Court has been recessed until 12:30 p.m. for lunch. Here are more details jurors heard from four witnesses today before the prosecution rested its case against Morva:
The first was investigator Brad Roop with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. He read a letter Morva wrote to his mother that was dated Sept. 14, 2005, and described conditions at the Montgomery County Jail, where he had been incarcerated about a month earlier on attempted robbery charges.
The letter began, "Dear Mom, I'm getting very sick."
The letter went on to say that there were 17 people in a 10-person cellblock and Morva had to sleep on the floor. He didn't have access to a bathroom and was so "backed up" that he had begun to pass out, making him "vulnerable."
"I am strong but not immortal. I am going to die," he wrote.
Morva asked his mother to get in touch with his doctor, Dr. Mark Ringold, a gastroenterologist expected to testify for the defense, so the doctor could tell the jail Morva needed access to a bathroom.
The three-page letter also said: "I will kick an unarmed guard in the neck and make him drop then I will stomp him until he is as dead as I'll be."
The rest of the witnesses were experts who testified about evidence in the case.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Gregory Wanger, who performed autopsies on Derrick McFarland and Cpl. Eric Sutphin, testified that both men were killed instantly when shot in the head, their brain stems cut. He identified the bullets recovered from their brains, which were enclosed in clear plastic evidence bags.
"This injury is not survivable," he said. "There's nothing anyone can do to save you with this."
McFarland was shot in the face from less than two feet away, he said, and Sutphin was shot from further away in the back of the head -- though it remains unclear how far.
Elizabeth Smith, a DNA expert, testified that Morva's DNA was found on the gun that was taken from Quesenberry, used to fire the bullets that killed McFarland and Sutphin, and was found with Morva when he was captured.
Also, she said, a dish towel found inside one of the tennis shoes recovered from near the spot on the Huckleberry Trail where Sutphin was killed was covered in Morva's blood.
Comments
[March 13, 2008 1:41 PM]
Ganon BenderWilliam, he always went by William, never Will. He seemed to me a very sensitive person, always extremely thoughtful, reserved, I thought him on the whole a very kind and gentle seeming person; his treatment of life was delicate save for his voiced opinions which not infrequently were extreme. I recall he seemed remarkably unaffected after seeing The Wall at the Lyric theatre. Micah in particular came from it reticent-ish.
[March 13, 2008 3:20 PM]
nunyaHe always had a hug for me. I am baffled. Sad and baffled.