La Plata, MD – The ongoing first-degree murder trial of Caroline Marie Conway, 53 of Waldorf, brought forth dramatic, emotional testimony from two crucial witnesses in the case Monday, Dec. 12.
Jessica Baldwin of Jacksonville, FL, mother of Robert Manges, who Conway is accused of shooting to death in the parking lot of the old Rock ‘N’ Roll McDonald’s May 20, 2015, described her son as a great dad who loved his kids.
When asked by Charles County Assistant States Attorney Francis Granados to identify herself, Baldwin responded, “Robert Manges was my son. He was murdered last year, two weeks after Mother’s Day.”
Through tears, Baldwin described the last time she talked to her son, who told her he had gotten a new job making more money.
“He told me everything was going to be okay,” she said. “He told me he was on the way to pick up the kids.
“He told me he loved me,” Baldwin said. “That was the last time I ever talked to my son.”
Then Granados showed her two photographs, one of her son in his navy uniform and then another, of her son deceased.
“That’s Rob,” she moaned, “That’s my son,” and began sobbing.
“I hope that’s the last time you have to see that,” the prosecutor said.
It was by far, one of the most powerful moments of the trial and one the jury noticed.
Krystal Manges furthered the state’s case when she testified to the events of the day she and her husband were waiting in the McDonald’s parking lot at Mall Circle.
The events leading up to that fateful day have been well-documented by Charles County States Attorney Tony Covington and Granados throughout the five days leading up to Monday’s testimony. The Manges’ were in the midst of a bitter custody dispute with Richard Conway and the defendant, who had filed child sex abuse charges against them.
On the day the couple was waiting for visitation with their children, the Conways received notification that their allegations were being dismissed for insufficient evidence.
Manges testified they arrived at the Rock ‘N’ Roll McDonald’s early and were both playing video games, she on her phone and her husband on his tablet when Caroline Conway “just got into the car.”
When asked to describe what she was wearing, she described what other witnesses have already testified to: a dark hoody, black pants and eyeglasses.
“She had a pistol,” she said. “She told Rob to hand over his phone. She told me to make a phone call to Richard, to change the location to the courthouse in La Plata for 7:30 p.m.”
“And you made that phone call,” Covington asked.
“Yes,” she replied.
“How did Richard sound on the other end when you made that call?” the prosecutor asked.
“He was very calm,” Manges replied. “He said ‘okay.’ ”
“What happened then?” Covington asked.
“She told me to hand over my phone and I put my phone in my lap,” she said. “Robert went after the gun. He pushed her arm up, I got halfway out when the first gunshot went off. As I ran around the Jeep I heard two gunshots. I saw Mrs. Conway standing there. She fired one shot that hit me. Another shot hit my Jeep. I fell to my knees. I don’t know where she went. I looked at Robert. He was lying on the ground.”
Testimony presented by the state last week included Robert Gale, who testified the night of the shooting Richard and Caroline Conway showed up at their house unannounced. “Caroline told me, ‘I did it, Bob. I shot ‘em,’ shot who? I asked. ‘Richard’s ex-wife and her husband,’ ” Gale stated.
Conway said she needed to use the bathroom, and the state was able to prove, through surveillance cameras at the Gale residence, that the defendant changed her clothing. Gale told the court he didn’t believe what she had told him, but began to wonder when he found Richard Conway standing in his parking lot next to a white trash bag with a black semi-automatic pistol sitting on top of it.
“I asked him what it was,” Gale testified. “Richard said, ‘that was the gun.’ I told to him to take that shit and get it out of here.”
Gale said he “couldn’t believe Mrs. Conway would do such a thing,” but changed his mind when he saw her on Fox 5 News and called police.
While neither clothing nor murder weapon have ever been found, Det. John Elliott of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office obtained video footage from McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts that shows a small figure in a dark hoody crossing Route 301 just moments after the shooting.
Several eyewitnesses have testified to Conway’s crossing Crain Highway through a wooded path behind McDonald’s.
Then the state produced corroboration from an unlikely source.
Megan Marie Scott, who up until earlier this year had been an inmate at the Charles County Detention Center on theft charges related to heroin addiction, testified that while she was incarcerated she spoke numerous times with the defendant.
“She told me that she and her son had started discussing ways to kill her [Krystal] and her husband,” Scott said. “One was murder-suicide, another was to make it look like a robbery gone bad.”
The state’s finest yet saddest moments in the trial came when the prosecutor asked Scott about a particular discussion between her and Conway while in jail.
“We were talking about regrets,” Scott explained. “I had told her about regrets I have and I asked her, ‘what about you? Do you have any regrets?’ She told me, ‘I just regret that I didn’t kill Krystal.’ ”
Defense Attorney James Farmer was able to score one small victory on Monday, when Judge Steven I. Platt stated before the jury, “The court takes judicial notice of a plea of not criminally responsible Oct. 23, 2015.”
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com
