WLBT.com - Jackson, MSTRIAL BLOG: Memphis man accused of dismembering girlfriend (Day 6)

MEMPHIS, TN -

(WMC-TV) - Closing arguments wrapped late Thursday night in the James Hawkins murder trial.

Hawkins is accusing of kill and dismembering his girlfriend, Charlene Gaither, in 2008.

Hawkins relinquished his right to testify on his own behalf, but prosecutors in his murder trial had plenty to say.

It was a dramatic finish to six days of gruesome testimony. Prosecutors said Hawkins killed Gaither in front of their three children and made his 12-year-old daughter help him cut off her mother's hands and feet using a circular saw.

The defense theory is that Gaither's daughter committed the murder and Hawkins only helped dismember and dispose of the body.

"Children kill parents," said defense attorney Gerald Skahan. "It happens, we see it."

Skahan said the state has not proven who killed Gaither, but prosecutors said Hawkins was the only one capable.

"A 12-year-old girl watched her father do that to her mother," they said.

Prosecutor Missy Branham illustrated time and time again what Hawkins daughter allegedly had to endure: the alleged murder and mutilation of her mother and sexual abuse from her father that resulted in a pregnancy.

Prosecutors said Hawkins instilled so much fear into his daughter she could not tell anyone what really happened to her mother.

Read Action News 5's live blog of Thursday's proceedings below.

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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.

Refresh often for the latest live developments from inside the courtroom.

7:45 PM - Branham says Hawkins is a mean person.

She says Hawkins left living room, went to kitchen, got knife, down hallway, into bedroom, reached around her and stabbed her. Premeditation. Branham says the saw shows premeditation to clean up, etc.

Last bargaining chip was daughter, "who is scared. With good reason. SAWSAWSAW ... SAWSAWSAW. Think about how much she had to hear that."

Branham says thank goodness the MDOT crew was out there because they may never have found the body. They would never have answers. Hawkins would still be with his children and Gaither would still be missing. "What a happy ending that would be.

Branham puts the gruesome photo of the body back up on the witness stand. Very graphic. Haunting. Awful.

Branham says the kids were good. They were respectful. The picture remains on the overhead. They were good kids because they were raised by Charlene. They have trouble now because Hawkins came back into their lives, she says. HSe thanks the jury for their hard work.

She asks them to take the evidence and make their decision based on that. Branham says they have an eyewitness who told them exactly how it happened. It was hard, she cried, It was difficult. But she told them at 15 what she had to witness at 12.

"Please remember the evidence from eh witness stand and not the attorneys."

Branhams thanks them and is finished.

Judge Chris Craft asks the jury to stop thinking about this case, to go back and get some rest. The judge says he will dismiss 3 people tomorrow morning. All 15 remain tonight. He send them home for the night. They will come back in the morning to deliberate. The jury leaves the room.

Judge Chris Craft says court will resume at 8:30 am.

Court is adjourned for the evening.

The courtroom empties. A long day is over. Finally. See you in the morning!

7:35 PM - "I want you to convict him because he did it," Branham pops up loudly.

She has the final closing. She says the jury must consider the proof from the stand.

She fires up the saw again, for effect. She moves it to another angle. She says Symes, the internationally renowned expert told them that's what happened. A 12-year-old girl watched her father do that to her mother. Hawkins has his bowed, rubs his face. The saw is loud.

"Yes she had reason to be afraid of this. This is the type of man he was!"

She was 12 years old, smaller than her father. Christmas card up on the overhead. It began at Hawkins' sister's house when Hawkins stuck his hands inside her. That's when he re-entered her life.

"Would he do something to her? SAWSAWSAWSAW .... SAWSAWSAW "You better believe he would!"

Branham says she saw them listen to the proof too. And she is grateful that they all paid attention.

Branham says it was important to hear from Symes. Because of tissue and skin it is harder to cut through bone. "This is important. This is the state of mind of THAT PERSON!" A 12-year-old would be afraid of Hawkins. He had penetrated her, touched her vagina, butt, breast. He would make her kiss his penis. "How horrible is that??!! What mother wouldn't want to get her children away from that??!!"

He's not easy to get away from "He is MEAN .. SAWSAWSAW ...SAWSAWSAW." As she fires up the saw and lets it run, she stares down the jury.

No child should be exposed to what Hawkins did to her. Hawkins is the type of person who would get a knife go in the bedroom, reach around Gaither, stick the knife in her throat and strangle her. 12 year old KT watched. Then he put the knife to her neck and threatened to kill her too. KT was 12. Had to help drag mom to the freezer, put her mom in and watch dad wrap chord around the freezer.

"Scared? You bet!!"

Branham fires up the saw again. Had to get through tissue and bone. "Can you imagine the blood?" The only person who shed a tear for Gaither was KT when she talked about her mother dying. Branham says Hawkins never shed a tear. He made sure everything was clean. He made his kids clean it. These kids lived in a horror film.

Branham says KT "had been raped repeatedly by this man!" The statement sends defense attorneys whispering quietly amongst each other.

Branham reads from jury charge.

7:23 PM - "We can't convict just because we want to, because something terrible happened," Skahan says.

Skahan says KT has been seriously impeached. Skahan shows the jury part of the jury charge and where important phrases apply in this case.

Skahan says he will sit down in a second. he wrote a lot of stuff down that he won't go over because he knows they listened. He watched them. He says he does not have anything cool and powerful to end with but he doesn't. He asks them to please follow the law. He says no one like this case. He knows they want to convict based on how bad this case is. He says to convict based on this little bit of evidence is wrong. He says they know the state did not prove the case. He says not guilty will be the hardest thing they ever have to do in a courtroom, but it's the right thing. Skahan finished.

7:20 PM - Skahan says the last few witnesses were irrelevant. Skahan says they already told the jury all that stuff was true. He says its not quantity of witnesses, it's quality. He says the state was just piling on witnesses with no purpose.

"James Hawkins did not kill Charlene Gaither," Skahan says. He adds that if in their wildest dreams they find he did it then it's manslaughter. He says 70% of what KT said was lies. He wonders if anyone would feel comfortable with one of their family members was in Hawkins' position.

Skahan says they cannot convict Hawkins based the testimony of KT. If they do, we're not playing by the rules.

Skahan put a picture up on the overhead. Christmas card.

Skahan says the issue is the incident in the bedroom. What happened in there. Who killed Charlene Gaither in the bedroom. Skahan says KT admitted to lying about everything but wants them to believe her version of what happened in the bedroom.

7:10 PM - KT -- "I'm not going to belittle her," Skahan says. He says KT is in a terrible situation. Knows she is at a tough age because he has a daughter 5 months older than KT.

"Actions speak louder than words," Skahan says of KT.

Skahan says KT was safe at the CAC and assured that she was safe at the CAC. KT told the CAC, "I'm doing better because I'm living with my dad." Skahan reads from statement in regards to that CAC interview. KT told CAC that there was nothing sexual going on with dad. Didn't want to go with her mom. Up late watching TV. My mom got mad. CAC interview was on January 30. Mom got jealous. Talked about Melvin. "I'm with my dad no. It's all good." Skahan continues to read form the statement. Random clip and phrases. Skahan says on January 30th, KT's perception was that her mom hated her. That's what she told CAC. Dad helped with science project.

KMart video -- Skahan says he won;t go through whole video because he knows they;re tired. He asks them to look at her behavior that morning. Actions speak louder than words. If she wasn't dancing in aisle, what was she doing? Held onto dad's arm. She didn't get afraid or tell MPD until she was threatened with jail, got yelled at. Then she told them what happened. Police corroborated. KT corroborated. Skahan says look at what she did and look at what she said. KT's relative is a good friend of Toney Armstrong's.

Skahan asks them to follow the rules. He says the state did not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt with moral certainty.

Skahan says John Adams was right 200-something years ago when he said the jury was the protection from he jury.

Murray -- Skahan says she did not document the offensive comment. "On the 6th day of trial, when the case is going into the sewer," he says...then they started bashing the defendant. She was not comfortable enough to write it in the supplement but said it in front of 80 strangers.

Skahan says this is all the state's proof.

Woman from Le Bonheur introduces record in which the girl told doctors she had multiple sex partners. Skahan says the state claims James was in room with her. "That's garbage!" he says. Dad would not be in the room while they were examining her vagina. "That's retarded!" he says. Skahan says the dad was not in the room. A man would not be allowed in the gynecological exam of 12-year-old who was pregnant. Skahan says the state proved to them that she was impregnated by some boy at school and she had multiple sex partners.

7 PM - "Children kill parents," Skahan says. "It happens. It's horrible. But it happens."

Skahan says Hawkins helped dispose of body. Not the right thing to do, but there is no protocol on how to act in that situation.

Hawkins cooperated. Told them he didn't do it. And cooperated. Skahan says state does not want to believe that part because they want to believe KT. He says state did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt with moral certainty.

Joshua Irvin -- Skahan says Josh is angry and he doesn't blame him. Skahan sits in the witness chair. He sits like the children did, profiled to Hawkins... State ask to approach. Bench conference.. Short and over. Skahan still sits in witness chair. Referred to father as "the defendant." Skahan says they told him he could call him that.

Skahan says when he started asking questions from right in front of her father she turned and looked right at him with no issues. SHe was not afraid of her father, he says. Skahan says the prosecution coached them to sit like that.

Skahan says police came and kicked in the door. That didn't happen. He say his mom get in a car. That didn't happen. Skahan says he wasn't lying, he was mistaken. Instead of saying he made a mistake, he tried to explain it away because he is angry at his dad and would do anything to get him convicted.

Hawkins told police that she did not want to go to jail. That corroborated, Skahan says, by Josh seeing KT and Hawkins standing in the kitchen talking. Skahan says Josh did not know what the term "spending time meant."

Mason -- Skahan says the police tell what happened but they don't report it. Skahan says they didn't record it because then there is no denying anything that happened. It's easier just to tell what happened. Skahan says Mason told them the same thing Mullins told them. People lie for different reason. Mason deal with children. Mason said James was humbled when talking about kids. Like a proud father. KT showed no emotion whatsoever.

6:50 PM - Skahan says there was a gun in the house. If Hawkins wanted to kill his wife, he would have just used a gun, not a knife.

Melvin Gaither -- told them nothing that contributed to proving Hawkins killed Gaither. Charlene told him the kids don't want to come with me, they want to stay with their father. James Hawkins is guilty, Skahan says, of filing a false police report. He is guilty of that. So did his daughter, Skahan says. She was not charged. Skahan says he;s guilty of abuse of a corpse. He says he;s not trying to fool them. He's guilty of that.

Skahan says KT was not afraid with the police. She was slamming things around. She had an attitude. Skahan says the defense did not ask a lot of the witnesses anything because a lot of it is not in contention.

Sister originally laughed at missing persons report. TOld police Gaither "just does this." Was not concerned. Laughed.

Scales people told them it was her body. Skahan says they told them it was her body.

Armstrong -- as high as it gets. Only person above him is Mayor Wharton. He is personal friend of Vincent Guy. Armstrong was Lt. in homicide. Armstrong said it did not matter. Skahan says it does. Skahan says Armstrong did not do anything improper but it influenced the way they looked at this case. His friend was related to victim.

Skahan says James admitted his part.

Skahan says the parent argued. This was a contentious relationship. Both swung at each other. Unfortunate, but reality. Not right, not to be condoned, but the kids saw it and were used to it. Mom did not go to movies. Mom stayed home. That;s what the boys say. Bell remembers it as the text coming to the phone on the way to the movies. WHich was is right? Skahan asks. He says that;s what they said, not him.

Skahan says that the state's theory is that everything that points to Hawkins is true. Everything that doesn't point to Hawkins is a lie. Skahan says the state's theory is that everything KT says that points to Hawkins is true, everything that points to herself is a lie.

Mullins -- TV star. He testified that HAwkins was concerned about his kids. He and Murray were yelling at Hawkins 12-year-old daughter. He says any parent would get mad. He should get mad. They were yelling at his daughter. Does not mean he killed something. It means he got made cause they were yelling at KT.

6:40 PM - The jury is back in the courtroom.

Skahan steps up to give his closing argument. He says it will be the last time he gets to talk to them. He thanks the jury. He says he brought notes because he does not remember everything. Collectively, the jury will remember everything, he says.

Skahan says a trial is to settle a disagreement. Trials have been going on a very long time in this country. Started in 1700's. One of first trials was in Massachusetts. Unpopular defendant. Could not find a lawyer to defend him. Nobody would do it. A struggling lawyer stepped forward to represent him. Lawyer was functioning alcoholic. Great writer, passionate about the law. Government put on proof. Defense did not put on anything. In closing, the lawyer told the jury that it was the last great protection citizens have against their own government. That lawyer  was John Adams. He wrote a lot of the laws and would be vice president. This system is great because of jurors who follow the laws.

This is a difficult case. I is horrible. Virtually impossible not to use sympathy or prejudice. Woman's body cut up and thrown in ditch. Human nature is to want to punish somebody. Can;t just punish anybody. Must follow the law. The hardest thing they will ever have to do in regards to law is to return a not guilty verdict. He says the state did not prove case, but the instinct is to make someone pay for it. Skahan says Hawkins is the wrong guy. He says the state has not met its burden. They have not proven case beyond a reasonable doubt with reasonable certainty.

Skahan is difficult to hear, especially with his low-talking voice and the coughing behind me.

He says he knows the jury is tired. He has 15 minutes left in his voice. He runs through witnesses.

Lewis Irvin -- His daughter was murdered. Gaither asked him: Is it unusual for daughter to be attracted to her father.

Lance McCollum -- MDOT. found body. No link to Hawkins.

Officer Gary -- Luminol etc.

Skahan says they do not argue the body was cut up in the house. Skahan says it happened. It does not prove anything in regards to James HAwkins. Most of the evidence didn't "It was for show."

Gaither stopped working in Covington because she moved an hour away. Charlene reconciled with her family and moved back to Memphis, not because Hawkins was an animal and made her. Skahan says the picture showed them where the body was thrown. They didn't have to take four hours to go down there and look at it. The defense does not dispute it. 

KT -- Skahan says we know to tell police if something is wrong. KT told cops everything was alright. She did not want to go with her mom. She didn't want to be with her mom.

Skahan says all throughout trial we talked about protocol on how to act in front of police. He acted nervous, must be guilty. Skahan says that cheap. Skahan says if he was calm, he was wrong. If he was nervous, he was wrong. Skahan says he gets nervous when he gets pulled over and he does this for a living.

6:25 PM - The judge is ready to proceed. The jury is ready to proceed.

Gerald Skahan will give the closing argument for the defense.

Court is back in session.

Hawkins returns to the courtroom.

The judge asks for the jury.

6:13 PM - "We will finish these closing arguments before sending the jury home for the night," Craft says. "I know it's late, but we gotta get moving."

6:10 PM - Bell continues... Long close...

KT was traumatized. It made sense that she would do whatever this dangerous violent man told her to do. KT lied because of Hawkins.

Bell goes through more defense theories. Lesser type of homicide, not 1st degree. Bell tells them to start at the top with the offense and charged. If they all agree, they do not move on to the lesser included offenses. She says it is murder 1st because it is intentional and premeditated. Bell says the state must prove case beyond a reasonable doubt and to a moral certainty. Not all questions may be answered. They tried. But maybe not all are answered. Do they go to the case or just curiosity.

The only way to know it to have been there. No one else was.

Now we know why, Bell says. We know what happened. We know who is responsible. She says the defendant is responsible. Bell asks the jury what it is going to do now that it know. Bell asks them to find him guilty as charged. "That's exactly what he is: guilty."

Bell says a wise man once said that the most important things are truth, justice and peace. With truth they can do justice and maybe then Charlene Gaither and her family can find peace.

Bell is finally finished. An hour and 20 minute closing argument.

The judge takes recess.

When they return, the defense will make their closing argument. Then the state will make a final close. It'll be a late night.

Court is in recess.

6:05 PM - KT says they should believe KT because she was detailed in her description of everything that happened. She testified truthfully. Bell says KT copped to lying previously. Then she explained why. Bell says her explanation makes sense. She lied because she was scared.

"Everyone in the system had failed KT. So why would she assume that this time would be any different?" Bell says it was only after she knew Hawkins was in jail and had stayed with Grandpa for a night. Her lies all stopped after she was not in Hawkins' control anymore. Bell acknowledges the other statements with lies. However, she gave a truthful statement with consistent with the physical evidence. She could not make that up.

Bell says her emotions were genuine. SHe had to testify in front of the man who had sex with her, killed her mom, etc. "She was absolutely terrified."

When she talked about the defendant killing her mother, those tears were real."

When talking about having to carry her mom's head, that was visceral. She lived it at the time. She re-lived in front of them. She re-lived it in front of all these strangers and the man who did all of it to her.

Bell says they proved 1st degree murder.

Bell tries to debunk theories. Hawkins is guilty of abuse of a corpse and false reporting but not murder. Bell says he is not just guilty of those. He is guilty of the murder as well. "Why in the world would he plead guilty to two counts and not to the other? Because they don't matter at all to the defendant."

College kids could dig up body as a Halloween prank and call police with a fake report and be charged with those two charges. Bell says there is no prank for the murder charge the defendant faces. The other two charges pale in comparison to the murder charge. He'd plead guilty to those charges because he;s stuck with the statement he made to investigators. He may have thought he was getting around things by not signing anything. But he can't get around what he told three homicide investigators.

Another theory: KT is a liar and hated her mom. Bell says KT loved mom, obeyed mom. KT changed after Hawkins entered her life.

5:55 PM - Bell says the body had no neck, no head. They stipulated to cause of death, stabbing and/or strangulation.

Bell says Hawkins didn't have to hurt her. He could have walked away. Right out of the apartment, but he didn't. He went and killed her. She says every step was thought out, every step a choice. Arguing night before and morning of. Went into kitchen, retrieved a knife, concealed the knife, took walk from hallway into the bedroom. She threatened to call the police. He told her she wasn't then stabbed her. Wrapped arms around her throat and choked her until she died. Took upper body strength. A 12-year-old girl did not have that kind of strength. Made sure boys didn;t find out by having KT turn up their TV and not come out of room.

Bell runs through everything that Hawkins did after that point...again, using it as proof that he acted intentionally.

After using the saw, he returned to get his money back.

"Every step was  choice," Bell says. "He took every step to kill and cover up the murder."

Bell says the killing was pre-meditated. Intent to kill formed prior to the act itself. Purpose does not have to preexist for any definite period of time. Hawkins could have decided to kill Gaither 1 month, 1 week, 1 day, 1 hour, 1 minute, 1 second, or 1 tenth of second to kill. He did not have to think about it for a long time, just that he thought about doing it first.  Mental state must have been sufficiently free from excitement and passion, not completely free. Immaterial that he was in a state of passion or excitement.

Evidence of premeditation -- Arguing. It had ended. She went and laid down. Hawkins went into kitchen, got knife, concealed it, came back, down the hall, into the bedroom. Argued about calling police. Stabs and chokes CHarlene. Threatens KT into helping... Bell, again, re-iterates Hawkins actions after the fact. Mutilates body, a bloody mess. Much less of a mess if the body had been frozen for a while. Cleans up. Uses saw to cut up frozen body.

Defendant: "I want you to help me kill your mom." Spoken to KT by Hawkins. THis was a week or two before the murder. Conversation takes place in kitchen.

KT: No

Hawkins: I'll kill her. I just want you to help me.

KT: No.

Hawkins: I'll kill you. 

Bell says KTY saw him punch brothers, had been hit herself. SHe believed he might kill her, especially after seeing him kill Charlene.

Bell says the jury is the judge of the credibility of the witnesses. Not all of them saw things exactly the same way. Kids have different verbal skills, different memories, different things that stuck out to them. That doesn't mean they don't know what happened. Bell says they were all credible witnesses. They told the truth. They were honest.

5:40 PM - Bell shows picture of the trunk in which he put the body. Then a picture of the Coldwater Creek. Dumped her body, completely nude, over the bridge and watched her roll down the hill. Then he went down there and wiped down the body, not for her benefit, but for his. So he didn;t get caught.

Then he called the police to report her missing because otherwise it would be suspicious. He told his kids she left.

Josh believed it. Josh tried to get Hawaiian Punch. Mom was already dead inside. The freezer was leaking red.

February 12, 2008. Police show up to take missing persons report. Hawkins lies and is evasive. Asks KT what mom was wearing at the time. KT was upset and angry. COuld not say much because HAwkins was standing there. Olive calls. Evasive. Lies. Told her about the same stuff.

February 14, 2008. Valentine's Day. Body found by MDOT's Lance McCollum.

February 15. Armstrong calls. Hawkins lies, tells him he's at work when he wasn't. Armstrong doesn't believe he'll come down so he sends officers to find him. Police find him. He again lies and is evasive. Nervous. Shaking. Not star struck. Wants to know why homicide wants to talk to him. They have not ID'ed themselves at homicide. Maybe he watches TV. So what. He was shaking.

At homicide, he lied. Told them carpet had always been missing. Gets angry when found out they were talking to his children, not because he was overly protective, but because they had info that could hurt him.

Feb 16, brought up for another statement. Evasive. Won;t let them read Miranda Rights. Evasive. Sometimes he talks. Sometimes he doesn't. Trying to control everything. Only after he finds out what police know. He had over night to think. Finally tells Mason, "I didn't do it, but I covered it up." Nothing else worked so he blamed it on his 12-year-old daughter. If he took partial responsibility, maybe they will believe him.

Bell asks them not to be fooled by his story. "We're not buying it Mr. Hawkins!" Bell invokes Nichols opening argument. "Don't you buy it now."

5:30 PM - Luminol lit up blood in bedroom and bathroom. Alternate light source lit up straight line where someone cleaned more thoroughly above the line than below the line. The line was tape-like, where someone had taped up plastic. He tried hard n ot to make such a big mess.

Then he returned the saw that he used to dismember the body. Had to clean that saw, too, Bell says.

Photos on overhead -- the luminol, then the alternate light source on the tape-like line.

Bell says Hawkins hated Gaither. It was personal. "How much do you have to hate a person to cut up that person with a circular saw?" Bell says the body is the physical form of someone's soul. It is something to be respected. "How little respect for human life do you have to do something like that." Bell says Hawkins has zero respect, especially for Charlene Gaither. Because of this hatred he killed CHarlene. Bell says he had no problem throwing out body or having his daughter dismember her mom. In his eyes, KT was just as disposable.

Bell says, when he found out his kids were talking, he had plan-B: blame KT. He didn't care about her. If he really cared about daughter so much, then he would have taken responsibility for the whole thing in the end. But he did not care enough to take the blame. When he was done with her, he threw her under the bus just like he threw mom in a ditch. Someone who did that to the mother of his children would have no problem forcing sex on his 12-year-old daughter. Bell goes through the disposal of the body and evidence. Bell says he double bagged the head. Drove out to the middle of nowhere in another state. He threw her body off the bridge. Then he threw her head, hands, and feet out of the car window while the car was moving.

When they asked him show them where the body parts were, he thought about for 15 minutes. Bell says he thought about how it could hurt him. decided it couldn't at that point. So he told them he'd go along. Took him 15 minutes to decide.

5:20 PM - Josh and James testimony. They saw evidence of inappropriate relationship between father and daughter. Cell phone broken. Police called to try to get KT. Night before, mom and dad argued. Morning of, heard arguing. Heard "KT's my baby, KT's my baby!"

KT's testimony -- Hawkins had sex with her every other day. Don't tell anybody or get hurt. Dad got her pregnant, not a boy from school. She had a miscarriage. Hawkins asked KT to help him kill Charlene Gaither. Hawkins carried knife into mom's room. Mom said she was going to call police. Hawkins said no and stabbed her in the throat and choked her. Held knife to KT's throat and threatened her. Of course, KT believed Hawkins would hurt her based on just seeing him  kill mom. Of course she believed he would kill her. Hawkins was only adult in the apartment after stabbing. He does not call 911, police, neighbors, friends, family, etc. He just held Charlene for an hour or two until she died. He supposedly 12-year-old daughter to control what happens next.

According to his statement to police, he allows 12-year-old to run the show. She asked him for help. That's the reason he mutilated the body. Bell asks if they honestly believe, after seeing her and what she went though, that she was in control. He was in control, calling the shots, not KT. He was running house for months, ever since he showed up at Gaither's house and moved out the family. After controlling everything for months, he was not going to allow his daughter to control things now.

Bell says KT was a victim too, of Hawkins' manipulation and threats. After he killed Gaither, Bell says, he cleans because he doesn't want evidence of what he's done to be found. Bell says he cut out carpet, cut out holes in mattress, sprays bleach in carpet, buys more cleaning products, takes kids with him to do it. Cleans hall bathroom where the body was by himself without the boys. Boys are forced to participate in clean up of the apartment. Hawkins took garbage bags to different dumpsters so evidence can't be easily found. Made boys help throw out mattress. Cleans deep freezer. Didn't get everything cause the blood was still on the trays. Moved freezer out of apartment into vacant apartment next door. Bleach smell so strong that the smell made eyes water. Smelled it in freezer too. Mason's eyes watered. The missing persons officer smelled it, told them to leave the door open. Armstrong smelled it, Mullins smelled it.

5:10 PM - Bell says the kids didn't make this up. It actually happened.

He says they moved from Covington to Memphis. Charlene quit her job. Hawkins broke mom's cell phone. The boys waited in eh car for more than 3 hours, waiting for a surprise that never happened. Hawkins went to school to have words with teacher. Hawkins was in control. Charlene could not tell him what to do. He was not going to get locked up. No one was going to stop him from being out in the world and doing whatever he wanted to do.

Why? "Because she was going to prevent him from having what he wanted." SHe was about to bring down a world of hurt down on him, unlike anything he ever experienced. Bell says Charlene realized you can't change someone who does not want to be changed. HSe realized her worst suspicions were reality. She knew that Hawkins, her kids' father, was sexually penetrating her 12-year-old daughter.

"KT's my baby, KT's my baby," Charlene yelled loud enough to wake up her son. She was going to call the police. But HAwkins was not going to allow Charlene to take away his control. Instead he decided to eliminate the one person who could take away his freedom and control. He told her she was not going to call the police or anybody else.

"And he raised up that knife and stabbed her right in he middle of the throat." As she struggled to breathe, he choked the life right out of her. He made sure she could never call the police.

Elements of 1st degree murder -- Hawkins unlawfully killed Charlene Gaither. Bell says Hawkins was the only one to kill Gaither. 3 weeks before she was murdered, she filled out a detailed order of protection against Hawkins because she was frightened of him and wanted him to stay away. Hawkins had yelled at her, threatened her, hit her, pulled her hair. She suspected he was having sex with daughter. Bell put up the statement Gaither wrote in her own words when filling out the application for order of protection. Gaither wrote that Hawkins was mad because she took KT away. Bell says KT was Hawkins toy, play thing, property to use whenever and however he wanted.

5 PM - Marianne Bell stands up to give her closing argument.

"When tragedy occurs, everyone has questions" she says. "We want to know how can this happen? How can something go so terribly wrong?"

Bell says in this case there is a question: "Why? WHy? Why? In the world would someone take a beautiful woman like Charlene Gaither and turn her into this?"

There is a photo of Charlene Gaither up on the overhead projector. She asks why someone dump the body out like a piece of clothing or a piece of trash out on the highway. Bell says in order to answer, we have to understand the people involved in this case.

Charlene Gaither -- worked at Tipton County center for adults with disabilities. She was a mother of three, a kind and loving person. She was assigned to work with severely mentally retarded individually, the most difficult patience the center had. Gaither inspired her co-workers. Gaither was married twice, but she wanted kids to know their biological father. Wanted it enough to leave her second husband. Wanted her family to be reunited and live in harmony under one roof. Bell says she wanted her family to be together. Family photo up on overhead.

KT -- First child with Hawkins. Pic on overhead. Only daughter. 12 at the time. In 6th grade at American Way at the time. Mind and emotional development a the time. Obedient child, minded mom, got along with step-fathers.

James and Joshua Irvin -- Charlene's two sons. Their pics on overhead. They were children at the time. James was 11, 5th grade. Josh was 9, 4th grade. Children at mercy of parents and authority figures They listened and did what they were told. Wanted someone to love and protect them. To spend time with them, love them all equally.

"Unfortunately," Bell says. "That person turned out not to be their biological father James Hawkins." Bell says Hawkins inserted himself back into the life of CHarlene Gaither. "That's when everything started going wrong." He only wanted to spend time with KT, not the boys. Gaither and HAwkins started arguing within 2 or 3 weeks. CHarlene didn;t like that Hawkins spent all of his time with KT, didn't like him texting daughter not to talk to mom. Charlene asked her own dad if this was normal.

The more Charlene questioned, the more Hawkins got violent. Charlene was onto something so he slapped and hit her. Her suspicions and calls to police were getting in the was of what Hawkins wanted: "complete, utter absolute control." Hawkins wanted to continue having sex with KT as much as he wanted wherever and whenever he wanted. Bell says adults have sex with children, with their own children sometimes. As much as we don;t want to hear about it. Bell says it is difficult to hear about from a kid on eh witness stand. We don;t want to hear about it or think about, but this man sitting over here actually did this to his daughter. KT told them as hard as it was to talk about, she described to them exactly how Hawkins sexually abused her over and over again. The boys witnessed it. They told the jury about tongue-kissing, breast-grabbing. About dad on top of KT.

 

4:47 PM - Jury charge over. Finally. Closings about to start.

4:43 PM - Law requires the judge to read this jury charge out.

It is never a quick process, never easy to understand. I do not envy the jury.

Speaking of which... the jury has been sequestered since they were selected to serve. Testimony began last Friday. It appears as though they will be spending the night together again tonight so that they can come back tomorrow to deliberate.

When this jury charge is over, closing arguments begin.

The judge has not indicated that any plans to have them begin deliberating tonight.

Right now, he reads...

4:38 PM - The courtroom doors are locked, common practice for jury charges, especially in murder trials like this on.

In other words, there is no escaping...

In regards to deliberations, the jury charge is of utmost importance. It is the guideline to deliberations. They must understand this document.

4:35 PM - The judge explains criminal responsibility, which is culpability for actions committed by another if the defendant furnished assistance.

Note: this is mind-numbingly boring. The judge reads fast and uses lots of confusing jargon, making it difficult to keep up.

The jury appears to be reading along diligently, as though taking there job very seriously. Hawkins silently reads along. Both teams of lawyers silently read along.

4:30 PM - 1st degree murder. They must find that Hawkins killed Gaither with premeditation.

If guilty of 1st degree, they must consider sentencing (life without parole, life with parole, or death) AFTER a second sentencing hearing. They cannot consider it while deliberating conviction or not.

Judge explains legal definitions and the jury's obligations for lesser included offenses: second degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, criminally negligent homicide.

Initiating a false offense report -- defendant initiated report and he knew it did not occur.

Abuse of a corpse --  defendant physically mistreated a corpse in a manner offensive to the sensibilities of an ordinary person, no legal privilege, acted knowingly.

4:20 PM - Jury finished looking at exhibits.

Deputy hands out jury charges to each jury. They will be allowed to read along with the judge and keep this document.

There are three charges, three separate trials, all in this one trial. Each charge has lesser-included offenses. Judge informs them they can ask questions while they are deliberating. They will have to write it down on paper and send it in. He might or might not be able to answer.

Judge Chris Craft explains that some of the words have different legal meanings in each charge. He reads...

1st count -- 1st degree murder, includes 2nds degree murder, facilitation of first degree, facilitation of second degree, et al.

2nd count -- false police report...

3rd count -- abuse of a corpse...

The jury should have no sympathy or prejudice and base it decision solely on the law and the proof.

4:10 PM - The jury is back in the room.

Gerald Skahan rests the defense's case.

Before reading the jury charge, Judge Chris Craft has a deputy pass the jury the remaining exhibits for them to review. The he is going to read them the jury charge.

He explains to the jury that we will work late tonight. He wants to finish closing arguments for both sides today. The jury's restaurant will be glad to wait for them.

"So we're going to work you a little late tonight," he says, estimating that it'll be around 7 pm.

The jury reviews the exhibits in silence.

4:05 PM - The jury charge has been fixed. The judge returns. Hawkins returns.

The judge asks for the jury.

4 PM - Before the jury returns to the room, Skahan point out that the part about "deliberations" is not in the jury charge.

The judge frantically looks at his charge and realizes he left it and another section out. He has the deputy hold up the jury. He ducks out of the courtroom to his chambers then steps back inside the room.

"It will take me a few minutes to do this (make additions)," the judge says. "Let's take a recess."

Court is in recess.

"It's going to be late," Branham says stepping out of the room momentarily.

3:55 PM - Court is back in order.

Hawkins returns to the courtroom, places his stack of files on the seat next to him.

The judge calls for the jury, which is finished reviewing two exhibits they were given during the break.

3:50 PM - We wait...

Hawkins is not in the room... And court isn't even in session, though the judge, lawyers, and gallery are all ready.

3:43 PM - Perhaps closing arguments will happen this afternoon.

Prosecutor Marianne Bell just brought a portable podium into the courtroom and set it up in front of the jury box, as though she will speak to them from behind the podium.

We shall see.

3:40 PM - Privately, Prosecutor Missy Branham, Defense Attorney Gerald Skahan, and Judge Chris Craft discuss matters at he front of the room. From here, it sounds like they are whispering about putting closing arguments off until tomorrow morning. They may read the jury charge and close tomorrow, potentially coming in as early as 8:30 am to get started. The lawyers say they're good either way. There is no firm decision.

Of course, I'll keep you posted.

For right now, we wait...

3:38 PM - Judge Chris Craft says the delay is over the copy machine that is still running off copies of the jury charge. All 15 jurors will get a copy of the multi-page document in order to follow along as the judge reads.

3:35 PM - Court is not yet in session, but it's close.

When the jury returns, defense attorney will rest his case. Then the judge will the jury. Then closing arguments.

3:05 PM - The judge and lawyers go through the jury charge together. Hawkins is indicted on 1st degree murder charge. There are lesser included offenses, like second degree murder, facilitation of first degree, facilitation of second degree, voluntary manslaughter, criminal responsibility. He is also charged with initiating a false offense report to police officer and abuse of a corpse, a misdemeanor.

There is a criminal responsibility charge. Defense takes issue. Prosecution says there has been testimony that he held Gaither while she died, which is criminal responsibility. Judge says the proof could go either way. If he did not do the actual stabbing, he could get criminal responsibility because he held her there and did not get her help. Benefited from death because then she couldn't tell police anything. The judge will leave it in.

The judge continues to cycle through the jury charge with the lawyers

He finishes quickly.

Gerald Skahan says he is ready right now. Prosecutors say they need some time, at least 15 minutes. 

Skahan says, if closing arguments begin today, he wants them to end in their entirety today. State will argue. Defense will argue. State will argue again. He wants all three to happen at the same time. Judge promises that will happen. They will not split closing into two separate days.

The jury charge will take at least a half hour for the judge to read.

Recess until 3:30 pm. 

2:53 PM - Nance asks about Symes report. Nance says he is a bit confused by SYmes written report. Branahm contacted Symes June 24, 2009. Second to last sentence on first page of report, Symes wrote that he was aware tools had been confiscated, but he requested only the bones. As anthropologist he always starts with bone then usually asks for tool. In this case he did not ask for tool.

Symes says he was he may or may not have been told what kind of saw it was. He does not remember.  Symes says he cannot tell which specific saw. These are all class characteristics. Maybe two or three.

The picture of the blade in the previous photo was completely random, just one that SYmes had pulled out of the drawer. Nothing related to this case. Syymes says the steel blade gets dull. A carbite blade is a much harder metal. It has incredible cutting power. Symes says he did not ask for this blade because he did not have specific things to compare it to. Cross finished. No re-direct. Symes is finished on the witness stand.

The state rests its case in proof.

The judge takes a break to allow the defense to decide how it wants to proceed. Does it want to put on any proof or simply rest, too?

Skahan whispers with Hawkins.

The judge indicates that he has made copies of the TBI report and will give it to the jury to review while court is in break. The jury is out of the room. Court is not at recess, though.

Skahan calls James HAwkins to the stand. NO JURY. This is procedure.

Hawkins acknowledges that his defense team as advised him of his right to testify or not. If he testifies, the state gets a chance to cross-examine. If he does not testify, the jury cannot hold that against him. Hawkins acknowledges that he told his defense team that he does not wish to testify. He will not take the stand. HE understands that the defense will not put on any proof. The judge accepts Hawkins decision. He steps down off the stand and retakes his seat.

2:45 PM - Symes describes the saw as limited for cutting anything but a 2X4.

Nichols asks for and receives permission to plug in saw. There is no blade in it. Initially, they have problems getting it to fire up. Defense asks to approach. As they go up to the bench, the saw fires up. Judge asks Symes to wait a moment.

Outside, in the hallway, someone is sobbing. It sounds like there is an emotional case going on in another courtroom on this floor.

Bench conference over. Symes fires up the saw. He says it spins rapidly.

He holds up the saw blade to show the jury. He explains the teeth. He calls them powerful and durable. He says the teeth do not cut skin and soft tissue well. He says it's designed to cut something between skin and bone. That's on limitation. Plus, there is a lack of penetration.

Nichols asks if this saw could cut through a neck. She explains where she is talking about on he human body.Symes says it is easy to get to the bone of the neck in the back. Can hit those right away, even with only 2 inch penetration. He says it's possible, but the soft tissue would make it difficult.

"With persistence" it's possible, he says.

Non-carbite tips saws are harder to use. After 10 cuts into human bone, the blade gets dull. Carbite tip blades are much better, much more durable.

Symes says, in his professional opinion, he can rule out a hand saw. In terms of power saws there are not many. He says any saw with a round blade could make these cuts. Nichols finished.

Larry Nance stands up to cross-examine. Symes says it is 800 miles to Erie, PA, a two-day drive.

2:35 PM - Skahan whispers to Hawkins.

Symes says this case was difficult. It gave him hours of headaches. Part of the problem was the spongy bone they were dealing with. Thin dense bone but very spongy. The spongy bone is not a great medium for saw marks. The spine bone is resistant. He says he was only looking at one side of the cut, not both sides, which means he was extremely limited.

Symes says there is more tissue the farther away from the ankle and knee. Ankle easier to cut because there is less soft tissue.

Nichols hands SYmes crime scene photo of Gaither's body. He acknowledges the photo. He says the cuts are deep. They hit bone. He says he did not see this photos until May 24, 2011. He says he believes it is a power saw. Circular saws are designed to cut 2X4's. The typical saw you buy can only get you through 2.5 inches. Nichols says all the cuts he sees were made by instruments except for the one tibia that a[[ears to be broken.

Nichols passes Symes the circular saw from earlier. Symes puts on a pair of rubber gloves. He removes the saw and blade from the box. Nichols has him step down with the saw and blade. Symes stands in front of the jury. Craftsman Skilsaw. He says he is not a saw expert. He shows where the blade attaches. Arrow tells you which way it goes. Bottom spin away from holder. Set down on what you want to cut. And push. There is a guard that restricts. The 7-1/4 inch on peeks below the guard by three inches at most.

2:25 PM - Symes is finished with his PowerPoint. He re-takes the stand. Nichols resumes with questions.

He says he starts with left upper body then right upper body. Left lower, right lower.

Symes says he compiled a report in regards to his work on this case. He takes out his report to help him answer some questions.

Left wrist findings -- Symes says he found 3 carpal bones impacted in 4 different directions of cuts. One cut not perpendicular. Cuts went through carpal bones but left very small areas of cut marks. Symes says a power circular saw has restrictions. Efficient for cutting 2X4. The wrist is similar to the 2X4 size wise. Wood is softer than bone, though. Bone make it harder to cut with circular saw. Soft tissue present problems for the saw. He says these cuts are from a power saw. It has bigger teeth. It hits material so fast, it exudes energy, has uniformity. Uniform striation pattern. He says the left wrist was being cut from different directions.

Right wrist -- similar to left. Cut from 3 to 5 different directions. He points to his own wrist to show which directions the wrist was cut from.

Left ankle -- Straight cut just above ankle area. Start from back of the bone. Direction changes but not major. Smooth cuts mostly, save for the false starts and a few striations he already showed the jury. Not many carpenter saw cut a tenth of an inch. The cut suggests power saw.

Right ankle -- Bone is mainly broken. Irregular. Covered in mud. Tibia is broken. Not really cut.

Symes says he took pictures of everything, hundreds of pictures. He takes pictures of everything. He had to revise his report. he made a mistake. Originally, he though the cross-section of leg bone he received was from higher up in the leg, just underneath the knee. After discovering the ankles were cut, he went back and insisted on finishing the report because he wants to have all his bones correct. He says he misdiagnosed it at first.

2:15 PM - Symes says he prepared a power point to help he relay what he found in this case.

Note: earlier I spelled his last name Sims. Correct spelling is Symes.

Symes says he received areas from wrists and ankles. 6 bones from right wrist. 5 bones from left wrist.  He says the ME cut of the parts of the body to send to him to examine.

Symes steps down from the witness stand to start his PowerPoint.

1st page of PowerPoint -- Left tibia at about the ankle. Bottom is gone. Picture shows a false start. Cut was started and then abandoned. There are 2 false starts. He's interested in measurement. "Kerf" means the cut. This kerf is the product of two cuts. Medium to large cutting tool. A hacksaw or finer tooth saw could not make these false starts. It's a bigger tooth saw. Symes says he knows which cut was made by the ME. The ME uses an electric saw. Vibrates. Power saw is very diagnostic. It's features are easily ID'ed. The false start was not made by an autopsy saw.

2nd photo of PowerPoint -- Looking down at flat surface of the same tibia. The photo shows striations. Residual kerfs, like steps at sharp angle.  He says it's a major characteristic to find. He has a direction saw cut and the progress of the saw. He knows which was the saw was progressing. It was progressing into he bone, not just back and forth. Progressed from back to front. ABle to tell by striations. He says there is a change in direction at one point.

3rd photo -- left tibia again. The residual striation is not straight. In the middle of the residual striation, there is an edge. The cut mark in the middle of the bone is not straight. The cut line has a curvature. It narrows down the type of saw. He can describe features about the saw that made these cuts. The curvature seems to be constant. FIxed radius curvature. This is a saw curving into the bone. It keeps its shape.

4th photo -- same photo. Close up of edge. Random saw blade up against the edge to show the fit between the saw blade and the curvatures of the cut. The saw blade is a 7-1/4 inch circular saw.

5th photo -- diagram. the wrists. It depicts the many different bones in the wrist. The wrist is very complex. The bones stayed where they were. He shows the bones of the wrist that he had.

2 PM - The jury returns to the courtroom. Trial resumes.

The state calls Dr. Steve Symes to the witness stand. Symes is a professor at MercyHurst College in Erie, PA. He is a forensic anthropologist, too. He went to UT, got his masters and PhD in Knoxville. His number is 57 out of 82 certified in his field. He deals with anthropology, board field. The study of humans. His area is specialized in he physical body. Symes has written chapters and articles and lots of presentations. He lectures every other week. He was told he has 50 publications. He has no idea. 20-30 lectures internationally and nationally. That's besides classroom. He has lectured in most states. Lectured in 14 or 15 countries. Mercyhurst has specialized masters program in his field. He started the forensic anthropology program. It was the first of its kind in the world. There are a bunch of them now. 

He has testified in court before. Federal and State court. Gets calls from both defense and prosecutors. The judge accepts him as an expert in the field of forensic anthropology.

Symes says he was got a call from Missy Branham. They had worked together in the past. Branham asked him to take a look at this case. He requests bone that's been altered or damaged and any tissue that might exist. He got four parts in this case. An area of each wrist. An area of each ankle. Each part came in a separate container with rough instructions.

First he photographs everything. Then he moves his way in. Photos taken through microscope. He trained at ME's office here in Memphis. He looks at traumatized bone. He does a lot of work on cut marks. His goal is to look at cut marks on bone. Writes report on bone itself. Deal with actual tool later on. He says there are many who look at bones. There are very few who look at sharp trauma, maybe one other than him. Ballistic trauma, burn trauma, healed trauma, cut trauma. A tool has a blade, a blade has to have an edge. Puts in its own category: sarp trauma.

 

1:49 PM - Court is back in session.

James Hawkins, dressed in dark gray slacks and a white button down dress shirt, returns to the courtroom.

The gallery is much less crowded today than yesterday, when there were no more seats for the testimony of Hawkins' daughter, KT.

The judge calls for the jury.

1:45 PM - The jury light is on. They are ready to return to work.

It appears as though the defense and prosecution are ready, too.

The judge puts court in recess for a brief moment.

Trial will resume shortly.

1:42 PM - Court is in session, but Judge Chris Craft is clearing other matters from his docket.

Trial is not back in session, but should be shortly.

The prosecution plans to put on two more witnesses. Then the judge will charge the jury. Then there will be closing arguments.

12:30 PM - Debnam continues walking through her report. It appears as though the prosecution is having her explain the report so that the jury will have a guidance on how to read it when they go back to deliberate.

Sample from hinge on trunk of vehicle. Blood. Human DNA. Matched Charlene Gaither. The standard was missing five markers. But these samples had 13 markers. All 13 markers from the fluid samples matched each other. The other 8 matched the standard.

Debnam continues explaining her report. Basically, she re-iterates everything she just testified to, only know there is a paper version that the jury can see on the overhead.

Nichols is finished. Skahan has no questions.

Debnam steps down and leaves.

Court is in lunch recess until 1:30 p.m.

12:25 PM - Debnam says she tested the saw and blade. Nichols passes her the saw and box. Debnam says blood was not present on the saw. She removes the blade from the box. It has a cover on it. She pulls out the saw. Shows everywhere she rubbed in search of blood. Tested the chord as well. Those tests came up negative. She examined outside of saw, not inside.

Debnam ID's the blade again. Says she tested it. Debnam says the blade was not attached to the saw when she got them. Debnam says it came back negative for blood. Debnam says bleach and cleaning supplies would wash away DNA or dilute it enough that it would not be attainable.

Debnam says she also got a tote bag. Was not told why she was asked to test the tote bag. Nichols hands her a brown bag. She ID's it as containing the tote bag. She removes the tote bag from the brown bag. It is red and black. She tested it by using filter paper to rub down the bag. There was no blood present. Debnam says there was no other request for any other type of testing.

After testing these items, she wrote a report. 3 pages. Nichols hands her the report. She recognizes the report. It includes all the items, tests, and results. She says it truly and accurately reports what she found upon testing. Nichols places the report on the overhead.

1st page -- Debnam points out receive date. The subject, the victim, the items brought into lab to be analyzed. Each case has a unique lab number. Every item brought in is given a unique exhibit number. Debnam explains the numbers she assigned to each item. Debnam explain the details of her report. The liquid blood was destroyed after six months. No point in keeping it.

12:15 PM - Debnam removes swab from envelope. ID's it a cheek swab from Hawkins. Tested samples from the trunk. Three areas. Passenger side. Hinge from the trunk. Rubber seal from the trunk. Nichols hands bag. She ID's the package. Fluid samples from the trunk of the vehicle. Debnam opens the package and pulls out the samples. 2 swab packages that are the samples from passenger side and the hinge. Another bag has the rubber seal in it. Blood was present on all three samples. Took them to DNA analysis. Got a genetic profile.

1st fluid sample from passenger side. DNA matched Charlene Gaither.

All the three fluid samples matched Charlene Gaither. Debnam returns the samples to the packaging.

Debnam says she looked at the four freezer trays next. Nichols hands her the package. She ID's it and then opens the package, using rubber gloves to cover her hands and a pair of scissors to the cut the packaging. Debnam removes the freezer trays from the packaging. A deputy offers assistance, holding down the bag for her to pull out the contents. Debnam ID's the 4 freezer trays. She says she says most the freezer trays did not come up positive for blood. She marked the freezer trays in order to distinguish. SHe holds up three of the trays. She says those all came up negative for the presence of blood. The fourth tray came back positive for blood. She marked the rungs that came back presumptive positive for blood. She shows off the markings. SHe says she found four spots of blood. A little bit of it was visible, but very faint. Put all four together to try to maximize the chance to get enough for a profile. Doing so does not hurt the chance of getting a profile, even if it belonged to 2 different people. In this case, the DNA profile matched Charlene Gaither.

12:05 PM - Court is back in session. James Hawkins returns to the courtroom. Jury back in the room.

State calls Quadryyah Debnam to the witness stand. Debnam is a TBI serologist, the study of bodily fluids like blood, semen, and saliva. Debnam tells the court her qualifications. Over 300 samples tested for DNA. Has been qualified as DNA expert more than 50 times in court. The judge accepts Debnam as an expert.

2008. Debnam was asked to analyze several items with a victim CHarlene Gaither and a suspect James HAwkins. TBI lab is here in Memphis off Haley road.

April 4, 2008. Got DNA samples from victim. Tote bag. Four freezer trays. Samples from vehicle. Saw. Buccal swab from James Hawkins. Everything that was on Murray's list TBI got, except for sink trap and washing machine hose. TBI did not refuse to test those items. Debnam was notified that they had been used prior to submission. The likelihood of getting DNA hit is slim to none. They believed it would not present evidence for this case. The sink trap and washing machine hose had been in us, e for a week after the DNA would have gotten in there.

Debnam tested the items versus the samples from Hawkins and Gaither. She explains the process of testing for blood. Very involved. Big words. 

DNA is genetic material. 99% of DNA is the same. 1% determines genetic profile. 13 markers or locations to generate a profile and get a match or not. Gaither's sample game in liquid form. Debnam dried it for preservation by putting it on a swatch. Extract DNA from the fluid sample to get human cells. She got a genetic profile but it was not complete. Incomplete profile means they could not hit on all 13 markers. Debnam says she has enough information to get a profile. THere are enough markers that are unique to an individual. Profile could come back incomplete because of environmental factors. Nichols explains what happened to Gaither. Debnam says those types of things could degrade the DNA.

Debnam says she got a hit on 8 markers, plus the gender marker for a total of 9 markers out of 13.

Debnam says she took standard and made a swatch of standard of Gaither. Did the same for Hawkins sample. Genetic profile obtained for both.

Nichols handsDebnam the saliva sample from Hawkins. She recognizes and describes.

11:45 AM - Still waiting to resume.

11:35 AM - During the break, as practice for what's to come, prosecutors, plug in, turn on, and fire up the saw, sans blade.

"That's how people get cut," Skahan says shaking his head.

"Let's not put the blade in," Craft says.

"We wouldn't do that, judge," Branham replies.

11:30 AM - Court is back in session. Hawkins returns to the room.

The judge hands both sides his jury instructions, which they will have a chance to review at lunch. The charge will be read before the closing arguments.

The prosecution is almost finishes, but has at least one more witness to put on.

It does not appear as though the defense plans to put on any proof, meaning James Hawkins likely won't take the stand to testify.

The jury is not quite ready. One of the jurors is still smoking.

Court is back in recess.

11:13 AM - The jury is out of the room. The courtroom clears.

"You think you'll finish this morning?" Skahan asks Nichols.

"MMHMMMM," she shakes her head yes. "The way it's looking."

Skahan asks the judge for a copy of the jury instructions to review. He promises to get them for him.

"Looks like we'll finish up our proof this morning and having closing arguments this afternoon," says Nichols.

In other words, the end is in sight.

 

11:10 AM - Bell passes Wheeler two photos. One of the Ford Taurus, the other a close up of the tag on the vehicle. TN 398 GXP.

Photo on overhead -- Ford Taurus. Gray. Trunk popped. Car appears to be inside some sort of garage at 475 Klink.

Photo -- the license plate.

Bell passes Wheeler a few more photos. Wheeler ID's them as location where fluid samples were taken from the trunk. Seven photos.

Photo on overhead -- Passenger half of car. From the back. Trunk is open. Areas of yellow. Crayon used to show the , location where the evidence is. Three different areas that shows fluid samples. One on the underside of the trunk. One on the arm that holds up the trunk. One in the crease.

Photo -- close up of fluid sample in the crease.

Photo -- extreme close up of same thing.

Photo -- Close up of second sample.

Photo -- closer up of second sample.

Photo -- third sample.

Photo -- extreme close up.

Collected the samples and took them to the property room at 201 Poplar. Bell hands Wheeler an envelope. Wheeler say it contains the fluid sample taken from this car. February 24, 2008. Wheeler tagged them into evidence. Bell finished questioning Wheeler. Defense has no questions. Wheeler steps off the stand and leaves.

Judge takes a short recess.

11 AM - State calls MPD officer Roger Wheeler. Been a cop for 23 years. He is in the traffic unit now. In February 17, 2008, he was a CSI. Was CSI for 7 years. Went to 3201 Austin Peay. KMart. Bell passes Wheeler a photo. He recognizes it as the outside of KMart.

Bell puts photo on overhead. Sgt. Hanks called him to KMart. Wheeler met Hanks and went to loss prevention office to take pictures of a circular saw. Bell passes Wheeler a series of photos. Wheeler recognizes photos. He took them in the loss prevention office at KMart.

Photo on overhead -- box with the circular saw in it.

Photo -- outside of box.

Photo -- Saw inside box.

Photo -- Saw in box.

Photo -- directions and blade.

Photo -- close up of the previous picture.

Photo -- tag of the serial number of the blade.

February 24, 2008. Got a call to got 475 Klink, Crime Scene office. Took pictures of vehicle. Wheeler thinks it was Ford. Needs to look at paperwork to refresh his memory on exactly the type of vehicle. Bell hands Wheeler his report. He recognizes it. Wheeler says the car was a FOrd Taurus. Gray in color. Wheeler says Don Carpenter is a late fingerprint technician who had already done some processing of the vehicle. Carpenter had lifted some prints that came up negative. Had found fluid samples in car.

Juror has a question. She ran out of ink and needs another pen.

Wheeler says he took pictures of the vehicle and the fluid samples in the trunk. Wheeler says fluid samples are taken by using a long Q-tip soaked in special water and swab the sample then put it in a box that h, as a small hole so the air can vent and preserve the fluid sample. WHeeler says he was taking pictures while this was being done.

10:50 AM - State calls MPD officer Charles Cathey to the witness stand. Been with MPD for 23 years. He is a CSI officer. Got a call to go to Prince Rapert #4. Cathey says he removed washing machine hose. Used tools to disconnect. Took it to holding area. Bell passes Cathey an envelope. Recognizes the property receipt. It tells him when he tagged it and where it came from. Tagged at 201 on 2/17/2008.

February 28, 2008. Cathey says he was at 475 Klink, the crime scene office. His usual office. Cathey tagged some freezer trays for a fingerprint technician named Don Carpenter, since deceased. He processed freezer trays for fingerprints. Trays came back negative. Bells hands Cathey a box. He ID's it as containing the fre, ezer trays.

After tagging freezer trays, he took them to property and evidence room at 201 Poplar. Bell finishes. Skahan has not questions. Cathey leaves.

10:45 AM - State calls MPD officer Katelia Wells to the witness stand. Been on the force for 4 years. Uniform patrol. She got a call to go to 2605 Prince Rupert apartment #2. Dispatch sent her over there to meet homicide investigators. She got there and saw a white freezer inside. It appeared to be empty, not lived in.

Pic on overhead. The white freezer in apartment #2 that day. Upright white freezer. Wells says she did not open freezer. The investigator opened the freezer door. She looked inside. It was empty. There was nothing but trays.

Pic on overhead. Inside the freezer. EMpty save for some shelves and trays. Tow truck showed up and towed the freezer to Klink or "the tunnel," were evidence is taken. Tow truck driver loaded freezer on dolly to get it downstairs. Loaded freezer onto tow truck. , Wells followed tow truck to city lot. Freezer was taken into the bat where CSI officers process. Wells says after it got to Klink, that was it for her. SHe says the only paperwork she filled out was the tow slip. Bell hands her the tow slip. She ID's it as the tow slip from eh freezer transport. Tow slip on overhead. Description at bottom "White Kenmore refrigerator open from left to right." SHe put refrigerator on there but it may have been a freezer. She can't remember which. At the top of the document, it says "hold for homicide." Only homicide could touch freezer. No one else. Or somebody directed by homicide. Bell has no further questions. Defense has no questions. Wells steps down from witness stand and leaves.

10:37 AM - Bell asks for a moment. Granted.

Hawkins, on the other side of the room, passes a note up ahead to his defense team.

Bell continues. Another page from the document. Surgery immediate post-op note. Hein asks her to read from the section titled "FINDINGS." 10-week uterus. The rest of what she says is medical speak that I do not understand. Bell finished.

Skahan. Asks if doctors put patients in a comfortable position to talk. Hein says she agrees doctors try to have integrity in he process. Hein agrees that she read that this girl had a miscarriage and KT told them that it was from a boy at school.

Bell. The records said she had a 10-week uterus.

Skahan. That means a boy at school got her pregnant about 10 weeks ago. Hein: "That;s what she said."

No more questions for Hein. She steps off the witness stand and leaves.

 

10:33 AM - The jury returns to the courtroom.

Judge Chris Craft welcomes them back.

The state calls Shannon Hein to the witness stand.

She takes the stand and spells her name. Immediately the defense asks to approach the bench for a private bench conference. It's short.

Hein works for Methodist Le Bonheur. Legal Manager. Administrative position. Keeps the records. Records made by person with knowledge of event/incident. Records made when event happened.

Prosecutor Marianne Bell passes Hein the medical records of KT. Dates of Service are 12/26 and 12/27 of 2007. The records are true and accurate, Hein says. Defense asks to approach. Bench conference.

The document is thick. The judge tells the jury he will make copies for them at some point but not let them read them right now cause it's just too much. Hein says she merely keeps the records. Has no personal knowledge of what happened while, KT was in the hospital. Bell is finished with Hein.

Skahan asks to see the document. He steps up for cross-examination. Tries to put document up on the overhead, but can't figure out how to turn it on.

"Can y'all give him some help," he ask the prosecution.

"Judge I could be here all day," Skahan laughs.

"I know, I'm trying to get you some help." More laughter. Levity.

Problem fixed. Document on the overhead. Page 12. 12/26/2007. For KT.  A line in the medical report denotes "Sexual intercourse multiple partners." Skahan has Hein read the line out loud. Skahan says that was written on the document regarding the history of the patient. Hein acknowledges the line was in the document. Skahan finished.

Bell steps up for re-direct. She flips through document. Asks for a moment.

Bell places another page on the overhead. Hein says she is just reading the page. Has no personal knowledge of what happened. This record indicates "miscarriage incomplete vs ectopic" and "miscarriage vs ectopic." 

Page 24. Medical social worker's notes. Met with 12-year-old patient admitted for vaginal bleeding. Possible miscarriage. Hein reads from the rest of the report. The social worker wrote that the patient told her it was boy at her middle school, American Way. Mom seemed to be handling it well. Hein says she has no personal knowledge who was in the room when social worker was talking to KT.

10:17 AM - Everybody's ready. The judge calls for the jury.

10:15 AM - The judge asks if everybody is ready for the jury.

There is not an answer yet...

Prosecutors appear to be making some last minute preparations.

10:10 AM - The judge makes his ruling. Nichols does not seem especially pleased.

"Are we ready for the jury?" Craft asks.

"I don't know," Nichols says. "I don't know if our witness is here."

Craft puts court in recess. Then Nichols asks to approach the bench again, n. Court is in order for another private bench conference.

10:07 AM - Nichols says the purpose is not horrifying. She says taking out the photos will take away there ability to prove their case.

Skahan says the witness could testify without the photos. He says they don't need the photos to tell them the hands, feet, and head were not there.

The judge says he will allow the photo that shots the curvature of the saw blade. He will also allow Sims to talk about false starts with the saw. The other photos might unfairly prejudice the jury. Craft says he will allow the photos later if the defense ever questions what happened.

Sims says he did not examine the saw and saw blade in this case.

Nichols says there are several photos that show false starts. Figure #9, #10, #11. Judge says those photos are fine. They are clean and show nothing but bone. They do not show a particular body part.

Figure #14 shows a curvature in he cut and is compared to a saw blade in the photo.

Photo of the cut at the wrist is too graphic. The judge says the jury will not see it because it is unfairly prejudicial. Craft says they could use all the photos at sentencing IF Hawkins is convicted. Judge says Sims can use drawings and diagrams, but not gruesome photos.

Lawyers approach the bench. Nichols asks if these other photos will be allowed. She says she does not have much hope based on the ruling he just made. These photos are not on the overhead. They are being shown to the judge privately.

10 AM - Nichols says Hawkins actions after the murder prove his intent to murder her. The judge says he's not sure about the probative value because most of these pictures only go to the misdemeanor abuse of corpse charge, not really the murder charge. Nichols says she needs to make sure that the jury understands the hands and feet were cut off with a saw.

MOre pictures. They show the bones from the part of the body that was recovered. Sims says the bones show evidence of saw cutting, stroke, progress of the saw. The cuts left the bone end almost completely flat. The cuts appear clean. Sims says he evaluated the bones closely.

One photo shows a bone that was not cut but cracked.

Sims compared these cuts to different types of saws.

Nichols says they don't know what the jury is thinking right now.

"There, is not a question about what was done, but whodunnit," the judge says.

Nichols says the efforts the defendant took to conceal the ID of the victim is as critical as whodunnit.

Skahan says he objects to all these photos. He says it is not an issue. They admit that Hawkins cut up the body. He says they will tell the jury that he cut up the body and disposed of it. He says this is just piling on in an attempt to horrify the jury. He says this is not probative of anything doesn't already understand.

9:50 AM - Court is in session. The judge has cleared the rest of the docket.

Trial is underway, but the jury is not in the courtroom.

FIrst, there will be a hearing regarding the testimony of one of today's witnesses, Steve Sims. Through him, the state is going to try to introduce a series of photos. The defense objects to "about a dozen of them." Thus, they will have a hearing to determine which photos will be allowed and which will not.

Photo on the overhead -- portion of the left wrist bone. Nichols says the photos will confirm KT's version of the events. Nichols says KT "has been impeached every way she could've been impeached." Thus, the state wants to put in these photos to help rehab her testimony. The judge says KT was not impeached at regarding the cutting up of her mother. The judge says there is no question that mom was cut up. Nichols says KT has been accused of lying. Nichols says the jury needs to know that she was telling the truth about that day. Nichols say they need to present the evidence so that the jury does not assume that she lies about everything.

8:35am - Action News 5's Nick Kenney will be blogging all the proceedings from inside the courtroom today.

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