preliminary exam last june to establish cause for indictment, there was key testimony from vail s former friend, isaac. well, abshire died three years ago at age 91 of kidney problems. so what happens now? let s talk with our legal panel. doug burns and arthur aidala. in this videotaped testimony last year, he said he was on the search boat that found mary vail s body, he saw the scarf stuffed in her mouth. so for starters, how crucial is abshire s testimony? well, i would say it s pretty crucial. i also raised my eyebrows when the reporters just mentioned one of his ex-wives had a trap door in the car. when you do what doug and i do, usually the clients that have a trap door in the car, that has to do with drugs. it s pretty fascinating. they have to turn on the air conditioner, the radio and the turn signal at the same time, and some door opens. here, i mean, if this woman gets to take the stand and say, oh,