Insumran says he had a close relationship with the victim
MARQUETTE -- The Marquette man on trial for assault with intent to commit murder, sexual assault, and home invasion took the stand Wednesday to tell his side of the story.
Tuesday, alleged victim, Autumn Ballas, testified about her relationship with defendant Suranit Imsumran, one that became awkward and tense when she came to believe her 43-year-old boss had a crush on her.
Wednesday, as the defense introduced their case, Imsumran took the stand to tell his own side of the story. He painted a very different picture of their relationship.
According to Imsumran, it wasn't long after Ballas became his coworker, that the relationship developed into something deeper.
He described an incident just weeks after they met.
"One night, we had a chance to get into her bed and then we start to foreplay, take off the clothes, topless," testified Imsumran. "And then somehow, she just said, 'Stop it.' She wasn't ready for tonight."
Photos of a sightseeing trip to Munising and a night at a Marquette nightclub revealed that the two did get together outside of work. However, the prosecution pointed out that the pictures did not depict dating scenarios. None of the pictures included the two together, alone.
Imsumran described some of the days in the month leading up to the night of the alleged attack as the "best" of their relationship. He said she was letting him more into her personal life. He then said in the Thai culture, they would have been considered "boyfriend and girlfriend."
Imsumran admitted to going to Walmart and purchasing duct tape, zip ties, scissors, rope, and personal lubricant following an argument at work with Ballas. She was allegedly attempting to have him fired from his job. He says he then entered her apartment uninvited, but he said he was paying her cable TV bill at the time and felt like it was "home."
He says he then had two options: use the items to make sure she would talk to him or if she did talk to him without the use of the supplies, give them to her as a packing supplies gift if she became evicted from her residence.
When Ballas woke up to discover him dressed in black with a flashlight and knife in her room, he testified that he tried to calm her screams. At first she hadn't realized it was him, as he was wearing a black ski mask. However, when his identity was revealed, the fight didn't end, and it was Ballas who actually pulled the knife on him. The knife, Imsumran says, he had brought into her apartment that night himself, but had accidently dropped.
"I heard something metal swish and, and I look and oh, it's a knife," Imsumran said.
His testimony today conflicted with what he originally told the police, but he claims that he lied because he wanted to protect Ballas. Insumran said he loved Ballas and still does, even today.
The defense's case includes about six other witnesses.
The case could go to the jury as early as Thursday afternoon.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWLUC