Taren Rivera direct

could you introduce yourself to the members of the jury?

gladly. Hi, I’m investigator Taren Rivera 

Investigator Rivera, what do you do for a living?

fighting crime. that’s what I’ve always done, in different roles throughout the years including working for the FBI. These days I’m an investigator for the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC for short, based out of their Midlands office.

Can you tell us why you are in court today?

I lived on the set of Season Ten of The Saboteurs as a member of Craft Services for three months. I was sent there by the FTC to conduct an undercover investigation. While I was on set, a contestant, Rob Armstrong, died, and after we began to suspect foul play, I then arrested Charlie Martin. So, I’m here to testify about how we got there. 

As part of your undercover work, did you get to observe the contestants behind the scenes?

Yes, a lot. I did behind the scenes snooping, so I got to see lots of things the cameras and the producers didn’t see.

Now that we understand why you were on the show, I want to talk a little about the Defendant. Did you ever interact with the defendant directly on set?

Yes, I did. I had a rather odd run in with Mx. Martin in the basement of the hotel on March 30th.

Why do you say this interaction was odd?

It was weird, because cast members weren’t allowed in the basement. The production members really strictly controlled the cast members’ every move, so Mx. Martin was taking a big risk being down there. Add to that the fact that Mx. Martin’s behaviour had been increasingly erratic throughout the week. 

Where in the basement was the defendant?

They were in the basement supply closet. 

Did you see what they were doing in the basement supply closet?

well, they told me they were getting cleaning supplies because they’d spilled some Diet Coke…which made the interaction even more odd. 

Why was it strange that the defendant told you they spilled Diet Coke?

Because Hotel Lux doesn’t have Diet Coke. So I knew he was either lying or…someone was breaking the rules. 

did you see the defendant take anything from the closet?

yes, I saw them coming out of the supply closet holding a bottle similar to the oxalic acid bottle the show kept in the hotel. 

Would you recognize a label from that bottle if I showed it to you today?

Absolutely.

Is this that label? (ex. 13)

That’s the one I saw Martin holding.

Does this label say anything about the dangers of its contents?

Yeah, it says here [point to exhibit] that Oxalic acid causes severe skin burns, eye damage, and respiratory irritation. It says down here you should immediately call the poison centre if it enters the body. 

did you ever see the defendant with the bottle that had this label on it aside from that interaction in the basement?

during the course of my investigation, I found that there was an Oxalic acid bottle in Mx. Martin’s room

Now that we’ve talked about the poison, I want to talk about the plan. Did you see the defendant on April 6th prior to the filming of Episode Nine?

I did. It was in the early morning, around 5am. I was out for my morning jog, when I saw Martin by the diving equipment that would be used for that day’s elimination challenge. 

Were you able to see what the defendant was doing?

From a distance, I did see Martin clutching a baggie and doing something with Mr. Armstrong’s diving mask. 

I want to focus then on why the Defendant might have picked that player. How would you characterize the Defendant and Armstrong’s relationship?

I would say there was a bit of animosity between them.

Was this animosity limited to the show?

No. As a game show fanatic, I know producers make up a lot of what viewers see on TV. I initially thought Armstrong and Martin’s hatred for each other was one of those made up things. But it wasn’t.

How did you know that?

Because I saw lots of interactions between them. There was one particular one I saw, after the filming of Episode 8, which was little less than a week before Mr. Armstrong’s death. I witnessed a pretty unsettling off-camera interaction between the two of them.

What was unsettling about that interaction?

well, it was typical for Armstrong and Martin to not get along; There was one particular one I saw, after the filming of Episode 8 which was little less than a week before Mr. Armstrong’s death. I witnessed a pretty unsettling off-camera interaction between the two of them. 

what was unsettling about that interaction?

well, it was typical for Armstrong and Martin to not get along; we’d seen that on and off camera. But this time, it was escalated. much more serious and threatening than any interaction I’d seen between them. 

what were Armstrong and the Defendant talking about?

Mr. Armstrong was bragging about how he’d just won the last challenge. It was an underwater challenge and Mx. Martin had taken away his respirator, but that didn’t seem to stop him. 

How did the defendant respond?

Their face started turning red. Mx. Martin told Mr. Armstrong, “I won’t regret a thing when I hear you take your last breath. Push me too far, and that day will be here before you know it.”

How did Mr. Armstrong respond? (idk if this question is kept)

he was laughing at first, but then he saw the way Mx. Martin was staring daggers at him and stopped. (idk if this question is kept)

Was anything else said between them?

Yes. Mx. Martin told Mr. Armstrong, “Enjoy these next few days; they will be your last.”