# State of Tennessee v. Jessie Dotson

> Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee · June 25, 2013

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/1044584

## Case

- **Court:** Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
- **Decided:** June 25, 2013
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Opinion
- **Judges:** Judge Alan E. Glenn
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
AT JACKSON
April 9, 2013 Session

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JESSIE DOTSON

Appeal from the Criminal Court for Shelby County
No. 0807688 James C. Beasley, Jr., Judge

No. W2011-00815-CCA-R3-DD - Filed June 25, 2013

A Shelby County jury convicted the defendant, Jessie Dotson, of six counts of premeditated
first degree murder and three counts of attempted first degree murder. The jury sentenced
the defendant to death for each conviction of first degree murder. Following a separate
sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the defendant as a Range II, multiple offender
to forty years for each conviction for attempted first degree murder, to be served
consecutively to each other and to the first degree murder sentences. On appeal, the
defendant contends that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions; (2)
testimony regarding one of the victims’ statement to police was hearsay and its admission
violated the United States and Tennessee Constitutions; (3) the admission of the defendant’s
custodial statements violated his rights under the United States and Tennessee Constitutions;
(4) the admission of testimony that the defendant invoked his right to counsel violated his
due process rights; (5) the admission of testimony regarding the defendant’s history of
imprisonment violated his right to a fair trial; (6) the trial court’s treatment of defense
counsel in the jury’s presence violated his right to a fair trial; (7) the admission of the
pathologist’s testimony regarding autopsies that she did not perform violated the defendant’s
confrontation rights; (8) the trial court erred in admitting photographs of the victims; (9) the
trial court erred in denying the defendant’s motion to provide DNA analysis of all those who
came in contact with the crime scene; (10) the trial court erred in denying the defendant’s
motion for production of the statements of those not to be called as witnesses for the State;
(11) the trial court improperly defined “reasonable doubt” in instructing the jury; (12) the
trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on facilitation of first degree murder as a
lesser included offense; (13) the trial court erred in denying the defendant’s motion to strike
aggravating circumstances; (14) the trial court erred in denying the defendant’s motion for
a probable cause finding regarding the aggravating circumstances; (15) the trial court erred
in denying the defendant’s motion for disclosure of information regarding the proportionality
review; (16) the admission of victim impact evidence was improper; (17) the trial court erred
in denying the defendant’s motion to argue last during the penalty phase; (18) the State
committed prosecutorial misconduct during its argument to the jury; (19) the trial court erred
in allowing the death verdicts to stand; (20) the defendant’s sentences for his three
convictions for attempted first degree murder were excessive; and (21) cumulative error
requires reversal. Based upon our review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the
judgments of the trial court.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgments of the Criminal Court Affirmed

A LAN E. G LENN, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which J OHN E VERETT W ILLIAMS
and J EFFREY S. B IVINS, JJ., joined.

Kathleen Morris, Nashville, Tennessee, and Marty Brett McAfee, Memphis, Tennessee, for
the appellant, Jessie Dotson.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Jeffrey Dean Zentner, Assistant
Attorney General; Amy P. Weirich, District Attorney General; and Damon Griffin, Reginald
Henderson, and Raymond Lepone, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee,
State of Tennessee.

OPINION

FACTS

The defendant was convicted of six counts of premeditated first degree murder for the
deaths of his brother, Cecil Dotson, Sr. (“Cecil”);1 Cecil’s fiancée, Marissa Williams; Hollis
Seals; Shindri Roberson; and two of Cecil’s sons. The defendant also was convicted of three
counts of attempted first degree murder of two of Cecil’s sons and his daughter. The
evidence presented at trial established that during the early morning hours of March 2, 2008,
while at Cecil’s home on Lester Street in Memphis, the defendant shot Cecil, Williams,
Seals, and Roberson multiple times, killing them. He then repeatedly stabbed and beat
Cecil’s four sons, C.D.1, age nine; C.D.2, age five; C.D.3, age four; and C.D.4, age two, and
Cecil’s daughter, C.D.5, age two months.2 C.D.3 and C.D.4 were killed, and C.D.1, C.D.2,
and C.D.5 were severely injured but survived.

1
Because Cecil Dotson, Sr. and some witnesses who testified at trial share the same last name, we
will utilize their first names in referring to them. We intend no disrespect by this procedure but do so to avoid
continually repeating the full names of Cecil Dotson, Sr. and these witnesses.
2
As is the policy of this court, we will refrain from identifying the child victims by their full names.

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GUILT PHASE – STATE’S PROOF

The victims were discovered during the evening hours of March 3, 2008, when
Officer Randall Davis of the Memphis Police Department responded to a call to check on the
welfare of the residents at the Lester Street address. Officer Davis testified that when he and
another officer arrived and approached the house, he saw that the front door was open. Upon
entering the house, Officer Davis saw the body of an adult male lying beside a television.
As he rounded the corner, he saw three more adult bodies beside a couch. All four adults
were deceased.

Officer Davis testified that he and two other officers cleared the house while one
officer secured the door. Officer Davis said he entered a bathroom, saw someone in the
bathtub, and pulled back the shower curtain to find a male child, later identified as C.D.1,
with a knife stuck in his head. Officer Davis testified that he initially believed that C.D.1
was dead but then saw his eyes twitch. He alerted other officers and continued clearing the
house.

Officer Davis testified he next walked down a hallway to a bedroom on the left where
he saw a small child who was deceased. He then entered another bedroom where he saw two
children but found no signs of life in either child. Meanwhile, another officer had located
an infant, later identified as C.D.5.

Officer Davis testified that there was blood throughout the house but that none of the
blood appeared to be fresh. The firefighters arrived as Officer Davis was returning from the
back bedroom, and he alerted them to C.D.1 in the bathtub and continued to secure the area.

On cross-examination, Officer Davis testified that when he approached the house, he
detected the odor of deceased bodies. He looked into the house through the front door, saw
someone’s foot on the floor, and entered the house. Officer Davis did not check the adult
victims for vital signs because it was obvious to him that they were deceased. However, he
touched the children to see if any were still alive.

Herbert Henley, a firefighter with the Memphis Fire Department, testified that he
entered the house and saw the body of a male adult kneeling facedown on the couch. He also
saw two adult female bodies, one sitting on the floor against the sofa and the other propped
up on the sofa leaning toward the first female. After an officer informed him that someone
was in there, he entered the bathroom, pulled back the shower curtain, and saw C.D.1 in the
bathtub. He realized C.D.1 was alive after seeing him move his hand, told his fellow
firefighters that the child was alive, and obtained the assistance of Daniel Moore and Jason
Vosburgh in transporting C.D.1 to an ambulance. Henley observed cuts on C.D.1’s face and

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a “sawzall blade” sticking out of the top of his head. He described the bathroom as “a mess”
with “blood everywhere.”

Daniel Moore, a firefighter/EMT with the Memphis Fire Department, testified that he
was instructed to check on the adults in the front room. It was obvious, however, that the
adults were dead, so he did not physically check each adult victim. He said that the victim
lying by the television appeared to have been there for some time, explaining, “Just by
looking at them and just the horrific scene that was there with all the blood and everything,
it was obvious that they had been down for a while.” The blood was “definitely old.”

Moore testified that he and Vosburgh next entered the bloody bathroom where Henley
had discovered C.D.1. As they looked in the bathtub, they saw C.D.1 turn his head and look
at them, exposing a knife stuck in his head. Moore described the horrific scene: “He turned
his head and the next thing we saw was one of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen, it was
a knife stuck embedded in his skull and it was just stuck there. And it absolutely is the worst
thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” In addition to the knife embedded in C.D.1’s skull, Moore
observed puncture wounds on the child’s abdomen and multiple superficial cuts to his neck.

Jason Vosburgh, a firefighter with the Memphis Fire Department, testified he
responded to a call of possibly seven dead individuals at a residence on Lester Street. Based
upon the call, Vosburgh initially believed that the deaths could have been the result of carbon
monoxide poisoning, so he put on his protective gear. However, upon arriving at the house,
he knew immediately that he did not need the protective equipment, explaining, “You could
smell the blood in the air. It was [a] thick, spoiled smell like it had been there a while.”

Vosburgh testified that when he approached the porch, he saw an officer to the right
of the door holding C.D.5. He walked inside and saw the bodies of the four adult victims to
his right. He and a paramedic then entered the back bedroom, where they saw the bodies of
two children. One of them was dead, while the other, C.D.2, was alive. Vosburgh stated that
as he and the paramedic were carrying C.D.2 down the hallway, someone informed him that
another deceased victim, whose throat had been cut, was in the front bedroom.

Vosburgh testified that as he and the paramedic were placing C.D.2 onto a stretcher,
someone told Henley that another deceased victim was in the bathroom. Henley checked on
that victim, C.D.1, and reported that he was alive. Vosburgh and Moore then entered the
bathroom and saw C.D.1, who had a knife embedded in the right side of his head, roll over
and look at them.

Patrick McDevitt, a firefighter/paramedic with the Memphis Fire Department, testified
he was in one of the last ambulances to arrive and that surviving victims had been removed

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from the house by the time he reached the scene. He and his partner were instructed to
confirm the deaths of the victims who remained inside the home, so they ran an ECG strip
and touched each victim to confirm the absence of a pulse or other vital signs.

McDevitt testified he and his partner first confirmed the deaths of the children in the
bedrooms. They moved the children’s clothing to expose their skin in order to place the ECG
strips on the children. They then moved the clothing back to its original position. McDevitt
stated that he noted the absence of fresh blood and that the blood on each victim with which
he came into contact appeared to be dry.

Annette Mallory, Seals’s aunt, testified she last saw him a few days before his death.
Rosie Puryear, Roberson’s mother, testified that Roberson was twenty-two years old when
she was killed and that she had last seen her approximately one month before her death.

Ida Anderson, Williams’ mother, testified that Williams and Cecil were engaged and
had four children, C.D.1, C.D.2, C.D.3, and C.D.5. She said that the mother of C.D.4 was
Erica Smith, and Williams and Smith had tension as a result of their relationships with Cecil.
According to Anderson, in March 2008, Cecil, Williams, the five children, and Cecil’s other
daughter had been living at the Lester Street address for four or five months. Anderson
stated that Williams was twenty-seven years old and that C.D.3 was four years old when they
were killed.

Anderson testified that C.D.1 has undergone many surgeries and that additional
surgeries would be required. He and C.D.2 were in school. At the time of trial, C.D.5 was
almost three years old and doing “exceptionally well.”

Jessie Dotson, Sr. (“Jessie Sr.”), the father of Cecil and the defendant, testified that
in March 2008, he and the defendant were employed as painters, while Cecil performed
maintenance duties for various apartment complexes. Their family referred to the defendant
as “Junior.” The defendant was living with his sister, Nicole Dotson (“Nicole”), in an
apartment at Goodwill Village in Memphis. On Saturday, March 1, 2008, Jessie Sr. and the
defendant left work early because Jessie Sr. wanted to watch the University of Memphis
basketball game on television at Cecil’s house. Jessie Sr. arrived at Cecil’s house at
approximately 3:30 or 4:00 p.m. When he arrived, Cecil, the defendant, C.D.1, C.D.2, and
C.D.4 were there. Jessie Sr. was not able to watch the game because Cecil did not subscribe
to cable television. Instead, he went outside to his truck and listened to the game on the
radio.

Jessie Sr. testified that he saw a gun while at Cecil’s house and learned that it
belonged to the defendant. He described the gun as “kind of like a powder blue I guess you

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could say a revolver, the kind with the thing that turn.” He said the gun did not eject shell
casings. Jessie Sr. stated that Cecil moved the gun from the top of the counter, commenting
that the children might think it was a toy. After moving the weapon, Cecil told the defendant
that he had moved his gun. Jessie Sr. said he left Cecil’s house around 6:00 or 6:30 p.m. and,
as he was leaving, saw Cecil on the porch cleaning his grill and preparing to barbecue. He
did not see Cecil or the defendant again that night.

Jessie Sr. testified that when he arrived at Nicole’s apartment to pick up the defendant
for work the next day, he was not there, and Nicole did not know where he was. The
defendant had not told Jessie Sr. that he was not coming to work, which surprised Jessie Sr.
because they had planned to complete the job on which they had been working. Jessie Sr.
stated that he instructed Nicole to tell the defendant to contact him if he wanted to continue
his employment. Later that evening, the defendant called him and said that his girlfriend had
hidden his cell phone following an argument. The defendant did not, however, tell him why
he had not come to work and never mentioned that anything had happened at Cecil’s home.

The next day, March 3, 2008, Jessie Sr. picked up the defendant for work just before
8:00 a.m., and they worked until 11:00 a.m. when they stopped due to rain. During that time
period, the defendant never mentioned that something had happened to Cecil and the other
people in his house. Later that same day, the defendant called Jessie Sr. and told him that
Nicole wanted him to drive by Cecil’s house because Erica Smith had been there to pick up
her son, discovered that the door was not closed, and was afraid that something was wrong.

When Jessie Sr. arrived at Cecil’s house, he saw one or two police cars parked in the
front and walked up to the door, but the officers turned him away. While he was there, a
neighbor told him that she had not seen Cecil and his family all weekend and that she had
been feeding the dog. He then went to his brother’s house, where he learned from a newscast
what had occurred at the house.

Jessie Sr. testified that the defendant later called him and said that he and other family
members were in protective custody. The defendant never told him what happened to Cecil.
A few days before trial, however, the defendant called and told him that he knew what had
occurred inside Cecil’s house.

Jessie Sr. said that Cecil was thirty years old, C.D.3 was four years old, and C.D.4 was
two years old when they died. He had heard that Cecil was a member of the Gangster
Disciples, and when he learned of the killings, he believed they were gang-related. Jessie Sr.
said that Cecil told him that he was attempting to leave the Gangster Disciples and was
worried about it to such an extent that he asked Jessie Sr. to live with him for a period of
time. He said that Cecil explained to him that gang members respected each other’s families

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and that they were unlikely to bother Cecil because of their respect for Jessie Sr. Jessie Sr.
testified that, notwithstanding Cecil’s assurances of his safety, several of Jessie Sr.’s brothers
warned him that he would be killed by being in the midst of the trouble between Cecil and
the gang members, and they talked him into moving out of Cecil’s apartment after about a
month.

William Waddell, the brother of the defendant and Cecil, testified he was with Cecil
during the day on March 1, 2008. They visited “Doc Holiday,” who wanted Cecil to perform
some maintenance tasks for him. They then returned to Cecil’s house where they watched
a sports game and, later, picked up the defendant at Nicole’s apartment and returned to
Cecil’s house. Waddell, Cecil, the defendant, Jessie Sr., Williams, and the children watched
the University of Memphis basketball game.

Waddell testified that at some point that evening, he saw the defendant with a black
and silver gun. He said the defendant generally carried a blue revolver, but he was unsure
whether he saw the defendant with the gun that day. Waddell called Cecil numerous times
on March 2, but he did not answer. Waddell said he first heard that something had happened
to Cecil on March 3 at approximately 7:30 p.m. while he was at work. Smith had been
calling him all day and said she believed that something was wrong, so he told her to call the
police. Waddell went to the crime scene and met the defendant there. The defendant told
him that Cecil had driven him to his girlfriend’s apartment.

Willie Boyd Hill, Jr., Cecil’s best friend, testified that he had visited Cecil’s home on
Lester Street on several occasions. Hill said he knew “Doc Holiday,” “Cato,” “Dread,” and
Seals because he, Cecil, and those men were all members of the Gangster Disciples. He
stated that the defendant was a member of the Crips gang.

Hill testified that on March 1, 2008, Seals, Cecil, and the defendant came to his
apartment, located on Southern Avenue in Memphis, between 10:30 and 11:30 p.m. because
Seals, who had just been released from jail, had left a pistol in Hill’s care and wanted to
retrieve the gun. Hill described it as a “German P2 something” that said “9 millimeter” on
the outside of it and said it took .380 caliber bullets. He said he had loaded the bullets into
the gun, which was the “kind you put a clip in” and which ejected shell casings. Seals, the
defendant, and Cecil left his apartment with Seals saying that they were going to visit his
girlfriend. Seals took the loaded gun with him, and Hill did not see any of the men after they
left the apartment.

Hill testified that on March 3, he received a call from Waddell, who told him that
something had happened to Cecil’s family which he heard was a gas leak. Hill said he went
to the crime scene where he saw several police cars, news crews, and family members, and

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he believed that the defendant also was there. When he saw the crime tape, he knew that it
likely was not a gas leak. Hill testified that he later heard that the Gangster Disciples were
involved in Cecil’s death and therefore called “Cato,” who denied the allegation.

Hill testified that he had a “falling out” with Cecil prior to his death and described
how on the evening of February 14, 2008, he, his girlfriend, Cecil, Williams, and Smith had
gone out drinking at a club before returning to Hill’s girlfriend’s apartment, where Cecil and
Smith began arguing. He said Smith ran upstairs and went into his girlfriend’s apartment,
and Cecil went after her and began beating on the doors and windows, cursing both Smith
and Hill’s girlfriend. Hill’s girlfriend called the police and when they arrived, Cecil told
them that marijuana was inside the apartment. Hill was angered by this because Cecil knew
that Hill also stayed at the apartment and that Gangster Disciples were not supposed to call
the police on each other.

Hill testified that he told “Cato” what had happened, and that “Cato,” in turn,
informed “Doc Holiday.” Hill then received a call from “Doc Holiday.” “Doc,” the
“coordinator” over the Orange Mound area, told Hill to explain to “Dread,” the chief of
security over the area, what he had reported to “Cato.” Hill was then summoned to an
apartment on Dwight Street in Memphis, where he, “Doc,” and “Dread” discussed the matter,
and “Dread” told him to “write [Cecil] up.”

Hill explained that a “write-up” is a disciplinary notice within the gang that results in
punishment. Possible punishments included “[p]unches to the chest, punches to the lip,
pumpkin head, three minutes to a DV” or “death violation.” He said that a death violation
generally was ordered only on that individual and not everyone associated with him. He did
not write Cecil up, and if the Gangster Disciples had wanted to kill Cecil, they easily would
have been able to get him alone and would not have waited until 2:00 a.m. Hill said that he
had never heard of gangs killing innocent women and children and that if the Gangster
Disciples were entering a home to kill someone, they would be armed and would not run out
of bullets. Also, because “Dread” and “Doc” were close friends with Cecil, Hill did not
believe they harmed him.

Hill acknowledged that he had heard that, when Cecil was contacted about his
discipline from the gang, he declined to accept the discipline. He also had heard that Cecil
had hung up on “Doc” and that “Doc” had slept with Williams. He further acknowledged
that he and Cecil, whom he described as “outspoken” and “arrogant,” had argued on other
occasions besides the Valentine’s Day incident and that Cecil and “Doc” had a disagreement
over drywall work that Cecil performed at “Doc’s” apartment.

Hill denied being a member of a gang at the time of the killings. He said, “None of

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us was participating in any gang meetings or nothing like that but we still had love for it.”
He testified that he had contacted the police and cooperated with them, submitting both a hair
and a swab sample. He cooperated because Cecil was his friend, and Cecil’s family was like
his own.

Hill testified that until mid-February 2008, the overseer or head of the Gangster
Disciples in Memphis was “Big Easy,” or Eric Brown, and he was then murdered. Hill did
not know that Vernon Motley, whom the police believed had murdered Brown, was a
Traveling Vice Lord or that Motley’s girlfriend was Cecil’s first cousin.

Hill acknowledged he had prior convictions for manufacturing, delivering, and selling
a controlled substance, possession of cocaine with the intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver,
possession of marijuana, and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun and was on
probation at the time of the defendant’s trial.

The parties stipulated that the gun that Hill gave Seals on March 1, 2008, was a P-232
Sig Sauer handgun, a .380 caliber pistol with a seven-round magazine capacity, which could
hold up to eight rounds if one round was in the chamber.

Stacey Young, a friend of Cecil, testified that at approximately midnight on March 2,
2008, Cecil, the defendant, and Seals came to her home in Cecil’s blue Lincoln. Cecil
introduced the defendant to Young, they talked “for a minute,” and then the three men left.
Cecil told Young that he was going to drop Seals and the defendant off and return. Young
called Cecil at approximately 1:00 a.m., and he said that he had not “made it off Pendleton”
and that he would return. He never returned, however.

Erica Smith, C.D.4’s mother, testified that although Cecil and his friends were
Gangster Disciples, she had never been a member of a gang. Smith described the Valentine’s
Day argument and conflict and the falling out between Cecil and Hill caused by Cecil’s
having informed the police that marijuana was in Hill’s girlfriend’s apartment. Smith also
described the dispute between Cecil and “Doc Holiday” over Cecil’s repair work at “Doc’s”
apartment and “Doc’s” failure to pay him.

Smith testified that at approximately 12:30 a.m. on March 2, 2008, Cecil, the
defendant, Seals, and Roberson came to her apartment located at 2848 Kimball Avenue, and
she went outside to talk to them. Cecil told her that he would return, but she told him not to
do so. She called Cecil at approximately 1:15 a.m. and spoke to him, called him again at
1:30 a.m. but he did not answer, called a third time at 2:00 a.m. and again spoke to him.
During that last telephone call, she heard Cecil and the defendant arguing and using
profanity.

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Smith testified that because she and Cecil were supposed to attend church together on
Sunday morning, March 2, she called him at 7:00 a.m., but he did not answer. After
continuing to call and receiving no answer, she went to his house at approximately 3:00 p.m.,
blew the horn, exited her car, and knocked on the storm door. The wood door was cracked
open and the radio was playing, but she did not hear any of the children. She left without
entering the house.

Smith testified that she continued calling Cecil throughout the day and into the next
day, to no avail. She knew something was wrong when she went to his place of employment
and learned that he was not there, explaining that he never missed work. She began calling
Cecil’s relatives and, after learning that none of them had heard from him, returned to Cecil’s
house, calling the police en route. When she got there, she parked and waited for the police.
Smith said that the officers entered the house and then came outside, bringing with them a
baby with her neck cut and asking her if she was the baby’s mother. Smith testified that her
son, C.D.4, was killed in the house.

Charity Wright, an employee of Crickett Wireless, identified from Cecil’s cell phone
records the phone numbers of Cecil, Stacey Young, and Erica Smith. Wright testified that
Smith called Cecil’s number on March 2, 2008, at 12:59 a.m. and that the call lasted seven
minutes and ten seconds. Young called Cecil through a possible three-way call at 1:06 a.m.,
and the call lasted two minutes and ten seconds. Smith called again at 1:11 a.m., but Cecil
did not answer. She also called at 1:25 a.m., 1:30 a.m., and 1:37 a.m., but Cecil did not
answer. Smith called Cecil again at 1:37 a.m.; the call was answered and lasted twenty-eight
seconds. The next call came in at 3:11 a.m. and was sent to voicemail.

Keaira Jones (“Keaira”), the daughter of Sheila Jones (“Sheila”), whom the defendant
was dating in March of 2008, testified that, at that time, she was living with her mother at
1403 Silver Street. On Saturday, March 1, 2008, at 10:00 or 10:30 p.m., the defendant and
Cecil came to her home, and both appeared to be intoxicated. The defendant was looking for
Sheila, and Keaira told him that she had left earlier with her aunt. Cecil said that he wanted
to leave, but the defendant said he wanted to come inside. The defendant entered the
apartment and looked through the rooms and closets.

Keaira testified that the defendant returned at approximately 4:00 or 4:30 a.m., and
she allowed him to enter. Approximately five minutes later, he knocked on her bedroom
door and asked to talk to her. She was putting her son to sleep and told the defendant that
she would speak to him shortly. She fell asleep and never opened the door. Before falling
asleep, she heard water running in the bathroom. Keaira was asleep when her mother came
home. The defendant left the next morning.

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Keaira testified that after the defendant and her mother left, she noticed bleach spots
on the brown rug in the bathroom. She also saw a bottle of Clorox bleach in the closet,
which was not where it was usually stored.

Sheila Jones testified she met the defendant through Nicole, with whom she had
worked. She knew that the defendant had been living with Nicole and had been released
from jail. On Saturday night, March 1, 2008, Sheila and a friend had a “ladies night out.”
When Sheila returned at approximately 5:00 a.m., she found the defendant lying in her bed,
which surprised her because she had told him that she planned a ladies night out that evening.
He told her that “ladies don’t come in at five o’clock in the morning.” She and the defendant
got up at approximately 10:30 or 11:00 a.m. on March 2, and she did not know whether the
defendant was supposed to be at work that morning.

On Monday, March 3, the defendant asked Sheila to pick him up at “Foxy’s” house,
but she explained to him that she had to take her grandson somewhere first and would pick
him up later wherever he was. When the defendant told her the Lester Street address, she
headed there, only to find that the street was blocked by ambulances, fire trucks, and police
cars. Sheila said the defendant, who was “kind of upset and shaking,” told her that
something had happened to his brother.

Sheila testified that the defendant never told her that he knew what had occurred on
Lester Street. After she learned that the defendant had been arrested, she spoke to him by
telephone and visited him. Approximately one to two weeks later, Sheila asked the defendant
why he would not assist the police in their investigation, and he replied that “they got to
figure it out.” Sheila said that she had seen the defendant with a gun on one or two
occasions. She said the gun had “a little blue on it” and a “wheel.”

Nicole Dotson, the sister of the defendant and Cecil, testified that Cecil and his family
had been living at the house for five or six months prior to their deaths. She considered both
Williams and Smith to be her sisters-in-law and referred to Hill as her brother. At one point,
Cecil and Hill had referred to themselves as Gangster Disciples but did not “mingle” on the
streets with gangs or gang members. The defendant was a member of the Kitchen Crips.

Nicole testified that the defendant moved in with her in August 2007 after he was
released from jail. She said that the defendant held a “grudge” against their family because
he believed they should have visited more often while he was in jail. According to Nicole,
the defendant expressed those feelings to her daily.

Nicole testified that on March 1, 2008, Cecil came to her apartment to pick up the
defendant for a barbecue at Cecil’s house, but the defendant had not yet returned from work.

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Once the defendant returned from work, Cecil and two of his sons returned to the apartment
to pick up the defendant and drive him to the barbecue, which she did not attend. She next
saw the defendant on Sunday morning at approximately 10:00 or 11:00 a.m., after hearing
a car drive up and looking out the window to witness the defendant having a physical
altercation with his girlfriend, Sheila, in the front seat of Sheila’s car. Nicole did not see the
defendant again until he returned home Sunday night.

Nicole said that on March 3 at 6:30 p.m., she went to Cecil’s house with the defendant
and Tammy Randolph, their cousin. Ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars were at the
scene and the police would not allow her to enter the house. Nicole said she did not know
who had died and who had survived. She stated that the defendant instructed her not to talk
to the media because they would blame him due to his criminal background. He also told
her, while still at the scene, that he believed Hill and “Trell” had committed the homicides
and became angry when their family called those men to the scene.

Sometime after March 3, Nicole, her mother, her four children, her three brothers, and
her niece went to the home of Nicole’s sister, Christina Hill Waddell, and her cousin,
Sharhonda Lane, on Gayle Street in Memphis. While at their house, Nicole received two
calls on her cell phone from her telephone at her apartment. The defendant brought her cell
phone to her and asked if someone was in her apartment because the telephone number for
her apartment appeared when someone called her cell phone. The defendant told her that the
person who called sounded like a man but was disguising his voice. While the defendant was
explaining this to Nicole, the person called the cell phone again, and the defendant answered.
Nicole said she was “[t]errified” and called the police.

Nicole said that following the calls, she and Waddell drove to the police department.
At some point, she received a call from her sister’s house during which the caller related that
something was wrong and that it involved the defendant. Nicole then spoke to the defendant.
The defendant was “frantic” and said that “they going to put this on me. Just bury me and
put me with my brother.”

Nicole testified that she and the rest of the family were placed in protective custody.
During that time, police officers came to talk to the defendant and took him away in
handcuffs. Nicole said the defendant never told her that he was at Cecil’s home at the time
of the homicides or that he rode C.D.1’s bicycle away from the scene. Nicole said that Cecil
and the defendant were “gun fanatics.”

Sharhonda Lane, the cousin of the defendant and Cecil, testified that on either
Tuesday, March 4, or Wednesday, March 5, her family came to stay at her house. The next
morning, Nicole and Waddell went to the police department. While they were gone, Lane

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was awakened by a “commotion” and the defendant threatening suicide. The defendant, who
held a gun belonging to Waddell to his head, said that he did not want to return to jail, that
they were trying to “pin” the offenses on him, and that he was not going to jail for something
he did not do. Lane said that during that time, the news on television was showing a story
profiling the defendant. A police car pulled up outside the house, and the defendant believed
that the officers were coming for him. Lane said she went outside to speak to the officers
and gave them her cell phone so they could speak to the defendant. The officers told the
defendant that they were not there to arrest him but were placing the family in protective
custody. On cross-examination, Lane testified that, prior to the defendant’s threatening to
commit suicide, the media had been discussing his background on television for “hours.”

Officer Laneeze Stepney of the Memphis Police Department testified that on March
6, 2008, he and his partner arrived in a marked police car and parked one house down from
an address on Gayle Street, with instructions to watch the house and not to let anyone enter
or leave. Officer Stepney said that he first spoke to a woman who eventually came outside
and reported that the defendant said that if the officers entered the house, he was going to
commit suicide. Officer Stepney then had the woman call the defendant, and he spoke with
him on her cell phone for five to seven minutes until he was able to convince him to allow
the officers to enter the house. Inside the home, the defendant told Officer Stepney,
“[E]verybody think[s] I did it. I’ve been all on the news and the police saying I did it.”
Officer Stepney said he tried to calm the defendant, who was acting “real nervous like he had
a lot on his mind.”

C.D.1 testified that, at the time of trial, he was in the fifth grade. He said that in his
bedroom he slept on the top bunk bed and his brothers, C.D.2 and C.D.3, slept on the bottom
bunk. His older sister had the other bedroom, and his parents’ bedroom was in the back of
the house. C.D.1 said that on the night of the attacks, he was watching television in his
sister’s room because the television in his room was not working. C.D.1 heard a gunshot and
walked out of his sister’s room and into the hallway. C.D.1 said he “peeked” into the living
room and saw the defendant pointing a gun at Cecil. He saw “some smoke and sparks come
out the gun.” The defendant was pointing the gun at Cecil’s face, who did not say anything.
C.D.1 testified, “I was looking and when I saw sparks out of the gun, I looked down on the
ground and I saw dude on the floor.” C.D.1 said “dude” was wearing a black shirt and black
pants.

C.D.1 testified that he heard another gunshot and “peeked” through the door. He
walked into the hallway and saw the defendant shooting at a woman who was on the arm of
the couch. He did not know who the woman was. The woman told the defendant that she
loved him, but he “just kept on shooting.”

-13-
C.D.1 said he then returned to his sister’s room and sat down on the bed. He heard
footsteps coming toward the door, turned, and saw the defendant holding a “handheld knife.”
C.D.1 described the knife as the type that opens and closes. He said the defendant cut him
on the neck, and he told the defendant he loved him, but the defendant replied, “[N]o, you
don’t.” C.D.1 then lay down on the bed, and C.D.4 began crying. The defendant told C.D.4,
“[D]on’t worry about it, you ain’t going to get hurt.”

C.D.1 testified that he tried to retrieve the telephone from the hallway to call the
police. He saw the defendant’s feet in the doorway, and the defendant asked him what he
was doing. When he said that he was going to call the police, the defendant said that if he
did, he would kill C.D.1’s parents and Cecil’s friends. C.D.1 said he asked the defendant if
he could use the restroom and noticed that the defendant had a “kitchen knife” in his hand.
He said the defendant “ma[d]e [him] put [his] head in the tub.” The defendant then tried to
stab him in the chest, but he put his hand up to block the blow and the knife went into his
head instead.

C.D.1 said he saw his mother, Williams, in the doorway saying that she did not want
to die. The defendant asked her for Cecil’s cell phone and car keys, and Williams replied
that the keys likely were in Cecil’s car. The defendant then said, “[S]orry because I ain’t let
your husband or your husband’s friends get away with it and the kids.” C.D.1 then heard a
“huge fall on the ground.”

C.D.1 testified that he next saw the defendant walking in the hallway with a garbage
bag and another kitchen knife. The defendant went into the bedroom of C.D.1’s sister, and
C.D.1 heard someone yelling and the defendant saying “shut up.” C.D.1 then heard C.D.3
ask to use the restroom and saw blood dripping from C.D.3’s head onto the rim of the toilet
seat. He said C.D.3 asked the defendant if he could return to his room, and the defendant
said that he could. Next, the defendant went into the kitchen, grabbed another knife, and
entered the bedroom of C.D.1 and his brothers. C.D.1 said he saw C.D.3 lying on the bed
and the defendant stab C.D.3, who then fell on the floor. C.D.1 said he heard “rambling” in
the hallway near the laundry room as if the defendant was attempting to move something out
of the way. C.D.1 said he then fell asleep in the bathtub.

C.D.1 testified that when he awoke, he saw firemen in his bedroom looking at C.D.3.
One of the firemen came into the bathroom and got C.D.1 out of the bathtub. C.D.1 was
transported to the hospital by ambulance. He said no one was with the defendant during the
attacks and the defendant acted alone.

C.D.1 testified that on the same night that the “bad thing” happened, a woman named
“Cassandra” knocked on the door and said that she needed to use the restroom. She and

-14-
some other people, including a man with a mask with “[a] little bit of blood” on it, entered
the house. C.D.1 had never seen the man before and said that Cecil called him “Roderick.”
C.D.1 did not recall who allowed “Roderick” to enter the house. He acknowledged,
however, that he told “Ms. Pat” that Cecil allowed “Roderick” to enter the house and that he
was mad at Cecil for doing so. C.D.1 testified that “Roderick” said something to Cecil about
the gang and also told Cecil, “[Y]ou got too big, boy.” “Roderick” fired a gun at Cecil and
said, “[N]ever stop playing with the gang boy, . . . you never know what would happen, boy.”

On redirect examination, C.D.1 identified the defendant as the person who stabbed
him in the head, shot his parents and their friends, and hurt his brothers and baby sister.

On recross-examination, C.D.1 testified that he saw a fight in the living room between
Cecil and the man in the mask and that the man was shooting at Cecil. He later met with
“Ms. Caroline” and “Ms. Pat” at “Ms. Pat’s” office. When they asked him how he knew
some of the things he told them, he replied that his “granny” had told him.

C.D.2 testified that, at the time of trial, he was eight years old and in the third grade.
He recalled living on Lester Street with his parents, brothers, and sister and said that he was
six years old when he moved there. He said that the defendant stabbed him on the nose,
forehead, and wrist and that no one else was with the defendant.

C.D.2 testified that the attacks occurred at night but before he had eaten dinner. He
did not recall hearing gunshots that night. He did not see the defendant shoot anyone, and
no one told him that the defendant shot anyone. C.D.2 said the defendant got the knife from
his car, but he could not remember the color of the defendant’s car. C.D.2 said that while he
did not see the defendant stabbing his parents, he recalled that his parents and their friends
were stabbed. C.D.2 said that when his parents were killed, all of the children, other than one
of his brothers and the baby, were locked in his sister’s bedroom. His brother told him that
Williams was injured while she was in the living room changing the baby’s diaper.

C.D.2 testified that he heard Smith on the telephone calling the police. “Auntie Foxy”
also was present when they were attacked. C.D.2 acknowledged that he told “Ms. Pat” that
his father never should have opened the door. He also discussed this with C.D.1. He said
the fight began after his father opened the door. C.D.2 also said that there were many people
fighting that night and that a man, whom he did not know, was fighting his father and his
father’s friends.

C.D.2 stated that after the defendant stabbed C.D.1, C.D.1 snuck out of the house, got
on his bicycle, and rode to his grandmother’s house. He said that when C.D.1 left, everyone
was still alive in the house and that they were talking, singing, and having fun.

-15-
On redirect examination, C.D.2 testified that he was in his sister’s room when the
defendant stabbed him. He told “Ms. Pat” that the defendant stabbed him. On recross-
examination, C.D.2 testified that he talked to “Ms. Pat” after he had been living with his
family for a period of time. People had discussed the events, and C.D.2 had listened to their
discussions.

Lieutenant Walter Davidson of the Memphis Police Department, who was assigned
as the case coordinator, testified that on March 3, 2008, he received a call at his home from
Lieutenant Toney Armstrong instructing him to go to the scene where four adults and two
children were dead. Lieutenant Armstrong also reported that three children were being
transported to the hospital and were not expected to survive.

Lieutenant Davidson testified that he remained at the crime scene until the medical
examiners removed the victims’ bodies and transported them to the morgue and that when
he left in the early morning hours of March 4, a uniformed officer remained behind on the
scene. Lieutenant Davidson said he was aware that a cameraman from the television show,
The First 48, was at the scene.

Lieutenant Davidson testified that he and Lieutenant Armstrong decided to quarantine
the children in the hospital to prevent contact with relatives, the media, or anyone other than
medical personnel. They did not know the identity of the perpetrator and wanted to ensure
that the perpetrator would not attempt to injure the children in the hospital. The identities
of the surviving children were not released. He said that the officers had information
regarding possible gang involvement and that Sergeant Terry Max was assigned to
investigate any possible gang involvement. Sergeants and detectives from the Safe Streets
Task Force and the Organized Crime Unit assisted in canvassing the neighborhood and
interviewing neighbors. Gang members were interviewed, as well as others who wanted to
provide information. Lieutenant Davidson said officers received numerous leads from
CrimeStoppers tips, including some from “crackpots” and “psychics” telling them “ridiculous
things.”

Lieutenant Davidson testified that when he learned that C.D.1 was awake, he sent
Sergeant Caroline Mason to the hospital to talk to him. He explained that officers decided
to attempt to speak with C.D.1 in the hospital early into the investigation due to the
possibility that C.D.1 might die. Sergeant Mason reported back to him that C.D.1 was “in
and out” of consciousness and was cursing, “talking crazy,” and screaming out names. C.D.1
mentioned Cassandra, Williams’ sister, but she was interviewed and it was “obvious” that
she was not involved. At some point, officers decided to send Pat Lewis with the Child
Advocacy Center to the hospital with Sergeant Mason to talk to C.D.1. Lieutenant Davidson
said that if C.D.1 said something that made sense, they attempted to investigate that lead.

-16-
Lieutenant Davidson said that on March 7, 2008, officers received a telephone call
from a nurse at the hospital informing them that C.D. 1 was now awake and rational, so he
sent Sergeant Mason back to talk to him. During that interview, C.D.1 reported that “Uncle
Junior,” whom officers identified as the defendant, was responsible for killing his family and
stabbing him and his siblings. In response, officers from the Tactical Unit retrieved the
defendant, who was in a safe house with the rest of his family.

Lieutenant Davidson explained that the victims’ family, including the defendant, was
in protective custody because members of the Gangster Disciples had learned that officers
were searching for them in connection with the case, were angry that they were being
implicated in the killing of children, and had reportedly kicked in the door of the house of
one of the victims’ relatives. Lieutenant Davidson testified: “We had a trillion Crime
Stoppers tips saying that we needed to look at [the defendant] but from my standpoint, he
was a family member, he wasn’t a suspect” until C.D.1 implicated him.

Lieutenant Davidson testified that the defendant was interviewed and remained in
custody for several hours. After Lieutenant Armstrong played the recording of C.D.1’s
interview during which he implicated the defendant, he confessed to shooting the adult
victims and stabbing the children. The defendant then asked for his mother. Officers
retrieved his mother from the safe house, and he confessed to her also. After the defendant
confessed, officers investigated whether the offenses could have occurred as stated by him.
Lieutenant Davidson said that the evidence was consistent with the information that the
defendant provided in his confession. He told his mother that following the homicides, he
rode C.D.1’s bicycle to 1403 Silver Street, the home of his girlfriend, Sheila Jones. Sergeant
Dave Parks and Sergeant Joe Stark went to that address, where they located C.D.1’s yellow
bicycle. The defendant told Lieutenant Armstrong that he committed the offenses alone and
told his mother, “I did it,” not that “we did it.”

On redirect examination, Lieutenant Davidson testified that on March 7, 2008, C.D.1
told officers who committed the homicides, and the person whom he identified confessed.
He said that as a result, “the gang issue was out” and that he considered the case to be solved.
Since March 7, C.D.1 has identified only the defendant as the perpetrator.

Sergeant James Terry Max of the Memphis Police Department testified that on March
4, 2008, Lieutenant Davidson requested that he and Sergeant Stark interview the defendant,
who had been brought into the office and placed in an interview room. Sergeant Max said
the defendant was not under arrest but was considered a possible witness at that point.
During that initial interview, the defendant told the officers that he left work at
approximately 3:00 p.m. on March 1 and went to Nicole’s apartment. Cecil arrived in his
Lincoln, along with two of his children. Cecil drove the defendant to Cecil’s house on Lester

-17-
Street, arriving at approximately 4:15 p.m., and found Williams, Cecil, Waddell, and Cecil’s
five children there. They had planned to watch a basketball game between the University of
Memphis and Southern Mississippi State University on television. Cecil’s television,
however, did not receive the channel on which the game was broadcast.

The defendant told officers that he, Cecil, and “E,” who had arrived later in the
evening, left Cecil’s house between 10:00 and 10:30 p.m. Sergeant Max testified that “E”
was later identified as Seals. The defendant said they went to “Frank’s” apartment in the area
of Highland Avenue and Spottswood Avenue. Officers later identified “Frank” as Willie
Boyd Hill. The defendant said that Seals went into Hill’s apartment. Shortly thereafter, a
man with a light complexion and wearing glasses exited Hill’s apartment, and Cecil got out
of the car and talked to the man for some time. Twenty to thirty minutes later, Seals exited
Hill’s apartment, and Seals, Cecil, and the defendant left.

The defendant further told the officers that he, Seals, and Cecil next went to an
apartment complex by the Clayborne Homes housing project to pick up Seals’s girlfriend.
The defendant, Cecil, Seals, and Seals’s girlfriend then went to the Kimball Cabana
Apartments to purchase marijuana, arriving there at approximately 11:30 p.m. or midnight.
Cecil then went into a downstairs apartment. When he came out, he went to the car and got
the defendant, and they went into the same apartment where there were four black men whom
the defendant did not know. Cecil introduced the defendant to the men as his brother and
told them that the defendant had just been released from prison. Cecil purchased a quarter-
ounce bag of marijuana, and the defendant purchased $20 worth of marijuana. After they left
the apartment, they saw Erica Smith in the parking lot and spoke with her. The defendant
said they then stopped at a woman’s house located off Lamar Avenue, talked to her for
approximately thirty minutes, and then left.

The defendant told officers that they next went to the Kansas Court housing project
to pick up his son. His son was not there, and they spoke to his son’s grandmother. They
remained there for approximately ten minutes, gave her money, and left. The defendant said
Cecil then dropped him off at Sheila’s apartment at approximately 2:15 or 2:30 a.m. Cecil,
Seals, and Seals’s girlfriend left. The defendant stated that Sheila was not at the apartment.
Keaira and her boyfriend were there. The defendant said he and Keaira argued because
Keaira was alone with her boyfriend. The defendant said that he went to bed and that Sheila
returned at approximately 5:05 a.m.

Sergeant Max testified that when the officers asked the defendant whether Cecil had
any enemies, the defendant related the conflict between Seals and Cecil that had occurred
approximately two weeks prior to Cecil’s death when Cecil, Smith, Seals, and Seals’s
girlfriend had returned to Seals’s apartment following a visit to a club, Seals’s girlfriend had

-18-
called the police after Cecil slapped Smith, and Cecil had informed the responding officers
that there were drugs in Seals’s apartment. The defendant told the officers that Seals had
written Cecil up for a violation through “Doc Holiday,” and that a meeting or jury trial with
the Gangster Disciples was supposed to have been held to determine Cecil’s guilt, but Cecil
never attended the meeting or trial.

Sergeant Max testified the defendant told officers that Cecil always carried a .45
caliber handgun, but he did not see it when he was with Cecil on March 1 and during the
early morning hours of March 2. Cecil also had an AK-47 assault rifle with two magazines
that he kept under a dresser, a sawed-off shotgun, and a nine-millimeter handgun that he
believed Williams had purchased recently. The defendant did not say that there had been an
altercation at Seals’s apartment on March 1 and did not provide a reason for going to Seals’s
apartment that night.

Sergeant Max testified that, up until that point, he had not been investigating any
involvement by the Gangster Disciples but that officers then began following leads regarding
the Gangster Disciples. Officers, however, later learned that one of the surviving children
had identified the shooter, and they then arrested the defendant and brought him back to the
homicide office, where he confessed to the attacks.

On cross-examination, Sergeant Max testified that he was unaware that C.D.1 told the
police that a man named “Roderick” committed the offenses. He said he was not present
when C.D.1 told officers that his “daddy opened the door, my daddy shouldn’t have opened
the door.” Sergeant Max stated that the defendant told them that, following the murders,
Waddell asked Seals to call someone and find out what had happened and that Seals called
“Doc Holiday” and asked him what had happened or who committed the offenses.

Sergeant Max testified that, during the course of his investigation, he also spoke to
Cedric Atkins about information he had received about Cecil’s having stolen $300,000 from
a drug dealer. In addition, on March 7, 2008, Lieutenant Armstrong instructed him to meet
with Deputy Bartlett of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department to interview a confidential
informant, who told the officers that he had heard that Cecil had taken $50,000 in drug
money from “Doc Holiday.” Sergeant Max showed the informant colored copies of
photographs taken from Cecil’s home to determine whether the informant could identify
“Doc Holiday” and Cecil in order to verify that the informant knew fellow Gangster
Disciples. The informant was able to make such an identification. At that point in the
investigation, officers believed that they had identified “Doc Holiday.” They were able to
obtain a telephone number for him, and his name was mentioned as the governor of the
Gangster Disciples.

-19-
Lieutenant Caroline Mason of the Memphis Police Department testified that in March
2008, she was a sergeant in the Homicide Bureau. On Wednesday, March 5, she was
assigned to LeBonheur Children’s Hospital with instructions to assess the surviving children
and determine what information they could provide. She said C.D.1 was badly injured and
in “pretty bad condition” but improved every day. C.D.1 was “saying things,” and Lieutenant
Mason relayed those statements to Lieutenant Armstrong.

On March 7, Lieutenant Armstrong instructed Lieutenant Mason and Sergeant Stark
to speak to the defendant. The defendant, who was under arrest at that time, waived his
rights and agreed to speak with them. Lieutenant Mason testified that she explained to him
that they wanted to clear up some things and determine whether he wanted to add any
information to what he provided in his March 4 interview. She asked the defendant whether
he had any affiliation with a gang, and he replied that he was a Crip in prison. She then
asked the defendant whether he had any problems with Cecil and questioned him regarding
their relationship. The defendant stated that on one occasion, Cecil had called the police and
falsely reported that the defendant had committed a robbery.

Lieutenant Mason testified that she asked the defendant to tell them again about what
he did on March 1 and the last time that he saw Cecil alive. He then essentially repeated the
same account he had provided during the March 4 interview, with one or two differences.
Among those were that he, Cecil, and Seals had gone to Hill’s apartment for Seals to retrieve
a gun from Hill. The defendant also said that when Cecil called him into the home in which
he had purchased marijuana, he introduced the defendant to those inside the apartment as his
“bitch ass brother who just got out of prison.” Lieutenant Mason said that when the
defendant recalled this introduction, he “frowned.” The defendant told them that, after
purchasing marijuana, they went to pick up the defendant’s son, but he was not home. Cecil
then dropped him off at Sheila’s home, and he did not see Cecil again.

Memphis Police Department Deputy Director Toney Armstrong, who was a lieutenant
with the Homicide Bureau at the time of the murders, testified that, on March 3, 2008, he
received a call from the felony response lieutenant, who informed him of six deceased
victims inside a house on Lester Street and of three surviving children who had been
transported to the hospital. Upon arriving at the scene at approximately 6:30 or 7:00 p.m.,
he was briefed by Sergeant Anthony Mullins, obtained a search warrant, and then entered the
house, which presented “probably one of the most bizarre scenes [he] had ever seen,”
containing the bodies of four adults in the front of the home and the bodies of two children
in adjacent bedrooms in the back of the home.

Deputy Director Armstrong testified that a film crew from the television show, The
First 48, was at the crime scene when he arrived and that, while he did not approve of their

-20-
presence, he had no authority to limit their access or instruct them when to film. He
explained that “[t]he City approved for The First 48 to have all of the access and privileges
to go out on all homicides with us.”

Deputy Director Armstrong testified that because he did not know who committed the
crimes, he ordered that the children in the hospital be taken into protective custody and
guarded by officers in the Tactical Unit, with instructions that no one other than police
personnel approved by him be allowed access to them. To the best of his knowledge, no
family members were allowed contact with the children from March 3 through March 8. He
then dispatched Lieutenant Mason to the hospital to obtain any information that the children
might be able to provide.

Deputy Director Armstrong said that, in the meantime, officers were investigating
potential leads in the case, including tips from CrimeStoppers, some of which reported that
the killings were gang-related and many of which identified the defendant as a potential
suspect. He stated that Larry Godwin, who was then the Director of Police Services,
arranged for him to meet with the heads of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and other law enforcement entities in the city. Prior to the
meeting, Lieutenant Mason called him to report that C.D.1 had implicated the defendant as
the perpetrator. He instructed Lieutenant Mason not to tell anyone of what she had learned
until his meeting was completed, because he wanted to listen to the tape recording of C.D.1’s
identification before informing other officers.

Deputy Director Armstrong testified that after listening to the tape recording of
C.D.1’s identification of the defendant as the perpetrator, he had the defendant transported
to the Homicide Bureau and assigned Lieutenant Mason and Sergeant Max to interview him.
At some point during that interview, however, the defendant refused to talk further with those
two officers, so he, therefore, decided to conduct the interview with the defendant himself.

Deputy Director Armstrong testified that he talked to the defendant about how horrific
the crimes were and watched the defendant’s body language. He said the defendant seemed
“really, really tight, like he was doing everything he could not to talk to me.” The defendant
gave one- or two-word answers to questions and would not engage in open conversation.
Deputy Director Armstrong said, “Most of the time if I asked him a question, he would nod
his head or shake his head. But you could tell he was doing everything he could not to
engage me in an open conversation as to where we had open dialogue back and forth with
each other.”

Deputy Director Armstrong said he knew that the defendant was very familiar with
the criminal justice system because he recently had been released from prison. He asked the

-21-
defendant whether he believed in God, and the defendant said that he did. He also asked him
whether he believed in heaven and hell, and the defendant said that he did. Deputy Director
Armstrong stated that the defendant was “struggling to try to maintain his composure.”
There were times in which the defendant leaned forward as if he wanted to make a statement,
but then he would lean back. Deputy Director Armstrong said he could tell that the
defendant was hiding something.

At one point, Deputy Director Armstrong allowed the defendant to grab his hands.
He explained that by doing so, he was telling the defendant that he knew something was
weighing heavily on the defendant’s mind. He said that it appeared that the defendant was
about to speak to him, but the defendant then refused to engage in conversation. The
defendant asked to use the restroom, and Deputy Director Armstrong allowed him to do so.
When the interview resumed, Deputy Director Armstrong asked the defendant what his
family called him, and the defendant replied, “Junior.” He asked the defendant if anyone else
in his family was referred to as “Junior,” and the defendant said, “[N]o.” Deputy Director
Armstrong asked the defendant if anyone else in his family looked like him or if anyone in
the family had ever confused him with someone else, and the defendant answered in the
negative to both questions. He then asked whether someone in his family would be referring
to him if the person said “Junior,” and the defendant said he or she would.

Deputy Director Armstrong testified that he then played the tape recording of C.D.1
stating that he had been stabbed by his “Uncle Junior,” and the defendant became visibly
upset to the point that he appeared to be about to cry. The defendant told Deputy Director
Armstrong that he and Cecil went somewhere to get a gun, began arguing, and continued to
argue during the drive back to Cecil’s house. When they returned to Cecil’s home, the
argument escalated, Cecil reached for a shotgun, and the defendant began shooting using
both his gun and Williams’ gun. The defendant said that he then attempted to “get rid” of
the children because they had seen him. The defendant stated that he “stuck them,” using the
knives from the kitchen drawer. Deputy Director Armstrong said that a silverware container
was found turned over in the kitchen.

Deputy Director Armstrong testified that the defendant began to cry and appeared
relieved because “he had gotten the weight of the world off his shoulders. But it was almost
like I’m defeated.” Deputy Director Armstrong testified that he questioned the defendant in
greater detail about what had occurred in the house based upon what the deputy director
knew from the crime scene. He said he noted that some of the women’s clothing had been
altered, but the defendant, at that point, stopped the interview and asked for an attorney and
to speak to his mother. The defendant’s mother was still in protective custody with other
family members and was brought to the police department.

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Priscilla Shaw, the mother of Cecil and the defendant, testified that when the police
discovered the victims’ bodies, her nephew drove her to the scene. When she arrived, several
people were at the scene, including Nicole and the defendant. Nicole told her that three of
the children were alive but that the remaining victims were dead. Shaw did not know until
later which children had survived.

Shaw testified that while she and other family members were staying at a home on
Gayle Street, Nicole received a call on her cell phone from the telephone number of her
apartment. The defendant told Nicole that someone was calling from her home. Nicole
became frightened and called the police. Nicole and Waddell then went to the police
department to show officers the cell phone. Nicole called and said that a police officer was
being sent to the house to watch over them.

Shaw said that when someone announced that the officer had arrived, the defendant
began acting “real crazy.” The defendant said that the officers were there to get him and that
they were “going to put this on me, they going to put this on me.” The defendant believed
that Nicole and Waddell were at Nicole’s home and not at the jail as Nicole claimed when
she called. At one point, the defendant stated, “[J]ust bury me with my brother.” He pointed
a gun at his head and entered the bathroom. Shaw gathered her grandchildren and ran into
another bathroom. She said they came out when they did not hear a gunshot.

Shaw said that while they were in protective custody, officers took the defendant away
in handcuffs. During the early morning hours of March 8, officers drove Shaw to the
homicide office after they informed her that the defendant wanted to see her. Upon arriving,
she went into a room where she spoke to the defendant. No one else was in the room with
them. She took the defendant’s hands and asked him what was happening. She asked if the
police were “trying to put it on him.” The defendant did not respond and held his head down.
When he looked up, he told Shaw that he “did it.” Shaw asked him, “[W]hy the babies?”
The defendant said they saw him. He stated that he and Cecil had been arguing all day and
that Cecil had a gun. Shaw asked the defendant if Cecil had pointed the gun. The defendant
said Cecil did not but was “just talking and swinging it.” When Cecil laid down the gun, the
defendant began shooting and later rode the bicycle away from the scene. Shaw testified, “I
asked him [why] the kids and he said they saw me. And I said but the baby, the baby. He
didn’t say nothing, just shook his head. And I got up and told him I love him and left.”

Sergeant Anthony Mullins, a homicide investigator with the Memphis Police
Department who was admitted by the trial court as an expert in general crime scene
investigation and bloodstain pattern analysis, testified that when he arrived at the scene, he
and two felony response investigators walked through the house to ensure that no one else
was inside the home. Lieutenant Armstrong arrived, and Sergeant Mullins walked him

-23-
through the front rooms of the house to show him where the victims were found and to
provide an overview of the crime scene. They decided to obtain a search warrant for the
property in order to collect evidence, and Sergeant Mullins returned to the homicide office
and prepared a search warrant, which a judge later signed.

Sergeant Mullins testified that after obtaining the search warrant, he, Sergeants
Davidson and Parks, Lieutenant Armstrong, and two crime scene officers began processing
the scene. After they had completed their documentation that first night, eight people from
the Shelby County Medical Examiner’s Office arrived, including the medical examiner, two
death investigators, and several technicians who removed the victims’ bodies. By 2:30 a.m.
on March 4, 2008, all of the victims’ bodies had been transported to the morgue.

Sergeant Mullins testified that he and other officers returned to the secured scene at
around 10:30 or 11:30 a.m. on March 4 to continue their work. He described the living room
as very small with only five to ten feet of space available around the furniture and the bodies
of the four adult victims. He said Cecil was found in a kneeling position on the sofa, with
his upper body on the sofa cushion near the seam where the two cushions met. Roberson was
seated on the floor with her legs extended out and her head to the side between the sofa and
the loveseat. Williams was slumped over toward Roberson, and Seals was on the other side
of a large televison and could not be seen upon entering the room.

Sergeant Mullins testified that a plastic baggy with what appeared to be three to five
rocks of crack cocaine was found on the outer portion of Roberson’s vagina and a bag of
marijuana was found in Cecil’s left hand. He noted very thick coagulated blood, which he
described as arterial blood from a wound with extensive bleeding, on a sofa cushion near the
air conditioner and near the area where Roberson’s body had been found. Sergeant Mullins
stated that this area of blood was consistent with the wound that Roberson received on her
leg. There was not much blood on the floor where Roberson was found sitting, however.
He stated that Roberson’s pants were pulled down to the knees and were saturated with
blood, which was consistent with blood from an arterial wound as the blood was “gushing”
out with every heartbeat. Roberson also had holes in her pants corresponding to her wounds.

Sergeant Mullins testified that the crime scene appeared to have been staged, noting
that the position in which some of the victims’ bodies were found did not match their wounds
and some of the blood evidence. Based upon the blood and other physical evidence, he
believed that Roberson was shot on the couch and that her body was then moved and her
pants pulled down following the shooting. He said the bag of crack cocaine was slightly
touching Roberson and seemed to have been placed there. Williams was lying on Roberson,
but there were bloodstains on the carpet on the other side of Williams. Based upon this
evidence, he believed that Williams had also been moved.

-24-
Sergeant Mullins noted that Seals’s pants were pulled down below his knees to his
ankles and that a wallet was beside him. The officer stated that there was a pool of blood
near Seals’s body, with a “void” in it where no blood was on the carpet, indicating that there
had been an object had in the area that the blood had gone around. Based upon the blood
pools, Sergeant Mullins did not believe that Seals moved on his own.

Sergeant Mullins testified that while Cecil’s pants were pulled down, his pants were
more in line with the style in which he saw other men wear their pants. Cecil received
numerous gunshot wounds, including one to the bottom of his foot and several to his lower
legs. Once Cecil’s body was moved, officers found two spent projectiles underneath him.
Sergeant Mullins stated that Cecil also received several wounds to the front of his body,
which he could not have received had his body been in the position in which it was found.
Sergeant Mullins stated the wounds to the front of Cecil’s body were fatal. He explained that
he thought the bag of marijuana was placed in Cecil’s hand and that the bag was so large that
Cecil would have been unable to close his fingers around it. Sergeant Mullins said that the
bag would have come out of Cecil’s hand while he was being shot and that he would not
have been holding the drugs if he had been attempting to flee or defend himself.

Sergeant Mullins testified that spent projectiles were found on the sofa cushion, on
top of a piece of plastic from a window unit air conditioner, on the floor under Cecil, under
the sofa, inside the arm of the sofa, between two sofa seat cushions, from a wall behind the
sofa, and from the east wall of the living room. A total of eight spent shell casings from a
.380 caliber firearm and thirteen spent shell casings from a nine-millimeter firearm were
recovered in the living room. .380 caliber spent shell casings were recovered between the
seat cushion and back of the sofa, under the coffee table, under the sofa, and near a large
amount of clothing stacked in a corner. One nine-millimeter spent shell casing was
recovered on the floor near Cecil’s leg, and another nine-millimeter spent shell casing was
recovered under the coffee table near a .380 caliber spent shell casing. A sealed Ziploc bag
was found on the north end of the loveseat underneath a black jacket. The Ziploc bag
contained a total of sixteen spent shell casings, eleven of which were nine-millimeter spent
shell casings and five of which were .380 caliber spent shell casings.

Sergeant Mullins further testified that a 12-gauge, sawed-off shotgun, which was
loaded with four live rounds, was found on a stack of clothing in the corner of the living
room. Cecil’s body was found a little more than an arm’s length from the shotgun. Five
more live rounds of shotgun ammunition were found just under the sofa. A pellet gun air
rifle was recovered underneath the clothes, and containers of pellets were on the nearby
coffee table.

Sergeant Mullins testified that the quickest exit from the bathroom or the bedrooms

-25-
was through the living room and the front door. There were also exit doors in the laundry
room and the master bedroom, but to reach those doors from the bathroom or bedrooms
required walking through the living room. The door in the laundry room had a cord tied from
the outer storm door to the doorknob on the other side of the door, and it appeared it had not
been used for some time. Sergeant Mullins said that the door in the master bedroom,
however, was operable. He testified that if the children were in the bedrooms watching
television when the shots were fired, they would have had to go through the living room to
reach an exit. Most of the windows in the home had bars. If the perpetrator was standing
in the doorway, the children were trapped. Sergeant Mullins stated that of the more than 100
homicides involving gangs that he had investigated, none of them also involved killing
women and then killing children with knives.

Two pieces of broken wood were found in the hallway near a gas heater that was
affixed to the wall, and two larger pieces of wood that were broken were found inside the
bathroom next to the toilet. Three small pieces of broken wood were also found in the
bathroom. Two knife blades with the handles broken off were recovered from the bathtub
where C.D.1 was found. One of the knives had “Farberware” written on it. Two small
pieces of black plastic that appeared to be kitchen knife handles also were recovered from
the bathtub. There were bloodstains on the floor and bath mat and around the bathtub and
toilet. A bloody partial palm print on the tile wall was determined to belong to C.D.3. Three
green hair beads were recovered from the bathroom, two in the door jamb and one against
the wall east of the door. C.D.4 had been found wearing green beads in his hair.

Sergeant Mullins said that C.D.3’s body was discovered facedown on the floor in what
he designated as bedroom one. From the bedroom, officers also recovered two wooden
boards. Broken pieces of braided hair were scattered around the bedroom floor.

Sergeant Mullins testified that C.D.4’s body was in what he designated as bedroom
two. Officers also recovered seventeen green hair beads similar to those worn by C.D.4
scattered under the bed and against the wall. A wooden board and two knife blades were
located inside the bedroom. The wooden board appeared to have blood on it. One knife
blade was between a pillow and pillowcase, and the other blade was between the mattress
and the corner of the wall and almost on top of the box springs. Officers had to move the bed
in order to locate the second knife blade. Neither blade had a handle. A knife handle was
recovered from bedroom two. Sergeant Mullins noted blood on the bed, the window blinds,
the wall by the bed, and on the ceiling near the ceiling fan.

In the kitchen, officers discovered a gray plastic silverware tray overturned on the
floor, a spent projectile under a table, and a defect in the wall that appeared to have come
from the direction of the living room. A box with eleven or twelve rounds of nine-millimeter

-26-
ammunition was found in the dresser in the master bedroom. Officers collected a cordless
telephone that was on the floor between the dresser and the laundry room and another
cordless telephone that was further back in the bedroom.

Sergeant Mullins testified that a photograph of blood spatter on the bathroom wall
over the toilet tank showed “cast-off,” which is generated when the blood from a blunt force
object, a sharp object, or another weapon comes off the weapon during an attack and strikes
a nearby object. He stated that the photograph showed three distinct trails indicative of three
different blows. The top trail was almost horizontal on the wall, indicating that the victim
was close to the wall when struck. He was unable to determine whether a knife or a wooden
board was used on the victim resulting in the cast-off but said that because the cast-off was
“a fairly wide pattern,” his impression was that it was “from one of the boards.”

Sergeant Mullins identified impact spatter on top of the toilet tank and explained that
impact spatter results when a bloody object strikes another object. He also identified a
transfer stain toward the bottom of the toilet and explained that a transfer stain results when
a bloody object hits a second object leaving a stain on the second object. He stated that a
body part could have struck the toilet, resulting in the transfer stain, and that the blood from
the impact could have hit the top of the toilet tank, resulting in the impact spatter.

Sergeant Mullins noted a cast-off pattern on the wall over the bathtub and close to
where C.D.1 was found. He said either a knife or a board could have made the cast-off
pattern. Another cast-off pattern from a different blow was on the wall near the soap dish.
A “smeared type” transfer stain was further down in the bathtub.

Sergeant Mullins identified cast-off spatter on the bathroom wall next to C.D.3’s
bloody palm print. He stated the cast-off was not necessarily associated with the bloody
palm print. Rather, the cast-off could have been the result of a different blow or from the
blood of a different victim. Sergeant Mullins noted cast-off spatter on the wall above the
handles of the bathtub.

Sergeant Mullins testified that blood had dropped down the toilet tank and run down
the toilet bowl. He said the blood was from a victim who had been actively bleeding. He
also said that based upon the location and pattern on the dripped blood, someone had raised
up the toilet seat and put it down at some point.

Sergeant Mullins testified that in bedroom one, where C.D.3 was found, there was a
pool of blood where he was lying and numerous broken pieces of braided hair. He said the
force of a blow to the head would have broken off the weaker braids. Sergeant Mullins noted
large spots of dripped blood on the carpet indicating that C.D.3 may have aspirated some

-27-
blood. He explained, “I would expect to see more if that were the case but because it’s carpet
and it soaks up so much, it’s hard to say. But this indicates to me especially with the broken
pieces of braid that [C.D.3] may have received a blow while he’s laying on this carpet.”

Sergeant Mullins found multiple patterns of cast-off and impact spatter in bedroom
two where C.D.2 and C.D.4 were found. The patterns were in multiple directions, indicating
multiple blows. Sergeant Mullins also found overhead cast-off on the ceiling, which he
believed resulted from the use of a knife to stab in an overhead motion.

Sergeant Mullins testified that the blood spatter at the scene was consistent with a
“one-on-one struggle” rather than a “quick in-and-out execution” of the children. In the
bathroom, there were multiple blows and movement. C.D.1 was found in the bathtub in
which quite a bit of blood was pooled. Sergeant Mullins stated that based upon the cast-off,
at least one and up to three blows were delivered in the bathtub. Noting the dripped blood
and C.D.3’s bloody handprint in the bathroom, he stated that some of the blood in the
bathroom could have been from another victim. Sergeant Mullins also noted a large drop of
blood on the bathroom floor next to two green beads similar to those that C.D.4 had in his
hair. While acknowledging that the beads could have been on the floor prior to the attack,
the officer said that the beads also could have fallen out of C.D.4’s hair during the attack as
they were found next to the blood on the floor. Sergeant Mullins said, “There is a lot of
movement in the bathroom. There’s more than one blow being delivered in the bathroom.
You’ve got several pieces of broken wood that would be indicating at least one good blow,
but from the blood evidence there’s more than one and there’s movement within that scene.”

Sergeant Mullins testified that more than one assault occurred or more than one blow
was delivered in bedroom two. He noted the large amount of impact spatter on the wall, the
cast-off spatter on the ceiling, and the blood all over the bed. Sergeant Mullins did not
believe that the assault of C.D.3 occurred solely in bedroom one. He testified that “because
the wounds he had I would expect if he was assaulted in this room, there would be more
blood in this room instead of the pooling blood from where he laid.” Sergeant Mullins also
noted evidence that C.D.3 was in the bathroom at some point during the attacks.

Sergeant Mullins testified that officers did not recover a .380 caliber handgun or a
nine-millimeter handgun from the crime scene but that they collected five knife blades,
including the blade that was in C.D.1’s head. They also collected one knife handle and
broken pieces from another knife handle. Officers did not find the other three handles, nor
did they find any other set of intact kitchen knives at the scene.

Sergeant Mullins noted that paperwork, a telephone, lipstick or lip balm, a wrapped
condom, and business cards were on the living room floor. He said it appeared as if someone

-28-
had emptied the contents of a purse on the floor, but he did not locate a purse that he could
match with the contents. Officers located a purse next to Seals’s body with the contents
inside, which they later identified as belonging to Williams.

Sergeant Mullins testified that the knife blade found in the pillowcase in bedroom two
had blood on it and was bent. He found no evidence indicating that the blade had been
broken off inside a victim. He did not know if any of the victims had wounds indicative of
the assailant sticking the knife blade in the victim and then moving it back and forth to
remove the handle. Rather, he believed the handle of the knife had been removed following
the attacks. Officers had to move items around in order to discover the knife blades
recovered from bedroom two. Shell casings were gathered and placed in a Ziploc bag.

Sergeant Mullins said C.D.3 may have been moved from one room, placed in bedroom
one, and then received the final strike. He explained, “The level of violence delivered to
[C.D.3] couldn’t have happened in that room without some additional blood evidence. So
there has to be some movement after the fact.” Sergeant Mullins testified that the person or
persons responsible for the murders spent some time in the house following the murders. He
explained that Roberson was not petite and that it would have taken time to pull tight pants
off anyone who is deceased or nearly deceased. Once Roberson was pulled to the floor,
Williams’ legs were pulled across Roberson’s legs. The drugs were then placed on Roberson
and Cecil. He said that locating the sixteen shell casings that were found in the Ziploc bag
also would have taken some time.

Sergeant Mullins testified that officers collected fabric from Cecil’s chin and mouth
and from his left hand. He said the fabric from Cecil’s chin and mouth was possibly from
a pillow that had been placed over Cecil’s face when he was shot in an attempt to muffle the
sound. He stated that three hairs were collected from Roberson’s right leg, thigh, and
buttocks and sent to the FBI laboratory for testing. The hairs did not belong to the defendant
or anyone in the house. Sergeant Mullins did not, however, believe that the hairs were
significant due to their location on Roberson’s body. Roberson’s pants had been pulled
down, and the hairs were found in blood on her body.

Sergeant Mullins also said he was not surprised by any hair found in the house due
to the amount of traffic at the home during the five months in which Cecil lived there. He
said that because the defendant had been in Cecil’s home on prior occasions, he would not
have been surprised to have found the defendant’s DNA in the home. He stated that one of
the hairs found on Roberson was an Asian hair and explained his decision not to test the
Asian hair found against known heroin dealers:

After [the defendant] was identified by a surviving witness and

-29-
confesses to the crime and gives corroborating evidence to the crime scene and
we work on what he says and verified the things that he says, and continue our
investigation and what he says and what the witness says match, no sir, I’m not
going to go chase down heroin drug dealers to see if they could have been in
this house five weeks before this happened[.]

Sergeant Mullins testified that the same nine-millimeter handgun was used to shoot
Roberson and Seals and to shoot Cecil in the left thigh and Williams in the left calf. Bullets
from a .380 caliber handgun were recovered from Cecil’s scapula and neck and Seals’s back.
A .380 caliber bullet was also found at a house located behind 722 Lester Street. Testing was
insufficient to determine whether the .380 caliber bullet from that house and the .380 caliber
bullets recovered from the Lester Street house were fired from the same handgun.

Sergeant Mullins said that all of the adult victims except Seals were shot in the legs
at least once. He stated that Cecil likely was shot in the front first but acknowledged that he
could not make that determination based solely on the physical evidence. The gun used to
shoot Cecil in the leg was different from the gun used to shoot him in the neck. He could not
determine whether the adult victims were sitting or standing when the shots were fired.

Sergeant Mullins testified that officers seized a Magna bicycle that the defendant had
ridden from Cecil’s house on the night of the murders. They had hoped to find blood from
the victims on the bicycle to establish that the defendant had come into contact with the
victims’ blood and transferred it to the bicycle. Sergeant Mullins did not believe that any
blood from the victims was found on the bicycle. Genetic material from an unknown male
was found on the bicycle.

Sergeant Mullins testified that the position of the shotgun at the scene as it related to
the position of the blood reinforced his opinion that the scene was altered and that the
shotgun had been moved to the location where the officers found it. He explained that,
according to the defendant’s statement, Cecil kept the shotgun in the position in which it was
found and grabbed it at the time the defendant started shooting. Sergeant Mullins found the
defendant’s statement difficult to believe because blood was found at the end of the barrel
of the shotgun with C.D.5 as a minor contributor. The barrel would not have been exposed
to any blood spatter in the position in which it was found, and blood spatter was not on any
of the items on which the shotgun was found. Sergeant Mullins also noted that Cecil was
found holding a bag of marijuana and would not have attempted to shoot the shotgun while
holding the marijuana.

Sergeant Mullins believed the four adult victims were moved either close to death or
after death. The knife blades that were recovered had been placed where they were found.

-30-
Only one knife handle was located, and Sergeant Mullins did not know whether the handle
matched any of the knives that were used. Officers did not recover the handguns used; the
shotgun had been moved; the boards may have been placed in the location in which they
were discovered; and sixteen shell casings had been gathered and placed in a Ziploc bag.
Sergeant Mullins believed the two deceased children may have been moved either after death
or close to death. He also believed that C.D.3 may have been assaulted in another room and
that the fatal blow may have been delivered in the room where he was discovered.

Sergeant Mullins believed Seals was found in the same area in which he was shot.
He said Seals’s body was rolled from one side to the other because there were two different
blood pools on the floor near his body with a distinct distance between them. He also said
Seals’s body possibly was rolled to the other side when his pants were pulled down and his
wallet was removed.

Sergeant Mullins said blood evidence did not support a theory that Roberson was shot
in the legs and was then mobile for some time. He explained that a direct wound could have
resulted in arterial gushing, which is a distinct pattern. He believed that near or after
Roberson’s death, the perpetrator pulled her down onto the floor from the sofa, pulled down
her pants, and pulled up her shirt.

Sergeant Mullins testified that most of the assault of C.D.3 occurred in the bathroom
and that C.D.3 also may have been assaulted in the bedroom in which he was found.
Sergeant Mullins did not know if C.D.3’s body was moved. He said C.D.3 possibly could
have been placed in the bedroom before he died. Based upon the blood evidence in the
bedroom, Sergeant Mullins believed C.D.3 may have received a blow in the area in which
his body was found.

Sergeant Mullins said that the altering of the crime scene could have been completed
“fairly quickly” if the perpetrator was moving quickly. Collecting the evidence would not
have taken long if the perpetrator knew where it was. Regardless, Sergeant Mullins believed
someone spent considerable time at the scene. He explained, “My opinion is it took enough
time to alter things in this scene as opposed to boom, boom, stab, stab, out the door. There’s
a difference. If you consider all the movement in the scene after this is done, it’s going to
take a few minutes but not necessarily hours, I would not think.”

Sergeant Mullins acknowledged that the defendant’s DNA was not found on any of
the physical evidence tested, including the bicycle, although it had been ridden by a man
who, in his opinion, moved six bodies that had fresh blood on them.

-31-
Sergeant Mullins acknowledged that if the perpetrator shot Williams first in the thigh,
Cecil likely would have taken some action to prevent the perpetrator from shooting the next
person. He also acknowledged that Cecil might not have reacted if another perpetrator was
pointing a .380 caliber handgun at Cecil while the first perpetrator was shooting the women
in the legs with a nine-millimeter handgun. Sergeant Mullins testified that the location of the
bullet wounds was not consistent with the theory of multiple gunmen shooting Cecil’s legs
to obtain information. He did not know the sequence of the shots to Cecil’s legs. He
believed that several of the gunshot wounds may have been made post-mortem or close to
Cecil’s death.

On redirect examination, Sergeant Mullins testified that the theory of the offenses was
developed from interviews with C.D.1 and the defendant. In his view, the TBI report of the
results of testing of the physical evidence did not exonerate the defendant, and there was no
evidence at the crime scene that was inconsistent with the defendant’s admission to the police
regarding the offenses.

Sergeant Mullins testified that the weapons used came from inside the home. During
the course of the investigation, officers were able to place a nine-millimeter handgun
belonging to Cecil and Williams and a .380 caliber handgun belonging to Seals inside the
home. The knives were retrieved from the kitchen, and there was no evidence that the boards
were from any location other than the home. Sergeant Mullins said the person who
committed the offenses was familiar with the home and was comfortable enough to remain
in the home long enough to alter the crime scene. He also said that based upon his
experience, gang members would not have remained inside the home following the murders
and would not have arrived at the house unarmed. Sergeant Mullins believed the crime scene
was more consistent with the account provided by the defendant than with a “gang hit.”

Sergeant Mullins testified that four weeks prior to the attacks, Cecil called the police
on the defendant and threatened to have him sent back to jail. The defendant was a member
of the Kitchen Crips gang. Sergeant Mullins said that knowledge of gangs and drug activity
would be useful in staging a crime scene in the way in which this crime scene was staged.

Officer Ruth Horne of the Memphis Police Department testified that she was assigned
to the Crime Scene Investigation Unit in March of 2008 and was asked to go to 1403 Silver
Street to tag a bicycle, a rug, and a bottle of bleach. She said she found the bicycle, which
the parties stipulated belonged to C.D.1, in a shed behind the house.

Linda Otterstatter, a physical scientist forensic examiner in the Trace Evidence Unit
of the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, testified that she compared debris recovered
from the crime scene with hair samples from Cecil, Roberson, Williams, C.D.3, C.D.4, the

-32-
defendant, and Willie Boyd Hill, Jr. No head hair samples were submitted for Seals, C.D.1,
C.D.2, or C.D.5. She testified that head hairs similar to those of Roberson and C.D.4 were
recovered from Roberson’s back. She also identified two head hairs with Caucasian
characteristics and one hair with Mongoloid characteristics that were on Roberson’s back.
The hairs were dissimilar microscopically to the known head hair samples she received.
These hairs were submitted for mitochondrial DNA analysis.

Otterstatter testified that she identified debris recovered from Williams’ right hand as
a head hair similar to those of Williams. One body hair fragment was discovered on the left
side of C.D.3’s left hand. The hair was not suitable for microscopic comparison purposes
and was submitted for mitochondrial DNA analysis. Otterstatter identified hairs recovered
from the northwest bedroom as head hairs similar to those of C.D.3.

On cross-examination, Otterstatter explained that the hairs found on Williams were
not submitted for mitochondrial DNA analysis because she did not feel that such analysis was
important to the case as she would expect to find the victim’s hairs on the victim. Otterstatter
also said that she could not cannot “say for certain that that hair came from that person to the
exclusion of all others.” She compared head hair and pubic hair and was unable to conduct
a comparison of body hair. Otterstatter did not believe that such a conclusion could be
reached through mitochondrial DNA analysis either. She acknowledged that mitochondrial
DNA is passed through the mother from generation to generation. Otterstatter testified that
while nuclear DNA analysis results in an identification of the donor, the root of the hair and
the tissue on that root are required for such an analysis. She said that some of the hairs that
she analyzed had roots on them but that she did not submit those hairs for nuclear DNA
analysis because she “would not submit hairs that were similar to the victims that were
collected from the victims.”

Deborah Polanskey, a forensic mitochondrial DNA examiner in the mitochondrial
DNA unit of the FBI laboratory, testified that two types of DNA are found in the cells of the
human body: nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA. Nuclear DNA is inherited from both
parents and is unique to each individual except in cases of identical twins. Mitochondrial
DNA is inherited maternally and is not unique to an individual, as siblings with the same
mother share the same mitochondrial DNA type. She stated that the gender of the person
supplying the DNA cannot be determined through mitochondrial DNA analysis.

Polanskey testified that hair has little or no nuclear DNA but has thousands of copies
of mitochondrial DNA. Thus, a result is more likely to be obtained in analyzing
mitochondrial DNA than in analyzing nuclear DNA. Polanskey explained that when she
receives multiple reference samples from a maternal line such as a mother and her children,
she need not test each sample. Rather, she can test the sample from the mother, and the result

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represents the mitochondrial DNA type of her children.

Polanskey conducted mitochondrial DNA testing on four hairs: two hairs with
Caucasian characteristics and one hair with Mongoloid characteristics recovered from
Roberson’s back and a fragment of a body hair recovered from C.D.3’s left hand. She had
known samples from Cecil, Roberson, Seals, the defendant, and Willie Boyd Hill, Jr. She
also had known samples from Erica Smith, the mother of C.D.4, and Williams, the mother
of C.D.1, C.D.2, C.D.3, and C.D.5.

The mitochondrial DNA sequence for the two hairs with Caucasian characteristics
were the same. Thus, Polanskey could not exclude the two hairs as coming from the same
source. The DNA sequence of the two hairs differed from the known samples that she
received. The hair with Mongoloid characteristics did not include sufficient mitochondrial
DNA to obtain a result. The mitochondrial DNA sequence from the hair found on C.D.3’s
hand was concordant with the mitochondrial DNA sequence of Williams. As a result,
Polanskey could not exclude Williams, C.D.1, C.D.2, C.D.3, and C.D.5 as the source. She
was able to exclude the defendant as the source.

Special Agent Lawrence James, a forensic scientist for the TBI who was allowed by
the trial court to testify as an expert in the field of forensic serology and DNA analysis,
testified at length regarding the numerous blood samples throughout the house that he
analyzed, all of which were matched to one of the victims. He said he obtained a partial
DNA profile from a bullet fragment recovered from the sofa in the living room. The gender
marker was consistent with a male, and Cecil could not be excluded as a contributor to the
DNA profile. He also analyzed the hair beads recovered from the crime scene, swabbing all
of the beads as one sample in the hope that the DNA obtained would be sufficient to result
in a DNA profile. He was able to obtain only a partial profile indicating that a male’s DNA
was present on the sample that he collected from all of the beads. After comparing that
partial profile with the DNA profile of the victims and the defendant, he concluded that none
of those individuals contributed to the DNA on the beads.

On cross-examination, Special Agent James testified that he analyzed clothing but was
unsure whether the clothing belonged to the defendant. He determined that the defendant’s
blood was on the pants. He did not find any of the victims’ blood on the clothing. Special
Agent James also did not find any of the victims’ blood on the bicycle. He did not find the
defendant’s DNA on the knife blades, the knife handles, the victims’ bodies, the wood
boards, the glass, the pillows, the shotgun, the shell casings, or the shoes. Roberson’s nail
scrappings revealed the DNA profile of an unknown female.

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TBI Special Agent Forensic Scientist Cervinia Braswell, an expert in firearms and
firearms identification, testified that the following bullets were recovered from Cecil’s body:
a nine-millimeter bullet from the left thigh, a .380 caliber bullet from the right scapula, and
a .380 caliber auto bullet jacket fragment from the oral cavity which was part of the .380
caliber bullet recovered from his neck. She also analyzed a nine-millimeter bullet jacket
fragment recovered from Cecil’s clothes. A nine-millimeter bullet jacket and fragments were
recovered from Roberson’s left thigh, and a nine-millimeter bullet jacket and fragments were
recovered from Williams’ left calf muscle. A nine-millimeter bullet jacket and fragments
were recovered from Seals’s C-1 vertebra, and a .380 caliber bullet was recovered from the
left side of his back.

Special Agent Braswell testified that she received a nine-millimeter pistol recovered
from an address at 1985 Gayle and that she determined that the nine-millimeter bullets from
the crime scene were not fired from that pistol. She also analyzed a .45 automatic cartridge
case. Dirt was on the inside and outside of the cartridge case. Special Agent Braswell stated
that because dirt was caked on the cartridge case, it had been at the location where it was
recovered “for a little while.” She also concluded that the .380 caliber casings recovered
from the 719 Carpenter address were not fired from the same gun from which the other .380
caliber casings were fired.

Special Agent Braswell said a .380 caliber firearm typically holds eight cartridges,
with seven cartridges in the magazine and one cartridge in the gun. A nine-millimeter
firearm typically holds thirteen rounds with twelve rounds in the magazine and one round in
the gun. The agent said she analyzed a total of thirteen nine-millimeter cartridge casings and
eight .380 caliber cartridge casings. She concluded that the nine-millimeter casings were
fired from the same nine-millimeter firearm and that the .380 caliber bullets were fired from
the same gun. Special Agent Braswell testified it was possible for a single person to fire a
.380 caliber firearm in the living room, unload the firearm, fire a nine-millimeter firearm, and
unload the firearm in a quick amount of time.

On cross-examination, Special Agent Braswell acknowledged that she could not
determine whether there was one shooter or multiple shooters. She said a total of six .380
caliber bullets, nine nine-millimeter bullets, and ten .380 caliber cartridge casings were
submitted for testing. She tested two .380 caliber cartridge casings recovered from 719
Carpenter. She determined that the two casings were fired from an automatic weapon but
were not fired from the same weapon that fired the casings recovered in the living room of
the crime scene.

Special Agent Braswell testified that while a nine-millimeter firearm can fire .380
caliber rounds, she would be able to determine whether this occurred by examining the

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cartridge case. She explained that a .380 caliber cartridge casing is shorter and has a slightly
smaller diameter so that when it is shot using a nine-millimeter firearm, the cartridge casing
will bulge out. Special Agent Braswell said that the .380 caliber casings recovered were not
fired using a nine-millimeter firearm.

Special Agent Braswell said a nine-millimeter firearm could hold fewer than twelve
cartridges in a magazine. Some nine-millimeter firearms only hold ten cartridges and one
cartridge in the chamber. A standard sized nine-millimeter firearm holds twelve rounds in
the magazine and one round in the chamber. The agent said .380 caliber firearms do not vary
as much as nine-millimeter firearms.

Special Agent Braswell testified that she did not find any gunshot residue on the
clothing of Cecil, Roberson, or Williams but found gunpowder particles on the holes of
Seals’s shirt. She said the lack of gunshot residue on the clothing of Cecil, Williams, and
Roberson meant either that the shooter fired the gun outside the maximum range in which
the gun would leave residue or that an intermediate object, such as a pillow, was between the
gun and the victim. Special Agent Braswell said that in cases of contact residue, tearing of
the clothing, singeing around the hole, and dark areas of soot and smoke are present. Contact
gunshot residue generally does not result when the firearm is fired more than eighteen inches
away. The agent acknowledged that she would be unable to provide an accurate measure of
the distance from which the gun was fired without testing the shooting patterns of the actual
gun used. Absent the gun used in shooting Seals, she could only estimate that the gun was
fired at a distance of at least two feet and no more than four feet away. She could not
determine the distance of the shooter from Cecil, Williams, and Roberson. She also could
not determine which of the two bullets recovered from Seals left the residue on his clothing.

Dr. Michael Muhlbauer, an expert in the field of adult and pediatric neurosurgery,
testified that he performed surgery on C.D.1, C.D.2, and C.D.5 on March 3, 2008. He said
that when C.D.1 arrived at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital, he was awake and moaning.
C.D.1 had trauma and swelling to his forehead and part of a steak knife sticking out of his
head. Dr. Muhlbauer noted C.D.1 had a laceration in his scalp that was six or seven inches
long and extended down his forehead. C.D.1’s skull was severely fractured, and large pieces
of his skull had been driven inward. C.D.1 also had either a “glancing” stab wound or two
separate stab wounds on the back of his arm and chest, a superficial laceration across his
neck, and a laceration on his left thumb. Dr. Muhlbauer said that C.D.1 would not have
survived the injuries absent medical intervention.

Dr. Muhlbauer testified that when C.D.2 arrived at the hospital, he was “essentially
semicomatose.” C.D.2 had injuries that were, in Dr. Muhlbauer’ opinion, consistent with
having been beaten with boards, including multiple fractures to his face, mid-face, and lower

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portion of his skull, a fractured nose, and a small skull fracture with bruising on the back of
his brain. In addition, he had stab wounds on one of his eyes, his forehead, and his neck. Dr.
Muhlbauer testified that C.D.2 would not have survived without medical intervention.

Dr. Muhlbauer testified that C.D.5 arrived at the hospital with significant head trauma,
which included a large cut in her scalp that exposed her bone. He said that the right side of
C.D.5’s skull had been pushed or crushed in with a blunt object resulting in an “open-
depressed skull fracture.” He stated that the CT scan revealed that the covering of her brain
was “probably cut” and that her brain was mildly bruised. Dr. Muhlbauer testified that
C.D.5’s injuries were consistent with being struck with boards. She also had stab wounds
to her left lower extremity. Dr. Muhlbauer said that absent medical intervention, C.D.5
would not have survived.

Dr. Lisa Funte, a Shelby County medical examiner who was admitted by the trial court
as an expert in forensic pathology, testified regarding the victims’ autopsies, three of which
she had performed herself and three of which had been performed by another medical
examiner in the Shelby County Medial Examiner’s Office, Dr. Miguel Laboy.

Dr. Funte testified that Seals, whose autopsy had been performed by Dr. Laboy, died
as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. Seals had three gunshot wounds: one to the mouth,
in which the bullet fractured some of the teeth and the jaw and then continued into the neck,
fracturing the first and second cervical vertebrae; one to the midline upper chest area, in
which the bullet injured the left lung and exited from the back; and one to the side of the
chest near the right armpit, in which the bullet traveled through the right chest cavity,
injuring the right lung, and penetrated into the muscles of the back.

According to the toxicology report, Seals had marijuana and ethanol or alcohol in his
system. Dr. Funte testified that one of the products of decomposition is ethanol and that she,
therefore, was unable to determine whether the ethanol was the result of alcohol
consumption, a product of decomposition, or both.

Dr. Funte testified that Williams, whose autopsy she had performed, also died of
multiple gunshot wounds. Williams had five gunshot wounds: one to the left side of the
head that resulted in injuries to the skull and brain; one in which the bullet entered the right
side of the chest near the breast and exited the left side of the back, in the process causing
injuries to the lungs and vertebral column; one to the left leg, which resulted in injuries to the
muscles, tibia, and fibula; one to the right thigh, which resulted in injuries to the soft tissue
and muscle; and one to the left side of the abdomen, which resulted in soft tissue and muscle
injuries. The toxicology report indicated the presence of ethanol in Williams’ body.

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Dr. Funte testified that Roberson, whose autopsy she performed, also died of multiple
gunshot wounds. Roberson had four gunshot wounds: one to the right thigh, in which the
bullet injured the soft tissue and muscle of the thigh, traveled through the femoral vein, and
continued through the soft tissue and muscle on the right side toward her back; one to the left
knee, in which the bullet injured soft tissue and muscle; one to the left calf in which the
bullet injured soft tissue and muscle; and one to the left thigh, which again injured soft tissue
and muscle. Dr. Funte testified that the gunshot wound to Roberson’s right thigh in which
the bullet passed through her femoral artery would have resulted in a great deal of blood loss
but would not have caused an immediate loss of life, as an individual with such an injury
could die in as little as five to ten minutes or survive up to twenty to thirty minutes,
depending on the circumstances. According to the toxicology report, no drugs or volatile
alcohol were present in Roberson’s system.

Dr. Funte testified that Cecil, whose autopsy was performed by Dr. Laboy, also died
of multiple gunshot wounds. Cecil had eight gunshot wounds: one to the head that fractured
his jaw; one to the neck, in which the bullet traveled through the soft tissues and muscles of
the neck and fractured and penetrated through cartilages in the trachea and larynx; one to the
chest, in which the bullet traveled through the muscle and soft tissue and into the back; one
to the right thigh, in which the bullet perforated through the thigh, injuring soft tissue and
muscle; two to the left thigh, in which the bullets injured soft tissue and muscle; one to the
left leg, in which the bullet injured soft tissue; and one to the left foot. Toxicology results
showed ethanol in Cecil’s system. Dr. Funte testified that fiber was found in the area around
the entry of the gunshot wound to Cecil’s head, consistent with a shooter putting a fiber-filled
pillow over Cecil’s face and firing the gun through the pillow.

Dr. Funte testified that two-year-old C.D.4, whose autopsy she performed, died of
multiple sharp force injuries. C.D.4 had multiple incised and stab wounds to the head, torso,
and extremities, including seven stab wounds that resulted in penetration of the skull with
associated skull fractures, injury of the right middle meningeal artery with epidural
hemorrhage, and edema of the brain with herniation. Among other injuries, C.D.4 had a
puncture-style stab wound to the right side of his head, two puncture-style stab wounds to
the left cheek, two incised wounds on the left side of his face near his eye, an incised wound
on his right ear beginning at the top of the ear and traveling along the inside of the orifice of
the ear, a group of incised wounds of varying lengths and an incised wound leading to a stab
wound on his torso, multiple incised and stab wounds on his back, and a mixture of sharp
force and blunt force injuries on the left side of his torso. Dr. Funte said that incised wounds
on C.D.4’s back and left wrist were parallel and equally spaced and were suggestive of a
serrated knife blade. C.D.4 also had an incised wound and a puncture stab wound on the
base of his right thumb.

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Dr. Funte also identified abrasions and contusions on C.D.4’s body that she
categorized as blunt force injuries. C.D.4 had abrasions on the right side of his chin, the right
side of his lower lip, his cheek, the right side of his mouth, the right side of the upper lip, and
the right side of the head. Dr. Funte said the shape of the abrasion on the head almost formed
the outline of a rectangle, and was possibly consistent with the use of a board to strike C.D.4
on the side of the head. C.D.4 also had a combination of an abrasion and a bruise on the
right side of his neck behind his ear and bruises on the left side of his neck and on his elbow.

Dr. Funte also noted discoloration on C.D.4’s right eyelid and right cheek, which
could have been caused by impact to the eye or could have been related to the skull fractures
and impact to the right side of his head. She stated that the nature of C.D.4’s injuries was
not suggestive of the possibility that C.D.4 attempted to fend off his attacker and that the
initial head injury she described would have been fatal without medical intervention. Had
C.D.4 sustained only that wound, he could have survived for several minutes and up to one
day. Had he received medical treatment within an hour of receiving his injuries, he could
possibly have survived although it was not “necessarily probable.”

Dr. Funte testified that four-year-old C.D.3, whose autopsy was performed by Dr.
Laboy, died of blunt force and sharp force injuries. She said C.D.3 had blunt force trauma
to his head with lacerations and bruises, multiple linear depressed fractures of the calvarium
and base of his skull, deep scalp hemorrhage, multiple contusions to the brain, and
subarachnoid hemorrhage. Dr. Funte also noted that C.D.3’s head had areas of abrasions and
lacerations and an incised wound above his left ear that tore part of the scalp away from his
skull and reflected it over his ear.

In addition, C.D.3 had incisions to the head, neck, and right hand; a stab wound to the
chest in which the knife blade went all the way through his body, injuring the left lung, the
left hemidiaphragm, the stomach, spleen, and liver; linear abrasions and bruises on his left
arm; abrasions on his forehead; an abrasion and bruising on his right ear; a gaping incised
wound to his neck; abrasions on his right arm; a contusion and abrasions on his left arm; and
an incised wound on his ring finger that was possibly consistent with his having either held
his hand up to stop the attacker from stabbing him or with his having attempted to grab the
knife.

Dr. Funte testified that the injury resulting from blunt force trauma to the head alone
would have resulted in C.D.3’s death without medical intervention. Had C.D.3 sustained
only this injury, he could have survived several minutes to many hours. Dr. Funte said that
after C.D.3 was hit in the head, he likely would have been rendered unconscious. The stab
wound to C.D.3’s chest also would have resulted in death.

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On cross-examination, Dr. Funte acknowledged that she could not determine the order
in which the wounds on each victim occurred. Several of the adult victims had wounds
below the belt and in their knees and legs. She said that a leg wound can be fatal. Roberson
had a wound to the right thigh that severed the femoral vein. Dr. Funte could not determine
exactly how long Roberson would have lived following the injury. She said that the wound
was fatal and that Roberson possibly could have lived thirty to forty minutes after sustaining
the injury.

Dr. Funte testified that C.D.4 had incised wounds and that C.D.3 had lacerations. She
said the majority of the incised wounds were superficial and not very deep. She also said the
wounds could have resulted from a slashing cut from a knife. Dr. Funte was not able to
determine whether a serrated or smooth-edged knife was used in each injury. She identified
two injuries that had a unique pattern of equally spaced incised wounds, which was indicative
of a serrated blade. Dr. Funte said that while a serrated blade may not always leave such a
pattern, it will do so if dragged across the skin.

Dr. Funte testified that a black hair and a white hair were collected from Williams’
hand and that hairs were collected from Roberson’s back. A white substance was collected
between Roberson’s labia and vulva. Dr. Funte could not determine whether Roberson was
carrying the substance there to hide it or whether the substance was placed there by someone
else. A green substance was collected from Cecil’s hand. The color of Cecil’s skin on his
hand just below where the green substance was found was tan or brown. Blood was below
the area of the hand.

On redirect examination, Dr. Funte testified that the hairs recovered on Roberson were
bilaterally on her buttocks and right thigh. On recross examination, she said Roberson’s
clothing was not removed at the scene. Her pants had been pulled down, and her shirt was
in disarray. Dr. Funte stated that it appeared from the wound pattern on Roberson’s legs and
the wound pattern on her jeans that she was wearing the jeans when she was shot.

GUILT PHASE – DEFENSE PROOF

Cedric Atkins testified that approximately one and one-half weeks before Cecil was
killed, he and Cecil had a conversation in a hotel room in which Cecil told Atkins that he
owed money to the “mob.” Atkins said the “mob” was a group of people who have money
and respect and sell narcotics or “whatever.” Atkins testified that following Cecil’s death,
he contacted an officer with the Memphis Police Department with whom he had previously
served as an informant and told him about his conversation with Cecil. Atkins said he
answered the officer’s questions truthfully, never demanded money from the officer or
anyone else, and was not promised anything in exchange for the information. Approximately

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one week later, the officer contacted Atkins and informed him that the information he
provided was not useful. Atkins acknowledged that he had been convicted of theft during
the year prior to the defendant’s trial and that he did not want to testify and was doing so only
pursuant to a subpoena.

On cross-examination, Atkins testified that he did not recall asking the police what
was “in it for [him].” He told the officer that he had just met Cecil on the night in which he
and Cecil had the conversation and that that night was the first time he had an extended
conversation with Cecil. Atkins testified that he told the officer that he ran into Cecil at a
hotel and that Cecil told him that he owed $300,000 and that he should avoid owing people
money.

Sergeant Joseph Stark testified that he interviewed Waddell on March 4, 2008, at
approximately 8:00 p.m. Waddell stated that “Frank” had told him that those inside the
residence were tortured and that Cecil’s fingers were cut off. Waddell also stated that Cecil
and “Doc” had a “falling out.” Sergeant Stark said that Waddell informed him that Cecil and
“Frank” were Gangster Disciples.

William Carroll, an employee of AT&T, testified that an eight-second call was made
from the Lester Street residence on March 1, 2008 at 11:35 p.m. to number 8xx-xxxx.
Carroll was unable to determine whether anyone answered that call. He said that the next
activity on the telephone was on March 3 from a 589 number, which could have been a
telemarketer.

Thirty-four-year-old Markel Vester testified that he joined the Gangster Disciples in
1997 or 1998 when he was twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He knew “Doc Holiday” and
“Frank” but did not know whether “Doc Holiday” held any rank in the Gangster Disciples
in March of 2008. He stated that Cecil was a member of the Gangster Disciples when he met
him and that Cecil performed maintenance duties at the apartment complex where he lived.
Vester testified that “Frank” called him and told him about what had happened to Cecil and
the other victims. Vester said he last spoke to Cecil approximately two to three weeks before
his death. He did not recall whether he spoke to Cecil over the telephone on March 1 or
March 2. He said Cecil did not call him on the Saturday or Sunday prior to his death. Vester
stated that in March of 2008, his cell service was through Cricket Wireless and that his cell
phone numb

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/1044584. Public record. Not legal advice.