Jennifer’s July testimony about all the promises she made Tim prior to her move to Clarksville made problems for the prosecution. The six jurors that voted Tim innocent on all charges said they did so because they did not believe Jennifer was credible about all the circumstances surrounding the allegations. So the prosecution needed to downplay the idea that Jennifer made a deal with Tim, didn’t hold up her end, and her kids cry very vague rape just at the time she was getting called on her failures with her de facto business partner.
The prosecution “fixed” this problem by manipulating Jennifer’s testimony to make it appear that Tim was the brainchild of the entire plan that the Astles move from Nashville to Clarksville and stay in his house. They wanted the jury to believe that Tim bought this family a house outright, that there were no promises made by Jennifer to pay any money for it, and that there was no disagreement about any money owed Tim by Jennifer. It was important that the jury believe Tim told Jennifer she would never have to pay or move out of the house because then Jennifer had no motive to fabricate the allegations. The prosecutors also correctly gambled that Tim was not going to testify and therefore they had license to suborn as much perjury as they wanted. And they DID.
The following is an excerpt from the October trial direct examination in which Prosecutor Roger Moore is setting the stage for Jennifer to adjust her more inculpable testimony from July:
*Click on image for larger reading print*
October Trial, Jennifer Astle Testimony, p.208 line 19-p.209 line 1
October Trial, Jennifer Astle Testimony, p.209 line 6-p.211 line 19
On page 209, line 21 (highlighted above), she starts accidentally telling the truth, that if she became behind on rent Tim told her she’d have to “make up the difference,” but then quickly remembers the new story and backtracks, saying that he told her she’d never be “kicked out” of Tim’s house for non-payment. This is also in direct contradiction to her July testimony during cross-examination by Bernie:
July Trial, Jennifer Astle testimony, p. 79 lines 8-16
She said that in July, but four months later in October Jennifer claims Tim told her there wasn’t any consequences of her breaking the lease she signed for the rental property, and that Tim never addressed her lack of rental payments. She also admits later in October she never got a tax return to pay him with, so he did not get paid as per their agreement she reluctantly had to admit they had.