“She said it was a very good game, even addictive, but she didn’t like the other players. The community that played it. She said there was some racism and misogyny.”
“Did Aaron keep playing it?”
“Yes, that became one of the things that split them apart. Becca told me that.”
We were right on the objection line, but the Masons were smart enough to know it was not good optics to object and interrupt a victim who had lost so much.
“Did your daughter know that Aaron had downloaded the Clair app?” I asked.
“She told me that he had created an AI companion, yes,” Brenda said. “I didn’t know what app it was or anything like that.”
“Did that also cause a rift in their relationship?”
Marcus Mason couldn’t hold back. He stood and objected before Brenda could answer.
“Calls for speculation,” he said.
“Not if she spoke to her mother about it,” I responded.
“Overruled,” Ruhlin said. “The witness may answer the question.”
“Becca told me that it was becoming a problem between them,” Brenda said.
“Was she jealous of this companion?” I asked.
“I don’t know if she was jealous of the thing. I think she wasn’t happy that he was spending so much time with it. She said that he would get texts from it when they were together.”
I nodded and looked down at the questions I had written on my legal pad. I ran a pen through the ones I had asked. I looked up at Brenda and continued before the judge could call me out.
“When did Becca tell you she had broken up with Aaron?” I asked.
It took a moment for Brenda to compose herself before answering.
“It was at the end of the school year,” she said. “The end of tenth grade. She didn’t want to continue the relationship with him. She even said to me, ‘I broke up withthem,’ meaning Aaron and his AI friend.”
I checked my notes again. I thought I had what I needed. I had underscored Becca’s noble ambitions and had, at the very least, hinted at Aaron’s descent into a relationship with a chatbot. It was time for the big finish.
“Brenda, when did you learn that Aaron’s decision to take a gun to school and shoot your daughter was influenced by his connection—”
Marcus Mason jumped up and objected before I could finish the question.
“Assumes facts not in evidence,” he said.
“I didn’t even finish the facts or the question,” I said.
“It was clear where you were going, Mr. Haller,” Ruhlin said. “Rephrase the question.”
“Thank you,” I said.
I looked down at my notes and questions. I already had the proper question written out.
“Brenda, did there come a time when you were told that the investigation of your daughter’s murder was focused on Aaron Colton’s relationship with an AI companion?”
Mason objected again on the same grounds, but the judge quickly overruled him and told Brenda she could answer.
“Yes, Detectives Clarke and Rodriguez told me they were focused on that,” Brenda said.
“And did they keep you updated on that part of the investigation?” I asked.
