of birth control pills, twice attempted suicide, and once attempted self-castration. The trial began on January 14, 1993, with jury selection at which no potential juror expressed any difficulty with the judge's statement that "the defendant is physically a male but may emotionally and psychologically be a female, and will be wearing what may be described as female clothing and may exhibit mannerisms and behavior considered to be female or that he may be referred to by female pronouns." At trial, Kosilek's attorney did not dispute that Kosilek strangled McCaul, but said Kosilek had no memory of the events because of a four-day blackout that began shortly before the killing. She said: "My client [Kosilek] now believes, though [Kosilek] has no memory of this, that [Kosilek] must have been the one to use that wire in self defense." The prosecution described how Kosilek hid McCaul's body, tried to disguise McCaul's death as "a sex crime", and fled to New York. During the court proceedings, a cab driver testified that he had picked up Kosilek from that same mall, on that same afternoon, and had driven her to a store located about half a mile from her house in Mansfield. Kosilek's step-son, Timothy, who was 15 years old at the time of the murder, testified that that evening, Kosilek had cooked steak for their dinner, and that they had talked about everyday things. Timothy also stated that Kosilek shaved off her beard on the day of the killing, the first time she had done so in at least a year. For the murder of McCaul, Kosilek was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. On appeal, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled on August 8, 1996, that the trial judge's errors were insufficient to overturn the conviction. Incarceration and medical lawsuits Kosilek is incarcerated in Framingham, Massachusetts, at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Framingham, a medium security female prison. Kosilek has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and identifies as female. While in prison, Kosilek has presented herself as a woman, as one court decision later said, "to the maximum extent possible", and had her first and middle names legally changed to Michelle Lynne. Lawsuits In 2000, Kosilek sued the Massachusetts Department of Corrections (MDOC), claiming "violation of rights" under the Eighth Amendment. Kosilek won that suit in 2002 and obtained hormone replacement