Dominatrix Accidentally Kills Man...Chops Up Body

[bloodrayne]

Dominatrix Defense Disputes Theory

Dedham, Massachusetts — A prosecutor said yesterday that a dominatrix waited too long to call for help as a client died of a heart attack during a bondage session, then dismembered and disposed of the body rather than report the death.

But the woman’s lawyer said in her opening statement that the man never visited Barbara Asher’s makeshift dungeon and that police made up the story and bullied Asher into confessing.

“No body, no blood, no DNA evidence,” defense attorney Stephanie Page said. “Barbara Asher is here because of a theory.”

Asher, who went by the name Mistress Lauren M, has pleaded innocent to charges of manslaughter and dismemberment in the death of Michael Lord. The retired telephone company worker from North Hampton, N.H., died in July 2000 while strapped to a rack in Asher’s Quincy condominium, according to police.

Prosecutor Robert Nelson said Asher was getting into her dominatrix outfit when she heard a commotion coming from the “dungeon” where Lord was waiting, naked, tied by his wrists to the rack, a replica of a medieval torture device.

She entered the room to find Lord in his death throes, Nelson said.

“His arms are flailing about,” Nelson said. “There was a gasp, and his head went forward.”

Asher waited five minutes before calling her boyfriend to come help, the prosecutor said. Miguel Ferrer, who is charged as an accomplice, arrived 10 minutes later.

“During that time, Mr. Lord continued to hang there, and she did nothing,” Nelson said.

Asher and Ferrer took Lord down from the rack and tied to revive him, but by then it was too late, Nelson said. Ferrer suggested they call for help, but Asher refused because she was worried the police would find out about her operation, according to the prosecutor. So they put the body in the bathtub and left for the night, he said.

The next day, Nelson said, Ferrer dismembered the body of the 280-pound Lord with a hacksaw and they divided his remains into eight trash bags. The day after that, they drove to Augusta, Maine, where they dumped the remains behind a restaurant, the prosecutor said. His remains have never been found.

A month later, Asher confessed to police following a two-hour interrogation, and that confession forms the basis for much of the state’s case. But the interview was not taped, Page said, and the investigators bullied her into saying things that conformed to their theory of what happened.

“Michael Lord was never at Barbara Asher’s place in July 2000,” the defense lawyer said, “and certainly she didn’t decide to chop up a body in a bathtub.”

Forensic testing of the tub and Asher’s car turned up none of Lord’s DNA, Page said, nor did they reveal the presence of bleach or any other cleaning agent.

She said investigators failed to follow through on possible leads in the case, including that Lord had a 20-year affair with a married woman.

“That woman’s husband had threatened to kill Michael Lord,” Page said.

She asked the judge earlier yesterday to dismiss the charges, saying the state hasn’t established that a crime was committed. Judge Charles M. Grabau denied the request.

In addition to the criminal charges, Asher faces a $1 million wrongful death suit filed by Lord’s family.

Lord’s son, Nathan, was the first prosecution witness. He said he only learned of his father’s penchant for sado-masochism weeks after his disappearance, when he and his brother visited Lord’s trailer in North Hampton with police to search for clues. They found leather bondage devices and contact numbers and e-mails for escorts and dominatrixes.

[mothermold]

what a tangled web we weave.:rolleyes:

[Taom]

Body of victim was never found; alleged confession was not taped

DEDHAM, Mass. - A dominatrix was acquitted of manslaughter charges Monday in the death of a man who allegedly suffered a fatal heart attack while strapped to a replica of a medieval torture device.

The jury in Norfolk Superior Court deliberated for eight hours over two days before finding Barbara Asher, 56, not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and dismemberment.

During his closing argument, prosecutor Robert Nelson re-enacted the bondage session that allegedly killed Michael Lord, of North Hampton, N.H., in July 2000.

Donning a leather mask and speaking to the jury through the zippered mouth, he said Asher did nothing to help Lord as he flailed about and died while strapped to the rack in a makeshift "dungeon" in Asher's Quincy condominium.

"She did nothing, nothing for five minutes," Nelson said, his voice muffled through the mask.

Then she summoned her boyfriend, who chopped up the body of the 275-pound retired telephone company worker before they dumped it behind a restaurant in Augusta, Maine, Nelson said. His remains have never been found.

Prosecutors said Asher confessed to police, but the alleged confession was not taped, and police investigators who testified said they did not save their notes from Asher's interrogation.

Asher's lawyer, Stephanie Page, said there was also no DNA evidence recovered from the bathtub, and without a body there was no real evidence that Lord was even dead.

"No body. No blood. No DNA. No evidence," Page said in her closing argument.

Several police investigators testified about Asher's alleged confession, saying she repeatedly denied any involvement in Lord's death, then asked the officers to turn off the tape recorder and confessed.

Detective Mark Sambataro of Salem, N.H., denied Page's claim that the investigators developed a theory about the case, then bullied Asher into admitting to a crime she didn't commit.

Prosecution theatrics
But it was Nelson's theatrical closing that provided the most dramatic moments of the trial.

The prosecutor pointed and hollered at Asher. He dumped a box full of hoods, collars and paddles onto a table, and proclaimed that Asher was trying to protect her business.

"That's why she didn't call the police," he said.

With both hands, he reached back and clutched the top of a blackboard to simulate Lord being strapped to the rack.

He paused as his head hung forward as if to simulate Lord's alleged death.

Page objected, and Norfolk Superior Court Judge Charles Grabau agreed.

"That's enough, Mr. Nelson," the judge said. "Thank you for your demonstration."

[bloodrayne]

Thanks Taom for the follow-up:)

[mothermold]

Originally posted by Taom
Donning a leather mask and speaking to the jury through the zippered mouth

.....perry mason 2006.next fall on NBC's must watch Mondays!

[Taom]

Thought it was a rather interesting bit of news. Wtf is wrong with that lawyer??

[mothermold]

Originally posted by Taom
Thought it was a rather interesting bit of news. Wtf is wrong with that lawyer??

he had a grudge.the defendent probably told him she was'nt accepting new clients before all of that happened and he felt slighted.