State of Midlands v. Ashley Thornhill

Synopsis
On the evening of March 15th, 2001, Wendell Tucker, partner at Tucker, Roberts, and Payne, was found dead in his office at the advertising firm—the victim of a gunshot wound to the head. An investigation lead to a grand jury indictment of Ashley Thornhill for murder and the lesser included offenses of manslaughter and negligent homicide. Thornhill, an associate at Tucker, Roberts, and Payne, denies any involvement in the killing.

Details
This case is described as being a criminal case under the charge of Murder, Manslaughter, and/or Negligent Homicide. It centers around events taking place in the Miller Tower located in Hardinsburg, Midlands on March 15, 2001.

Wendell Tucker was the founder and managing partner of the advertising firm, Tucker, Roberts, and Payne. Tucker was known as a ferocious negotiator in his field, he was cold, ruthless, and had an uncanny ability to get the results he wanted, no matter how it may have negatively impacted others. This led to him making alot of enemies throughout his career, with some even threatening him over the phone at times. Along with his ruthless reputation, he was also known for his marital difficulties, as he had gone through three ex-wives before his eventual death. His latest ex-wife, Barbara Lou-Adams, had signed a prenuptial agreement with Tucker, in which a majority of the assets acquired through the marriage would go to Wendell Tucker in the case of divorce. However, in the case of death, the prenup was much more favorable to the surviving spouse, enabling them to inherit most of the other's assets.

Ashley Thornhill was an associate at Tucker, Roberts, and Payne. Like Tucker, Thornhill was also known for being incredibly ruthless in the goal of advancing Thornhill's career path. Thornhill was known for being anti-social, and focusing almost entirely on work. Thornhill didn't seem to get along to well with the other employees at the firm. Some witnesses also noted that Thornhill had a temper when things did not go Thornhill's way. Although other witnesses contradict that point with their own anecdotal evidence.

Thornhill had been working at the firm for the past 12 years, and in that time had opened the most accounts, and done the most work out of any of the other associates. After working for 7 years, an associate is eligible to make partner at the firm, but the decision as to who would make partner is ultimately up to Wendell Tucker. Tucker had passed over Thornhill on several occasions when it was time to decide who made partner. And on March 15, 2001, Tucker once again decided not to make Thornhill partner, citing mostly behavioral and social concerns as the defining reason. After receiving the memo that night, Thornhill admits to entering Tucker's office and arguing with him over having once again been denied partner. Thornhill does not deny that being skipped for partner repeatedly infuriates Thornhill, but claims that Thornhill would never do something physical or violent against Tucker, despite disagreements between the two.

The office of Tucker, Roberts, and Payne is located on the 30th floor of the Miller Tower. The tower itself holds more than just the firm, but other companies as well. Because of the multiple renters in the tower, the building utilizes a security system, known as the Secure-a-card system. The system locks the two entrances to the building automatically at 6:30 PM every day, requiring a keycard to access the building itself. Every employee who works in the building has a keycard of their own. Along with the front door, you also need a keycard to access the elevator. When someone uses their keycard on the elevator, they're given access to whatever floors they have been granted permission for. For example, only employees at Tucker, Roberts, and Payne would be able to access the 30th floor where they work. Along with the personal keycards, there are also generic keycards that were kept at the security station at the ground floor. These generic cards give access to every floor in the building, and are used mainly for guests. A log is also kept detailing the times when certain keycards were used to enter the building, exit the building, or use the elevator. Every individual has their own keycard, meaning that individuals can be identified whenever they use their personal keycard.

On March 15, 2001. Thornhill was seen leaving the building after arguing with Tucker. At 8:30 the security log reports Ashley Thornhill leaving the building with Thornhill's keycard. A minute later at 8:31, the log reports someone using Generic keycard number 0003 to enter the exact same entrance Thornhill left through. This card is normally kept in the security station in the lobby, but the security guard Brook Sills reportedly keeps the drawer where the cards are kept unlocked. Card 0003 would later be found missing from this drawer, meaning someone stole it. Card 0003 is then used at the elevator to go up to the 30th floor, where only Wendell Tucker was present.

That night, a Janitor named Sam Lyons was cleaning all the floors in the Miller Tower. After taking a smoke break, Lyons took the elevator up to the 30th floor, and arrived at 8:45. The moment the elevator doors opened on the 30th floor, Lyons heard a gunshot. Lyons panicked and immediately rode the elevator down to the first floor, without getting a chance to see who was even on the 30th floor. After telling security guard Brook Sills, the police were called and Detective Terry Gerch arrived at the scene. The Detective took a generic card from the security station and rode the elevator up to the 30th floor.

On the 30th floor, the body on Wendell Tucker was discovered, along with a bullet hole on the wall behind the body. The shooter was never spotted or found, as they managed to escape the building without a trace after Detective Gerch demanded the security system be disabled. An autopsy of the victim revealed that he died from a single gunshot wound to the head. The murder weapon was determined to be a Walther PPK pistol, which was a rare type of firearm. Detective Gerch interviewed Sam Lyons and Brook Sills, along with reviewing the security logs. Gerch obtained a search warrant to search Ashley Thornhill's residence, and eventually found the generic keycard 0003 that was used to enter the building at the time of Tucker's death in a drawer with Thornhill's fingerprint on it. Along with this evidence, Detective Gerch also learned that Thornhill had once owned a Walther PPK. This evidence led Detective Gerch to arrest Ashley Thornhill for the murder of Wendell Tucker.

The Prosecution alleges that Ashley Thornhill murdered Wendell Tucker after being denied partnership. They claim that Thornhill stole Generic Card 0003 from the security station, and used it to mask Thornhill's identity when entering the building and riding the elevator. Once on the 30th floor, Thornhill shot the victim with a Walther PPK that Thornhill owned and escaped.

The defense can present evidence of a psychiatric evaluation Thornhill undertook from Dr. Dana Chambliss, who found that Thornhill did not match the psychiatric profile of Tucker's killer who most likely committed the crime in passion. Thornhill admitted to Dr. Chambliss, "If I was going to kill Tucker, I would have done it somewhere else, like on the golf course, so the police would have to look into all the people he cheated over the years." The defense also claims that Thornhill's Walther PPK was stolen along with Thornhill's car several months ago, they can present the police report Thornhill filed as proof of that fact. Along with that evidence the defense also claims that Thornhill had an alibi during the time Tucker was shot, as Thornhill was at the bar Shenanigans with Thornhill's best friend Drew Mercer, Drew can testify to this fact if called as a witness. Finally the defense can argue an alternate suspect for the crime, including Tucker's ex-wife Barbara Lou-Adams, who had a motive to gain Tucker's assets through their prenup, or one of Tucker's many business rivals he screwed over the years.

Prosecution

 * N/A

Defense

 * Ashley Thornhill

Swing

 * Dana Chambliss
 * Terry Gerch
 * Sam Lyons
 * Drew Mercer
 * Daily Monarch
 * Blair Reynolds Payne
 * Taylor Pierce
 * Brook Sills
 * Carroll Ainsworth Wilson

Other Persons of Interest

 * Wendell Tucker
 * Barbara Lou-Adams

Other Case References

 * Witness Drew Mercer references the events of Daniel v. Chuggie's Sports Bar. Specifically Drew notes how Ashley Thornhill bought the bar Chuggie's after they had to pay damages as a result of the Daniel lawsuit. Thornhill then renamed Chuggie's to Shenanigans, which Thornhill owns at the time of this case.
 * This case is referenced in Jeffries v. PCPD when expert witness Dana Haskins notes that their spouse works at Tucker, Roberts, and Payne, Haskins also notes the Thornhill incident that happened there.
 * Another reference is in Walton v. BNN when witness and internet blogger Gorgie Larson notes that Tucker, Roberts, and Payne was a common advertiser on their online blog.
 * Also in Walton v. BNN, expert witness Riley Faith has a publication titled "Thorny Issues: How the Media Mishandled the Ashley Thornhill Trial" on their CV.
 * In State v. Bowman, the amusement park RachterWorld has a ride titled "Thornhill Tower" which is supposedly supposed to make you feel like you're about to crash in an elevator, this is a reference to Sam Lyons hearing the shooting in an elevator and immediately riding it back down to the lobby.
 * Taylor v. Trifecta Entertainment references a play titled "Thornhill Revisited" in which the audience has to decide who the killer is, changing the final musical number in the play.
 * In Winter v. TBD, TBD's 50th Anniversary Party was going to be held in Miller Tower, the same tower where the events of this case took place.
 * Corbin Dallas in State v. Ryder works at Tucker, Roberts and Payne. Dallas even mentions Sam Lyons who is still working as the head janitor.

Trivia

 * This is the first criminal case listed in the online AMTA records.
 * MTS v. Kosack also has a witness named Ashley Thornhill. This Ashley Thornhill is different from the Thornhill in that case, although this case is referenced in line 166 of Thornhill's affidavit in Kosack. Where that Thornhill references an uncle with the name Ash who reportedly works at an advertising agency, like the firm Thornhill worked at in this case. This suggests that the two Ashley Thornhill's may in fact be related to each other.
 * The physical secure a card that was found at Thornhill's home is an exhibit for this case. However it isn't included in the case packet itself. For a team to use this exhibit they had to purchase it from AMTA for $5 per card. Only AMTA manufactured cards were allowed to be used at trial.