Polk found guilty of 2nd-degree murder Youngest son's testimony

Oakland Tribune, Jun 17, 2006 by Jason Dearen, STAFF WRITER

MARTINEZ -- While awaiting the verdict in her murder trial Friday morning, Susan Polk checked the courtroom clock restlessly, her hands shaking and eyes filled with tears.

Jurors filed into the courtroom at 11:29 a.m. As they sat in

their chairs for the last time, some took a long gaze at Polk. Others seemed reluctant to look in her direction. One juror wore sunglasses and stared out a courtroom window the entire time.

Her sons, Adam and Gabriel Polk, who both testified against their mother, sat quietly in the first row of the seating gallery.Even the vestibule leading to the filled-to-capacity courtroom was packed with spectators, some on tiptoes to get a glimpse of Polk's reaction as the verdict is read.

Court Clerk Nancy Chertkow read the first verdict sheet -- Polk not guilty of first-degree murder.

Prosecutor Paul Sequeira froze in his seat, afraid for a moment that he had lost.

Then the second verdict sheet -- Polk guilty of second-degree murder, with an enhancement that she used a deadly weapon during the commission of a crime.

Sequeira pushed back from his table as if a great pressure had been released. Polk stared ahead, her face ashen. Gabriel and Adam Polk glanced at her with little expression.

The verdict concluded a bizarre and hard-fought trial that pitted veteran prosecutor Sequeira against Polk, who represented herself.

The jury found Polk guilty of murdering her 70-year-old therapist husband, Frank "Felix" Polk, in October 2002. She claimed he attacked her, and that she stabbed him in self-defense. But the jury disagreed.

Sitting in front of a row of television cameras afterward, Sequeira -- who has been prosecuting cases for more than 20 years -- said this was the most difficult case he has ever had.

"Someone said something to me early on, that Susan is used to getting her way by wearing people down," he said. "I tried to keep my temper in check as much as I could."

The jury spent four days cloistered inside a deliberation room. Jury forewoman Lisa Cristwell said the testimony of Polk's youngest son, Gabriel Polk, and their belief that Susan Polk was not credible most influenced their decision.

Gabriel Polk found his father's bloody body a day after he had been killed, and called 9-1-1. He testified that when his father did not show up to take him to a San Francisco Giants baseball game, he became worried. He said his mother acted strangely and made comments like "Aren't you glad he's gone?" and "I guess I didn't use a shotgun, did I?"

"For me, for the murder decision, it was Gabe's testimony," said Kathy Sommese, Juror No. 10. "That 15-year-old boy saw what happened that night."

Another important factor was deciding whether to believe Susan Polk's claim that she stabbed her husband in self-defense. The jury spent more than a day on the subject, Cristwell said.

During his closing argument, Sequeira told the panel to act out Polk's version of the attack, where she is on the ground with Felix Polk atop her. He said the angle of the knife wound on Felix Polk's back made this scenario impossible, because Susan Polk could not have wrapped her arm around his body at the right angle.

"That night what she said happened, the D.A. said we should try it, to wrap our arm around. And we did try it, and it was impossible," Sommese said.

Once they ruled out self-defense, jurors said it took little time to get past the lesser offense of manslaughter to murder. But they said they could not find strong evidence that Polk planned the murder, which is why they agreed on a second-degree conviction.

Jurors also cited evidence that showed Susan Polk washed her clothes, cleaned off the murder weapon and tried to hide Felix Polk's death from her son as strong factors in their decision.

"The moving of Felix's car and (Susan's) suppression of evidence became a big thing for us," said Juror No. 1, Pat Roland. "And her statements to detectives that night."

Polk initially lied to detectives, saying she knew nothing about her husband's death. Not until more than a year later did she admit to stabbing him.

Juror No. 6, Marie Smith, said going through 16 weeks of trial has been stressful for everyone. When asked her thoughts about Polk, Smith chose her words carefully.

"I don't think I would have her as a personal friend," she said.

Still, the rest of the panel claimed that Polk's courtroom tirades, delays and argumentative demeanor did not factor into their decision.

"We didn't think Susan was credible. ... Her antics were not in question. We didn't have to like her," Cristwell said.

A few jurors also said they thought Polk should have worked with an attorney, rather than represent herself. But in the end, they said that did not factor into their verdict, either.

"She would have been better off with representation. ... An attorney would have known what to do and would have made better points," said Joe Kermode, Juror No. 4.

Valerie Harris, Polk's case manager who was at her side as the verdict was read, said Polk still thinks acting as her own attorney was the right thing to do.