4.Susan Bertolo — Direct
155 linesMS. BUCKINGHAM: The Commonwealth would call Susan Bertolo as its next witness.
BAILIFF: Good morning, ma'am. Stop right there. Raise your right hand for the court, please.
COURT CLERK: Thank you. You may have a seat.
THE COURT: Good morning.
SUSAN BERTOLO: Good morning.
THE COURT: All right. Can I ask you to speak into that microphone?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Okay.
THE COURT: All right. And keep your voice up so everybody can hear you.
SUSAN BERTOLO: Okay.
THE COURT: All right. Commonwealth.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Thank you. Good morning. Could you please tell the jurors your first and last name?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Susan Bertolo.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And if you could just speak as loud as you can into that microphone, okay?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Mm-hmm, yep.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Can you spell your last name for the record?
SUSAN BERTOLO: B-E-R-T-O-L-O.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And what city or town do you live in?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Plymouth, Massachusetts.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And where do you work?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Leaping Frogs Preschool.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Prior to working at Leaping Frogs, did you work at another preschool?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes, at, uh—
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Where was that?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Learning Sprouts in Duxbury.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And how long had you been with Learning Sprouts?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Four years.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Okay. Did you teach a particular age group at that preschool?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes, I taught the older preschool group.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Okay. And at Learning Sprouts, are the classes kind of divided up in some way?
SUSAN BERTOLO: They're divided by age. Like toddlers, younger preschool, older preschool.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And is there a particular label to the rooms that they're in? Are they referred to in a particular way?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes. We were Sunflowers.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: So your group, the three to five-year-olds, is the Sunflower group?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And can you tell us a little bit about how the day is broken up for kids in the Sunflower group?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Sure. So some children came in early at 8:00, and then the rest of the kids came in at 9:15.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Mm-hmm.
SUSAN BERTOLO: And then some are half-day and some are full-day.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And as far as, excuse me, your role with the kids in the Sunflower room, you primarily interacted with them in the mornings, correct?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Correct.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And when the kids get dropped off, is it fair to say the bulk of the kids get dropped off around 9:00?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And does that happen kind of like in a wave where parents drop off and they're kind of taken into the room as a group?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes. So the way our classroom was set up, we met them. They were dropped off to us at the door, and then we brought them into our classroom.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And they stayed with you in that classroom throughout the morning, correct?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And the kids who stayed for the afternoon, did they stay with you in the Sunflower room or did they go someplace else?
SUSAN BERTOLO: No, they did not stay with us. We closed up our room, and our kids, the majority of our kids—we had a couple—went over to the Sweet Pea room, which was across the hall.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And so are you familiar with Cora Clancy, or were you familiar with Cora?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And was she in the Sunflower room with you?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes, she was.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Drawing your attention to September of 2022, what was her schedule, if you can recall?
SUSAN BERTOLO: I believe she was scheduled. I don't remember the days. I think she came three days.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Okay. And for the three days that she came, do you remember if she was just in the morning group, or were there any days that she eventually did an afternoon?
SUSAN BERTOLO: So in the beginning of the year she was three days, and then went full-day. And then towards the end of her time in our room, she did one afternoon, I believe. No, I'm sorry, one half-day.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Okay. So fair to say, you then interacted with her at least three days—
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: ...in the morning, and then she went to the Sweet Pea room in the afternoon?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And who was the teacher in the Sweet Pea room?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Stephanie.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Would you be present when Cora was dropped off in the morning?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Myself or my coworker, Karen. We took turns.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And fair to say there were always the two of you assigned to one room—
SUSAN BERTOLO: Correct.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: ...with the number of kids in the class?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Correct.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Now as far as drop-offs for Cora, did you have the opportunity to interact with parents at drop-off?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Briefly.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And for Cora, who used to drop her off?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Both, both parents dropped off, Pat and Lindsay.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Did you see one parent more than the other?
SUSAN BERTOLO: I recall seeing Pat more, but we took turns, so it was... We didn't really ask each other who dropped off.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: When you say, "We took turns," you mean yourself and Karen?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Karen, correct.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Now...
MS. BUCKINGHAM: With the limited interaction at drop-off, did you have opportunities to interact in other ways with parents?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And how did you interact with parents in other ways?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Email or typically our ClassDojo, which is an app for the class.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And that's something that can be done on the phone or a computer?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Correct.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And were the Clancys, meaning Patrick and Lindsay, fairly active or responsive to the Dojo app?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And do you know, or do you recall who would be more responsive?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Lindsay.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: How was Cora as a preschool student?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Amazing. She was wonderful.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Was she, in your opinion, ready for kindergarten?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: I'm gonna draw your attention to January 23rd of 2023. Do you remember Cora coming that day?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yep.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And do you recall who dropped her off?
SUSAN BERTOLO: I do not.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Did you notice anything different about Cora that day?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And what was different?
SUSAN BERTOLO: She needed to use the bathroom several times, more than she normally would.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And is there a reason why that kind of stood out to you that she used the bathroom more than often?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes, because our classroom did not have a bathroom in it. So we would go down at scheduled times before snack or lunch, and if a child needed to go, one of us would take that child. And that particular day she went several times extra.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And so between you and Karen, you were kind of taking her more often to the bathroom. Was she complaining of any belly pain or any other issues?
SUSAN BERTOLO: She didn't complain.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: But the fact that she asked to use the bathroom was of note to you?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And when Cora transitioned that afternoon to go to the Sweet Pea room with Stephanie, did you pass along those observations to the afternoon teacher?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes, I did, 'cause that was something that you would want a parent to know. It was unusual.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And during that morning group, you didn't feel it was necessary to reach out to either Patrick or Lindsay to report that, did you?
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Okay. But you reported it to Stephanie to pass along for the afternoon?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Correct.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And on that particular afternoon, were you at Learning Sprouts during pick-up time?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes, I was.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And that wasn't always the case, was it?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Not every day, but I often would help out in the toddler room if they needed me to stay, and that is what I had done that afternoon.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: So on that particular afternoon, at pick-up time, did you have the occasion to see Lindsay Clancy?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes, I did.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And did you have a opportunity to speak with her?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yep, we spoke quickly, and I just was letting her know, and she did already know, but we just spoke quickly that she had gone a few times.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: So you were letting her know about Cora going to the bathroom?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Correct.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And how did she respond when you told her that?
SUSAN BERTOLO: She said—I don't remember exactly the words—but basically that she wasn't glad that she wasn't feeling well, but she already had a doctor's appointment the next day, so that she would let them know.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And that interaction was fairly brief, correct?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Correct.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: But appropriate?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yeah.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And they left that day?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yeah.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Did you notice anything different about Lindsay Clancy after you told her that, or in that brief interaction, than any of your other interactions with her?
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And you are a mandated reporter at the preschool?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Correct.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: So if a child were to come in with any concerning marks or bruises, or was saying something about things that were happening in the household, you would be required to report those to the Department of Children and Families?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Any concerns or reports regarding the Clancy family at all during the time that you were Cora's teacher?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Never.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And do you recall if Cora ever mentioned to you during class, during the time that you were teaching in the morning classes, a time when her mom was in the hospital?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: And what do you recall about that?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Just that she was... She missed her mom, and she was vocal about that.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Do you remember about when that was, that she said something about her mom being in the hospital?
SUSAN BERTOLO: It was in... I can't remember if it was in December or January. I just remember that that was... It was said.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: But fair to say it was closer in time to the last time you saw her, as opposed to the beginning of the school year?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Just to briefly go back to Cora's schedule. I know you say you can't remember exactly which days she came.
SUSAN BERTOLO: Mm-hmm.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: But by January of 2023, Cora was coming for three full days and one half day, correct?
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yes.
MS. BUCKINGHAM: Okay. Thank you.
THE COURT: Mr. Reddington.
MR. REDDINGTON: No questions. Thank you.
THE COURT: All right. Thank you, ma'am. You may step down.
SUSAN BERTOLO: Yeah.
THE COURT: Thank you.