Step 1: Read the article

Group Lawyers (a)

----------------------faced life in prison but was sentenced to treatment and juvenile correction facility in
2006 for the shooting deaths of his father, Delbert Paul Posey, stepmother Tryone and stepsister
Marilea on the ---------------------------------------owned by ABC newsman Sam Donaldosn. The 16-year-old
admitted his role in the July 5, 2004 shootings, but says the incident was precipitated by a life time of
physical and mental abuse at the hands of his father.

In his statement to police, Cody chronicled a volatile relationship with his father that went back to early
childhood. According to the defense, Paul gave up -------------------------------------in 2000, when Cody went
to live with his biological mother, but the reunion was short-lived when, three months after his return,
the young boy witnessed his mother’s death in a car accident and was forced to return to his father.

Paul Posey----------------------------------------------------------------------------- as ranch foreman with his son,

wife, and stepdaughter for two years when the killings occurred. The entire family contributed to the
daily maintenance of the property, and in interviews with the media, Donaldosn characterized them as
hard-working people. He also noted that Paul was a little hard on his son, but that he never saw him
“raise his voice or his hand in anger.”

In a videotaped statement Cody Posey made to police on July 7, 2004, the teen said he goes along -------
---------------------------------------------- but not with his stepmother, and often felt alienated from the rest
of his family. He described a bizarre family dynamic, claiming that every time he made a mistake,
Marilea was rewarded.

According to the defense, Tryone willingly participated in the abuse after she married Paul in 1999.
Cody’s defense lawyer, Gary Mitchell, said his client’s “breaking point” occurred the night before the
shootings, when the couple attempted to force Cody -------------------------------------------------------. Cody
told police that his father burned him with the welding iron when he refused.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step 2: find the answers
1. Who was sentenced to Juvenile correction?
2. Where did he shoot his family?
3. What did Paul gave up in 2000?
4. Where had Paul Posey worked and lived?
5. Who did Cody get along with?
6. What did the couple attempt to force Cody to have?

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Step 1: Read the article
Group Lawyers (b)

Cody Posey faced life in prison but was sentenced -----------------------------------------------------------in 2006
for the shooting deaths of--------------------, -----------------------------,--------------------------------- and -------------
---------------------------- on the Chavez Canyon Ranch owned by ABC newsman Sam Donaldosn. The 16-
year-old admitted his role in the July 5, 2004 shootings, but says the incident was precipitated by a life
time of physical and mental abuse at the hands of his father.

In his statement to police, Cody chronicled a volatile relationship with his father that went back to early
childhood. According to the defense, Paul gave up parental rights to Cody in 2000, when Cody went to
live with his biological mother, but the reunion was short-lived when, three months after his return, the
young boy ------------------------------------------------------------ and was forced to return to his father.

Paul Posey had worked and lived in Donaldshon’s Hondo property as ranch foreman with his son, wife,
and stepdaughter for two years when the killings occurred. The entire family------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------, and in interviews with the media, Donaldosn characterized them as
hard-working people. He also noted that Paul was a little hard on his son, but that he never saw him
“raise his voice or his hand in anger.”

In a videotaped statement Cody Posey made to police on July 7, 2004, the teen said he goes along with
his new stepsister, Marilea, but not with his stepmother, and often felt alienated from the rest of his
family. He described a bizarre family dynamic, claiming that every time he made a mistake,-----------------
------------------------------------.

According to the defense, Tryone willingly participated in the abuse after she married Paul in 1999.
Cody’s defense lawyer, Gary Mitchell, said his client’s “breaking point” occurred the night before the
shootings, when the couple attempted to force Cody to have sex with Tryone and he resisted. Cody told
police that --------------------------------------------------the welding iron when he refused.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step 2: find the answers
1. What was Cody Posey sentenced to?
2. Who did Cody shoot?
3. What did the boy witness few years before?
4. What did the entire family do?
5. What happened every time Cody made a mistake?
6. What did Cody tell the police about the welding iron?

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Step 3: discuss
Whole Group Lawyers (a, b) Questions
1. Give the text an appropriate title.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Did Cody admit the killings? What was his claim?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Based on the text. Do you think the killings are justifiable? Give at least two evidence to support
your answer

Group Lawyers Dictionary

Juvenile: relating to young people, adolescent
Precipitated: happened unexpectedly or prematurely
Defense: someone who defends a person accused of a crime.
Chronicled: reported, re-counted
Volatile: unstable, dangerous
Foreman: man who supervises and directs other workers
Alienated: to make someone unfriendly or hostile and no longer belongs in a particular group
Bizarre: strikingly out of ordinary, odd, extravagant
Dynamic: energetic, vibrant, full of life
Rewarded: compensated- praised
Attempted: tried
Abuse: to hurt or injure to maltreat
Welding : headed surface to the point of melting

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Step 1: Read the article
Group Defendant (a)
----------------------------------------------------------, Cody maintained his innocence in the shootings and said
he also saw his family the morning of July 5, 2004, when he left following a fight with his father over
cleaning the corrals. When pressed by police, however, he admitted to retrieving a gun from his sister’s
saddlebag after the fight and returning to the home intending to kill his father.

Cody told police that he shot his father as he was entering the home. He also said his stepsister Marilea
was right behind his father as he came in, so he decided that he -----------------------------------------------------
------------------. Cody said that he envied her intelligence and was jealous of the attention she received
from his parents.

Cody also told police that he shot his stepmother Tryone twice in the head as she sat reading a book on
the couch---------------------------------------------------------------------------. He attempted to dispose of the
bodies by loading them into a backhoe and burying them in a manure pile, but investigators later
followed the tracks to the shallow grave.

-----------------------------------------------was the first to report a disturbance at the Posey home. He did not
see the bodies, but found the home littered with broken glass and blood spatter on July 6, 2004 and
went to police. He described the layout of the sprawling ranch where the Posey family lived and worked
as of 2001. Paul Posey was the foreman of the three ranches located on the property, which were as far
as 23 miles apart in some places.

Cody is -----------------------------------------------------------------------, which, under New Mexico law, means that if he is

convicted. A judge will decide whether to subject him to juvenile or adult penalties for killing his family.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step 2: find the answers
1. Where did Cody maintain his innocence?
2. Why did he shoot his stepsister Marilea?
3. Why did Cody have to shoot his stepmother?
4. Who was the man who reported disturbance in the Posey’s home?
5. Where is Cody tried and as what?

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Step 1: Read the article
Group Defendant (b)
At the start of the 90-munutes confession, Cody maintained his innocence in the shootings and said he
also saw his family the morning of July 5, 2004, when he left following a fight with his father over
cleaning the corrals. When pressed by police, however, he admitted -----------------------------------------------
--------------------------after the fight and returning to the home intending to kill his father.

Cody told police that he shot his father as he was entering the home. He also said his stepsister Marilea
was right behind his father as he came in, so he decided that he had to shoot her also so she wouldn’t
tell anyone. Cody said that he --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------.

Cody also told police that he shot his stepmother Tryone twice in the head as she sat reading a book on
the couch for being “mean” to him and for hitting him in the past. He attempted to dispose of the
bodies by loading them----------------------------------------------------------------, but investigators later followed
the tracks to the shallow grave.

ABC newsman Sam Donaldson was the first to report a disturbance at the Posey home. He did not see
the bodies, but found the home littered with broken glass and blood spatter on July 6, 2004 and went
to police. He described the layout of the sprawling ranch where the Posey family lived and worked as of
2001. Paul Posey -----------------------------------------------------------------located on the property, which were
as far as 23 miles apart in some places.

Cody is being tried in Otero County’s Children Court as a youthful offender, which, under New Mexico law, means
that if he is convicted. A judge -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- for killing his family.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Step 2: find the answers.

1. From where did Cody retrieve a gun?
2. Why did Cody envy his stepsister Marilea?
3. Where did he think of getting rid of the bodies?
4. Who was Paul Posey?
5. What will the judge decide?

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Step 3: discuss
Whole Group ‘Defendants’ (a, b) questions

1. Give the text a title

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Do you believe Cody is guilty of killing his family? Give reasons to justify your answer.

Group Defendant
Dictionary
Corrals: cattle on a farm or ranch
Retrieved: recovered, regain possession
Envied: be jealous of
Mean: unkind, cruel
Dispose: kill or get rid of by throwing away
Manure: animal dung used for fertilizing land
Convicted: found guilty of a crime
Verdict: a judgment or a decision in a criminal case
Sprawling: a spread out over a large area of land

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Step 1: Read the article Group Judges (a)
Cody Posey maintained-------------------------------------------------------- until his defense lawyer, Gary
Mitchell, gave his emotional opening statement. The teen wiped his tears as Mitchell described the
death of Cody’s mother, who was in a fatal car accident with Cody and his stepfather as the family
drove to Washington to begin a new life.

Cody said that despite his efforts to please his father, he could never meet his expectations. In his turn
on the stand, he demonstrated how his father allegedly ---------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------- for stumbling as he attempted to lift load bales of hay onto a hay truck. He also
described how he learned early on in life to not tell anyone of the alleged abuse of his father out of fear
of retribution. Tearfully, he said that he began to believe that he deserved the punishment for being
unable to ever “do right” by his father.

Speaking through an interpreter, Donaldson ranch hand ------------------------------------------- testified

about another incident with a hay hook in which Paul Posey allegedly threatened to cut off his son’s
“balls” if he popped the clutch while driving the ranch pickup truck.

---------------------------------------------------, who also worked on the Donaldson ranch with the Posey’s,
corroborated Cody’s claim that Paul Posey allegedly scratched his son with a hay hook as he attempted
to load bales of hay onto a truck.

Cody’s cousin, Sherry Gensler, fought back tears as she recalled the day of Cody’s mother’s funeral,
when Cody begged to not be returned to custody of his father. A custody agreement between Paul
Posey and Cody’s biological mother, Carla Brust, was declared invalid after Brust’s death in a car
accident because Paul Posey printed instead of signing his name on the document.
Paul Posey’s second wife, -----------------------------------------, testified that she would protect Cody from his
father during the couple’s five-year marriage. She also claimed she saw Paul Posey surfing pornography
on the internet, supporting defense claims that Paul Posey had an “incest porn” fetish. Although she did
not specify what kind of material she saw.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step 2: Find the answers
1. What did Cody maintain and when? What made Cody cry in the trial?
2. How did the father hurt Cody? What did Cody believe that he deserved?
3. Who reported another incident with the hay hook? What did Paul Posey threaten his son to do?
4. Who supported Cody’s claim that his father hurt him? Why was the custody agreement declared
invalid?
5. Who testified that she protected Cody from his father? What did Sany Schmid see Paul Posey
searching for on the internet?

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Step 1: Read the article
Group Judges (b)
Cody Posey maintained composure during the proceedings until his defense lawyer, Gary Mitchell, gave
his emotional opening statement. The teen wiped his tears -----------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------ with Cody and his stepfather as the family drove
to Washington to begin a new life.

Cody said that despite his efforts to please his father, he could never meet his expectations. In his turn
on the stand, he demonstrated how his father allegedly nipped him on the back of the hand with a hay
hook for stumbling as he attempted to lift load bales of hay onto a hay truck. He also described how he
learned early on in life to not tell anyone of the alleged abuse of his father out of fear of retribution.
Tearfully, he said that he began to believe ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------- by his father.

Speaking through an interpreter, Donaldson ranch hand Isabel Pilo Vasquez testified about another
incident with a hay hook in which Paul Posey allegedly threatened to ------------------------------------ if he
popped the clutch while driving the ranch pickup truck.

Cowboy W. Slim Britton, who also worked on the Donaldson ranch with the Posey’s, corroborated
Cody’s claim that Paul Posey allegedly scratched his son with a hay hook as he attempted to load bales
of hay onto a truck.

Cody’s cousin, Sherry Gensler, fought back tears as she recalled the day of Cody’s mother’s funeral,
when Cody begged to not be returned to custody of his father. A custody agreement between Paul
Posey and Cody’s biological mother, Carla Brust, was declared invalid after Brust’s death in a car
accident-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.
Paul Posey’s second wife, Sandy Schmid, testified that she would protect Cody from his father during
the couple’s five-year marriage. She also claimed she saw Paul Posey-----------------------------------------------
---------------, supporting defense claims that Paul Posey had an “incest porn” fetish. Although she did
not specify what kind of material she saw.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step 2: Find the answers
1. What made Cody cry in the trial?
2. What did Cody believe that he deserved and why?
3. What did Paul Posey threaten his son to do?
4. Why was the custody agreement declared invalid?
5. What did Sandy Schmid see Paul Posey searching for on the internet?

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Step 3: Discus
Whole Group ‘Judges’ (a,b)Questions
1. Give the text a title
2. According to the text, where is Cody?
3. Give three alibis witnesses give in defense of Cody Posey.
4. What can you infer from the testimonies? Do you believe Cody is guilty of any killings?

Judge’s Dictionary
Retribution: punishment that is considered morally right
Corroborated: to strengthen or support with other evidence, make more certain
Proceedings: events, actions, procedures
Popped clutch: drives like crazy
Allegedly: supposedly
Testified: witness, make a solemn declaration under oath
Custody: the protective care or guardian
Incest: sexual relation between two considered as family
Fetish: obsession

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Step 1: Read the article
Group Witnesses (a)
Cody listened to the testimony from a defense psychologist who said-----------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------, which impaired his judgment.

The state recalled Paul Posey’s brother, Verlin Posey, in its rebuttal case to refute testimony from Cody
and 37 other witnesses, who described numerous alleged instances of physical, verbal and emotional
abuse by Paul and Tryone Posey. Verlin Posey testified that he never saw any marks or bruises on his
nephew and that he never witnessed any interactions between Paul and Cody that would lead him to
suspect an abusive relationship.

Cody and his lawyer, Gary Mitchell, listened to the prosecution closing argument as --------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------were projected on the wall for jurors.

In an emotional closing argument, Mitchell urged jurors to put themselves in Cody’s shoes and ask how
much abuse they would have tolerated before acting in self-defense, as he did.

Defense attorney Gary Mitchell attempted to console the normally stoic Cody, who sobbed as Judge
Counts read aloud guilty verdicts-------------------------------------------------------------, --------------------------------
------------------------------------,--------------------------------------------------------------.

Defense lawyer Gary Mitchell told Court TV that after the verdicts, Cody asked him what he should do
now. “Children never expect horrible things to happen. He thinks there’s some sort of sense of justice in
this world,” Mitchell said.

Posey was committed----------------------------------------------------, at which time he was moved to a

transitional rehabilitation facility in Albuquerque prior to his release on October 9, 2010, his 21st
birthday.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step 1: Read the article
1. What did the defense psychologist say about Cody?
2. What was projected on the wall for jurors?
3. What was the Jurors verdict?
4. What was Posey committed to and until when?

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Step 1: Read the article
Group Witnesses (b)
Cody listened to the testimony from a defense psychologist who said that he reached a “point of
despair” the morning of the shooting, which impaired his judgment.

The state recalled Paul Posey’s brother, Verlin Posey, in its rebuttal case to refute testimony from Cody
and 37 other witnesses, who describing numerous alleged instances of physical, verbal and emotional
abuse by Paul and Tryone Posey. Verlin Posey -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------that would lead him
to suspect an abusive relationship.

Cody and his lawyer, Gary Mitchell, listened to the prosecution closing argument as pictures of his
family and the burial site were projected on the wall for jurors.

In an emotional closing argument, Mitchell urged jurors ---------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------before acting in self-defense, as he did.

Defense attorney Gary Mitchell attempted to console the normally stoic Cody, who sobbed as Judge
Counts read aloud guilty verdicts of first-degree murder for the death of Marilea, second-degree
murder for Tryone and voluntary man slaughter
for his father Paul.

Defense lawyer Gary Mitchell told Court TV that after the verdicts, Cody asked ---------------------------------
----------------------. “Children never expect horrible things to happen. He thinks there’s some sort of sense
of justice in this world,” Mitchell said.

Posey was committed to a juvenile facility until April 2010, at which time he was moved ---------------------
--------------------------------------y in Albuquerque prior to his release on---------------------------------, his 21st
birthday.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step 1: Read the article
1. What was Verlin Posey’s testimony?
2. What did Mitchell urge jurors to do?
3. What did Cody ask his lawyer after her heard the verdicts?
4. Where was Cody moved prior to his release and when?

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All Group ‘Witnesses’ Questions

1. Give the text a title

2. What is the state opinion about Cody’s case? Support with evidence
3. Did the emotional pleas of Cody’s lawyer cause any changes in the course of the trial? Support
your answer
4. Does Cody deserve to serve a time in prison for the crimes he committed? Support your opinion.

Witness’s Dictionary
Rebuttal: refutation, disproof
Refute: contradict
Impaired: damaged, weakened
Prosecution: legal, court, proceedings against someone with respect to criminal charge
Projected: foreseen, visualized
Tolerated: accept to endure
Console: comfort
Attorney: lawyer
Stoic: a person who can endure pain or hardships without showing their feelings or complaining.
Slaughter: killing, murder
Rehabilitation: restoring someone to a useful place in society
Facility: something that permits the easier performance of an action

Crime library: www.truetv.com

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