Priscilla Van Acker Case

Abstract

The state charges Priscilla Van Acker with the crime of first degree murder. The defendant is indeed guilty of premeditated murder, a crime that led to the demise of Lois Romney. The state has already established motive and prove that Mrs. Acker loathed the deceased to the point of murder. The deceased was involved in a romantic relationship with Dale Van Acker, the defendant's son. Mrs. Acker vehemently opposed this relationship and declared Ms. Romney a gold digger who would only cause the ruin of her precious son. This is no idle claim and key witnesses will testify on the defendant's loath for the deceased. Mrs. Acker used bribery and coercion to persuade Ms. Romney to leave her son. Clearly a mother's love has no bounds and she made good her threats when Ms. Romney failed to relent. Ample forensic evidence links Mrs. Acker to the crime scene and act. The state will prove beyond a shadow of reasonable doubt that the defendant is indeed guilty of the charge leveled against her.

List of Charges

Two charges will be leveled on Priscilla Van Acker

1. First degree murder

The state can sustain a charge of first degree murder.  Sufficient forensic evidence as well as key witness testimonies point towards Mrs. Van Acker as Ms. Romney's murderer.

2. Falsifying evidence

Mrs. Van Acker is also a psychopath as she committed the heinous act of murder and framed her son Dale for the crime. She wittingly tampered with criminal evidence and managed to implicate her son in order to evade incarceration.

List of Witnesses

Dale Van Packer

Dale's testimony will mainly highlight Mrs. Van Acker's opposition to his relationship with Lois Romney. He will also reveal the defendant's vindictive and manipulative character. His mother is a wealthy socialite who always has her way other peoples' needs notwithstanding. She does not handle disappointment well and she will stop at nothing to achieve her means.  Dale will also reveal the depths at which Mrs. Van Acker went to break up their relationship.

Most crucial is Dale's confession as it ties his mother to Lois's murder. In the course of police interrogation, Dale finally came to terms with his mother's treacherous nature. The police revealed Mrs. Van Parker's motive to buy off Lois so that she could leave Dale. She went behind her son's back and offered his fiancée a handsome package of $100, 000.  Dale was completely unaware and for the first time he realized that his mother was indeed the sought murderer. All along he had ignored and even misunderstood her threats. Dale began to recollect events preceding Lois's murder.

Lois and Dale had secretly become engaged much to the chagrin of Mrs. Van Packer. Mrs. Van Packer masked her true feelings and pretended to be supportive. She pledged to take care of the couple. However there was one instance in which she promised Dale that she would take care of the situation. On the day Lois was murdered, Dale was completely confused and he called his mother.  His mother plainly asserted that she had taken care of the situation as she had previously promised. This statement directly implied that she had Lois murdered.

In an effort to embrace responsibility Lois and Dale had vowed to clean up and quit using drugs. This piece of information contradicts forensic reports that portray Lois's case as a grizzly drug overdose. The autopsy revealed a lithium overdose and minimal traces of cocaine. This clearly shows foreplay since Lois was taking her pregnancy seriously.

Roger

Roger is Mrs. Van Parker's husband and Dale's step father.  He is a retired military officer with little money and he lives off his wealthy wife.  As a result Mrs. Van Parker exercises much power over him. The couple posed a major threat to his financial security. Mrs. Van Parker had inherited her fortune from her husband.  A clause in Mr. Van Parker's will cut off Roger as a beneficiary to the Van Parker fortune if Dale bore a heir. All the wealth would pass directly to Dale and his family. Mrs. Van Parker played this card and she succeeded to manipulate her husband. They schemed to eliminate Lois in order to secure Roger's future. Roger felt vulnerable as he was likely to outlive Mrs. Van Parker and he would be financially ruined if all the wealth passed to Dale.

Mrs. Van Parker used Roger to bribe Lois and a $100, 000 cheque was drawn by Lois and handed to Lois. This was a large some of money and Roger got this money from Mrs. Van Packer.  Though partner's in crime, Mrs. Van Packer implicated Roger as the murderer. Apparently she was acting on her vindictive nature because she resented her husband's infidelity.  Roger detested his wife's treachery and is willing to testify against her.

Detective Alexandra Eames

Detective Alexandra has played a key role in the murder investigation and she is expected to provide expert testimony on the crime. Alongside her fellow officers, she linked the Luis's murder to the Van Packer family. Evidence initially implicated Dale as the murderer. However this was disapproved when Mrs. Van Packer decided to implicate Roger and absolve her son.

She managed to interrogate Mrs. Van Packer and Dale in Lois's former room. Several investigation findings were presented to Dale. Dale was stunned and could not handle the overwhelming evidence linking his mother to the murder. In the process he provided more evidence showing his mother's intention to murder Lois. The detective will back up Dale's testimony. Mrs. Van Packer had vowed to take care of the situation. Sadly this meant the tragic demise of Lois.

Discussion

Testimonies from key witnesses form the main evidence. Their accounts link Mrs. Van Packer to the crime scene as they clearly establish motive. The defendant hated Lois, a fact that she did not hide from the investigating detectives. In an attempt to exercise tough love she cut off her son's financial support. She would only reinstate it if Dale agreed to dump Lois. Dale was a recovering drug addict who had spent the better part of his life in and out of rehabilitation. Lois was of worse caliber and at her age of 36 years, she had already served a prison sentence.

She was a call girl and like Lois she was also a drug addict. Mrs. Van Packer wanted the best for her son and she clearly opposed the relationship.  The breaking point occurred when the couple declared their engagement and intention to start a family. The pregnancy greatly displeased her as she did not want Lois as the mother to her grandchild. This claim can be verified by Roger as he became her partner in crime. The defendant was the main mastermind behind Lois's murder.

Mrs. Van Packer is a conniving woman as she managed to frame her son for a crime she had committed. Later in an attempt to get even with her husband she implicated him and murder charges were leveled against him.  She was a determined woman and was willing to spend her fortune in breaking her son's relationship with Lois. This did not yield the expected results as Lois had decided to spend the rest of her life with Dale. This did not augur well with Mrs. Van Packer. All her efforts had failed and she decided to finish her off completely.  Roger's testimony will further validate this claim as he was her partner in crime.

Conclusion

Ample reliable evidence proves that Mrs. Van Parker is guilty of first degree murder and evidence falsification. She led the detectives to believe that her son was guilty of murder. In addition she is calculating and succeeds to manipulate people for her own good.  It is dangerous to have such a person coexisting with others in the society. Justice will be served when a verdict of guilty is passed. Crime should not go unpunished and Mrs. Van Parker needs to serve all the sentences as stipulated by the law.