The defense attorney had no questions for Allison Meadows or her mother.
In March 2013, Meadows was stabbed multiple times in a Pittsburgh, Pa., Target store. She and her family, who at the time had traveled from their home in Chattanooga to visit relatives, returned to Pennsylvania last week to testify against the homeless, mentally ill man who attacked her and several others.
Allison's mother, Sharon, told jurors how Leon Walls grabbed her daughter from the checkout lane and began stabbing her. She spoke about the brawl that ensued as bystanders worked to free Allison, then 16.
Allison's father, Glen Meadows, spoke Friday about the trial while the family was preparing to return home.
He said Walls' lawyers didn't cross-examine his wife at all.
"I thought, 'Yeah, dude, probably a good thing,'" Glen Meadows said. "You probably don't want to question the mom of a girl who's been stabbed."
The high-profile court case had an unusual mixed verdict: For attacking Allison, the jury found Walls guilty but mentally ill on charges of attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person. But for charges involving his attacks on the people who tried to rescue her, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was wholly acquitted of seven charges, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
University of Pittsburgh law professor John Burkoff, who helped craft the state's "guilty but mentally ill" law decades ago, said he had never seen a verdict split like this one, according to Pittsburg television station WTAE.
"This is a really weird verdict," Burkoff told the station. "Here's what the jury was saying: In respect to some of these charges, he was insane. But with respect to some of the other charges, he was not insane. But he was mentally ill."
The Meadows family is relieved to have the trial behind them, though the family will return to Pittsburgh in a few months for Wells' sentencing.
"We're somewhat relieved that this portion is over," Glen Meadows said. "But there's still more work to be done."
During last week's trial, the Meadowses saw for the first time surveillance video that documented the attack. The video shows strangers jumping in to free Allison from Walls, who was holding her hostage. One man even jumped over the cash register to tackle the man.
"I close my eyes and I can just see that video," Glen Meadows said. "I see the brutality of that maniac."
He said Allison is doing well. The softball standout just graduated from Silverdale Baptist Academy and plans to attend Lee University in the fall. But she is still recovering from the incident.
"She tries not to talk a lot about her injury," he said. "We just basically say she's still working through some issues. That's true for her phyiscal being and her mental being, as well."
Contact staff writer Kevin Hardy at khardy @timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.