It was the best of closing arguments, it was the worst of closing arguments, Arreaga's attorney magnificent in today's closing

After Deputy District Attorney Zachary Curtis presents his rebuttal argument Monday morning and the jury gets their final instructions from Judge Marilyn Miles, the fate of Jason Arreaga, the man charged with the murders of Harley Hammers and Angel Tully will be in the hands of 12 jurors.

Today, Mr. Curtis and Ms, Heidi Holmquist gave their closing arguments. Towards the end of her closing argument, Ms. Holmquist voice choked up and you could tell she was tearing up a bit as she appealed to the jurors that it was up to them to hold the District Attorney to what she described as the highest standard in our legal system, reasonable doubt.

Mr. Curtis basically recapped the events and his opening argument. He went over elements of crime but very little testimony. His delivery was very clinical and precise. He did his best to triage his key witnesses whose credibility was brought into question during cross examination during the trial.

Ms. Holmquist on the other hand, was emotionally powerful, raising the issue of reasonable doubt effectively, a point made several times by Judge Miles in her instructions this morning before closing arguments. As defense, she did a better job of illustrating the terrible loss of Harley Hammers and Angel Tully's lives.

Reading actual testimony and hitting on key points effectively raising reasonable doubt and pointing to Shavonne Hammers as a possible suspect, the jury was drawn to Ms. Holmquist's words and presentation as were those of us covering the trial. Ms. Holmquist decimated three of the People's key witnesses, using their own words to shred their credibility.

I will have detailed posts later on Judge Miles' jury instructions, on on Mr. Curtis' closing and on Ms. Holmquist's closing.

Here are some quotes and highlights to give you a preview:

Mr. Curtis: "I don't think this is an implied malice case, it's express malice case." Mr. Curtis said this but then went over the elements of express malice and how they fit the crime. At a very crucial point in his power point presentation, he had Angie Eller's name typed instead of the victim Angel Tully and he said that and then corrected himself.

Ms. Holmquist: When we started this trial, I emphasized the presumption of innocence. I told you the terrain would be rocky. My prediction proved to be correct."

Ms. Holmquist: Mr. Curtis in his opening ignored a lot of hard facts. I want to talk to you about everything, not just facts convenient to me. What happened on September 3 was horrible and took two people's lives."

Ms. Holmquist: "All witnesses except Jason and Carly know each other."

Quoting Rodney Coombs defensive reaction to her cross examination, "This is a bunch of B.S." Ms. Holmquist said, "This is not a bunch of B.S. to him pointing to Arreaga.

Referring to Shavonne Hammers, "Her memory got a lot worse when I started asking her questions." For about 15 minutes, Ms. Holmquist read Shavonne Hammers' actual testimony and her "I don't remember, I don;t recall responses." It was very effective. This is a point I made in my coverage as have others during the trial and you can be sure the jury remembers too.

Ms. Holmquist: "Just because her testimony is what the police want you to believe doesn't mean it's the truth."

Ms. Holmquist: "It's pretty clear that Shavonne had a hold on Carly and Carly had a hold on Jason."

Ms. Holmquist: "They didn't bring in witnesses to dispute what Mr. Arreaga told you because what he told you is the truth."