WOODLAND — Defense attorneys for the man accused of causing a fatal crash in Davis launched their case in his trial Thursday, calling a forensic psychologist to testify about children’s ability to accurately recall memories.
Dr. Joanna Edwards’ testimony sought to raise jurors’ doubts about statements from the four youths who were riding in Steven Hendrix’s vehicle when it broadsided another car on Second Street in February 2016, killing 71-year-old Cynthia Jonasen.
All four kids, the 6- to 12-year-old children of Hendrix’s girlfriend and her sister, testified as prosecution witnesses last week, the two oldest — now 13-year-old girls — saying Hendrix drove dangerously fast on Second Street and passed two other cars just before the crash, ignoring one girl’s plea to slow down.
Several of the children also recalled that that Hendrix, who is accused of being under the influence of drugs when the collision occurred, was acting strangely and had red eyes during the drive.
According to Edwards, humans tend to experience “memory decay, a process of forgetting” as time passes following an event, as well as memory contamination — using newer information to fill in gaps of what they recall.
The contamination can stem from conversations with others, or other external sources such as media coverage regarding a situation. A couple of the children acknowledged on the stand last week they had been exposed to news stories about the fatal crash and talked to relatives about what had occurred.
“It’s unintentional, and the person doesn’t realize that it’s happening in most cases,” Edwards said under questioning by Deputy Public Defender Teal Dixon. Young people are more at risk than adults, she added, due to their still-developing brains.
“Children can be very good historians, but they are more susceptible to memory contamination over time,” Edwards said, noting that kids also are less adept at “source monitoring,” or distinguishing where their information comes from.
And while traumatic or highly emotional experiences can slow the memory decay process, “what will change over time are the peripheral details of the traumatic event,” she said.
Edwards acknowledged under cross-examination by prosecutor Amanda Zambor that she never met, interviewed or conduct any psychological testing of the four children, nor could she opine whether their recollections of the crash were truthful.
Although people generally are confident in their ability to identify inaccuracies, they “are notoriously not good at being human lie detectors,” Edwards said. “It is very difficult to figure out what is a true memory and what is a false memory.”
Hendrix, 33, has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence causing injury and child endangerment. His case is expected to go to the jury sometime next week.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene