Murder trial day two

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

A local police detective and several forensic experts from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation testified Tuesday in the murder trial of Shawn Jones. A videotape of his confession that he killed his 83-year-old grandmother, Edna LaRue, was also shown in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court.

David Hammonds of BCI&I, a crime scene processor for the agency, testified concerning evidence found at the scene, as well as blood splatter patterns found at the scene.

An expert who has processed more than 1,000 crime scenes, Hammonds also collected DNA samples from Jones and his mother, Joette, since they were the only ones at the victim’s residence when 9-1-1 and Life Alert calls were made.

Van Wert Police Detective Sgt. Jeffrey Blackmore — the lead investigator in the case — testified about local investigative efforts into Mrs. LaRue’s murder and also about the confession Jones made to police during an interrogation that also included Sgt. James Haggerty.

Blackmore also noted that he did a follow-up interview with the victim’s husband, Dale, who told him about the missing coins and of finding a coin bank and the victim’s checkbook in her van, which the defendant had been driving. In addition, the phones taken from the LaRue home were found in the console of the van, along with the bank, as well as a Walmart Coinstar machine receipt for $69.64.

Local detectives obtained video from the local Walmart store and from Point Marathon in Delphos, where Jones had also allegedly been the day of Mrs. LaRue’s murder to confirm his whereabouts that day.

In the security photos, the defendant was wearing a yellow Tommy Hilfiger t-shirt that was also recovered by police.

Blackmore testified that Jones was accompanied by a friend, Robert Albright, who he picked up at 10:30 the morning of the murder. During an interview with Albright, Jones allegedly told his friend when he picked him up that he had “done something bad” and just killed his grandma.

Following that admission, however, the two men went to Walmart, then to Aaron’s Rental and then ate at the Golden Corral restaurant in Lima. The two then went to Point Marathon and a “tractor place” before returning to Van Wert and finally to the victim’s Sunrise Court residence, where Albright saw Mrs. LaRue’s body lying on the floor. There was apparently some talk between Jones and Albright about disposing of her body, Blackmore said, but no action was taken.

Jones’ confession was also played, in which he admitted unwrapping the clock cord from around his grandmother’s neck. He also tried to explain Mrs. LaRue’s blood on his pants and shoes, saying his grandmother had a nosebleed and some of her blood got on his pants, which he changed and threw out in the garage.

Under questioning by Sgt. Haggerty, the defendant repeatedly denied killing his grandmother, but finally broke down and confessed after Haggerty said,

“You know what you did, we know what you did, and it’s going to eat at you,” Haggerty told Jones. “Show you have a heart.”

Jones then told in the videotaped session how he assaulted Mrs. LaRue and choked her to death in a fit of anger.

Prior to the playing of the video, defense attorney Scott Gordon tried again to get the confession suppressed, but Judge Charles Steele denied the motion.

The final three witnesses of the day were BCI&I forensic scientists Peter James Tassi Jr., Emily Miller and Julie Cox.

All three testified to their roles in testing items from the crime scene that were submitted to their lab. Cox noted that blood had been found on a number of Jones’ clothing items, including his shoes, and a white alarm clock whose cord allegedly was used to strangle Mrs. LaRue.

Gordon tried to make a point that no blood was found on Jones’ leather belt, which had allegedly been used by him to drag his grandmother around the house.

The trial continues today, with the prosecution likely to rest its case sometime today. If the defense has few witnesses, the trial could be over on Wednesday, with closing arguments by the attorneys the only thing left after both sides’ witnesses are heard.