Already found guilty of first-degree murder in the slaying of Lisa Memro, Russell Bradshaw finally took the stand in the penalty phase Monday -- just in time to illicit enough pity to spare his own pathetic life, feining memory loss while using God as a crutch.
Wearing those wire-rimmed eyeglasses with his hair tied back in a pony tail, and looking more like a bloated Ben Franklin than the wild-haired, bleary-eyed maniac who beat, strangled and slashed the throat of his victim, before draining her blood in the tub and then having sex with her corpse in his bed, Bradshaw spoke in a soft, mono-tone voice.
Here is a snippet of the cross examination with prosecutor Matt Foxman.
Foxman: "You murdered Lisa Memro."
Bradshaw: "No sir, I didn't."
Foxman: " 'cause you didn't remember right?"
Bradshaw: "I know in my heart that I wouldn't hurt Lisa just like I know in my heart there's a God.
(pause)
Bradshaw: "It was an extremely tragic event for me so I'm not really clear on what happened."
Foxman: "Conveniently for you, your memory is out during the murder and the confession. Other than that, you remember just fine. Right?"
Bradshaw: "Prior to the incident, yes, I can remember fine, but no, I have no solid recollection of what occurred in that time. There is no reason why I would have done this. I can't think of a reason why anyone would do this."
(pause)
Bradshaw: "I have bits and pieces, I have no solid or accurate memory of what happened."
And so the jury bought his story -- the same jury that heard the 911 recording of the call he placed outside the Edgewater Police Department the night of Sept. 25, 2006, when no one was there to open the front door as he calml told the 911 operator: I just killed someone."
She asked if it was an accident and Bradshaw answered: "No."
Cops then arrive at their own station and take him into custody. They make their macabre discory just as Bradshaw describes in advance: Bloody knife in the sink, bathtub partially filled with the victim's blood and her semi-nude body face down on his bed, the throat slashed from ear to ear.
End of story -- at least for 21-year-old Lisa Memro, dead now for almost two years.
Circuit Judge James R. Clayton pointed out so stoically in handing down the jury's recommended sentence to a cold-blooded killer: "They decided you should lose your liberty, but not your life."
What the jury forgot was Lisa Memro lost her liberty and her life.