Chapter 11 - Lena changes her story
Lena’s first statement was:
“I sprayed near him.”
Second:
“He moved into it.”
Third, through counsel:
“I intended to spray in front of him as an immature joke, not directly into his eyes.”
That was the strongest version available.
Body-camera footage made:
accidental
difficult.
Could Lena have intended only to startle?
Possible.
Could she have misjudged distance?
Possible.
Did she intend eye injury?
Probably not.
Prosecutors did not claim she wanted to damage Eli’s vision.
That would have been dishonest.
The conduct was simpler.
She was angry.
She wanted to punish or frighten him for complaining.
She used perfume because the smell was exactly the thing he disliked.
The fact that it entered his eyes and caused an abrasion was a foreseeable consequence of spraying liquid toward a child’s face.
Intent to blind?
No.
Intent to spray?
May you like
Yes.
That was serious enough.
