Three hours into the trial of former First United Methodist Church Pastor Paige Williams and Daycare Director Abby Leach, jurors have already heard extensive testimony and cross-examination of Hopkinsville Police Department Investigator Mike Luckingham and parent Laura Faulkner — key researchers and witnesses in the convicted abuse and alleged leadership misconduct involving eight children.
As of 11:30 AM, Faulkner — whose child was among the lot — was still on the stand, called by Special Prosecutor Blake Chambers in order to attest and confirm her child’s identity in two January 9, 2019 videos, both of which physically implicated Allison Simpson roughing an infant, and incidentally implicated Nina Morgan as complicit and negligent.
On the night of January 24, 2019, Faulkner testified to the court she had received a “phone call from a friend” who had a child at the daycare — and that she was “disturbed” and “very alarmed” by the contents of the call.
She said she texted both Leach and Williams asking for a meeting that next morning, January 25, but a friend and another parent — James Adams — indicated a need to wait.
A later meeting between the Faulkners, Adams, Williams, Paige Parker, and others brought about copies of text messages shared among church leaders, and the first sharing of the two videos viewed in court Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Luckingham was on the stand for more than 90 minutes, taking questions from Williams’ defender, Bill Deatherage, and Leach’s defender, David Bundrick.
Luckingham noted that of the several hundred-gigabit videos that could be saved, five cameras were downloaded with 20 available. And of those five cameras, two specific angles were the most important in the detective work and discovery.
Deatherage asked: “If we had those other angles, might we see Pastor Paige walking through those other halls?” Deatherage also noted that Williams was “instrumental” in procuring a digital padlock for the nursery, and that with “at least” 20 cameras in the daycare, there seems to be at this time “no other knowledge” of Williams’ potential positive efforts.
Chambers, however, asked in his following: had Courtney McCombs, a former worker at the daycare who was present in the nursery on the two Faulkner videos, not reported these incidents to Hopkinsville Police Department, would we even be in trial this week?
Luckingham responded: “We would not.”
Chambers also called Stephanie Scott to the stand, who in 2019 worked for the Cabinet of Health and Family Services.
She said that on January 30, 2019, an investigation began at their level — one that Luckingham initialized — and in the next six months had interviewed more than 15 church associates, parents, and daycare board members in trying to find all angles and details of the abuse.
Scott said she reached out to both Simpson and Leach about the video content but didn’t hear response.
Jurors broke for lunch at noon, and returned to session at 1:10 PM.
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