BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The state has rested its case against the three men charged in the of killing Ahmaud Arbery after 21 witnesses and eight days of testimony.
On Tuesday, the jury heard from a medical examiner who said just one of the shots that hit Arbery was enough to paralyze and kill him.
Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery Sr., said it was a rough day for him in court.
“Where was their mind frame when they say, ‘Hey, there he goes. Let’s go get him?’” Arbery said. “Where was their mind frame when they grabbed onto that kind of power for a 25- year-old unarmed kid.”
After seeing the weapon used to kill Ahmaud, Arbery Sr. listened to Dr. Edmund Donoghue, a medical examiner, describe his son’s wound.
“He was essentially dead before he hit the ground?” one attorney asked Donoghue.
“Yes,” Donoghue said.
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Greg McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and neighbor Roddy Bryan face murder charges after they admit they chased Arbery through their neighborhood, believing the jogger was a burglar.
During a struggle in the middle of the street, Arbery was shot and killed.
Leigh McMichael, wife of Greg and mother of Travis, wiped away tears as jurors looked at autopsy pictures. Arbery’s mother stared at the floor.
Defense lawyers say the three men were right in trying to hold Arbery for police and insist Arbery could have continued to run instead of, in their view, turning to confront the armed men.
“You have no idea what he was afraid of at that point in time?” Prosecutors asked Donoghue.
“Well, there was a man holding a shotgun,” Donoghue said.
Now it’s up to the three defendants to decide if they will testify or not.
The judge will be asking them that question first thing in the morning Wednesday.
Then there will be opening statements from Bryan’s attorney. He opted to delay his openings until after the state’s case.
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