Photo shows Cullman City Police Lt. Jody Martin being cross-examined by the defense.
CULLMAN – Day two of the trial of the man accused of murdering Helen June Mayo, 87, stretched past 5 p.m. today, with the prosecution still going strong. Day three is expected to be more of the same.
Emmett Leroy Davis, 57, of Arab is accused of murder in the death of Mayo, who was allegedly violently attacked in her Cullman home in Dec. 2012. Mayo died of her injuries in Jan. 2013 at UAB Hospital.
The full last half of the day saw Cullman City Police Lt. Jody Martin on the stand, where he was led meticulously through evidence that was collected at Mayo's home after the alleged attack. There were raw moments as bloody items from the scene were shown to the jury.
After Martin painstakingly detailed the evidence collection process for the prosecution, the defense came out ready to discredit Martin and collection techniques used by him and the department. Defense Attorney Greg Johnson did his best to create doubt, entering into evidence several photos of items he said that investigators should have processed, but, he surmised, "they only focused on Mr. Davis as a suspect."
The indictment against Davis alleges that he struck Mayo in the head and face "with a firearm and/or other deadly weapon and/or dangerous instrument."
Davis was again mostly stoic today, sitting quietly at the defense table, but without the dark glasses he wore all day Monday.
Day two of the trial came to a close around 5:20 p.m.
Cullman County Circuit Court Judge Martha Williams is presiding over the proceedings, which are set to resume at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
