Riveting testimony captivates the attention of jurors.
Juvenile jurors set free a suspect in the death of Humpty Dumpty April 27, after a mock trial in the court of Madison County Circuit Judge Don Weber.
Jurors agreed in finding defendant Roy L. Kingsman not guilty of first degree murder in the death of Dumpty, an egg who perished in a fall from a wall.
Weber conducted the trial as a highlight of "Take Your Child to Work Day" at the law firm of Heyl Royster Voelker Allen.
Employees of the firm supplied the cast for the drama.
Kay McClimans, prosecuting the case for the people of Nurseryland, told jurors that Dumpty made snide remarks to Roy L. Kingsman about the king's horses.
She said Roy L. Kingsman, a border guard, argued with Dumpty. She said the argument agitated Dumpty and he rolled off the wall.
She said Roy L. Kingsman left and returned with his brother, Kurt Kingsman.
She said Roy L. Kingsman claimed they tried to put Humpty together again, but she called this a coverup for his felonious deed.
Defense attorney Joe Whyte told jurors Dumpty's rounded bottom did not lend itself to sitting on a wall.
Whyte said, "All the king's horses and all the king's men could not put Humpty together again."
Witness Wiley Wolf, played by Mike Schag, said he saw what happened from bushes while taking cookies to his grandma's house.
Wolf said that when Roy L. Kingsman teased Dumpty about his rounded bottom, Dumpty started rocking and fell.
Whyte asked Wolf if he saw Roy L. Kingsman attack Dumpty. Wolf said, "We all have feelings. Words can hurt a lot more than sticks and stones."
Whyte asked Wolf if he saw Roy L. Kingsman cause Dumpty to fall. Wolf said no.
Kurt Kingsman, played by Justin Wilson, testified that his brother joked about Dumpty's figure and Dumpty got a little upset.
McClimans asked how his brother reacted when they returned to the wall. Kurt Kingsman said his brother asked him if he liked scrambled eggs.
The prosecution rested. Whyte called the defendant to the stand.
Lisa Petty, mother of juror Matthew Koeninger, crossed the gender line to play Roy L. Kingsman. "I did not start the argument," the defendant said.
Whyte asked Roy L. Kingsman if Dumpty was still sitting when he left. Roy L. Kingsman said yes.
In closing argument, McClimans said Roy L. Kingsman agitated Dumpty to the point he fell off the wall.
Whyte said Roy L. Kingsman swore Dumpty was still sitting on the wall when he left.
Whyte said that to return a verdict of guilty, jurors had to believe in the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Judge Weber solemnly told jurors, "Remember, this is about the death of an egg, and eggs are hard to come by these days."
The jury deliberated for two minutes and rendered a verdict for Roy L. Kingsman.