Vanderbilt rape trial expected to reach third week
Seventeen of 32 witnesses on the prosecution's list have yet to testify in the trial of two former Vanderbilt University football players accused of raping an unconscious woman in June 2013.
The trial, which was originally expected to last about 10 days, will go into a third week.
Brandon Vandenburg, 21, and Cory Batey, 20, are each accused of five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery.
Here are key points from testimony Wednesday morning, the eighth day of trial:
-- Lauren Miller, the former roommate of the alleged victim, said she woke up the morning after the alleged crime and found her roommate's black high heel on the lawn outside their condo. She said the next time she saw her roommate, the woman had a gash in her knee and bruises on her legs and buttocks. She said she heard a voicemail -- played on speakerphone -- that Vandenburg left for the alleged victim after the incident.
"I heard him talking to (the woman) and saying he had just gotten out of football meeting, and he was being accused of some very horrible things that he did not do," Miller said. "And he was telling (the woman) to not believe anything she heard." The victim does not remember what happened the night of the alleged assault.
-- Michael Retta, a Vanderbilt tennis player, and Dillon Van Der Wal, a Vanderbilt football player, testified that they saw the woman lying on the floor outside Vandenburg's room after the alleged assault. They gave conflicting information about whether Vandenburg helped move the woman into his bed. Neither man reported the incident to officials.
Two men who apparently had conversations with Vandenburg about the alleged incident are expected to testify Wednesday afternoon. Those men, Joseph D. Quinzio and Miles J. Finley, were charged with tampering with evidence in the case. Prosecutors said plea agreements are in the works that could give the men probation terms.
Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 or on Twitter @sbarchenger.