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WDKX.com » Blog » R. Kelly Trial Update - Sparkle Spits Fire
May 23rd 2008 7:21 pm
R. Kelly Trial Update - Sparkle Spits Fire

Wearing hoop earrings and facial glitter, R&B singer Stephanie "Sparkle" Edwards clashed Thursday with defense lawyer Ed Genson when he accused her of testifying against R. Kelly for revenge and money.

* R&B singer Stephanie "Sparkle" Edwards testifies the girl in the sex video is a relative of hers -- and identifies the man as Kelly.

* Aubrey Hampton testifies the girl in the video is her childhood friend, the same girl identified by Edwards and other witnesses.

* Mary Kay Jerit, Hampton's mother, also identifies the girl.

* Debra Triplett, 48, is arrested for shouting "Free R. Kelly!" at the jurors as they get off an elevator.

Edwards had claimed a relative appeared with Kelly on a sex videotape.

Genson's cross-examination of Edwards grew so fierce, the two ended up shouting at each other. Edwards sarcastically called the 66-year-old lawyer "Sweetie."

"I am not your sweetie!" Genson bellowed.

Edwards became the latest witness to identify the girl in the tape and say she was 13 or 14 when it was made. Kelly, an R&B superstar who helped Edwards' career, is charged with child pornography and has pleaded not guilty.

Edwards said her extended family was once "as thick as thieves. You couldn't break the chain."

But a rift opened in December 2001, when Edwards got a call from a lawyer named Buddy Meyers, she said. Meyers wanted her to see a sex videotape that apparently featured a member of her family, Edwards testified. He sent an assistant to Edwards' apartment to show her the tape.

Edwards said she knew instantly the girl on the tape was her relative -- and that the man was Kelly. But others in the family did not want to see the tape.

Edwards recounted how Kelly launched her singing career, writing and producing her million-selling first album.

After that, she broke from Kelly, she said, and never again achieved the same success.

At one point, she introduced him to her young relative. "He liked her spirit. She was a very jolly person at the time," Edwards said. "She was my heart."

Edwards dabbed tears from her eyes during direct examination. But under cross-examination by Genson, she kept her composure.

She said that in spite of no longer working with Kelly, "He was my homeboy. We were still cool."

"You weren't angry you'd been terminated?" Genson asked.

After breaking with Kelly, Edwards talked about a record deal with Barry Hankerson, a producer with a record label.

"Was part of the deal you were talking about doing something bad to Robert?" Genson said.

"No," Edwards said.

The tension mounted as Genson asked if Edwards knew the tape was being sold all around Oak Park, where the family lived. "You don't know if someone put together a tape ... of old footage," Genson said.

"Sir, it's Robert [Kelly] and [the alleged victim] on that tape," Edwards said.

"You don't like Robert!" Genson said.

"I know my family," Edwards retorted.

Three other witnesses also identified the girl Thursday.