Chapter 16 - The Arraignment Hearing on Boxing Day
The courtroom at the Middlesex County courthouse was packed to capacity when the preliminary trial hearings commenced in January.
My parents walked in wearing standard orange inmate scrubs, looking hollowed out, frail, and stripped of their arrogant armor.
When my father caught my eye across the gallery, he looked away in sudden shame, unable to meet my steady gaze.
My mother kept her chin held high, though her trembling hands betrayed the terrifying reality of her impending prison sentence.
The judge reviewed the medical affidavits, police body-cam footage, and my parents' recorded phone admissions without expression.
“The actions displayed by the defendants represent a catastrophic failure of basic human morality and legal duty,” the judge stated.
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“Bail is formally revoked, and all assets are placed into court-mandated receivership pending trial outcomes.”
A collective murmur rippled through the courtroom gallery as my parents were led away in handcuffs once again.
