At murder trial, Chesco lawyer asked why he never took father on outings
Back on the witness stand for the second day of his murder trial, Chester County lawyer Edward J. O'Brien III was asked by the prosecutor why, if he cared about his father, he never took him to the Boy Scouts or American Legion events that the elderly man had loved.
/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-pmn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/563IIQNGKJAMJKRVEB6TWHD2LM.jpg)
Back on the witness stand for the second day of his murder trial, Chester County lawyer Edward J. O'Brien III was asked by the prosecutor why, if he cared about his father, he never took him to the Boy Scouts or American Legion events that the elderly man had loved.
The defendant replied tersely that his increasingly bedridden father had expressed no interest in such activities, including doctor visits.
O'Brien, 61, of West Whiteland Township, is accused of withholding necessary medical care in the 2013 death of 92-year-old Edward J. O'Brien Jr.
This is the second time around for the third-degree murder case. In February, a County Court judge declared a mistrial after jurors said they could not reach a unanimous verdict.
For much of Tuesday's session, O'Brien faced lead prosecutor Ronald Yen, who sought to depict his behavior toward his ailing father as negligent and selfish.
By contrast, defense attorney Joseph Patrick Green Jr. had used his examination Monday and Tuesday morning to portray his client as a loving son who tried to help a father who resisted medical treatment. O'Brien, Green pointed out, took time off from work to care him as his health declined.
Yen challenged the defense's characterization of the senior O'Brien as refusing medical care. He cited a 2008 hospital report that showed the elder O'Brien receiving "a fair amount of medical care" and behaving in a cooperative fashion. He also noted that the son failed to renew prescription medication for his father after it had run out.
Yen advanced an alternative explanation: O'Brien wanted the $20,000 to $30,000 that had accumulated in his father's bank account. Rather than treating his father and keeping him happy, Yen argued, O'Brien sought to increase his inheritance.
"Instead of [the money] being spent on him, you positioned so that you got" it, Yen said.
The trial is to resume Wednesday at the Chester County Justice Center, when lawyers hope to close.