Testimony continues on day three of Marine murder trial
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — Jurors continued to hear witness testimony from six people on day three of the State of Texas vs. Ray Vera trial happening in the Tom Green County Courthouse.
On the third day the state called crime scene investigator Kenneth Kimble, crime scene investigators Courtney Steen, forensic scientist Ashley Riley, forensic scientist Jason White, Dr. Michael Boyd, and Cody Coombs to the stand.
Bar owner, detective testify in Marine murder trial
In the morning, CSI Steen informed witnesses of evidence she collected during a search warrant on Hassel Street after the stabbing at Whiskey River Saloon took place in October 2022. Multiple items were recovered including:
Blue jeans with a belt that had three knife sheaths attached
Black and white plaid button-down shirt
A wallet with a ‘credit card’ knife
A black folding knife found near a black suburban in the driveway
Two knives with fixed blades found inside the suburban
Steen also shared she took photos of injuries that were found on Ssgt. Bryce Rudisell, Ssgt. Devin Casey, Ssgt. Andrew Cauwell and Cole Hunsberger.
Several pieces of clothing taken from a residence on Hassle Street, a residence on Forest Park and at Whiskey River Salon along with items such as glass from a broken mug and a switchblade knife all tested positive for possible blood, forensic scientist Riley told the jury. Items that tested positive for blood were passed onto forensic scientist White for possible DNA testing.
White informed the courtroom during questioning about items that had possible DNA on them including:
A switchblade knife taken from Forest Park, found in the center console of an SUV – DNA found was potentially from Rudisell
Black shirt taken from Forest Park – Blood stain with possible DNA from Andrew Cauwell and presumably Vera
Maroon shirt found at Whiskey River Saloon – Had potential DNA from Rudisell
Purple shirt found at Whiskey River Saloon – DNA found was potentially from Hunsberger
Several blood spots in the Whiskey River Saloon parking lot were swabbed and tested for DNA – DNA in various spots was potentially from Hunsberger, Cauwell, Rudisell and Julian Suarez
During cross-examination, the defense asked White he would be able to go back and test for more potential DNA on items. White agreed that it could be done but he had not done that for this case.
Marine Murder Trial: Forensic pathologist, CSI takes witness stand
Dr. Boyd was called to the stand following White by the state.
Dr. Boyd, who is a general surgeon at Shannon Medical Center was called to the hospital for a stab victim on the night of Oct. 2, 2022. When he arrived, he first began assessing Rudisell’s injury. He told the jury that by the time he arrived, medical personnel performed triage by checking his breathing, airways, circulation and vitals.
“From the reports, he was tachycardic,” he explained, stating Rudisell was sweating and confused. Rudisell was also hypertensive, meaning his blood pressure was lower than average.
When asked what he did by the state, Dr. Boyd explained how he opened Rudisell’s chest, removed his pericardial sac and began massaging the heart to regain cardiac activity. Dr. Boyd did this for an estimated five minutes.
Dr. Boyd then explained the steps he took when he assessed Casey’s injuries. Since Casey’s injury was similar to Rudisell’s, Dr. Boyd was concerned a vital organ had been punctured in the stabbing.
“His penetrated wound was about an inch lateral to Bryce’s,” he explained. This means that if Casey’s injury was one inch to the right, it could have resulted in the same injury as Rudisell. After probing the estimated two-inch deep wound, Casey was sent to have a C.T. scan done to ensure his vital organs were not pierced in the stabbing.
When the state questioned if a knife could be used as a deadly weapon, Dr. Boyd agreed.
Dr. Boyd further explained a hematoma and dislocated left thumb. Despite the state asking if the dislocated thumb could be caused by someone else hitting or kicking someone, the defense asked if the injury could be caused by falling to the ground. Dr. Boyd agreed to both.
The last set of injuries talked about was the ones that Hunsberger sustained. Similar to Cauwell, Hunsberger had multiple lacerations on his head along with his right forearm and hand. After he spoke about these injuries, the state asked Dr. Boyd if a glass mug could cause serious bodily injury. The doctor agreed.
Marine Murder Trial: Jury selected, trial begins
The last witness called by the state on April 4 was Cody Coombs. Coombs told the courtroom that he was at Whiskey River Saloon on the night of Oct. 2 with a few of his friends. Although he did not see the fight that took place within the bar, he witnessed and videoed the fight that took place in the parking lot just minutes later.
Coombs shared that after he took the video, he noticed an individual in a black shirt with “5%” in red writing on it. “The one person who did stick out was a big bald male,” Coomb said. He further explained that this individual had a knife in his hand whenever he watched and slowed down the video.
As jurors watched the video, they could hear one of Coombs friends yell, “That’s my boy Ray, that’s my boy Ray in the white shirt,” as the man Coombs described could be seen holding a knife.
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