Chapter 12 - The Verdict
The trial of The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Richard Harrington lasted nine days.
It was the most covered trial in the state's history.
On the tenth day, the jury returned after only two hours of deliberation.
The courtroom was dead silent as Judge Hayes opened the sealed verdict form.
"On count one, Attempted First-Degree Murder, we find the defendant... Guilty."
A collective gasp echoed through the gallery.
"On count two, Aggravated Assault on an Unborn Child... Guilty."
"On count three, Corporate Fraud and Grand Larceny... Guilty."
Richard Harrington sat at the defense table, staring straight ahead as the verdicts were read one after another, sixteen counts in total, carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of forty-five years without the possibility of parole.
Vanessa Kensington, having entered a guilty plea to reduced charges of reckless endangerment and accomplice testimony, was sentenced to six years in state prison.
As the bailiffs led Richard away in heavy chains, he looked back toward the gallery one last time.
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Khloe was sitting in the front row. She was wearing a simple slate-gray suit, her posture straight, her face calm and unreadable. She didn't glare at him. She didn't cry. She simply looked at him as if he were a complete stranger who no longer held any power over her world.
Beside her, Harrison Cole stood tall, resting a hand on his sister's shoulder, watching the man who had tried to destroy them disappear forever behind the heavy iron doors of the justice system.
