Thomas Weeks testifies on his own behalf during murder trial

May 15—MOULTRIE — Thomas Weeks testified on his own behalf during the second day of his murder trial Wednesday, claiming he was only shooting defensively and not offensively.

Weeks is on trial for the murder for John Taylor who died on Feb. 7, 2022, from multiple gunshot wounds.

On the first day of the trial, the State called six witnesses who were questioned and cross-examined, leaving three for the second day: the spouse of the deceased and two more law enforcement officers.

Being the sole witness for the defense, Weeks' had to wait until after the prosecutor finished calling witnesses before he could testify.

During her time on the stand, Rebecca Taylor, spouse of the deceased as well as the sister of Thomas Weeks and daughter to Jeffrey Weeks, primarily spoke of her day leading up to the incident, which she said included abuse to both her and the children from John Taylor.

Investgator Will Pierce with the Colquitt County Sheriff's Office gave testimony as he was called on scene after the Norman Park Police Department realized the severity of the situation.

Once he arrived, Pierce's primary role was locating all parties, including the deceased's wife and children who were at other residences on the family stead; securing the area, including the gun confiscated from Jeffrey Weeks; and requesting the assistance of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

When GBI Special Agent Jalisa Williams arrived, the case was formally passed over and she became the primary investigator; therefore, she was also called to testify during the trial.

Admitted into court was the audio recording of the primary interview between Thomas Weeks, Williams and CCSO's Investigator Ronald Jordan.

Beginning approximately 5:30 a.m., the interview took place roughly six hours after the incident occurred.

In the audio, Weeks' can be heard describing in detail the events on that evening and his involvement in the death of Taylor.

Weeks' stated his sister, Rebecca Taylor, had come to his house looking for a place for her and the children to sleep due to an altercation with her husband. He said she described the events of the fight, which had lasted throughout the entire day, to both him and their father.

In the recording, Weeks is heard describing how his father, after hearing her story, took his revolver and got on a golf cart to head up the lane on the family's homestead to the mobile home John Taylor was in.

During his time on the stand, Weeks didn't change this portion of the story; however, what happened next was told with two variations.

Weeks testified he did not go inside his home before following his father on foot up the lane, but Rebecca Taylor had testified her brother retrieved a .22 long rifle from the house before walking off.

Claiming to have only gone after his father to protect him if the situation called for it, Weeks adamantly claimed he had no intention to begin an altercation or use his weapon.

Jeffrey Weeks was first inside the mobile home, Thomas Weeks said, but it was Thomas Weeks who knocked on the bedroom door.

According to Thomas, when he knocked on the bedroom door it swung open due to prior damage; and, he claimed during his examination from the defense attorney that John Taylor was leaning up in the bed facing the door with a revolver pointed directly at Thomas and Jeffrey.

The prosecutor, during cross-examination, questioned Thomas on why he said Taylor was passed out drunk in the bed when the door opened during his initial interview with Williams when now he was saying different.

Thomas replied that he misunderstood the question Williams was asking him — he only assumed Taylor was asleep due to the light being off and the time being around 11:30 p.m.

Another debated topic during the trial were if the lights were on or not during the incident.

Thomas Weeks claimed on the stand all lights to the home were off when they arrived, but when he walked in he turned the living room lights on, which cast into the bedroom; however, as pointed out and questioned by the prosecutor, during his initial interview Weeks stated it was too dark to see anything because no lights were on.

Thomas Weeks said once Taylor was awake and standing, the three had a short interchange of words before shots were fired. Jeffrey Weeks had answered Taylor's confusion of why they were there to confront him about the day's prior actions.

Thomas Weeks claimed Taylor became belligerent and walked up to them, holding the pistol point blank at him and his father while yelling at them to get out.

Weeks testified he next heard the sound of a gun and saw the sparks from the firing pin.

Not knowing who shot or what was hit as all parties were armed, Weeks claimed he dove behind the bed and was shot in the upper arm while we was trying to find cover.

Firing five rounds from his .22 rifle, which he did admit to having with him when he entered the residence, Week's explained in court how he lifted his gun above his head and, holding it with both hands, fired toward the sound of the revolver.

Weeks said he did not aim to injure or kill, only to respond fire as he was being shot at.

Weeks said his rifle jammed, and once it stopped shooting he noticed Taylor had stopped shooting too. He dropped his rifle, walked over Taylor's unmoving body and left the residence where he called 911 and waited outside with his father.

According to Weeks, when asked by the prosecutor, the whole exchange took only three minutes.

Before the judge called for a recess until Thursday morning, both the prosecutor and defense rested.

Attorneys will make closing statements Thursday morning before the case is turned over to the jury.