Action News 5 - Memphis, TennesseeTRIAL BLOG: Memphis man accused of dismembering girlfriend (Day 4)

MEMPHIS, TN -

(WMC-TV) - Action News 5 is blogging the trial of James Hawkins, a Memphis man charged with first degree murder in the death of his live-in girlfriend, Charlene Gaither.

Hawkins is accused of killing Gaither.  After the murder, Hawkins admitted to police that he cut of Gaither's hands, head and feet, before dumping her torso in a secluded area, and other body parts in another location.

Hawkins allegedly forced his daughter, who was 12-years-old at the time, to help him dismember her mother's body.

Hawkins defense is arguing that his daughter killed her mother, and then he helped her cover it up.

Hawkins tried to plead guilty to dismembering the corpse, and filing a false report, but the judge would not consider his pleas, since he said they should have been entered before the jury was sworn in.

Judge Chris Craft said on the first day of the testimony that because the jury has already heard the charges, it would prejudice them.

Refresh this page throughout the day for live updates from the trial.

5:58 PM - Branham asks for a moment before she continues. In the interim, judge asks to speak privately with Bell and Skahan at the bench. COnference over.

Testimony resumes.

Mason says that after the interview with daughter, she did not do anything else to investigate this case. Branham is done with direct questioning.

The judge breaks for the day. He explains that they have been working hard, but that they have at least a couple more days to go. He sends the jury out of the room.

He adjourns court for the day. Hawkins leaves the room.

Court is adjourned until 9:00 am... Trail will resume at 9:30 am. See you then!

5:55 PM - Daughter's Aunt Tracy sat in on the interview. Daughter was willing to talk. She understood her rights. Signed the form. Gave a very detailed statement. Along the lines of what fatehr had said but very much more detailed. As a result of the statement, Hawkins was arrested. Mason says hte daughter was very cooperative. Did not hesitate or ask for her options. Mason says daughter told them everything, that she just talked, just narrated. The daughter was not charged with a crime.

During the interview, the daughter had a phone on her. After the interview in the room, they moved to MAson's desk to take a formal statement fromt he daughter. They had a transcriprionist present to type up everything that the daughter said. Her demeanor was calm until her cell phone started ringing during the statement. THe daughter answered. She put it down and told them that it was her father. She got nervous. Mason says they could see the fear in her eyes. She hung the phone up. It rang again immediately. Mason picked up the phone. The jail number did not show up. Another land line number showed up. She answered and hung up. A third call. Sgt. Murray picked up. Voice that supposedly sounded like HAwkins told them not to speak with daughter when he was not there. HE hung up then called again. They went and got Hawkins out of jail and placed him in the robbery office so that they could finish statement without dad calling. Eventually they completed the statement from the daughter. She signed it and dated it.

After that, Mason went to robbery to speak to Hawkins. Daughter still in homicide. Her family was there, too. Mullins went with Mason to robbery to see if he wanted to add anything or give them a statement. He did not want to do so. He had more demands. He wanted to see his daughter. He was not allowed to see her.

5:45 PM - Mason says some of the investigators got into the creek to try to find Gaither's head.

Mason says, the first time she went into the apartment she was only there for a minute. She says the smell of bleach and cleanser was too strong adn she couldn't take it. So she went outside and made small talk with Hawkins. Photo on the overhead. She shows where they stood and talked. Branaham apologizes for skipping around, blaming the fact that it's late in the day.

Mason says Hawkins was extremely nervous when they first stopped him. He was visibly shaking. Mason says htey ID'ed themselves as being Sgt.'s from teh MPD. She says he was nervous. Wanted to know why they wanted to talk to him. They informed him they wanted a formal statement regarding the missing persons report. She says he gave that statement but was anxious and wanted to go home and made it clear that he wanted to go home.

Mason says that the kids were with Hawkins when they first stopped him. HAwkins wanted to take them back to the apartment. Police agreed. The kids were just kids, Mason says. Mason says she was there for his first statement. He was anxious and wanted to go home. Mason says she interviewed Josh. LAter she interviewed the daughter. Mason says the daughter was nervous and always checking on her father when they were initially at the apartment. SHe came out and grabbed her dad's hand. Mason says the daughter accompanied the investigators to the KMart parking lot.

Sudnay February 17th they went back to the location where the hands and feet were supposed to be to search for the body parts or any cameras on any buildings. Armstrong called Murray. As a result of the phone call, they had the family come in to 201 Poplar to inform the family that Gaither's body had been positively ID'ed. Then MAson interviewed daughter. She describes daughter as nervous, very anxious. MAson asked her to calm down. Daughter was not under arrest. She was read her rights because some of the things she initially told police were not as forthcoming as what they had since found out. The inconsistencies made them want to read her Miranda Rights in case something incriminating came out. Mason says the family was just there because they had just done the family notification.

5:35 PM - Hawkins told them what happened.

They went to a movie Firday night. Charlene did not go because she was not feeling good. After movie, they came home. Charlene waqs in bed. Boys went to sleep. Hawkins and daughter stayed up late in teh living room and fell asleep in front of the TV. Next thing he knew Charlene came in fussing at them about daughter staying up late. HE tuned her out. Fell asleep on the sofa.  WOke up next morning. Heard daughter and CHarlene fighting in the bedroom. He went in to tell daughter not to talk to mom like that. When he walked into room, he saw daughter with a knife. Tried to calm her down. She ran around the bed and stabbed mom at the base of the neck. He went to Charlene's side and grabbed her. Held her until she died. For anywhere from 1 to 2 hours. After she died, daughter told him to help him cover this up because she did not want to go to prison for the rest of her life. He says he was confused about what to do. He finally decided to cut her up and dispose of the body parts in order to cover up for his daughter.

He says he cut her up. He and daughter went to Mississippi to dispose of body parts. He told investigators his daughter slept the whole way there. Mullins asked if he would show them where the parts were. Hawkins was silent. Mason asked. Hawkins sat there silent for "probably 15 minutes." He just sat there. Hawkins finally asked her what his options were if he told them what happened. He did not want a 1st degree murder charge or go to prison. She told him she coul dnot promise anything. She does not make those decisions. The DA's office makes those determinations. We don't make that decision, she told him. HAwkins kept sitting there thinking, looking at investigators.

He finally agreed to tell them. Eventually they went looking for body parts. Never found the body parts. HAd to make arrangements. Hawkins demanded plain car. It was raining very hard that night. It was cool. Mason gave Hawkins her coat so that he would not get wet. Investigators caravaned over to highway 78, turned on holmes road then onto Pleasant View or Pleasant Hill. There were three cars in the caravan. They did not find anything. Weather was too bad. They came back the next morning to search. They did not find anything. The entire team was out there the next day searching.

5:25 PM - They arranged a detective visit for James HAwkins. An investigator went to pick him up from "old release" at the jail. She's almost sure she went with the investigator to get him. They placed Hawkins in the large interview room. He was quiet ont eh way up. Once in the interview room, they tried to begin talking with him.  Presented advice of rights form. She says they attempted to give him the advice of rights form. Mason says he did not want to read it. They tried to read it to him, but he interrupted them and told him he did not want to sign anything or give them a statement.. Adivce of rights form was not signed. He'd talk, but not sign anything.

Mason says Hawkins was bossy, controlling. Would talk when he wanted to. Sometimes he'd just look at them. She says HAwkins was controlling, would take over the interview, especially with Mason. She says he got upset. Especially over them talking to his kids. Controlling the pace of the investigation. She says they were not getting anywhere with him. Mason says he denied everything. HE was there for a short periond of time. They started to take him back down to the jail. They only made it part of the way. When they reached the vending machine near the old cafeteria, Mason says he told her, "Miss Mason, I didn't do it."

Mason asked him what. SHe told him he didn;t do it but covered it up. She got the other two investigators to come over to them and had him repeat himself. He did. They went up to talk some more. On the way back up, he told them he would not give them a staement or sign anything, but would talk to them. On the elevator, he told her that he knew who she was from TV. He did not want to be on TV or be recorded. They tried to assure him they were not being recorded and that the First 48 was not even in town. He still declined to go in any of the interview rooms because he believed he would be recorded in there.

Hawkins said he would talk in the hallways. Mason did not agree. They did agree to sit at her desk to talk about things. Mason says there are no recording devices in the interview rooms. The First 48 used to record, but MPD never had.

Photo on overhead. Investigators in homicide unit around Mason's desk during the interview with Hawkins.

Handcuffed Hawkins left hand to the arm of the chair. Mullin stried to present Miranda Rights form. Hawkins got agitated, told them he knew his rights and was not going to give statement. He told them that he would talk to them. Mason says he asked to talk.

"What's the difference between talking and giving a statement?"

Mason says talking is an interview in which they take notes. A statement is a formal document in which investigators and subject type up a document together.

5:15 PM - Jury in the room.

The state calls Lt. Caroline Mason, currently of the felony response unit. She works 12 midnight to 8 am now. February 2008, she was a Sgt. in the homicide unit. Her partner was Tony Mullins. They were sent to Prince RUpert apartment to search for James HAwkins. They saw HAwkins get in car a drive away. They followed. Hawkins turned around. Mullins activated blue lights. Everyone got out the cars. Hawkins was eventually brought downtown in the back of a squad car. At 201, he was placed int eh large interview room. Armstrong asked Mullins and Mason to interview Hawkins.

Initially, they went to Winchester and Hacks Cross to the Nike Plant. Later learned that it was the wrong location and that Hawkins really worked at the plant off of 78 near the Mississippi border.

Mason identifies Hawkins in the courtroom. Mason says she was with Mullins during the whole process. After getting the statement from Hawkins, they went into Armstrong's office to confer on the latest developments with the other investigators. She learned that the kids had been brought down. Mason was asked to speak with the youngest of the children, Joshua. The kids were brought to the 11th floor of 201. Same floor where Hawkins was. Mason says she talked to Josh in the interview room in robbery office. Josh was with his grandfather. The info she got from Josh she relayed to the otehr members of the team.

MAson says they placed a 48 hour hold on Hawkins. Mullins prepared it. It was little bit after midnight on teh 16th. They came back to work at 8 am on the 16th. Another briefing with team. Search warrant prepared. Mason and Mullins, et al went to the apartment with the search warrant. CSI was there as well. Mason says she went inside apartment. Mullins went inside apartment. Mullins and the other investigators were in other parts of the house, checking for other bits of evidence. Mason says she inspected hte master bedroom where the adults sleep. Small bathroom in there, too. SHe says she noticed the carpet removed on the side of the bed nearest the window.

Photo on the overhead. Stripped bed. Mason says it is what she saw int he master bedroom. SHe points to the window. She points to the spot where the carpet was missing. She points to a spot just out of frame where she noticed a pair of blue, male pajama pants. On top of the pajama pants, there was a pair of pink, flower-print child's pair of panties on top of the pants.

"Seemed out of place to me," Mason says.

She says htey checked garbage dumpsters in the area. Got info from Sgt. Murray that clothes and mattress had been thrown away. They never found them. Went to KMart on Austin Peay looking for a saw. The saw had been purchased at Wal-MArt. Went looking for it.

Came back to 201 Poplar. Decided to pull Hawkins back in from jail to interview him again, to see if he had anything to add or if he had any answers to the new stuff they had found.

5 PM - Court is back in session. Hawkins is back in the room.

The next witness will be Caroline Masson, former MPD homicide investigator and current MPD Lt. The prosecutions say it will try to get done with her today. The judge says they will got until 5:30 or 6 pm today.

The judge calls for the jury.

4:35 PM - Josh says he thought he saw his mom in the car because he had heard yelling then silence then saw car speeding off with bags in teh back. He connected dots and assumed she had left. He never saw her face or head get in car. He says everything he testified about is true. It actually happened. Bell finished. Nance up again. Nance accuses Josh of remembering some interviews better than otehrs. Josh agrees. Nods his head yes.

Nance has nothing further.

Bell up again.

Josh says he watched  video of his interview with the CAC. HE never watched a video of the police interview. Bell down.

NAnce up. Nance says JOsh's memory has been colored by having watched the tape. Josh says he just is telling them what he knows. Josh says he had forgotten some things. The video refreshed his mempory.

FInally neither lawyer has any other questions. Josh Irvin is released from the witness stand.

"Anybody need a break?" the judge asks.

Branham raises her hand.

COurt is in recess.

4:30 PM - Josh finishes reading. Neither one of the things he was searching for was in there. Nance asks if the part about the phone being broken was in there. Josh says it was. Nance asks him to find it for him. Josh says he just read it. Nance asks him to tell him where it is. Josh says it's on the page next to the last page. Nance says he does not see anything in there about the broken phone.

Josh acknowledges there is nothing in there about Hawkins breaking the phone is not in the statement. He acknowledges the slap is not in there either. He says he was just answering the questions. He says he was not going to volunteer any information at the time. Nance points out that it is written on a "Homicide Witness Statement." Josh acknowledges and says he was still not gonna volunteer information.

Last Q in the statement asks if htere was anything he could think to add. Josh added that it was not like her mom to leave and not come back. She usually came back after 2 or 3 days. He told police that Calvin, an old friend of his mom, had been calling a lot. Nance finished.

Bell up for re-direct.

Josh says he was 9 at the time. He answered police questions to teh best of his ability. He also interviewed with CAC. They videotapes the interview. He has watched the videotape. Bench Coinference.... Over.

Josh says he did watch the tape of the interview at the CAC. He says he told hte lady about Hawkins punching him real hard in the chest. Josh says dad punched him a lot. As hard as he could. He says it hurt real bad. Hawkins bows his head and shakes it at this testimony. Josh says Hawkins would hit them in the chest if they did not answer his questions as quick as he wanted them to. Josh says he told CAC about tongue-kissing and breast grabbing between sister and dad. Josh he was shown KMart video. Today was the first time he has seen still photos from the video.

Josh says whenver his mom left,she would not call. But she would come back after a couple of days. When mom left, defendnat took care of the kids. During the days Gaither was gone, sister slept with the defendnat. Josh says he actually saw it. Josh says he does not remember specific times or dates. It's hard to remember specific months and times, etc.

 

4:20 PM - Nance resumes cross-examination. Josh says there was arguing and screaming was going on between Hawkins and his mom. He says he was already awake when he heard it. He says he just yelling. He says his mom yelled that daughter was her baby. James was asleep. In the same room. Their bedroom was the bedroom on the left. The one he did not go into when he went inside to use the restroom. He says he heard the yelling early in the morning. After hearing the loud voices, sister came in, cut the TV on, told them to stay put.  Josh says James did not wake up. he was still asleep. Joshs says he stayed in the room for about 10-20 minutes. He opened the room. It just went dead silent. A few seconds after he opened the door, he looked out the window and saw the car that he thought his mom was getting into. Josh went back into the room and went back to sleep. He says he does not know whta time he woke up, but walked into conversation between Hawkins and sister. 

Josh says he does not remember if they went to KMart that same day, but the went to KMart twice in one day. He says his parents arguing was not unusual. They argued a lot. He says he could not get something to eat that morning becasue sister ran him off and told him to go back to the room.

NAnce asks if he recalls making the statement at 11:46 on February 15th.

"I'm confused by what you're trying to say," Josh responds.

Josh says he does not know if he told police on that day about the incident at the park in which Hawkins grabbed sister's breast. He says he thinks he told them but does not remember. Nance asks if it would have been important to tell police that back then. Josh says it would have been important. He says he told police about being afraid of getting a beating. He says he did and that it should be in his statement from that night. Nance asks him to through the document to see if it is in there.

Josh flips throught he document, reading to see if it's in there. There is silence int he courtroom as we await the answer.

4:05 PM - Nance asks for time to confer with co-counsel. The judge indicates he will use this time to pass some of the exhibits to the jury for it to review. He "eliminates" the names written on the back of the Christmass card, explaining, "we try not to involve other people."

Defense attorneys whisper back and forth. The deputies sift through a pile of photos in order to find the right ones so that the jury can review exhibits 93-99. After several seconds, the deputy hands the photos to the jury.

We wait...

4 PM - Bench conference over.

Nance places the family Christmas card on the overhead projector. Charlene Gaither is in the middle. To her right is James Hawkins. Josh is on Gaither's far left. James is in the middle of Gaither and Josh. Sister is in teh middle between Charlene and James. 

Josh says his mom and dad argued a lot. Nance goes back to the 2 instances Josh considers physical. The first is about the phone that just broke. He says he does not know when it happened.

"I don't recall any times," he says.

He says he does not remember if they were in a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment. Josh says there had been no physical fight between mom and dad. The only contact was when dad reached around mom and grabbed the phone. Josh says he doesn't really consider it fighting, more verbal. Hawkins grabbed Gaither, but it was m ore to get the phone not to hurt her.

The other instance was the slap. Josh says he was right outside the master bedroom door when he heard the slap. DOes not rememebr which apartment. Mom came out with red face. Angry and upset. Said "c'mon boys let's go." They left.

"I'm tired of this sh**," somebody says in the gallery behind me. Not loud enough for judge to hear. He gets reprimanded by prosecution staff.  

Nance asks a few more wuestions, re-iterating previous testimony. Nance consults co-counsel. Josh bows his head and sits silently waiting.

Josh tells Nance he did not sicuss his testimony with the state. Josh says they asked him questions, but they didn't tell him what to say. He says they helped him prepare to testify.

Josh says they all went to KMart. He does not remember which day. They went twice in one day. Nance puts a photo on the overhead. One of the still photos from the surveillance camera inside KMart. Josh says he has to step down to see the photo better. He ID's himself and his family in the photo.

Another photo on overhead. He says the photo is blurry and he cant see or ID anybody in the photo.

Another photo. He recognizes "the defendant" in the picture. He says he remembers going through the checkout. He remembers his sister being there.

Another photo. Recognizes the defendant and brother James. Josh says he knows he was there but he is not in the photo.

Another photo. Family in the hardware section. He says he can't really see any faces in the photo.

Another photo. Family in hardware section. Can't recognize any face. Blurry.

Another photo. Nance asks if he recognizes the person standing in the aisle. "can't see," he says.

Another photo. Same answer. He says he does not remember how his sister was dressed that day.

Another photo. Can't see any faces.

Another photo. Family at the return counter. Josh says he can't tell who is who in teh photo. He can't tell who is hugging Hawkins.

Another photo. NAnce asks if remembers how he was dressed that day, if he has any vision problems. He says no. He can't see who is in the photo. Josh says he does not think that's him in the photo. He says he does not know if that's his brother or sister in the photo.

Another photo. Josh points out his brother, sister, and the defendant. He says it looks like his sister is holding the defendant's hand.

Another photo. Looks the same to me, he says.

3:43 PM - JAnuary 30, 2008. Josh says he is not familiar with the dates, but did go over to the child advocacy center. He says he does not remember the name of the DCS employee he talked to, but he was pulled aside and asked some questions. They asked if he had observed anyone touching any of his siblings inappropriately. Nance asks if he remembers answering "No." He says he does not recall answering that. He says if he had been asked that question, he would have told them the same thing he said today.

Nance hands Josh a document and asks him to ID it. He recognizes the people in the picture, but he does not remember taking it. The date on the front says December 2007. Nance suggests it is the family Christmas card that was sent out. Prosecutor Jennifer Nichols asks to approach. Bench conference. 

3:40 PM - Bench conference over. Nance resumes cross-examination.

February 16, 2008. 8 am. Josh says he does not recall coming to 201 to talk to Sgt. Caroline masson on that day. He says he does not remember making a written statement.

He says he does remember coming down to homicide. And he does remember his Grandpa coming down with him. He says he does not recall making the statement that his father spent more time with him than anyone else ever has. Nance hands Josh a document. Nance clarifies the date he was talking about -- February 15th. Josh says he still doesn't remember. Nance hadns Josh the document. The signature on teh last page is Josh's. Grandpa signed the document too. It was signed around midnight on February 15th.

Nance asks Josh to look at the last question on the first page. Asks JOsh to read his answer.

He told investigators the last time he saw his mom was "Saturday. Well... actually Friday." He says that is correct. The last time he saw his mom it was in a car with someone and "they spinned off real fast adn that was on Saturday." Josh says that is not true. NAnce asks why he lied. He says he did not lie. He says it's not true. He says now that he looks back on it now, he realizes he does not know if the person in the car was really his mother. He says he told the police it was his mom, but he realizes now that he didn;t really get a good look and knows that it wasn't his mom. He says his memory now is worse three years later than it was back in February 2008. He told police his mom was in black-mixed color car. Mixed in with another color like Burgundy. He told police the car was older. 4-door car. It had regular rims on it but he didn't know what kind they were. He says he told police he could see who else was in teh car with his mother. He told police it was a light-skinned woman.

Nance asks Josh to flip over to the 4th page of the statement. He told police they argued before his mom left. They argued a lot everyday. They argued about the defendant and his sister a lot. Nance asked if anyone told him to call him "the defendant." He says no. He says Bell told him he could call Hawkins the defendant. Josh says he's been with other family members. Josh says he has not talked to them about the facts in this case. He says his relationship with sister is great, but they have never discussed the facts in this case.

3:27 PM - The jury returns to the courtroom.

Larry Nance steps up to cross-examine Josh Irvin. 

Josh says he was 9 when this happened. He was in 4th grade. He went to Sheffield. The judge asks Josh to take his hand away from his mouth. Josh says dad never showed him much love and affection. Nance asks him to clarify. Josh says a parent should not show favorites. That a dad should spend time with his kids. Josh was the youngest. Josh says he had a good relationship with his mom. Mom did not show favorites, Josh says. Nance asks if sister was favorite. Josh says no. Josh says his relationship with Milton Harris was good. Harris treated him great. Same With Melvin Gaither. Good relationship. Treated him good. James Hawkins came into Josh's life when he was 9. Josh says he cannot exactly remember which month, but it was before February 2008. Been in his life "maybe a couple months."

"I think since September," he says. He does not recall which part of September.  Josh says his dad walked him to school. Josh says that does not count as spending time with each other. School was right around the corner. He says spending is not just going to school. He says spending time is "all day and every day." He says it's just not when they're in school. Josh says Hawkins never played with him. Josh says he and James walked home by themselves, testimony that has James Hawkins shaking his head.

Josh says he does not recall talking to Sgt. MAsson on February 16, 2008 at 8 am here at 201 Poplar. Nance continues. Bell objects. Layers approach. Bench conference.

3:17 PM - Court is back in session. Hawkins is back in the room. The judge calls for the jury. Silence. We wait.

3:15 PM - Still in recess. Josh is on the stand, waiting to resume his testimony when the defense team will cross-examine.

2:55 PM - Bell hands him a diagram of the apartment. Josh draws a red dotted line depicting his path to his mom's bathroom, where he faked usin gthe restroom. He explains which doors were open adn which were cracked insid ehte apartment. He says he saw the shoe on his way into the apartment. The diagram goes on teh overhead. He explains further.

Bell hands him the diagram again. He draws an "S" where he saw the shoe. It is in the other bedroom. Bell had Josh step down to the overhead. He draw a "D" where he saw Hawkins standing when he walked in. The D is at the end of the hallway between the two bedrooms. HE draws a solid line marking the path he went out of the apartment. He took the same exact path. On the way out, the defendant was following right behind him. He did not see his sister. He did not see the shoe. The other bedroom (bathroom?) door slammed. Hawkins followed him all the way out. Locked door behind him. He went back to the car. No one ever came and got him to tell them it was okay to come back inside. Eventually James and Josh just got up and went inside.

Then they all piled into the car and drove to different sumpsters throwing stuff away. Then they came back to the aparmtent. They were in the kitchen. Then the defendant filed a missing persons report. A police officer came to the house and talked to Hawkins about the report. Joshs says he did not ask about mom's whereabouts. Hawkins didn't say anything about it either.

Josh says they had a freezer in the apartment. He saw in the day or so after. There was a saw sitting next to it. He says he tried to get Hawaiian Punch out of the freezer. Before he opened the door to the freezer, he went to ask the defendant first so as not to get in trouble. Defendant told him no because it wasn't in the freezer. Josh argued that it was because he could see red stuff dripping out. Hawkins told him that wasn;t Hawaiian Punch. He refused to allow Josh to open it. Josh says, later that night, himself, his brother, and Hawkins all moved the freezer out of the apartment at HAwkins demands.

When they walked back in from sitting in the car, Josh says it stunk a little bit in the bathroom. Josh says he and James cleaned the bedroom. Vaccuum the floor, fix the bed. He says defendant and sister cleaned the hallway bathroom. He says the defendant had them throw out the bed that was in teh master bedroom. They threw it into the dumpster at the apartment complex. He told them it was becasue it had a hole in it.

Josh says he came downtown to give a statement to police. His granpa Lewis was with him. Grandpa did not tell him what to say, He told police hte truth. Later, he had to go to the Child Advocacy Center. His Uncle Vincent Guy and Aunt Cynthia Guy sat in on the interview at the CAC. He says he told the truth at the CAC. Told them about sister and dad tongue-kissing. First time he told anyone. Previously he was afraid of getting beat. He says he told the truth today, didn;t make up anything and was not told what to say. Prosecution passe shte witness. Defense asks for a brief break.

THe judge puts the court in recess.

2:40 PM - After the movie, the next morning, Josh says he heard yelling and screaming and arguing. He heard his mom yelling that her daughter was her baby. He went to leave his room, but his sister cut him off, turned the TV up and told him not to come out. He heard more arguing. Then silence. 10-20 minutes later, he walked out of the room. Ran to the window and saw a purple car pulling off. He didn;t see who was driving or anything else, just a foot. He ran back to his brother, who was sleeping and asked him if he thought anything was going on.

Josh and James were talking. They turned the TV down. They no longer heard any arguing. After he saw what he saw out the window, he ran back to the bedroom, woke up his brother. They talked. Then Josh says he went back to sleep. When he woke up, he walked into the kitchen. "The defendant and my sister were having a conversation," he says. Medium toned conversation. They saw him. They told him to go away. He went back to his bedroom. They HAwkins came and told them all to go to bed. He says he stayed there. He does not remember if he left the apartment that day.

On the next day Hawkins got them up early. They went to KMart. They purchased the saw. Josh asked what the saw was for. Hawkins told them he was doing a project for them. Didn't clarify. Bought the saw. Went back to apartment. Hawkis told JAmes and Josh to wait in the car. They had to wait in teh car for three hours because he didn;t want them to see the surprise. He never told them what the surprise was. He says, during that time, he got out of the car because he wanted to see what was going on. He faked like he had to go to the bathroom. He went up to the apartment. Door locked. TOld HAwkins he had to use the bathroom. Hawkins told him to go by the tree. He refused. Hawkins told him to use the back bedroom in his mom's room. He saw a shoe. Hawkins came behind him. Made him hurry. Josh didn;t have to really use the bedroom so he used a half-full bottle of water and poured it into the toilet to act like he was using the restroom. When he finished, sister and dad hurried him out of the apartmetn, slammed the door behin dhim. He went back to the car.

2:30 PM - Defense asks to approach. Bench conference ensues. Judge and lawyers whisper quietly to wach other at the bench. Josh sits in the witness stand. He is a big kid for his age, police, dressed in dark slack, dress shoes, a white button down shirt, and a spotted tie.

Testimony resumes.

He says he did not tell any of his family members about dad tongue-kissing sister for fear of getting whupped.  He says he saw dad and sister in inappropriate contact between dad and sister int ehpark. Hawkins tried to pop a pimple on sisters head. Hawkins grabbed her breast hard. She screamed rape. He told her to shut up. Mom was sitting in the car studying.

Prosecutors and judge ask Josh to speak up slightly.

Josh says he remembers two instances in which he saw his mom and dad get involved in physical, violent arguments. Josh says he was sleeping. His mom came in to get them up. Told them to get up. Dad said to stay there. She told them to get up and not to listen to someone who just came into their lives. They got up. James broke her phone when she threatened to call police. They left. Went to FedEx waiting on Milton to give them the key to his old apartment. They got the key. Went to the apartment. There were no lights or utilities at the apartment. He says the three kids were "standing right there" when Hawkins broke the phone.

2nd time he saw or heard violent argument. He heard a smack in his mom's room. She came out of the bedroom with her face red and said, "it's time to go." They left to go get in the car. They got in the car. Hawkins came out and got sister out of the car. The rest of the family drove off and left. He can't remember if sister was int he car or not. Hawkins called. They argued on the phone. He could overhear the yelling but couldn't make out what was said. They went back to the apartment. The police came and kciked in the door. Josh says he does not know why the police came to the apartment.

Note: Josh continues to refer to Hawkins, his blood dad, as "the defendant."

Josh identifies a photo of the second apartment building in which they lived, the last apartment they lived in, he says. Hawkins lived with them there, too. He says htings were "worse" in this apartment. There was "a lot more arguments." He says Hawkins told the kids that they could do whatever they wanted to. They could get in trouble, have sex, whatever. He says Hawkins told them that he would not his enforce any of CHarlene's punishments. Josh says his sister obeyed dad but ignored mom. Before Hawkins moved in, she never back talked mom and obeyed whatever mom told her to do.

In this second apartment, mom had a new cell phone. Josh's sister used mom's cell phone after HAwkins gave it to her. It sparked arguments between mom and dad. "The defendant" texted Josh's sister. Josh knows because sister showed it to him. The text said, "Don't tlak to your mom." Charlene snatched the phone out of sister's hand. Got mad. Arguments. Slammed phone on armrest. Hawkins gave it back to daughter/sister.

Josh says he calls Hawkins the defendant because all he has put him through over the last three years, he does not feel comfortable calling him dad.

Josh says they got home from the movie. Charlene and Hawkins got into an argument about Hawkins and Josh's sister staying up in living room too late.

2:15 PM - The state calls Joshua Irvin to the witness stand. He is 13. Turned 13 on April 15. Just finished 7th grade. He did good in school. He made the honor roll one time. Like to play football and basketball. He has one brother, James, and one sister.

Note: previously, I spelled Irvin as Earvin. Joshua and James' share the same last name: Irvin.

Prosecutor Marianne Bell passes Joshua a series of photos. They are pictures of his siblings. He recognizes them. Bell places the photos on the overhead. It a phot of Joshua Irvin as a 9-yearold. Another photo. It is a picture of James as an 11-year-old. Another photo. His sister. She was 12 at the time. All three photos were taken at hte same time. Josh is the youngest of the siblings.

Another photo on the overhead. His mother. Charlene. He recognizes. He was in 4th grade at the time. James Hawkins is Josh's blood father. Josh points out James Hawkins in the courtroom. Dad first came to live with the family in an apartment. Bell hands Josh a photo. It is the apartment where he first lived with hi sfamily and dad. Josh says dad was "nice" at first. It lasted 3 weeks. Then it changed. He didn't show any love or affection to Josh, James, or Charlene. He would hang out with sister a lot. They would go to store, watch TV, hang out outside. Dad didn't take any time to do anything with Josh or James. Charlene and James acted like enemies. They argued. Almost everyday. About little things that would go on. They argued about daughter. Charlene got upset when Hawkins and daughter stayed up too late in the living room. Josh says dad told him not to talk to mom. Didn't say why. Josh says he saw dad show affection to his sister in a bad way. Josh says he saw his dad tongue kissing his sister in mom's room. Mom was int eh restroom. Josh says he turned his head and walked away. Josh says he saw dad kis daughter ont he lips sometime. He says it happened a lot.

2:05 PM - The next witness will be Hawkins' son Joshua. The judge tells Action News 5 photogrpaher Jermaine Black not to event point the camera in Joshua's general direction.

"I don't even want him to think he's on camera," Craft says.

"Okay," says Black.

The jury is in the room.

2:01 PM - Court is back in session.

James Hawkins returns to the courtroom.

The judge asks for the jury.

The next witness is a juvenile. The prosecution alerts our TV camera. We will not be allowed to show video of this witness, in all likelihood, Hawkins' youngest son, Joshua.

1:55 PM - Court is not yet in session... but it's very close.

The courtroom is full and both sets of attorneys are in the room as though ready to proceed.

12:45 PM - The interviews are not routinely recorded. Mullins acknowledges they were trying to control the interview, too. They always try to control the interview.

Skahan brings up the TV show "The First 48." Hawkins was worried about being taped in the interview room. They told him the show was not in town. They weren't even in the building.

Masson typed up Hawkins' first formal statement about the missing persons case. There is not typed up version of hte second interview conducted at MAsson's desk. Mullins says there is not a formal statement. It's considered an oral statement. They took notes and put it in supplement form later own.

Mullins says Hawkins told them he was not going to sign a consent form or a statement. They told him they were going to take him back to jail then. Mullins says all the kids gave a statement on the first night. Later on, the daughter gave a second statement, on the 17th. Mullins say he was not there for the 2nd statement. Hawkins' second statement was taken before daughter's second statement. Based on Hawkins' 2nd interview, they brought daughter in for a 2nd interview and read her her Miranda rights. That's when she told other investigators that her dad had done it. She tried to tell them where oterh items were located. Her 2nd statement is different from the first statement.

TBI would not test some items that were sent off, like the drain hose from the washing machine. He does not know the reason TBI would not test. Mullins acknowledges. a video recording of the HAwkins interview and the daughter interview would allow the jury to know exactly what both of them had said. It was not done. There are no recordings of these interviews. Skahan asks for a momnet. He confers with co-counsel. The confers with Hawkins. He has no further questions.

Branhams steps up for re-direct.

Daughter's grandfather was with her during the first inreview. Mullins says she was never charged with anything. Mullins says he does not know why the TBI would not test the washing machine drain hose. No further questions. Mullins steps off the stand and is free to go.

The judge breaks for lunch. He takes a recess until 1:45 pm. Hawkins steps out. The courtroom clears.

12:30 PM - Mullins says Hawkins first told them that he held Gaither's while she was dying for about 30 minutes then upped it to about an hour. Prosecution finishes direct questioning. Passes the witness. Defense attorneys ask for a bench conference.

It lasts less than a minute.

Defense attorney Gerald Skahan steps up to cross-examine Sgt. Tony Mullins.

Mullins acknowledges that hawkins told them repeatedly that he was concerned about his children. Hawkins got mad at investigators for talking to his daughter without his presence. Mullins says he interviewed daughter with another investigator. They yelled at her because they felt she was being dishonest. Hawkins was not happy. He acknowledges that it was not unusual for a parent to be mad at an officer for talking to daughter without presence or for yelling at daughter.

Mullin says he did not which child was with Hawkins on the breezeway when he first got to the apartment complex. Mullins says Hawkins was nervous when he first talked to police at the apartment complex.

"What is the protocol for us citizens on how to act when we are approached by policie officers? How are we supposed to act?"

Mullins says it depends on the individual and theur reaction. But he has not seen many who shake visibly like Hawkins did. He did not run or try to fight.

"You were with Caroline MAsson?"

"Yep."

"You guys are TV stars."

"If you say so."

"You were on a national TV show."

"Yes."

Mullins says they were out there because Armstrong did not believe he was going to come in to 201 to talk. He says he did not chalk up HAwkins nervousness to being starstruck. He chalked it up to Hawkins being nervous. He says he stayed on guard until they got him in a police car. Hawkins was free to leave and did not have to talk to them. However, they were not going to allow Hawkins to drive to 201 on his own. Mullins says he did not, at the time, know that Armstrong knew family members. Mullins says when he went to KMart, they were not able to find *the* saw. They found three. They were not able to verify the one that they took was the one that was used until later on in the inestigation. They ID'ed the saw based on receipts, etc.

They took photos of JAmes Hawkins hands. They did not take photos of the daughter's hands.

 

12:20 PM - Bench conference.

Bench conference over.

A juror alerts the judge that her pen is out of ink. A deputy gets her a new pen.

Mullins resumes testimony. The unmarked car with a cage separating the backseat from front seat showed up. Investigators made arrangements to safely transport him. Put handcuffs on him. Shackled his legs with long shackle. He was seatbelted in the back. Uniformed officer driving. Mullins in the front seat. They were driving based on Hawkins directions. Hawkins told them it was somewhere off highway 78. They passed holmes Road. Hawkins told them they passed it. Hawkins directe dhtem to go west on holmes road. Just past Getwell, he told them, "I believe this is the spot." It was 3 am, raining very hard. Difficult to drive for all the rainfall. Mullins says he believes Hawkins was being cooperative, but hte weather was so terrible it was hard to distinguish the landmarks he was looking for. Hawkins told them he threw the hands and the feet out in a field there. He told them he threw the head off a bridge they had just crossed near Pleasant View. They stopped and got out. It was creek. There was water running through the creek. It was raining too hard for investigators to search. The water was flowing rather fast. These areas are close to the Nike plant. 

Mullins says it was too dangerous to search. They caravaned back to 201 Poplar and put Hawkins back in jail. It was 4:30 in the morning. Mullins say he went home, slept for about an hour, then came back to 201 Poplar. The team assembled and went back out to the area Hawkins had shown them to search for the body parts.

Branham hands Mullins a photo. He ID's it as the area where himself, Davis, and Stark searche dtwo fields and a creek. Photo on the overhead. The 3 investigators are in the creek water searching for bopdy parts. They allowed the cadaver dogs to search first. The dogs alerted on several areas. They searched those spots for about an hour, but the creek was still swollen. Returned the following day and searched for three hours. Other team members were searching for the hands and feet. The photo is from about 3 or 4 hours into the search. They knocked down a dam. Hanks had "almost drowned" after stepping in a hole in the creekbed. On the whole, this was "an 8-hour event," the search o nthis day. They did not find the hands, feet, or head.

12:10 PM - Branahm hands Mullins a photo. He recognizes. It is a chot that Investigator Eric Freeman took during hte interview process of Hawkins. Photo on the overhead. It shows a portion of the homicide office. Desks are cubicle. Masson is sitting in the chair at her desk. Murray is at her desk. Mullins is at his desk. Goods is in a chair in the aisle, facing Hawkins, who is not entirely visible in the photo.

Mullins says they read him his Miranda RIghts again and presented him the form. They did so to find out if it was going to be an issue. Masson tried to read him his rights. Hawkins again refused to sign anything. Masson kept trying to advise him of his rights. Mullins says Hawkins cut her off again, rtied to talk over her. "I ain't signing nothing."

Mullins told him he didn't have to talk or sign, but he had to listen because htey had to do their job. He shut up.  Mullins read him the whole form. Hawkins told him he understand. There is no signed advice of rights form.

Investigators asked him what happened. Mullins says Hawkins asked for guarantees that he would not be locked up or be charged with 1st degree murder. Mullins says they can't make those deals. That i out of our control. It's up to the district attorney general's office to make those decisions. They went back and forth several minutes. Mullins says Hawkins finally agreed to tell them. He told investigators he did not want his daughter to go to jail.

Hawkins told them that his daughter stabbed Charlene Gaither. He held Gaither in the bathroom until she died. It took about 30 minutes. He went into teh bathroom cut off the head, hands, and feet. He and daughter went loaded into car and went to dump body in Mississippi. Daughter slept the whole way. He dumped the body parts on teh way home. Hawkins told them he did not call for ambulance. Mullins says Hawkins did not want to tell them where the body parts were. He started asking for more guarantees. He didn;t want to be charged with 1st degree. He didn't want hsi daughter charged. Investigators declined to make any deals. They can't. They continued to ask him to tell them where the body parts were. After several minutes of silence, Hawkins told them he would show them where the body parts are. Investigators had to make the decision to take a prisoner to Mississippi. They decided to do so. They made arrangements. They got a squad car that was marked. He declined to ride in a marked police cruiser. They found an unmarked car with a cage in it from the west precinct.

12 NOON - Mullins says they wanted Hawkins to explain bloody water in the washing machine, the total absence of knives in the apartment, and the missing deep freezer that the children had said was there until the day before.

Mullins says there were text messages sent from Charlene's phone because it was in the possession of Hawkins and the daughter.

Short bench conference.

Mullins says he interviewed Hawkins other son, Joshua.

They interviewed Hawkins himself for hours then took him back to jail. Brought him to elevator on 11th floor, down to the 1st floor, through a hallway, over to the jail. Mullins says himself, Murray, and Masson walked Hawkins over to the jail. SOmething happened during that walk. Masson had her hand on Hawkins. Someone always must have a hand on a prisoner during walking transport. Mullins and Murray were in front of them. Masson stopped and asked Hawkins, "what did you say?"

He said, "I didn't do it, but I helped cover it up."

"Do you want to talk to us some more?"

"Yes, but I'm not doing it in any interview room."

They turned around and went back up to the 11th floor. They went to a separate interview room that is not connected to homicide. When Hawkins had saw it, he said he was not talking in any interview room because they were all recorded. They told him that's not true. Hawkins told them he would talk to them right htere in the hallway. Investigators declined because it is not safe. Investigators suggested they sit int he middle of the homicide office. He agreed. They sat at Masson's desk with Hawkins hand cuffed tot eh chair. They talked there.

11:50 AM - Photo 1 is on the overhead. It shows the stairwell and the landing outside of apartment 4. Mullins points out where he saw Hawkins and one of the children standing when he first got to the complex. He points out where the Taurus was passed.

Photo 2 -- shows part of the landing and the door to apartment 4. Photo 2 is on the overhead. Mullins points out where the #4 is on the door and the railing of the 2nd floor breezeway.

Mullins says, after getting back to 201, he had Hawkins brought to homicide office from jail in order to interview him about the murder of Charlene Gaither. They believed she was dead, though had not gotten official confirmation. They called the jail and went to sign him out at a specific release point. Brought him up to the office through the building. Put him in the same interview room in which he gave his original statement.

In this interview, as a possible suspect under arrest, they had to first read him his Miranda Rights. Right to remain silent, have an attorney present durinig interview, what he says will be used against him. Sgt Caroline Masson and Mullins gave him the rights. Presented him teh rights form. Had Hawkins read the form out loud back to them. Hawkins told them he would not sign the form. "I'm not signing nothing." He says Hawkins kept telling them that he knew his rights. Masson kept telling him his rights even though he kept cutting her off, telling her he knew his rights. Mullins say Masson got out the full Miranda Rights. Mullins says he doesn;t have to sign the paper, he just needs to understand his rights. Mullins says HAwkins did not ask for an attorney. They asked him questions about the mattress and about the deep freezer and about the carpet. Mullins says HAwkins told them he didn't throw out the mattress and that there wasn't a deep freeze in the apartment and the carpet had always been like that.

Mullins says Hawlins was trying to act like he was being cooperative but wasn't really. He says sometimes, hawkins would just stare at investigators and not talk. Other times he just turned his chair around, only answering when he wanted to answer. Mullins says Hawlkins tried to control the interview. Mullins says Hawkins did not tell him that he wanted an attorney or that he wouldn't talk to them. Mullins says the responses were not direct. He says Hawkins picked and chose which questions he wanted to respond to. "He wasn't doing much talking," Mullins says.

11:40 AM - The jury returns to the courtroom.

"Good morning," Craft says." We had a little slow down this morning..."

Branham resumes direct questioning of Sgt. Tony Mullins. Mullins identifies James Hawkins sitting in the courtroom, wearing a pale yellow button down dress shirt. Mullins to a detailed statement from Hawkins regarding the missing persons report. Then, Mullins returned to the apartment the next day to search it again. Went looking for a deep freezer or evidence of one and for the drain hose to the washing machine. Also went looking for blood evidence in the bathroom. That search was based on the children's statement's to investigators the night before. The hallway bathroom had a full tub, a likely place where a dismemberment could occur. Wash blood down drain. Body could be contained. Room is contained. Better in the bathroom than in the living room with carpet. Based on Mullins experience, the bathroom and tub would be a logical place to look.

Mullins says a saw at KMart. There were three total that had been purchased and returned. He viewed all three. There saw in the courtroom. After going to KMart, Mullins came back to 201 and tried to interview Hawkins again.

Branham goes back to asking Mullins about the apartment on Prince Rupert. She apologizes for backing up and going out of order. She passes Mullins 3 photos.

Photo 1 -- stairs that lead to the second floor of the apartment building.

11:28 AM - Court is back in session. James Hawkins is back in the courtroom.

The judge explains that during the hearing, Harris stopped responding. He says he does not know why Harris stopped repsonding but he will take it under advisement. Harris is ont eh way to the hospital.

"What do we need to do?" he asks.

"Tony Mullins is outside the courtroomn," prosecutor Missy Branahm says.

The judge says the juror is back. His doctor gave him some medication and that it appears to be some sort of blood pressure issue.

Mullins re-takes the stand.

The judge calls for the jury.

11:23 AM - Paramedics wheel Harris out of the courtroom on a gurney. He has tubes in h is nose, but is sitting up. He appears to be okay, but again, I am not a physician. There is genuine concern among those who witnessed these events.  Paramedics load Harris onto the elevator to take him downstairs to an awaiting ambulance and onto the hospital.

Trial itself has yet to begin today.

11:15 AM - The jury was not in the courtroom for any of the previouse hearing. The court was merely trying to determine what Harris could and could not testify to when he takes the stand in front of the jury. Law forbids hearsay testimony. Those issues must be resolved outside the presence of the jury. Now that Harris suffered some form of medical issue on the stand while outside the presence of the jury, it remains to be seen how this will affect the prosecution's case.

Do they still plan to put him on the stand in front of the jury? Is he able?

More paramedics show up. They wheel a gurney into the courtroom.

One of the prosecutors just told the Gaither family that they ar not going to callHarris to the stand for trial. 

"The last thing I want to do," she says. "Is hurt anybody." 

11:05 AM - Court is not in session. There is a recess.

Court personnel have called for MFD paramedics to come to criminal court division 8 to provide medical attention to Milton Harris.

In the middle of cross-examination, Harris appeared to get confused by Nance's line of questioning. He appeared to be trying to find an answer, to recollect some memory to answer Nance question, but he did not return from his recollection. His head bowed. From my vantage point, he appeared to fall asleep at a peaceful rest. Prosecutors recognized there was an issue first. They immediately turned and demanded that the TV camera be turned off. The judge simply put court in recess and sent everybody out of the room.

The MFD paramedics just showed up and walked into the courtroom. Myself and everyone else are sitting outside the courtroom. There are no doctors in the house, but several have whispered that he had a seizure, though that is not a diagnosis.

Courtroom deputies just told a member of Gaither's family that he's going to need a family member to leave with him at some point. PAramedics are still inside the courtroom.

10:57 AM - Defense attorney Larry Nance cross-examines Harris. Harris says he never talked to police. He did not tell anybody this story until speaking with prosecutors a long time ago. Harris say he has not been reading about or watching TV news reports about this trial. He says he does not watch TV or read the newspaper. He says he was asked to comed down here yesterday. He does not remember the date or year he was divorced from Gaither. He does not remember which court he went to. He remembers signing some papers. He says he was divorced in Tennessee, but cannot recall where. He says it might be Shelby County. He says he does not recall living in another county. Harris says he cannot explain why there are no divorce records in Shelby county court system.

"Who told you you were divorced?" Nance asks.

Loooong pause.

"The paper said... the paper said I was divorced," Harris says.

"Who gave you the paper?"

"Charlene."

Nance asks him to clarify which year it was that Gaither came to Harris at his job...

Harris has trouble on the witness stand... Harris appears to be having some medical emergency... A seizure perhaps. The judge clears the courtroom...

10:48 AM - Court is in order. James Hawkins steps back into the courtroom.

The judge explains that the juror had headaches and vision issues. It has happened to him before. His doctor saw him immediatley and gave him some medication. They expect to resume trial with jury in about 25 minutes...

In the interim, they will conduct a short "jury-out-of-the-room" hearing to clear up some issues regarding witness Milton Harris.

The state calls Milton Harris to the witness stand. The jury is not here. Harris wirks for Pizza Hut. He works a second job at FedEx. CHarlene Gaither is his ex-wife. Married in 1998. Married about 4 years. Once divorced, the relationship with Gaither did not change. They remained friends. Harris says Gaither still called him. January 2008, Harris talked to Gaither. She came up to his Pizza Hut job. She showed up at his work unannounced. He asked what was the problem and what was going on. Gaither's sons James and Joshua were with her. Gaither told him she needed gas. They went around the corner to MapCo. He filled up her car. Harris asked where the daughter was. Gaither told him she was not in her presence. The police were called to the apartment and she couldn't take the daughter with her. She left the house. Came to Pizza Hut .They went to MapCo. Daughter still at apartment with Hawkins. Harris says Gaither was hysterical, very upset, told Harris that she couldn't get daughter out. Harris says he was going to go over there to get the daughter out of the house with James. Gaither wouldn't let him go. Gaither said she was going to do it alone. Managed to do so. Gaither called Harris the next day to say she had gotten the daughter out.

2 days later, Gaither showed up at Harris job at FedEs. Early morning. About 4 am. He gets off at around 5 am. Harris' manager came and told him that his wife was there. He says he was just getting off work. There was a note on his truck that said "I need to talk to you, I have the daughter." Charlene's car was parked next to his. ALl three kids were in the car with her. Gaither told Harris that James was trying to control her through the daughter. Gaitehr would tell daughter to do something. James would tell daughter she didn't have to do that. Gaither told Harris that she was scared of James. Gaither said she didn't have money for a restraining order. Harris gave her money to get restraining order. Gaither told him they had to move. He gave her the keys to his old apartment where hte lights were off. He says she did not go to the apartment that night. Instead he took her to a motel and paid for the motel. Prosecution finishes. Passes witness.

10:33 AM - "Our juror will be back ... in 30 minutes," Judge Chris Craft announces.

Until then, we wait...

10:28 AM - Still no word on the ailing juror. Still no action in the courtroom. Still in recess. Still waiting...

10:10 AM -, Court is back in session. However, trial is not resuming.

Right now, the judge is clearing another matter off of his docket.

9:48 AM - I am back in the courtroom, but court is not in session.... and it'll be awhile.

There is a delay in the start time of trial.

One of the jurors is sick. He woke up not feeling well, battling headaches and tunnel vision. He is at the doctor now. The judge says the juror reported that it has happened to him before and he wants to continue serving on this jury. The judge does not seem concerned that the juror is suffering from anything that would be contagious to other jurors. Thus, it appears , they are waiting for him to be treated so he can come back to 201 and trial can resume with him int he jury box.

Right now, I'm told they expect trial to resume somewhere are 10:30 - 11 am. Testimony will resume with Sgt. Tony Mullins on the stand.

Also, I'm told there may be a "jury-out-of-the-room" hearing that will have to happen at some point, though it does not appear to be in teh works right now.

8:30am - Action News 5's Nick Kenney will be blogging all the proceedings from inside the courtroom today.

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