Winona's Fate Rests in Jury's Hands

By Stephen M. Silverman

Tuesday November 05, 2002 12:00 PM EST

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Yahoo Buzz
• E-mail

Winona Ryder did not star in her own trial for shoplifting in Beverly Hills Superior Court.

On Monday afternoon -- the sixth day of the trial -- the defense rested, summations were presented and the case went to the jury, without Ryder ever having been called to the stand, according to published reports.

The "Girl, Interrupted" star, 31, faces up to three years behind bars should she be convicted on charges of grand theft, second-degree burglary and vandalism for allegedly swiping nearly $6,000 in unpaid merchandise and walking out of the Beverly Hills Saks Fifth Avenue last December. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

"She came, she stole, she left. End of story," prosecutor Ann Rundle told the jury after describing the entire defense case as based on "misdirection, accusation, insinuation and speculation."

"We have offered you facts. They have presented hype. We have presented the truth. They have presented a story that could only have been written in Hollywood," Rundle said.

Reuters reports that Ryder's attorney, Mark Geragos, portrayed the actress as the victim of a frame-up by the security staff at Saks, and in his rambling, 90-minute summation told the jury that Ryder did not testify because, "There is a collapse of objective evidence in this case such that you cannot say without a reasonable doubt that Winona is guilty."

He also suggested that the scissors with which Ryder allegedly cut off sensor tags in the store had been planted on his client.

Ryder looked fashionably elegant but tense in the courtroom. Her ensemble consisted of a cream-colored dress and matching jacket.