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Prosecution closes in Cosby extortion case
A woman claiming to be Bill
Cosby s daughter became an "extor
tionist driven by greed” when she
demanded $40 million from the ac
tor. a prosecutor concluded Tues
day at her trial.
In his closing argument at U S.
District Court, Assistant U S. At
torney Paul Engelmayer described
for the jury how Autumn Jackson
and two co-defendants in effect told
Cosby, "Show me the money, or you
will be sorry.”
Jac k so n ’s attorney, R obert
Baum, countered by urging the jury
not to "convict a daughter for what
you may perceive to be the sins of
her mother.”
Baum rem inded jurors that for 22
years Cosby paid Jackson's mother
more than $ 100.000, or $ 9 1 a week
That created, a "story of betrayal,
abandonment, deceit and manipula
tion,” kept alive with "threats by Bill
Cosby,” he said
But Engelmayer accused the de
fendants o f using a series of menac
ing letters and phone calls to Cosby’s
attorneys, sponsors and the actor
himself early this year to warn him
that they would sell Jackson's story
to the tabloids unless he paid them
the $40 million
"Autumn Jackson made that threat
over and over and over again," de
spite warnings she was engaging in
extortion, Engelmayer said
At one point, Engelmayer held up
a blown-up photo of a 34-acre estate
he alleged Jackson and her boyfriend
planned to buy with Cosby’s money,
saying the motive was about “greed,
not need."
He also argued that even if Cosby
really is Jackson’s father - which he
has denied-she would still be guilty
"There is no ‘father exception
for extortion,” he said.
Fed up, Cosby finally called the
FBI, which arrested Jackson, 22,
Jose Medina, 51, and Boris Sabas.
42, on charges of extortion, con
spiracy and traveling across state
lines to commit a crime. If con
victed, each could get up to 12 years
in prison.
The defense used only one wit
learned as a young child that her
mother"wastold not topul(Cosby’s)
name on the birth certificate,” but
the grandmotherdid not indicate who
gave that instruction
In testimony last week, Cosby
admitted having sex with Jackson's
mother, Shawn Upshaw, in the 1970s
and later paying her $100,000 over
20 years to keep quiet about the
fling
He acknowledged covering
Jackson's education expenses, but
said he told her he is not her father.
Before the trial began July 7, U S.
District Judge Barbara Jones ruled
that the question of whether Cosby
is actually Jackson s father was ir
relevant.
But the defense was allowed to
argue that Jackson was raised to be
lieve Cosby is her father and thought
she was legally negotiating for her
birth rights when she demanded the
$40 million
Earlier, prosecutors concluded
their case by playing a tape of a
phone conversation between Mrs.
Upshaw and Medina
Told by Cosby’s attorney that
Jackson's threats constituted extor
tion, Mrs. Upshaw tried to reach her
daughter through Medina to relay
the lawyer's message.
"Autumn has painted herself into
a corner,” Upshaw is heard saying
on the tape "She has tried to black
mail him.
Bond levy renovations
Story van
making
summer
deliveries
Kids can take a break from bikes
and basketball and discover adven
ture with volunteer readers this sum
mer.
Local parks turn into an outdoor
library when the SMART (Start Mak
ing a Reader Today) story van deliv
ers books and volunteer storytellers
to Portland kids on summer vaca
tion.
The program helps more than 600
children improve summer reading
skills, making them better prepared
for school in the fall.
A summer outreach program ot
the Oregon Children’s Foundation
SMART program, the Story Van,
sponsored by Washington Mutual,
is a partnership between the Port
land Police Bureau, Portland Parks
Bureau, Multnomah County Library
and SMART.
ness before resting its case Mon
day Jackson’s maternal grand
mother, Lois Maxfield, retailed thal
the girl was told w hen she was 5 that
the man behind the cartoon charac
ter Fat Albert was her own father
She also described shooting the
videotape of Jackson and Cosby jok
ing around during their first face-to-
face meeting, backstage after a 19 9 1
taping of" The Cosby Show.”
In the 15-second video shown to
jurors, Cosby put his ami around
Jackson and encouraged her to be
come "an honor student • and if she
doesn't, watch this.”
He then throws a fake punch at
Jackson, who bursts into laughter
M axfield testified Jackson
Portland schools
push to complete
summer repairs
Adam Wilson o f northeast Portland does well at Drake University.
Portland’s Wilson honored at Drake
Adam L. Wilson of Northeast Portland, has been named to the Dean's List
at Drake University.
Wilson earned a grade-point average of 3.57 during the spring 1997
semester to achieve this academic honor at Drake. Students named to the
Dean’s List must earn a grade-point average of at least 3.50 (4 0 is straight
A’s). Drake is a private, independent university in Des Moines, Iowa, w ith an
enrollment o f approximately 3,100 full-time undergraduate students from
46 states and 50 countries.
School's out for summer, but
school buildings are shaking and
buzzing as workers hustle to com
plete major construction projects
before kids come back in the fall
Some $3 million a week in build
ing improvements and renovations -
- $30 million over the entire sum
mer — is provided by a $196 million
bond passed by Portland voters in
November 1995
The seven-year bond targets up
dating wiring for technology, seis-
mic strengthening, accessibility
improvements, deferred mainte
nance. and improvements for fire
and life safety
Funding also is included in the
bond for new computers and tech
nology in schools.
"Sum m er is a big push time to
com plete a lot ot these major
c o n s tru c tio n p ro je c ts in our
schools," says Reg M artinson,
Portland School D istrict Physi
cal Plant Director. "T h ere 's a
trem endous amount o f work go
ing on right now with m ajor
projects underway in 14 build
ings and minor work ongoing in
another 54 facilities. Much of
the work is within walls that will
be sealed up again before school
starts in Septem ber.”
Design projects took up much ot
the first year of the bond, so current
work represents some of the first
significant construction undertaken.
C urrently Jefferson M arshall,
Benson and Franklin high schools
are in the midst of major construc
tion activity, along with Buckman
and Rose City Park elementaries,
and Hosford and Sellwood middle
schools.
To take a firsthand look at some
of these school renovation projects,
call the school district's Public In
formation Office, 916-3304.
First Andrea Redding law scholar named
Jennifer K. De Wald, a third-year
student at Northwestern School of
Law of Lewis & Clark College, re
ceived the first Andrea Swanner
Redding Scholarship.
The $2,500 scholarship recog
nizes a law student with a commit
ment to Northwestern School of
Law and the legal profession dem
onstrated through involvement in
activities designed to enhance the
profession and to help those who
are not always in a position to speak
for themselves. Redding, a former
law dean at the school died in 1996.
P O L IC E N E W S
Suspicious death investigation
classified as manslaughter
Autopsy determines young woman died by strangulation
An autopsy, conducted by the
Medical Examiner’s Office, deter-
mined that the 20-year old black
Taylor, o f 2404 N. Vancouver Ave.,
died of asphyxiation by strangula-
tion. The 23-year old black male,
female, identified as Rasheedah R.
identified as Cameron Lee Andrews,
who also lived at the address, has
been charged with manslaughter and
lodged in the Justice Center Jail,
The investigation is continuing.
CRIME STOPPERS
Man wanted in escape
from prosecution
The Portland Police Bureau Auto
Theft Task Force, in cooperation
with Crime Stoppers, is asking for
your help in locating and apprehend
ing Troy Leigh Crapser.
Felony arrest warrants are on file
charging Crapser with Parole Viola
tion and Failure to Appear on an
original charge o f Unauthorized use
oi a Motor Vehicle.
Investigators believe Crapser may
be living in the Southeast Portland
area.
Troy Leigh Crapser is a 30-year-
old white male, with a date of birth
o f February 2,1967. Crapser is 5’10
tall, weighing 210 pounds with brown
hair and brown eyes.
He has a tattoo on the right hand
and a scar on his right ankle. Aliases
used by Crapser inlcude Travis
Childres, Tony Hunt and Stephen
Occhi.
Crim e Stoppers is offering a
cash rew ard o f up to $1,000 for
inform ation which leads to an
arrest in this case or any un
solved felony crim e, and you can
rem ain anonym ous. Call Crime
Stoppers at (503) 823-HELP.
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Dunthorpe murders laid to divorce
Doctor kills his
children in
wealthy suburb
A wealthy doctor in the middle
a bitter divorce killed his three
mg daughters by giving them over-
tes and then asphyxiated himself,
icials said Friday.
The bodies of Dr. David Cornwall,
, and his three daughters, Lauren,
Ashley, 5, and Caitlin, 4, were
ind Thursday in the home o f his
mother and stepfather in Dunthorpe,
a wealthy suburban community south
of Portland.
The children, whose bodies were
found on the second floor of the
home, were killed in a manner “con
sistent with an overdose o f medica
tio n ,” the M ultnom ah C ounty
coroner’s office said in a report.
The type of medication was not
immediately identified. The deaths
were ruled as homicides.
Cornwall, who had a practice on
Oregon’s coast, was found in the
garage, dead of asphyxiation from
carbon monoxide from car exhaust
fumes.
The coroner’s office said there
was a possibility the physician also
had taken medication.
Cornwall’s wife, Karen, found the
bodies early Thursday.
The two had been involved in a
divorce and bitter fight over custody
of the girls. Cornwall’s mother and
stepfather were in Canada at the time
of the deaths, according to local
news reports.
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