he explain his spiritual beliefs at all?
APRIL HAMES: Over the course of the sessions that we had, he discussed his spiritual beliefs. They seemed to be very fundamentalist, similar to what the pastor said, very literal interpretation of scripture, very strict adherence to those scriptures.
BOYD YOUNG: And did he describe that as old-fashioned?
APRIL HAMES: Since it was 2012 and early 2013, I can't remember -- oh, it does say that in the notes that he described, conservative and old-fashioned, yes.
BOYD YOUNG: Was your office close enough to where his work was that he could come to you during lunch or how did that work?
APRIL HAMES: Yes. He would come over during lunch and just step in. Always came around lunchtime and then would head back out. He would use his lunch break to come over.
BOYD YOUNG: Did he have any sort of request of you about how you dressed for y'all's visits?
APRIL HAMES: He did. I am above average height, I'm six-one. And I stood up at the end of the session one day and I had on heels that were maybe three inches and he requested that moving forward, I would not wear heels at his appointments.
BOYD YOUNG: Was there a checklist of things that he wanted to work on as part of that screening form?
APRIL HAMES: He identified problem areas with the checklist.
BOYD YOUNG: Can you tell the jury what problem areas he identified?
APRIL HAMES: Sure. Anxiety, depressed mood, feelings of inferiority, poor sleeping, marital relationship, trouble in childhood memories, unable to trust others, fighting and arguing with others, bad temper, anger problems, unfairly treated by others, suspicious of others, family quarreling and feeling rejected by family.
BOYD YOUNG: Before we get to y'all's sessions, he filled out one more page about specifically -- and I think the question was, In your own words, what brought you to counseling? Can you tell us what he told you?
APRIL HAMES: Sure. He said due to childhood issues, I feel like I'm carrying baggage that's affecting my marriage.
BOYD YOUNG: And was he asked if there was ever a time where that problem was better or worse or what had made it worse?
APRIL HAMES: Yes. He was asked, Have there been times when the problem got better or disappeared? And he said, No. Were there times when the problem was especially bad? And he said, Yes. And the time of that was now. And when asked what made it bad, he said he needed to explain. When he was asked are there other people who played a role in causing your problem, he said his neighbors.
BOYD YOUNG: Did he have a goal with your counseling?
APRIL HAMES: Yes. He wanted to know what I must do to relieve these anxieties.
BOYD YOUNG: And after he filled out this questionnaire, is that when you had your first sort of sit-down meeting with him?
APRIL HAMES: It is.
BOYD YOUNG: Tell us, how does that work?
APRIL HAMES: So this form can be filled out prior to the first meeting or it can be filled out -- you come in 30 minutes before the first meeting, fill out the form, have them take your driver's license, your insurance information, that type of thing and then wait to be seen. And that's what happened. And then right after that, I would get the form, read it before I would see him, make an initial kind of plan for the first session to talk about the presenting problem and assess for safety and understand the beginning of the treatment plan and conceptualization of the dynamics of the situation in the case.
BOYD YOUNG: What happened when Tim first sat down with you?
APRIL HAMES: As soon as Tim sat down, he was immediately tearful. I could tell Tim -- or it seemed to be -- in my experience over time as a therapist that you can tell when someone has waited a long time to come in. Often, once you come, it might be you waited too long. And I think the marital issues had gotten to a point that Tim realized it was something bigger than he could work out on his on. So he came in and he was immediately tearful and he started talking about his being a momma's boy. The first things out of his mouth -- he writes on the form the issues are about his marriage, but he starts to talk about being a momma's boy and recalled having very few interactions with his biological mother. And he remembered the one time he saw her that she was swatting at things that were not there and having a conversation with, I think it was her dead mother. It was someone -- oh, he said she had a fight with her dead mother. So that was the beginning of the conversation with Tim, which, conceptually, as a marriage and family therapist thinking about the family system, I realized that this was a bigger issue than a marital problem.
BOYD YOUNG: Did he tell you about any diagnosis that she may have?
APRIL HAMES: He told me that she had schizophrenia and that she was institutionalized.
BOYD YOUNG: As y'all went along in your notes and through your therapy, do you talk about something inside of him on that day, on that May the 3rd, 2012?
APRIL HAMES: Yes. He said, I've got a monster inside me and now it's gotten out.
BOYD YOUNG: And when you talked to him about that, what did you take that to mean?
APRIL HAMES: Any time someone would say something like that, you know, it definitely puts up some red flags, so you need to access for the bigger picture of safety and look at things like would this person have schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is something I would not feel comfortable diagnosing as a licensed marriage and family therapist. And in the case, if I believed that, I would refer someone out. The conversation we had about the monster inside had very much to do with theoretically what I would call his attachment style. Children have an absolute requirement for safe ongoing physical and emotional closeness with a primary caregiver. When a child doesn't have that, typically, with a mother, our security and attachment is formed within the first 18 months, three years of our life, a very critical period. And as he started talking about that monster, what he seemed to be doing was externalizing a very internal feeling, similar to the little green monster. Like this feeling of fear, abandonment, jealousy, inferiority.
BOYD YOUNG: So -- don't let me put words in your mouth. You thought that his reference to the monster inside of him was sort of stemming from his attachment issues from not having a mother?
APRIL HAMES: The combination of things he experienced very early in life, just from the briefing that he had mentioned, you know, I'm here about the marriage. My mom is institutionalized. I'm a momma's boy. I miss my mother. I don't have a relationship with my mother as she was emotionally unavailable based on her diagnosis and also physically unavailable because she was institutionalized. So he didn't have that initial bond with a parent that we need for safe and good mental health. Also, in his life, this was -- this was furthered by infidelity with a girlfriend when he was 18. He stated that Amber had kissed one of their friends. I do believe they had taken a friend in and the friend was living with them. He and Amber kissed while they were at work -- while Tim was at work. Tim also had some experiences in his family home where his father would go to work and his step-mom was allegedly unfaithful and Tim experienced watching that as a child. I can't recall why Tim was really afraid to share that with his father, but as a young child, he knew that had to be a secret. He had a huge fear -- this monster, part of it was this huge fear that he would be that person. That he was going to work and going out of town and his wife was being unfaithful.
BOYD YOUNG: Did Tim tell you about when he and Amber first met?
APRIL HAMES: He did.
BOYD YOUNG: And what did he say about that?
APRIL HAMES: He said that when he met her -- this is a direct quote, he said, I opened up like a rose that bloomed. And he went on to say that it was just natural. And the conceptualization of the attachment and what he shared about Amber's early life, it seems like the two of them had this yin-yang sort of thing where what he was missing, she had, and what she was missing, he had, and they were able to feel a lot more complete in their bond.
BOYD YOUNG: After your initial visit on the 3rd, what was the next time you saw Tim?
APRIL HAMES: I saw him on the 9th.
BOYD YOUNG: So on the 9th, did y'all talk about the monster again?
APRIL HAMES: We did.
BOYD YOUNG: And what was that conversation?
APRIL HAMES: He said that the monster wanted control. And control in the context of knowing more about what was going on while he was at work. And he wanted information and when he -- said when he -- there was a deficit of information that the monster would come out.
BOYD YOUNG: And did he say any -- what, if anything, did he say about Amber's response to that part of him?
APRIL HAMES: He said that she told him that she can't be near him when the monster comes out.
BOYD YOUNG: Did you have some suggestions for him on dealing with the monster on the 9th?
APRIL HAMES: I did. We talked about since -- Tim is incredibly bright. And we enjoyed an exchange of being able to talk about theoretical things that I had not always been able to talk about with clients. You typically try to go to about a sixth to eighth grade education level. And having a really theoretical brain, I enjoyed being able to share some -- he was very fascinated with it, wanted to know a lot about the theories. So for him to be able to kind of externalize this monster and talk about the attachment that was driving -- the attachment wounds that were driving this monster. We talked about externalizing it further and how that was more of his child self. His adult self is the person sitting in the room with me being very present and having a mature conversation and being able to externalize this monster that was more like that wounded child self. And so, we talked about shutting down that internal dialogue. He did use the word voices, that the monster would talk to him. We all have those internal voices that, based on all of our experiences, talk to us. And they talk to us much worse than we would talk to anybody else, usually, even an enemy. So we talked about him redirecting the monster and having that inner child cared for with the adult voice, shutting down that voice so his rational and logical voice could come in.
BOYD YOUNG: And during that time, was he fearful of abandonment?
APRIL HAMES: Absolutely. I asked him what his worst fear was. In trying to understand what the real issue is with folks, I often ask what's the worst case that can happen, what's the worst case scenario. And his worst case scenario was that Amber would get a job and that she would be with the man that he suspected she was having an affair with and that she would leave him.
BOYD YOUNG: And how did he say that? Do you know how he said that? Is it reflected in your notes?
APRIL HAMES: It is. Let me see. It was that day, on 5/9, in the context of talking about abandonment. It was in the sense that he was not wanted. He said he didn't want to feel tossed away without even knowing it. And that's when he talked to me about the history of the ex-girlfriend. And he said, Worst case scenario, she gets a job. She's already with the other guy and she moves on.
BOYD YOUNG: Did you ask him if he had ever been physically violent?
APRIL HAMES: Yes. Based on how upset he got in that moment when I asked about the worst case scenario, I did ask him if he'd ever been physically violent with Amber. And he said that in the context of an argument that she had been in very close proximity to him and that he had pushed her out of the way because she was very much in his personal space, but that he had not ever hit her.
BOYD YOUNG: When was the -- at this point in time, is he still trying to save his marriage?
APRIL HAMES: Absolutely.
BOYD YOUNG: Okay. When was the next time that you saw him?
APRIL HAMES: I saw him on 5/23.
BOYD YOUNG: And at that point in time on the 23rd, and I believe it's on the second page towards the bottom of your notes about the 23rd, had he started doing some other stuff to try and cope?
APRIL HAMES: Yes. He -- well, I've gone back and read these notes. Are you talking about the part where I wrote that he bought a bottle of liquor for Mother's Day. I can't recall if he was drinking that or if he bought that for Amber. I can't recall.
BOYD YOUNG: What did he say about drinking as far as a solution to your problems?
APRIL HAMES: He -- this is a direct quote, and he said, The only problem with drinking to drown your problems is that they don't drown, they float.
BOYD YOUNG: Did he say whether or not he had tried to self-medicate with alcohol in the past?
APRIL HAMES: Yes, he shared that with me. I believe I asked him about it based on the conversation we were having. I just don't remember the context of it from 2012.
BOYD YOUNG: Okay. Now, something significant had happened -- when is the next time you saw him?
APRIL HAMES: The next time I saw him was on June the 21st of 2012.
BOYD YOUNG: And had something happened in his life between y'all's last two appointments?
APRIL HAMES: Yes. He had been in Mississippi visiting his parents. From what I recall, it was visiting his family. The children had been left with Amber at home and when he got home, the neighbor was in -- a male neighbor was in his home. He came back early and the neighbor was in the home. He found them together.
BOYD YOUNG: Okay. And what did he do about it?
APRIL HAMES: I did ask what he did and he said that he -- the guy was really terrified of what might happen next, as one might be. He said he reached out his hand and shook his hand and told him he was not going to hit him.
BOYD YOUNG: Did he talk about starting to drink or smoke after that?
APRIL HAMES: Yes. He started drinking and smoking heavily. But to qualify the smoking as he told me was cigarettes.
BOYD YOUNG: Right. Did he shift focus during that meeting with you from his marriage to something else?
APRIL HAMES: Yes. At that point, it seemed clear that his suspicions about his wife were -- according to Tim, they were accurate. He switched course -- now, I don't know what day before -- in between 5/23 when I saw him and 6/21, I don't know what day it occurred that he came home. What I do know is that when I saw him on the 21st, the primary goal was the safety of the kids and moving forward and keeping the kids away from that situation.
BOYD YOUNG: And what was his -- at the bottom of the second page of your notes from the 21st, what was his struggle? What was he thinking about?
APRIL HAMES: Loneliness.
BOYD YOUNG: And what was it in relation to the kids?
APRIL HAMES: He was really struggling with thinking about the children not growing up with their mother. And he did put that in the context of not growing up with his own.
BOYD YOUNG: Did his behavior on the 21st cause you some concern?
APRIL HAMES: No.
BOYD YOUNG: Did you write a letter to a doctor on the 21st of 2012?
APRIL HAMES: I did.
BOYD YOUNG: And who was that letter to and why did you write it? Can you tell the jury what that was about?
APRIL HAMES: Let me find the letter to make certain. I want to say the correct name. I believe it was Dr. Leslie Jones.
BOYD YOUNG: I'll help you.
APRIL HAMES: Thank you. Oh, Dr. Leslie West.
BOYD YOUNG: And what were your concerns about Tim that you told Dr. West about in that letter?
APRIL HAMES: The troubling childhood issues that were continuing to impact him in his adult life. I didn't get into the situation that Tim was in because there was no need for that. But he shared with me -- you know, impairment is a significant issue when you're diagnosing and he was -- what he was sharing with me is that there was impairment in both his occupational and social functioning. And those are very significant issues and what leads to a diagnosis. So I asked her to consider a pharmacologic intervention for him, something of a very limited -- a time limit duration. I suggested three months based on the situation, so that he could sleep and concentrate on his work.
BOYD YOUNG: And in that letter, you noted that he had an impairment or distress in his work and social life?
APRIL HAMES: Correct. But I did say that was anxiety.
BOYD YOUNG: Okay. When was the next time that you saw Tim?
APRIL HAMES: Any time a client comes in with such a significant change, I try to see them the next week. And I did see him the next week, I saw him on the 28th of June.
BOYD YOUNG: And what, if anything, did he say about his drinking? Had he -- was he sort of down, was he doing better?
APRIL HAMES: There's some conflict in my notes here because in this moment, he said he hadn't drank in eight years.
BOYD YOUNG: Okay.
APRIL HAMES: And in the previous -- in the previous note, he had said he was drinking heavily. I wonder -- and this is speculation. I wonder if he was saying prior to when he started drinking heavily again that he hadn't drank for eight years. In the context of my relationship with him, I assumed that, but it is an assumption based on the time. He did say that he was not drinking as much anymore. He was not getting slam drunk is the word he used.
BOYD YOUNG: At that point in time, did he have an attorney?
APRIL HAMES: He did.
BOYD YOUNG: And I'm going to show you what's been marked for ID as Defense Exhibit number 134. Can you tell us what that is?
APRIL HAMES: Sure. This is an affidavit that I gave with a recollection -- an account of the events that Mr. Jones had shared with me. I gave it to be given in Family Court towards the -- I believe it was the emergency hearing for his children.
BOYD YOUNG: For the custody of the children?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
BOYD YOUNG: Your Honor, I would offer Defense Exhibit number 134 into evidence.
SHAWN GRAHAM: No objection, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Without objection, 134 is in evidence. (WHEREUPON, Defendant's Exhibit number 134 was admitted into evidence.)
BOYD YOUNG: Do you know what the next time that you saw Tim was?
APRIL HAMES: The next time I saw Tim was 7/24.
BOYD YOUNG: At some point in time on the 24th, y'all had a discussion about where the kids should live, where he was going to live and what he wanted as far as school for the children. Do you recall that part?
APRIL HAMES: I do.
BOYD YOUNG: Can you tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury what he said about that?
APRIL HAMES: He said he wanted the children in the Lexington One School District because of how good the school district was.
BOYD YOUNG: When was the -- did y'all discuss his -- the past anniversary -- the anniversary of his marriage had recently passed, did y'all --
APRIL HAMES: Yes.
BOYD YOUNG: -- talk about that?
APRIL HAMES: Yes. He had been married eight years on June the 29th and he was very angry that day.
BOYD YOUNG: Did he do anything or he just said that was something that he felt?
APRIL HAMES: He just said that he was very angry on the day of his eight-year anniversary.
BOYD YOUNG: What is the next day that you saw Tim?
APRIL HAMES: 8/21.
BOYD YOUNG: And what was going on in his life at that time? How was he doing?
APRIL HAMES: He had really organized a plan by that point where, you know, two months to the day from when I had seen him and heard about what had happened at home with his relationship. You know, he had taken the things out of the marital residence and had the kids back in South Carolina. In the process of those two months, it was summertime, so they weren't being held responsible for school at that point. And it's my recollection that they spent a significant portion of that time in Mississippi with his family. While he organized a plan, you know, he was kind of couch surfing to try to figure out where he was going to live and what he was going to do.
BOYD YOUNG: And was he going to put them in school in the Lexington One School District?
APRIL HAMES: Yes, Saxe Gotha.
BOYD YOUNG: What was the next time that you saw him?
APRIL HAMES: I saw him on the 18th of September in 2012.
BOYD YOUNG: Now, was this the -- as far as you know, was that the first time the kids had gone to school during the 2012 school year?
APRIL HAMES: Yes.
BOYD YOUNG: And when he came in to you, was he concerned about how they were doing in school?
APRIL HAMES: He was. He had gotten really frustrated with Amber and felt like that what she had represented that she was doing education-wise with home schooling that she didn't -- it was his impression that they were really behind and that she had not been following through with that.
BOYD YOUNG: And what did he say? What did he say?
APRIL HAMES: He said he wanted to strangle her.
BOYD YOUNG: And did you think that he meant I want to strangle, I want to kill her or what did you think?
APRIL HAMES: Any time someone says something I could have killed them, I want to strangle her, while it is a figure of speech, as a mental health professional, I have a duty to report and a duty to warn ethically and legally. So I questioned him. He did not endorse a plan to harm her. He didn't have an established timeline of, you know, tomorrow I'm going to go to the house and this is going to happen. I questioned him about it and I didn't find any reason to believe there were any homicidal ideations. It seemed to be a figure of speech.
BOYD YOUNG: Was he -- was he stretched thin with the kids? Is that a good way to say it?
APRIL HAMES: Yes.
BOYD YOUNG: Did he talk to you -- and flipping over to the second page from that same visit, did he talk to you about his kids and what issues he was concerned they might have?
APRIL HAMES: He said mommy issues again. He didn't want the kids to have mommy issues. He didn't want to bring women in and out of their lives and start dating. He had a lot of conflict about whether or not to start dating. It was something that was like a recurring conversation that he would have after they separated. And, you know, he was trying to figure out fatherhood and wanted to do the right thing. At some point, the children asked for a new mommy.
BOYD YOUNG: Was he also at the same time talking about his own mommy -- what he described as his mommy issues?
APRIL HAMES: Yes.
BOYD YOUNG: After September 18th, when was the next time you saw Tim?
APRIL HAMES: A month later on October 17th.
BOYD YOUNG: And did y'all talk about Amber, whether or not she had seen the kids? And, if so, what was said?
APRIL HAMES: Yes. He said that she had only -- she had not seen the kids since June the 11th of 2012 and that was October the 17th. He said that she had started promising what she was going to do for the kids if he would let her back into their lives and his life.
BOYD YOUNG: Was she following through on those promises?
APRIL HAMES: I recall she was going to -- she promised them maybe on the phone that she was going to give them some movies. If I remember correctly, Tim thought that the movies were for a more mature audience than the age of the children. He didn't think they were age appropriate. I don't remember if he told me what the movies were, so I wouldn't be able to judge that. When I saw him one month following, he did say that she actually brought them the movies that she had promised to do. But it was my understanding that that promise was an ongoing promise that she hadn't delivered on until sometime after that session I had in October with him.
BOYD YOUNG: Did he say anything else about how he disciplined his kids during your visit on the 17th?
APRIL HAMES: He did. Tim had these one-liners that were just very Tim, just unique, unique things. And I would always write them down in a direct quote. On that day, he said, Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod will drive it from him.
BOYD YOUNG: And what did he mean by the rod?
APRIL HAMES: I questioned him about it and he -- the rod was spanking.
BOYD YOUNG: Did he go on to describe it further?
APRIL HAMES: He said that spanking was and corporal punishment in general was medicine for their sick bodies.
BOYD YOUNG: So that when the children were foolish, he thought that he was supposed to spank them?
APRIL HAMES: Yes.
BOYD YOUNG: When was the next time that you had seen Tim?
APRIL HAMES: I saw him on October -- excuse me, November the 14th of 2012.
BOYD YOUNG: And when he came there for that visit, had they met with Amber?
APRIL HAMES: Yes. That's when she gave them the movies. They met at a Wendy's.
BOYD YOUNG: And was he -- did he seem upset that she had seen them, was he happy that she had seen them? How did he describe it?
APRIL HAMES: I cannot recall.
BOYD YOUNG: Okay. Was he impressed that she had brought the things that she had promised the kids that she was going to bring?
APRIL HAMES: He was relieved about that, but he felt that they were not age appropriate.
BOYD YOUNG: Did he report whether or not the children were happy to see Amber?
APRIL HAMES: I --
BOYD YOUNG: I think it's on the second -- the next page.
APRIL HAMES: They were. Said that Merah started crying when she had to leave her and that she's the sensitive one.
BOYD YOUNG: And that they were happy to have gotten to see her?
APRIL HAMES: Yes.
BOYD YOUNG: Did he talk about how they were coming along in school?
APRIL HAMES: He said they were really behind, that Eli seemed to be fairly intelligent and he was catching up pretty quickly, but Merah was taking longer. He described working with them long hours in the evening on their homework and teaching them things, going over what they had learned at school. That was really, really important for him for them to be where they needed to be educationally. He put a big emphasis on that. And his kind of assessment of Merah was that maybe she just was not going to be gifted at school.
BOYD YOUNG: Was he okay with that or was he upset about that?
APRIL HAMES: Probably disappointed. You have a certain idea for what your children -- the trajectory of their lives. And I think he was maybe wondering if he might have to adjust that for her.
BOYD YOUNG: How about him personally, how was he and the first time he had seen Amber in about four months or so?
APRIL HAMES: He said he was -- he was just pissed off, those were the words he used.
BOYD YOUNG: Was there a reason that he gave that he was upset?
APRIL HAMES: He was upset that it had been four months and she hadn't seen the kids.
BOYD YOUNG: What is the next time that you saw Tim?
APRIL HAMES: I saw him a month later on 12/19/2012.
BOYD YOUNG: Now, at that point in time, had y'all talked about maybe getting the kids in for some therapy?
APRIL HAMES: Yes, we did.
BOYD YOUNG: And what was that, what was that conversation?
APRIL HAMES: I don't recall who suggested it. I recall us having a conversation about it and me asking him if it was okay for me to connect with someone else in our office that had more expertise in seeing children than I did. It also would not have been appropriate for me to see the children. And he, you know, seemed to be really excited about the opportunity of the kids coming in. Also, if I recall, he had an employee assistance program. That's one of the reasons we stretched out the sessions because he was given a limited number of sessions and after that, his copay increased. Initially, for however many visits, you don't have a copay with his employee assistance program and then after that, he had to start paying a copay. So that's why we stretched out to once a month. But the children also had sessions through the EAP, if I recall correctly. So he gave me permission to speak with the therapist that saw children based on some of the things -- you know, he was worried about things like what kind of conversation he was going to have with Merah when she started her period. He didn't know how he was going to handle that. He was already anticipating that when she was eight, nine, ten. I don't -- I'm sorry, I can't recall how old she was in 2012. But he was anticipating those things. And in anticipation of potential issues with what he suspected they had seen with their mother and some of the neglect that he had reported, he wanted them seen. And so he was happy to do that, to have them seen at our counseling center.
BOYD YOUNG: Do you know who it was that they saw?
APRIL HAMES: It was Kim Fender.
BOYD YOUNG: And did you ever see them together? Like, did you ever see Tim and his kids going to see --
APRIL HAMES: I did. In the waiting room, I recall one time very vividly. It may have been twice, but I certainly recall one time. It was either the live-in nanny or the very regular babysitter. She was there and she was sitting kind of to the side. Then -- it was probably the happiest moment I ever saw and I ever shared with him. At first, I was an observer, he didn't know I was there. I was coming in from seeing another client. I wasn't to see him that day. And he came over -- you know, had all -- at that time, all four of the children. The fifth had not yet been born. The four of the children were in the waiting room waiting to see the other counselor. I don't know which one was there to see her that day. But he came over from his work during his lunch to spend that time with them is my assumption. And I got to see them. They were climbing all over him, daddy, daddy, daddy. And he seemed very fulfilled and very happy to be in that moment with his kids and they seemed happy, too.
BOYD YOUNG: What was the next appointment -- he said they were coming in to see Kim the next week, is that right?
APRIL HAMES: Uh-huh, (indicated in the affirmative.)
BOYD YOUNG: And what was your next appointment with Tim?
APRIL HAMES: The next time I saw him was one month later on January 15th of 2013.
BOYD YOUNG: And did he bring back up the monster?
APRIL HAMES: He did.
BOYD YOUNG: And what did he tell you about it?
APRIL HAMES: He told me that the stimulant -- stimulus was gone, the stimulus for the monster being that fear of being coupled, having -- being found out that his wife was being unfaithful. He didn't worry about that because he was at work and not thinking about who his wife was with while he was not there.
BOYD YOUNG: Did he tell you sort of more specifically like how he had gotten it out?
APRIL HAMES: He said that he had been at church that Sunday and he had cried it out and that he felt a significant change.
BOYD YOUNG: At the end -- toward the end of your session on the 15th, how did he feel for his kids?
APRIL HAMES: He said that Merah was not crying as much for her mom, that they were asking him to get them another mom. They were catching up at school and he described Eli as his little buddy.
BOYD YOUNG: Did he say that he felt bad for his kids?
APRIL HAMES: He did.
BOYD YOUNG: And did he say why?
APRIL HAMES: It seemed to come back to the mommy issues again. He was still in conflict of whether he should find someone else to be a new mom for them or if he should just leave it alone.
BOYD YOUNG: Beg the Court's indulgence.
BOYD YOUNG: When you finish out your records, is there a code that goes on the bills to the records?
APRIL HAMES: On --
BOYD YOUNG: When you bill somebody, is there a code that goes on those records?
APRIL HAMES: I was not responsible for the billing at our office. That was completely separate. I would fill out an encounter form that would have a CPT code or an insurance code that would basically say if it was individual, family or group therapy. And that code -- the identifier on that would also indicate how long I spent with him.
BOYD YOUNG: Were there codes on the records for Tim Jones, Merah Jones and Elias Jones, the -- I guess it's called the noncodes, is that right?
APRIL HAMES: A diagnostic code?
BOYD YOUNG: Yes, ma'am.
APRIL HAMES: Yes, there would be.
BOYD YOUNG: Okay. Can you tell us what the diagnostic code on -- for Timothy R. Jones was?
APRIL HAMES: You showed that to me earlier and I know there were two codes on there, so I can't recall which one was which.
BOYD YOUNG: (Attorney hands witness document.)
APRIL HAMES: The two codes for Tim were 300.9 and 296.32. 296.32 is a recurrent major depressive disorder. Major depression sounds like someone who can't get out of bed, kind of hoping it catches on fires so that you don't live anymore. Major depression is just the diagnosis of depression. It can be very mild, moderate, severe, severe with psychotic features, severe without psychotic features. This particular code is major depressive disorder, it's recurrent and it's moderate.
BOYD YOUNG: And how about the 300.9?
APRIL HAMES: That is an unspecified nonpsychotic mental disorder. The reason there would have been two would have been related most likely to the need for two different codes for the EAP. Perhaps, you get six visits for the first presenting problem and then could have six more visits for an additional issue. So I don't recall why there are two different ones. Since the 300.9 is first, that may have been a provisional diagnosis given on the first session because you can't bill without some sort of diagnosis. So that was likely, you know, just the unspecified -- like, something's going on, but he's not psychotic. That would be my first assessment. And then after that, based on what we talked about, it seemed to be more moderate depression.
BOYD YOUNG: And was there a code on any of the children's records?
SHAWN GRAHAM: Objection, relevance.
THE COURT: Sustained.
BOYD YOUNG: Thank you, Dr. Hames. Please answer any questions the State has.
THE COURT: After the jury gets a break. Don't discuss the case. See y'all back in here in a few minutes. (WHEREUPON, the jury was excused from open court for a break.)
THE COURT: We will take a break.
(WHEREUPON, a short break was taken.)
THE COURT: If they're ready, bring them on. (Whereupon, the jury came into open court at approximately 3:50 p.m.)
THE COURT: All right. Mr. Graham.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Thank you, Your Honor.
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. GRAHAM:
SHAWN GRAHAM: Good afternoon, Dr. Hames. How are you?
APRIL HAMES: I'm okay. How are you.
SHAWN GRAHAM: I'm okay. My understanding is that you saw Tim Jones between the dates of May 3rd, 2012, that was the first session, all the way up until March 28 of 2013, is that correct?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And I have down that you saw him 14 times?
APRIL HAMES: That's what I counted as well.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Each session is an hour-long session?
APRIL HAMES: Typically. Sometimes there's some doorknob conversations, someone reaches for the door and oh, by the way. Depending on whether there's someone after them, they may last a little longer, but approximately an hour.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So a minimum of an hour, maybe even a little bit longer?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So that means you spent 14 hours face-to-face with Tim Jones?
APRIL HAMES: Yes, sir.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Everything -- well, he came to you because of his marriage problems and anxiety. He wanted help with his anxiety I think is what you testified to, is that correct?
APRIL HAMES: Yes, sir.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Everything in your treatment, your counseling of him, everything you know is only what he told you, correct?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So it's only true as what he told you is true, isn't that correct?
APRIL HAMES: Correct. In -- in my profession, it was not court ordered, it was not -- the EAP didn't say he had to come, to act in the best -- as the best agent of mental health for my client. For the most part, unless there's evidence to the contrary, you have to kind of go on an assumption that they're telling you the truth.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And I think some of the last questions Mr. Young was asking you was the billing diagnosis?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And I think he was referred to under -- he came under a referral from a benefit from his business at Intel, do you know that?
APRIL HAMES: I don't.
SHAWN GRAHAM: But for an EAP, an employee assistance program, you have to have some diagnosis for insurance to cover it?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So you have to talk to him and you have to put down something, correct?
APRIL HAMES: Sure.
SHAWN GRAHAM: The first thing you put down was what again, when his initial visit came?
APRIL HAMES: An unspecified nonpsychotic disorder.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So what does that mean? What is an unspecified? I guess means we don't know?
APRIL HAMES: That means I don't know, but at this moment, this person is not psychotic as far as I can tell.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And when we say psychotic, what does that mean? What's the -- what's -- you're an expert, what's psychotic mean?
APRIL HAMES: Psychotic, as I would have evaluated in that moment, would have been any reason to believe that there were auditory, visual hallucinations, delusions that would -- or paranoias that couldn't be explained by reality. There was the paranoia of his wife's infidelity, but as much as I can believe, that was a valid paranoia.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And during your 14 times, you saw no -- while there may be anxiety and paranoia, not psychotic?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Then at some point, your diagnosis changed to depression, moderate depression?
APRIL HAMES: Yes.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And is it fair to say that the diagnosis of moderate depression could be referred to as situational because of going through a divorce?
APRIL HAMES: The diagnosis I gave was moderate depression recurrent, so it was -- recurrent would mean that there was more than one episode of the depression. So I don't know that I would say that it was necessarily situational, but in the time I saw Mr. Jones, he was going through a situation that would lead to depression.
SHAWN GRAHAM: You don't know what he was before and you don't know what he was after?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Okay. But you would agree with me that going through a divorce -- the situation of going through a divorce is a very stressful and a very depressing time?
APRIL HAMES: Under the best of circumstances, it is, yes.
SHAWN GRAHAM: There was a question about the second time that you met with him and he asked you not to wear high heels. What was that about? Could you tell the jury about that encounter?
APRIL HAMES: I'm not sure that was the second time. I'm not sure where in the span that was. It is not written in my notes. So looking that far back, I can't remember. It's just that I stood up at the end of the session and I was wearing two-to-three-inch heels and towering over him when he stood up. And he said that moving forward, he would appreciate it if I didn't wear heels to his sessions.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Did you ask him why?
APRIL HAMES: I didn't.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Did you wear flats after that?
APRIL HAMES: I did not. That would have required me knowing what day and paying attention to the schedule beforehand, even know when he was going to be there. I don't think that is a request that I would -- as a professional that I would have adhered to.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Did he ever make any comments about -- you wear makeup, don't you?
APRIL HAMES: I do.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Did he ever make any comments about you wearing makeup was inappropriate?
APRIL HAMES: Not that I recall, no. It seems like I would remember that.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Did he ever make any comments about the way you wore your hair being inappropriate?
APRIL HAMES: He did not.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Did he ever make any comments to you about the way you dressed being inappropriate?
APRIL HAMES: He did not.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Did he ever make any comments to you about your interaction with him being inappropriate in any way?
APRIL HAMES: He did not.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And I think what he told you -- and again, you don't have anything but what he told you, correct?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: He told you that Amber had no job, right?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Amber had no car?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Did he tell you that Amber didn't even have a high school diploma?
APRIL HAMES: It seems like I recall that. I know he told me that she did not have a driver's license.
SHAWN GRAHAM: He talks about the monster several times, is that correct?
APRIL HAMES: Yes.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And my understanding is that from your conversations with him, your understanding and his understanding of what that monster was had to do with an attachment style that he was externalizing fear, abandonment and jealousy, is that correct?
APRIL HAMES: Fear of abandonment and some jealousy, yes.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And you said it was -- it even went from a conversation at the counseling session all the way to theoretical and where that comes from and what it actually means, correct?
APRIL HAMES: Yes.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And he understood that?
APRIL HAMES: It was implied that he did. He was able to have conversations with me about it.
SHAWN GRAHAM: On a level of an expert and your training, he understood what you were telling him theoretically about --
APRIL HAMES: It appeared so, yes.
SHAWN GRAHAM: -- where those issues come from in life?
APRIL HAMES: He did.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And I think you said we all have inner voices. I think I heard you testify to that, is that correct?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Tim Jones never told you that the monster inside of him was voices telling what to do or talking to him, did he?
APRIL HAMES: He did not.
SHAWN GRAHAM: He was telling you about thoughts that he had, correct?
APRIL HAMES: That's how it was represented to me, yes.
SHAWN GRAHAM: The monster was from fear of abandonment from his childhood issues with his mommy? It was that child inside of him that still had those issues that was carrying over into his adult life, that was the monster, correct?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And he understood that?
APRIL HAMES: He stated that he did.
SHAWN GRAHAM: In some of the counseling notes that Mr. Young went through, let me revisit a few of them. August -- no, June 28th of 2012, do you see that one?
APRIL HAMES: I do.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And he told you that Amber drove seven hours to Mississippi to get the kids, correct?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So he represented to you that Amber drove all the way to Mississippi to try to get the kids?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: The kids were not in South Carolina, the kids were in Mississippi with his grandparents -- or with their grandparents, isn't that correct?
APRIL HAMES: Right.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And that Tim's dad showed her the door?
APRIL HAMES: Right.
SHAWN GRAHAM: He was proud about that, wasn't he?
APRIL HAMES: He was.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Because he didn't want Amber to have the children, did he?
APRIL HAMES: He did not feel like that was a safe situation for them.
SHAWN GRAHAM: He told you that he didn't think it was a safe situation. My question was he wanted -- he did not want her to have the children, isn't that true?
APRIL HAMES: That is true.
SHAWN GRAHAM: August 21st of 2012, Dr. Hames, if you'd turn to your notes. Are you there now, ma'am?
APRIL HAMES: You said August 21st?
SHAWN GRAHAM: 21st, yes, ma'am.
APRIL HAMES: Okay.
SHAWN GRAHAM: He says that he is going to try to retract Amber's right as a parent, isn't that correct?
APRIL HAMES: He did say that.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Did he tell you that was a goal of his?
APRIL HAMES: He said he wanted to space out, I think, the final hearing for the divorce and the custody so that he could revoke her parental rights since they hadn't had her contact them at all.
SHAWN GRAHAM: I'm sorry, the last part again, Doctor?
APRIL HAMES: He said he was trying to space -- space it out, the final hearing for six months so that he could revoke her parental rights since they hadn't had her contact them.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And she hadn't -- your understanding was that she had not contacted them because he had taken the children to Mississippi and when she tried to go see them, she was turned away? Is that your understanding?
APRIL HAMES: That is.
SHAWN GRAHAM: September 18th of 2012, he told you that sometimes he has a short fuse, correct?
APRIL HAMES: He did.
SHAWN GRAHAM: He has anger issues?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: January 15th of 2013, he tells you the monster is gone, correct?
APRIL HAMES: He did.
SHAWN GRAHAM: After that time, did he ever tell you that the monster came back? Because that wasn't the last session.
APRIL HAMES: It was not the last session and I do not recall. I didn't write in my notes that he said the monster came back and I don't have a recollection of him saying that either.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Now, Doctor, you, because of your degree and your licensing, can diagnosis people, correct?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Let me go through the key features of schizophrenia with you, all right? Delusions, would you explain to the jury what a delusion is?
BOYD YOUNG: Your Honor, I'm going to object. It's beyond the scope and she hasn't been qualified.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Your Honor, this is cross-examination. If he wants me to qualify her as an expert, I'll be glad to.
THE COURT: You may qualify her as an expert, if you like.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Dr. Hames, would you please state your training, background and education and experience?
APRIL HAMES: Sure. I have my undergraduate from the University of South Carolina Honors College. It is in -- it's a Bachelor of Arts. I have a Masters of Science from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. It is in music therapy. I had to take the prerequisites for the Doctorate in Marriage and Family Therapy in my -- to qualify for the doctoral program, so I also took all of the prerequisites, which meant I took the classes for a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy. I have my Doctorate in Medical and Marriage and Family Therapy, a speciality in child development and family relations. And my specific specialty is how medical issues impact individuals, couples and families and systems. My dissertation was on the bio-psychosocial spiritual implications of management of disease in ethnic minority women. That is the majority of my education. I'm licensed as a marriage and family therapist in the State of South Carolina. I have served on professional boards with the North American Society of Adlerian Psychology. I have studied adlerian psychology overseas in the Netherlands for a summer. And that would be my major theoretical orientation. I taught at East Carolina University in the department of family medicine in the research division. It was a split position where I was faculty as a clinician and also as a professor, both a research professor and a professor that taught bedside manner to early medical students, interviewing. We used standardized patients. And we did co-located care where we would -- I had clinic hours there, but also I would work in the clinic with the medical students while they were learning to be doctors. If something came up that was a psychosocial spiritual issue, I would come in and be part of the treatment team for a family medical home.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Are you familiar with the DSM-5?
APRIL HAMES: I am.
SHAWN GRAHAM: As part of your training, education and experience, are you licensed and able to make clinical diagnoses?
APRIL HAMES: I am.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Your Honor, the State would offer her as an expert in marriage and family therapy as a licensed marriage and family therapist with the ability to diagnose.
THE COURT: Any voir dire?
BOYD YOUNG: No voir dire, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. Dr. Hames is now qualified as an expert in the field of marriage and family counseling with the ability to make opinions in that field of expertise because of her training, education and experience.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Thank you, Your Honor.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Dr. Hames, your diagnosis was a nonpsychotic disorder and then moderate depression --
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: -- correct? The key -- you agree with me that one of the key components of schizophrenia is delusion, correct?
APRIL HAMES: Correct. It is my understanding that it is not always present. It's not a disqualifier.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Would you explain to the jury in general terms what a delusion is?
APRIL HAMES: A delusion is a belief in something that is not based in reality.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So if I said it was a fixed, long-term, false belief, is that a definition of a delusion?
APRIL HAMES: Sure.
SHAWN GRAHAM: During the time that you -- the 14 plus hours that you spent with Tim Jones, did he ever present any delusions to you in anything he said?
APRIL HAMES: From when I was caring for him from May the 3rd of 2012, to March the 28th of 2013, he did not.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So he never told you about it and you never saw anything to indicate it, correct?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Because if you did, you would have referred him out to somebody to deal with that?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: In addition to delusions, another possible key feature is hallucinations, correct?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And that could be -- a hallucination could be any of the five senses, I think?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So would you tell the jury what hallucinations are?
APRIL HAMES: Hallucination would be hearing, seeing, smelling, feeling, sensing something that is not there, is not real. It's very real to the person that is experiencing that, but it wouldn't be real to the rest of us.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Tim Jones never told you that he was having hallucinations?
APRIL HAMES: He did not.
SHAWN GRAHAM: He never presented in any kind of discussion with you about having any type of hallucination, did he?
APRIL HAMES: He didn't.
SHAWN GRAHAM: If he would have, you would have referred him out for further treatment?
APRIL HAMES: I would have. That would not have been something I would have felt comfortable with treating on my own because of the medication needs.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And the 14 and a half -- I'm sorry, the 14 plus hours that you spent with him over those months, did you ever notice that he had disorganized thinking or disorganized speech?
APRIL HAMES: I did not notice any disorganized speech. I did notice disorganized thoughts, but those disorganized thoughts were very consistent with the situational issues that he was facing at the time. I think maybe I will give Amber another chance. No, I don't know. I'm not sure. Maybe it's best for the kids. The disorganization seemed to be appropriate to the time and place.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Did you notice any grossly disorganized or abnormal motor behavior?
APRIL HAMES: I did not.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Those are the key components of schizophrenia, isn't that correct?
APRIL HAMES: That is correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: There are also some negative symptoms, isn't that true?
APRIL HAMES: Yes. We just went over the positive symptoms.
SHAWN GRAHAM: The two negative symptoms particularly prominent in schizophrenia are diminished emotional expression -- what is diminished emotional expression?
APRIL HAMES: More of the flat expression, not the ability to emote. The way I would describe it -- or the way I do to couples or families or individuals is that it's kind of like bumper bowling. You have the bumpers on each side and you can have some fluctuation, but you're never going to go in the gutter over in the highs, you know, the more ups and you're not going to go into the gutter in the lows, just going to be bumper bowling.
SHAWN GRAHAM: You would agree with me that during your 14 plus hours of counseling session over all those months, he didn't have a flat affect, did he?
APRIL HAMES: He did not.
SHAWN GRAHAM: In fact, he had the highs and the lows, didn't he?
APRIL HAMES: He had highs and lows that seemed appropriate to time and place.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Appropriate to his marital problems and the infidelity and divorce?
APRIL HAMES: And caring for those kids, yes.
SHAWN GRAHAM: The other negative symptom besides diminished emotional expression, the flat affect, was also something called, and I'm going to pronounce it wrong, avolition, A-V-O-L-I-T-I-O-N. That's a -- my understanding is that's a decrease in motivated self-initiated purposeful activities. Is that correct?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Did he give you any indication about that?
APRIL HAMES: He didn't. In fact, I would say it was the opposite of that. He started -- you know, once the stimulus, the monster was gone, he started working out. He was doing P90X. One -- another Tim quote was he said he was going for a Vin Diesel. He was getting -- he was working out. He was starting to have some muscle definition. He was going out of town to see relatives and seemed active in church. I would not say there was a presence or an absence -- I would not say he was avolition.
SHAWN GRAHAM: You prepared an affidavit for him, didn't you?
APRIL HAMES: I did.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And tell the jury how that came about. Why did you prepare an affidavit for him?
APRIL HAMES: He came in after the session on June 21st, I think it was June 28th, and stated that he had contacted an attorney and he was going to try to get an emergency hearing to get custody of the children. And he asked if I would endorse him having the children.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So he told you that there was an emergency custody hearing and he asked you to do an affidavit in support of him gaining custody, correct?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So it's your understanding that Amber wanted custody because he needed something to support his claim?
APRIL HAMES: It seemed more that -- nothing he told me ever suggested that she did want custody in the legal sense of trying to get custody of the children. He had put together a plan and wanted to make sure he did all the things he needed to do to make sure he had the children.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So if there was something he wanted, he would make a detailed plan to get there?
APRIL HAMES: Yes.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Very smart?
APRIL HAMES: Like, going to school, having multiple jobs, a father.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Now, when you wrote this affidavit, like I said at the beginning, all you knew is what he had told you, correct?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So if he had had a criminal past, he didn't tell you about it, correct?
APRIL HAMES: He did not.
SHAWN GRAHAM: If he had used drugs in the past or were using them at the time, he didn't tell you that, did he?
APRIL HAMES: He did not.
SHAWN GRAHAM: So all you knew is what he told you?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Let me hand you Defendant's Exhibit 134 that's in evidence. Is that the affidavit that you wrote?
APRIL HAMES: It is.
SHAWN GRAHAM: If he would have told you that he was hearing voices and having delusions and any other type of major mental illness, would you have written this affidavit?
APRIL HAMES: I would not.
SHAWN GRAHAM: You didn't see sign of anything other than what you diagnosed with, which was, at the beginning, nonpsychotic and then, eventually, moderate depression?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Going to the second paragraph, go ahead and if you would read that second paragraph.
APRIL HAMES: Starting here?
SHAWN GRAHAM: Yes.
APRIL HAMES: I have an ongoing and professional relationship with Mr. Timothy Jones. He established care with me as his marriage and family therapist on May 3rd, 2012. At that time, Mr. Jones presented with concerns about his marital relationship and family wife -- life. His wife, Amber Jones, was aware of his visits with me and, according to Mr. Jones, he asked her to accompany him to work on issues of trust and parenting.
SHAWN GRAHAM: She never came, is that correct?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Whether he asked her or not, we don't know, we just know what he told you?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: If you would go to the next page.
APRIL HAMES: (Witness complies.)
SHAWN GRAHAM: If you would go to the part where it says "in my professional opinion" and read from there to the end.
APRIL HAMES: In my professional opinion, Mr. Jones is a highly intelligent, responsible father who is capable of caring for his children as the sole custodial parent. He is no stranger to responsibility as he worked his way through a very demanding and challenging undergraduate engineering program while being a father, husband and employee of often more than one job. His thoughts are very detailed, action oriented and focused on his children. This has been the pattern I have observed since the onset of our therapeutic relationship. When Mr. Jones sees an obstacle, he sets his sights on a solution and is willing to go through the often difficult process of achieving his goal of resolution.
SHAWN GRAHAM: And that's the Tim Jones you knew or you wouldn't have written the affidavit?
APRIL HAMES: Correct.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Thank you, Doctor.
THE COURT: Mr. Young.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. YOUNG:
BOYD YOUNG: Dr. Hames, you haven't reviewed the scans of Tim's brain injury in this case, have you?
APRIL HAMES: I haven't.
BOYD YOUNG: Is it possible that traumatic brain injuries cause changes in people's personality?
SHAWN GRAHAM: Objection, leading.
THE COURT: Sustained as to leading. Rephrase.
BOYD YOUNG: Is it? Your Honor, I didn't suggest the answer.
THE COURT: Ask it again. Let me hear it again.
BOYD YOUNG: Sure.
BOYD YOUNG: Is it possible that traumatic brain injuries cause personality changes in people?
THE COURT: That's fair. You can answer.
APRIL HAMES: It is possible, yes. I will tell you that I am not the medical doctor and I don't know that it's going to be in the scope of my practice to speak to anything about traumatic brain injuries.
BOYD YOUNG: Fair enough. Going back to your notes one more time. On February the 12th of 2013 -- and I'm looking at the third line down, did Tim talk about Amber?
APRIL HAMES: That she wanted to get back together.
BOYD YOUNG: What were they talking about?
APRIL HAMES: They talked about that there had to be a paternity test on the fifth child and they found out that the child was Tim's. Tim shared with me that --
SHAWN GRAHAM: I'm going to object. This is beyond the scope of my cross.
BOYD YOUNG: His cross was Tim was trying to keep the kids from Amber if he and Amber --
THE COURT: I think it's relevant. She can go. A He felt that she had been influenced by the mother of the person that she had the alleged affair with and that the parents of that gentleman had hoped to collect and have -- get money from him based on his career. That she had started taking pain pills and she had a lot of pain in her body. If I remember, it was from a lot of -- having a lot of children. And he said he realized he had not been a good husband to her, that he saw it in the past and that he yelled at her a lot. He went to visit her mom. He described the way the mom was living at the time. And he felt very conflicted. He wanted the children to live in a two-parent home. And he was trying to apply some logic to counterbalance his heart and the feelings of whether or not she could show him she was a new person and that -- you know, they kind of had a little bit of negotiation and she agreed to -- if they got back together that she would clean the house and do more work with the children. He shared with me that she had come clean about anything the kids had asked her about and that she wanted to be honest and loyal. And some accountability that he set up to make sure she did that was that he thought it would help her if she could be in constant contact with her cousins and her grandmother. He started letting them, the kids talk on the phone with her.
BOYD YOUNG: And was he talking on the phone with her?
APRIL HAMES: He -- based on what he was sharing about the discussions, I assumed so.
BOYD YOUNG: And what did he say about how he felt about her in his heart?
APRIL HAMES: He wanted to be with her.
BOYD YOUNG: You met with him one final time on the 28th, March the 28th of 2013?
APRIL HAMES: Yes, sir.
BOYD YOUNG: And what, if anything, did he tell you about them getting back together?
APRIL HAMES: She continued to say she wanted to get back together and he says he called her bluff. He told her to pack her bags and she backed out.
BOYD YOUNG: Dr. Hames, hypothetically, if someone has a relative who's been institutionalized with schizophrenia and they know that if they tell somebody that they're hearing voices and that they're delusional, then that can result in long-term institutionalization, is it possible --
SHAWN GRAHAM: Objection, Your Honor, inappropriate.
BOYD YOUNG: She's been declared an expert. Hypothetical's are absolutely appropriate.
THE COURT: In family and marriage counseling.
SHAWN GRAHAM: It's again beyond the scope.
BOYD YOUNG: He went through the DSM-5 about schizophrenia and what the possible symptoms are, Your Honor. He declared her an expert and he went through --
THE COURT: She made a very clear point that she was not a medical doctor and did not feel comfortable treating those type things, I thought.
BOYD YOUNG: I'm asking as a hypothetical that somebody mask symptoms of schizophrenia when they know what --
SHAWN GRAHAM: Your Honor, can we come to the side bar, please?
THE COURT: I think so. (Whereupon, a bench conference was held in the presence of the jury but out of the hearing of the jury.)
THE COURT: Go ahead.
BY MR. YOUNG:
BOYD YOUNG: Dr. Hames, hypothetically, is it possible for somebody to mask the signs of schizophrenia?
APRIL HAMES: I think it would depend on the severity of the symptoms, the delusions, the hallucinations, but yes, to a certain extent, you can mask them.
BOYD YOUNG: Thank you, Dr. Hames.
RECROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. GRAHAM:
SHAWN GRAHAM: And, Doctor, you would agree with me that people can fake symptoms of schizophrenia, too, wouldn't you?
APRIL HAMES: Yes.
SHAWN GRAHAM: Thank you.
THE COURT: All right. Travel safe. You need a break? You want a break? No? All right, call your witness.