- The prosecution calls witnesses to testify on Tim Heidecker's character. His reactions, ranging from violent death threats to emotional heartbreak, seem to spell doom for him. The prosecution rests their case.
- The prosecution's first witness of the day is Amanda Davis (McColgan), the mother of 17-year-old Electric Sun victim Valerie Davis. She testifies about her last conversation with Valerie, and voices her blame for Heidecker in her daughter's death. Heidecker continues to be disruptive during Davis's testimony and makes spurious objections. Heidecker cross-examines Davis, during which he attempts to garner sympathy by saying he also lost a child and asks for a moment of silence in Valerie's memory. Judge Szymczyk grants the request, but denies an additional request to dim the courtroom's lights during.
The next witness is Mark Proksch, an employee of Heidecker's who frequently appears in "On Cinema." He testifies to Heidecker's character, specifically his physically and psychologically abusive behavior on the show; this is corroborated by a compilation of clips from "On Cinema" that are submitted as evidence. All the while, Heidecker attempts to intimidate Proksch into silence, staring at him and telling him "Watch it, Mark" before the testimony begins.
Heidecker gets the opportunity to cross-examine Proksch, which he gleefully accepts (despite Proksch's attempts to leave the witness stand). He initially tries to coerce Proksch into admitting that the physical abuses were faked for comedic effect, though he is unsuccessful. Heidecker tries to ask his next question close to the bench, but a prosecution objection over witness intimidation leads to the bailiff standing by Proksch.. Heidecker then attempts to discredit Proksch's reliability as a character witness (as well as suggest shared responsibility for the disaster at Electric Sun) by saying Proksch failed to secure a food truck for the event. Proksch replies that Heidecker never gave him any money or instructions on where to get one. Heidecker's line of questioning grows increasingly personal and belligerent, and claims that he has a Constitutional right to strike Proksch for insubordination as his employee. He berates both D.A. Rosetti and Judge Szymczyk, leading him to being held in contempt of court. When Heidecker attempts to approach Proksch and makes verbal threats, the bailiff forcibly leads him out of the courtroom, and Judge Szymczyk calls for recess.
After the recess, Judge Szymczyk apologizes to the court for raising his voice, and Heidecker offers a (halfhearted) apology of his own. The prosecution's next witness is Alessandro "Axiom" Serradimigni, the Italian-born guitarist for Heidecker's band DKR. D.A. Rosetti questions him, mainly with the goal of proving that Heidecker stole the melody of one of Serradimigni's songs for his own song "Empty Bottle." However, Sarridimigni's devotion to Heidecker, bordering on fanatic loyalty, leads to him denying that Heidecker plagiarized him. Rosetti asks Sarridimigni about his missing right hand, and he replies that he donated it to Heidecker for a graft out of personal devotion. During cross-examination, Heidecker simply gets Sarridimigni to agree that their songs are completely different based on lyrical content.
The next prosecution witness is Ayaka Ohtani (Ohwaki), the ex-wife of Heidecker and the mother of their deceased son Tom Cruise Heidecker. She testifies about Heidecker's violent and temperamental nature during their marriage, as well as his continued partnership with Sanchez, despite Sanchez's medical inexperience resulting in the death of Tom Cruise Heidecker. Ohtani briefly explains her life post-divorce, namely that she moved back to Japan, remarried, and had a daughter. Heidecker is visibly flustered when cross-examining her, and largely asks questions about her personal life (which the prosecution objects to on grounds of relevance). After Ohtani tells him that she no longer loves him, Heidecker says he has no further questions and throws his notepad in frustration before storming out and taking recess.
With no more witnesses or evidence to present to the court, the prosecution rests their case, and Judge Szymczyk calls for recess until the next day.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content