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(WASHINGTON) — Brittney Griner said “digging deep” helped her get through her detainment at a Russian prison last year.

“I’m no stranger to hard times,” the WNBA star said, tearing up during her first press conference since being freed from a Russian prison late last year. “You’re going to be faced with adversities throughout your life. This was a pretty big one.”

Griner, who is entering her 10th season in the WNBA, all with the Phoenix Mercury, said she relied on her hard work during practices to get her through the ordeal.

“I know this sounds so small, but dying in practice and just hard workouts, you found a way to just grind it out, just put your head down and just keep going, keep moving forward. You can never stand still,” the 32-year-old center said. “And that was my thing — just never be still. Never get too focused on the now and just looking forward to, you know, what’s to come.”

Griner thanked everyone who played a part in bringing her home, shouting out the WNBA and Vice President Kamala Harris, among others, as she also urged people to continue to fight for others who Americans wrongfully detained overseas, such as former Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

“I have that mindset — no man, no woman left behind. So it hurts,” she said, noting that her father was a Marine and she comes from a military family. “It hurts, it hurts. Because no one should be in those conditions. Like hands down, no one should be in any of the conditions that I went through or they’re going through.”

“I hope that everyone continues to bring awareness and fight to bring home everyone,” she continued.

Griner said her agent has been in touch with the family of Gershkovich, who the U.S. has determined was wrongfully detained by Russia, and “just sharing knowledge.”

“It goes a long way, because, I mean, you’re in foreign territory. You’re in unknown waters,” she said. “There’s been a lot of communication between both teams.”

Griner was returning to play for her Russian club, UMMC Ekaterinburg, when she was taken into custody at a Moscow-area airport in February 2022 in possession of vaping cartridges containing hashish oil, an illegal substance in Russia.

She pleaded guilty in July and was sentenced to nine years in prison on Aug. 7. She appealed the sentence, but was quickly rejected in October.

Griner was freed in December when the U.S. swapped the WNBA star for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner said she does not plan to play overseas again, unless it’s representing the U.S., while lamenting it was unfortunate she and other players had to do that to “pay my light bill.”

“It’s a shame that we have to leave our families for holidays,” she said. “Hopefully that changes.”

While detained, Griner said looking at photos of her family and getting letters of support gave her hope.

“It gives you a spark of life,” she said.

Among those in attendance at Thursday’s press conference were Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner.

“Round of applause for my wife, honestly,” Griner said. “She had the hardest job. Thank you so much, babe, for being there for me. You the one.”

In advance of the season, which starts next month, the team said Thursday it will unveil a 30-foot-wide mural on the Footprint Center, its home arena in downtown Phoenix, that features the faces of Griner and more than a dozen detained individuals.

The team said it plans to bring more attention to the plight of detainees throughout the season, including a letter-writing campaign at home games.

The efforts are through a partnership with Bring Our Families Home, a campaign that advocates for American hostages and wrongful detainees held overseas home and provides resources to their families.

“Brittney Griner’s wrongful detention educated our organization, fan base and the Valley about the plight of hostages around the world and their families here at home,” Mercury President Vince Kozar said in a statement. “We learned that, outside personal safety, the biggest fear is being forgotten and we know those currently being held do not automatically have the same public platform or receive the same media attention Brittney’s case did.”

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(NEW YORK) — E. Jean Carroll returned to the witness stand on Thursday in her federal battery and defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump.

Defense attorney Joe Tacopina suggested Carroll had political motives for filing her suit. He showed the jury an email that contained a draft excerpt from the book Carroll wrote. One chapter refers to her alleged rape by Trump.

“He’s poisoning my water, he’s polluting my air, he’s cooking my planet … and as he stacks the courts, my rights over my body are being taken away state by state. I’m afraid my right to free speech will go next. So now I will tell you what happened,” the message said.

Carroll replied that the message contained a draft that was never published.

Tacopina then questioned why Carroll could not pinpoint a date the alleged rape occurred.

“I wish to heaven we could give you a date,” Carroll said.

Tacopina suggested Carroll only told her story about Trump to sell a book.

“You thought including the story about Donald Trump while he was still president would help sell the book?” he asked.

“I thought so but I was wrong,” Carroll said. She had previously testified her book did not sell well.

Tacopina then asked, “In two decades you don’t call the police, correct?” Carroll replied, “Correct.”

“In two decades you never revealed this story in your hundreds of your advice columns, correct?” Tacopina said.

“Correct,” Carroll said.

“Only when you were trying to get a publisher and sell your book?” Tacopina asked, to which Carroll replied her story came out after The New York Times published its landmark story about Harvey Weinstein.

“And when that happened, across the country, women began telling their stories. And I was flummoxed. Can we actually speak up and not be pummeled? I thought well this may be a way to change the culture of sexual violence. The light dawned. I thought we can actually change things if we actually tell our stories,” Carroll said.

“So it was Harvey Weinstein and all the women against him that caused you to leap into action?” Tacopina asked.

Carroll answered, “It caused me to realize that staying silent does not work. We have a chance of limiting the harm that happens.”

Carroll also told the jury she was assaulted by then-CBS chairman Les Moonves after an interview. She said she and Moonves entered an elevator and then “he pushed me up against the wall.”

She did not sue Moonves, Carroll said, because “he did not defame me. He did not call me a liar.”

Carroll, however, sued Trump in November 2019 “because he called me a liar. Because he said I accused other men of rape. He said I was an operative or in a conspiracy with the Democratic Party … and he said I was too ugly to rape. So I sued him.”

Carroll said no one told convinced her to sue but she “had a conversation” with Republican lawyer and Trump critic George Conway, who Carroll said “does not like Donald Trump.”

After Trump’s defense attorney claimed Carroll was out for money, she said she was not struggling financially when she filed her lawsuit and was not looking for a large payoff.

“It’s not about the money. It’s about getting my name back,” Carroll said, who added that she is constantly under threat.

“This morning, for instance, I thought I would just take a peek at my Twitter. And there it was again, the onslaught of the lair, slut, ugly, old. It’s not a great way to begin the day. But I could not be more proud to be here.”

On Wednesday, Carroll described in sometimes graphic terms the pain of the alleged assault and the weight of Trump’s body against her.

“I remember him being — he was very large and his whole weight came against my chest and held me up there, and he leaned down and pulled down my tights,” Carroll, who testified for nearly three-and-a-half hours, said.

Her testimony may have also given the defense an opening since Carroll conceded she “wasn’t 100% certain” when the alleged attack occurred.

“This question, the when, the when, the date has just been something that I am constantly trying to pin down. It’s very difficult,” Carroll said.

Carroll’s attorneys asked her whether she had watched The Apprentice, Trump’s reality television show. When she said she had, her attorney, Michael Ferrara, asked why.

“I love the premise of ambitious young businesspeople competing for a job. I thought that was really quite witty and it was different. It was so much better than, you know, the dating contests and the beauty contests and those — this was a real contest where you could watch it and learn a thing or two. It was very — it was beautifully produced,” Carroll said.

It remains unclear if Trump will testify himself. The judge demanded to know this week whether Trump will appear, telling the defense that it was time to “fish or cut bait.”

Trump has denied all allegations that he raped Carroll or defamed her.

The trial is expected to last about five days. The nine-member jury of six men and three women is weighing Carroll’s defamation and battery claims and deciding potential monetary damages.

This week’s trial is taking place as Trump seeks the White House for a third time while facing numerous legal challenges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, his handling of classified material after leaving the White House and possible attempts to interfere in the Georgia’s 2020 vote. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said Monday she would decide whether to file criminal charges against Trump or his allies this summer.

Carroll’s lawsuit is her second against Trump related to her rape allegation.

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(QUINCY, Mass.) — Massachusetts man Brian Walshe pleaded not guilty on Thursday to killing his wife, mother of three Ana Walshe, who has been missing since New Year’s Day.

Brian Walshe was indicted by a grand jury last month for murder, misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice and improper conveyance of a human body.

Prosecutors said in court on Thursday that Brian Walshe suspected his wife was having an affair in December 2022, and Brian Walshe’s mother, with her son’s “input and direction,” hired a private investigator to surveil Ana Walshe. Brian Walshe’s attorney, however, said in court that her client didn’t support his mother’s hiring of a private investigator.

On Dec. 28, 2022, Ana Walshe told a friend she believed Brian Walshe would be incarcerated as a result of the federal case he was facing for art fraud, and she was prepared to leave him, prosecutors said.

Ana Walshe hasn’t been seen since the early hours of Jan. 1. Brian Walshe told their babysitter that Ana Walshe had returned to Washington, D.C., for a work emergency, according to prosecutors.

On Jan. 1, Brian Walshe was seen on surveillance video at Lowe’s buying items including: five 5-gallon buckets, a hacksaw, towels, a framing hammer, a Tyvek full coverage suit, shoe guards, a mop, trash bags and other cleaning products, according to prosecutors. He was seen on surveillance video later that day buying hydrogen peroxide and jugs of ammonia, prosecutors said.

The next day, Brian Walshe was seen on surveillance video at Home Depot buying three more 5-gallon buckets, a hatchet, plastic sheeting, 24 pounds of baking soda, and another Tyvek suit, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors believe Brian Walshe made a series of Google searches including: “10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to”; “how long before a body starts to smell”; “how to stop a body from decomposing”; “how to embalm a body”; and “what’s the best state to divorce.” He also allegedly Googled “dismemberment” and “what happens when you put body parts in ammonia,” according to prosecutors. There were more Google searches for “hacksaw best tool to dismember” and “can you be charged with murder without a body,” according to prosecutors.

Brian Walshe told police on Jan. 5 that the couple had no problems in their marriage other than his pending criminal case, according to prosecutors.

Brian Walshe told police his wife had left home with her Prada bag and Hunter boots, which authorities later recovered from a dumpster along with Ana Walshe’s COVID-19 vaccination card, prosecutors said. The dumpster also had several of the items Brian Walshe was seen on video buying, including a hatchet, a hacksaw, a hammer and a Tyvek suit, according to prosecutors.

Brian Walshe’s attorney said in court Thursday that he had agreed to give his phones and iPads to police and allowed his home to be searched, stressing, “He’s been nothing but cooperative in this.”

The defense asked for bail, arguing that Brian Walshe is his children’s primary caretaker, but he was ordered held without bail. Brian Walshe is set to return to court in August.

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(NEW YORK) — E. Jean Carroll returned to the witness stand on Thursday in her federal battery and defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump.

Carroll told the jury she had been assaulted by then-CBS chairman Les Moonves after an interview. She said she and Moonves entered an elevator and then “he pushed me up against the wall.”

Carroll said she told no one and Moonves denied it as part of a blanket denial of all allegations women had made against him.

She did not sue Moonves, Carroll said, because “he did not defame me. He did not call me a liar.”

Carroll, however, sued Donald Trump in November 2019 “because he called me a liar. Because he said I accused other men of rape. He said I was an operative or in a conspiracy with the Democratic Party … and he said I was too ugly to rape. So I sued him.”

Anticipating cross-examination, Carroll said no one told convinced her to sue but she “had a conversation” with Republican lawyer and Trump critic George Conway, who Carroll said “does not like Donald Trump.”

After Trump’s defense attorney said Carroll was out for money, she said she was not struggling financially when she filed her lawsuit and was not looking for a large payoff.

“It’s not about the money. It’s about getting my name back,” Carroll said, who added that she is constantly under threat.

“This morning, for instance, I thought I would just take a peek at my Twitter. And there it was again, the onslaught of the lair, slut, ugly, old. It’s not a great way to begin the day. But I could not be more proud to be here.”

On Wednesday, Carroll told the jury “Donald Trump raped me.” She described in sometimes graphic terms the pain of the alleged assault and the weight of Trump’s body against her.

“I remember him being — he was very large and his whole weight came against my chest and held me up there, and he leaned down and pulled down my tights,” Carroll, who testified for nearly three-and-a-half hours, said.

Her testimony may have also given the defense an opening since Carroll conceded she “wasn’t 100% certain” when the alleged attack occurred.

“This question, the when, the when, the date has just been something that I am constantly trying to pin down. It’s very difficult,” Carroll said.

Anticipating other possible lines of cross-examination, Carroll’s attorneys asked her whether she had watched “The Apprentice,” Trump’s reality television show. When she said she had, her attorney, Michael Ferrara, asked why.

“I love the premise of ambitious young businesspeople competing for a job. I thought that was really quite witty and it was different. It was so much better than, you know, the dating contests and the beauty contests and those — this was a real contest where you could watch it and learn a thing or two. It was very — it was beautifully produced,” Carroll said.

She also testified she still shops at Bergdorf Goodman, where the alleged attack occurred, because “they have some of the loveliest things that the world has ever created.”

It remains unclear if Trump will testify himself at any point. The judge demanded to know this week whether Trump will appear, telling the defense that it was time to “fish or cut bait.”

Trump has denied all allegations that he raped Carroll or defamed her.

The trial is expected to last about five days. The nine-member jury of six men and three women is weighing Carroll’s defamation and battery claims and deciding potential monetary damages.

This week’s trial is taking place as Trump seeks the White House for a third time while facing numerous legal challenges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, his handling of classified material after leaving the White House and possible attempts to interfere in the Georgia’s 2020 vote. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said Monday she would decide whether to file criminal charges against Trump or his allies this summer.

Carroll’s lawsuit is her second against Trump related to her rape allegation.

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(WORCESTER, Mass.) — Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira began accessing “hundreds” of highly classified U.S. intelligence documents more than a year before he was arrested for allegedly leaking them, federal prosecutors said in a new court filing Wednesday.

Prosecutors said government records show that as early as February 2022, Teixeira “began to access hundreds of classified documents containing national defense information that had no bearing on his role” as an IT specialist in his unit, according to the legal filing.

Prosecutors also outlined in detail the reasons they believe the 21-year-old Massachusetts native poses a danger to the public if allowed to be released from detention. In the filing, prosecutors pointed to the “virtual arsenal of weapons” they said Teixeira possessed at residences he occupied that are owned by his parents, including “bolt-action rifles, rifles, AR- and AK-style weapons, and a bazooka.”

Moreover, prosecutors flagged that as recently as July 2022, Teixeira allegedly used his government computer to search the terms “Ruby Ridge,” “Las Vegas shooting,” “Mandalay Bay shooting,” “Buffalo tops shooting” and “Uvalde,” according to the filing. Though investigators acknowledged the searches could be tied to Teixeira’s belief in conspiracy theories that the government knew of these mass shootings in advance, “the combination of these search terms, the Defendant’s violent statements on social media, and the Defendant’s arsenal of weapons is troubling,” prosecutors said in the filing.

Teixeira is scheduled to appear in a federal court in Worcester, Massachusetts, on Thursday for a detention hearing, after being charged with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information as well as willful retention of classified documents. He has yet to enter a plea.

In Wednesday’s filing, prosecutors argued that Teixeira “poses a serious flight risk” and “must remain detained.”

“He currently faces 25 years in prison — and potentially far more — and other serious consequences for his conduct,” they added. “[T]he evidence against him is substantial and mounting; the charged conduct would very obviously end his military career; and he accessed and may still have access to a trove of classified information that would be of tremendous value to hostile nation states that could offer him safe harbor and attempt to facilitate his escape from the United States.”

Prosecutors also claimed in the filing that Teixeira took “a series of obstructive steps” intended to prevent investigators from understanding the scope of what he allegedly did. Those steps, they said, include “instructions the Defendant gave to other online members of a social media platform (including to ‘delete all messages’ and ‘[i]f anyone comes looking, don’t tell them s***’), as well as the fact that following his arrest, authorities searched a dumpster at his residence and found a tablet, a laptop and an Xbox gaming console, all of which had been smashed.”

Prosecutors expressed concern in the filing that it would be “all too easy” for Teixeira, if released on bail, “to further disseminate classified information,” creating what they called an “unacceptable risk” he would flee the country and “take refuge with a foreign adversary.”

Wednesday’s filing came as two leaders of the unit where Teixeira worked were temporarily suspended by the U.S. Air Force amid its ongoing investigation into the leak.

The two senior leaders are the commander of the 102nd Intelligence Support Squadron and the detachment commander overseeing administrative support for the squadron. With the suspension, they have also temporarily lost access to classified systems and information.

Earlier this month, the federal magistrate judge overseeing Teixeira’s case granted his request to delay the detention hearing that would have determined if he should remain in federal custody. Teixeira sought to postpone the hearing so his attorneys could have more time to address arguments for keeping him detained, according to a court filing.

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(NEW YORK) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that he doesn’t think Disney’s lawsuit against him “has merit.”

“I think it’s political,” DeSantis said during a press conference in Jerusalem as he visited Israel.

“Do you want one company to have their own fiefdom, or do you want everyone to live under the same laws?” he added. “The days of putting one company on a pedestal with no accountability are over in the state of Florida.”

Disney, the parent company of ABC News, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida on Wednesday against DeSantis and various state officials over a campaign the company alleges was “patently retaliatory, patently anti-business, and patently unconstitutional.”

The lawsuit follows the state oversight board’s decision to void “publicly noticed and duly agreed development contracts which had laid the foundation for billions of Disney’s investment dollars and thousands of jobs,” according to the legal filing. The company’s lawsuit called the move “a targeted campaign of government retaliation — orchestrated at every step by Gov. DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech — now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights.”

DeSantis, who is expected to launch a 2024 presidential campaign in the coming months, embarked on an international trade mission on Monday that will take him to Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He is leading a Florida delegation to Israel, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom to meet with government and business leaders.

The Florida governor has been at odds with Disney since the company publicly criticized a DeSantis-backed controversial state law that restricts content concerning sexual orientation and gender identity in grades kindergarten through third grade. The Parental Rights in Education Law has been dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law who argue it paints LGBTQ topics as taboo or inappropriate. Meanwhile, supporters of the law say it allows parents to decide what their children can learn about certain subjects.

After DeSantis signed the bill into law in March 2022, Disney released a statement citing concerns of discrimination, saying the legislation “should never have passed and should never have been signed into law.” DeSantis has since aimed to take control over Disney’s special tax district that allows the Florida theme park and resort to govern itself, according to the company’s lawsuit. The Florida Legislature voted to dissolve the former governing board of the district and create a DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District in its place. The board voided a contract made before the CFTOD was in place, according to the lawsuit.

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(WORCESTER, Mass.) — Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira is a flight risk who took calculated steps to thwart the investigation into his alleged leak of classified information, federal prosecutors argued in a new court filing Wednesday, as they prepare to tell a federal judge Teixeira “must remain detained.”

Teixeira, 21, is due in federal court in Worcester, Massachusetts, Thursday for a detention hearing after being charged with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and willful retention of classified documents. Teixeira has yet to enter a plea.

“In the first place, the Defendant poses a serious flight risk,” prosecutors said in the Wednesday filing. “He currently faces 25 years in prison — and potentially far more — and other serious consequences for his conduct; the evidence against him is substantial and mounting; the charged conduct would very obviously end his military career; and he accessed and may still have access to a trove of classified information that would be of tremendous value to hostile nation states that could offer him safe harbor and attempt to facilitate his escape from the United States.”

In the government’s filing, prosecutors claimed Teixeira took “a series of obstructive steps” intended to prevent investigators from understanding the scope of what he allegedly did.

“This includes instructions the Defendant gave to other online members of a social media platform (including to ‘delete all messages’ and ‘[i]f anyone comes looking, don’t tell them s***’), as well as the fact that following his arrest, authorities searched a dumpster at his residence and found a tablet, a laptop and an Xbox gaming console, all of which had been smashed,” the filing said.

Federal prosecutors expressed concern that it would be “all too easy” for Teixeira, if released on bail, “to further disseminate classified information,” creating what they called an “unacceptable risk” he would flee the country and “take refuge with a foreign adversary,” the document said.

The government also outlined in detail the reasons they believe Teixeira poses a danger to the public if allowed to be released from detention, pointing to the “virtual arsenal of weapons” he possessed at residences he occupied that are owned by his mother and father.

It included “bolt-action rifles, rifles, AR- and AK-style weapons, and a bazooka,” prosecutors said in the filing.

Further, the government flagged that as recently as July of last year, Teixeira allegedly used his government computer to search the terms “Ruby Ridge,” “Las Vegas shooting,” “Mandalay Bay shooting,” “Buffalo tops shooting” and “Uvalde,” according to the filing.

Though investigators acknowledged that they could be tied to Teixeira’s belief in conspiracy theories that the government knew of these mass shootings in advance, “the combination of these search terms, the Defendant’s violent statements on social media, and the Defendant’s arsenal of weapons is troubling,” they wrote in the filing Wednesday.

The filing comes as two leaders of the unit where the alleged leaker worked have been temporarily suspended by the Air Force while its investigation continues.

The two senior leaders are the commander of the 102nd Intelligence Support Squadron and the detachment commander overseeing administrative support for the squadron. With the suspension, they’ve also temporarily lost access to classified systems and information.

Earlier this month, the federal magistrate judge overseeing Teixeira’s case granted his request to delay the detention hearing that would have determined if the suspect should remain in federal custody. Teixeira sought to postpone the hearing so his attorneys could have more time to address arguments for keeping him in federal custody, according to a court filing.

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(MOBILE, Ala.) — One person has died after an Amtrak train hit a car that was on the tracks at a Mobile, Alabama, rail crossing Wednesday night, police said.

A collision involving a train at the intersection of Navco Road and Dog River Drive North was reported around 6:30 p.m., the Mobile Police Department said in a statement.

A 28-year-old driver, Chadwick Timmons, “was heading south on Navco Road when he allegedly attempted to cross the rail crossing despite the safety arms being activated and indicating an oncoming train,” according to police.

“As a result, his vehicle collided with an Amtrak train, and the impact caused the train to come to a stop,” police said. “The collision caused the vehicle to catch fire, which resulted in further damage.”

Timmons was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were on the Amtrak train.

An investigation is ongoing.

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(NEW YORK) — The United States Coast Guard is searching for a cruise ship passenger from Australia who went overboard a few hundred miles off the coast of Hawaii.

The incident occurred at approximately 11:03 p.m. on Tuesday night when the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu received a report from the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship that a man had gone overboard about 500 miles south of Kailua Kona, Big Island, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

“The crew of the cruise ship remained on scene to search for approximately two hours, deploying six life rings,” the Coast Guard said in a statement on Wednesday. “After six hours on scene, the crew returned to Air Station Barbers Point for fuel replenishment. The search will resume at first light Thursday morning.”

A Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point C-130 Hercules aircrew launched at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning and arrived on scene at approximately 9:00 a.m. to begin searching but authorities have not yet had any luck on finding the missing man.

Quantum of the Seas departed from Brisbane, Australia, on April 12 and is scheduled to arrive in Honolulu on April 28.

Royal Caribbean — who operates Quantum of the Seas — also released a statement on Wednesday confirming that the search for the missing man is ongoing.

“While on its trans-pacific sailing, a guest onboard Quantum of the Seas went overboard,” Royal Caribbean said. “The ship’s crew immediately launched a search and rescue operation and is working closely with local authorities.”

Authorities did not give any further details on how the man may have ended up going overboard but the investigation into the incident is ongoing.

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(NEW YORK) — The prosecutor in the Irvo Otieno case on Wednesday filed a motion seeking one trial for all 10 people accused in Otieno’s killing in Virginia in March.

Otieno, a Richmond resident, died in police custody after he was held down by seven Henrico County, Virginia, sheriff’s deputies and three hospital employees for about 12 minutes, according to Ann Cabell Baskervill, the commonwealth’s attorney for Dinwiddie County.

The 10 have been charged with second-degree murder.

Each of the defendants will be able to argue for or against the motion at their pretrial hearings. G. Russell Stone Jr., who is representing defendant Brandon Edwards Rodgers, told ABC News that he has received the motion and will be reviewing it.

ABC News has contacted each of the attorneys for the other defendants in the case. None of the 10 have yet entered pleas.

Cabell Baskervill described the incident as “cruel and a demonstration of power that is unlawful.” She said Otieno’s preliminary cause of death was positional and mechanical asphyxia with restraints.

Virginia State Police were not called for three-and-a-half hours after Otieno’s death, the commonwealth’s attorney has said. In that time, his body was moved, his handcuffs and leg irons were removed and washed and a funeral home had been called instead of the medical examiner’s office.

In the commonwealth’s motion for one trial for all 10 defendants, Cabell Baskervill argued that “the cause and dynamics of Otieno’s death support a joined trial in ways that, say, a single gunshot wound might not.”

Cabell Baskervill wrote in the motion that Otieno’s asphyxiation “reflects severe compression of the chest by a heavy weight. Here, that heavy weight was the Henrico deputies and the Central State staff.”

She wrote that the 10 defendants allegedly acted together causing the death of Otieno. The autopsy couldn’t determine which defendant “was on which of Otieno’s body parts at any given time. The most culpable persons as first degree principals would be those on his torso.”

“If one person here had acted differently, then Otieno may very well have been able to survive,” Cabell Baskervill wrote.

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