UPDATE (4:00 PM)
Defense will begin its case tomorrow.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 2, 2019
Jurors have been released for the day and will return tomorrow. #MarkSieversTrial
Judge Kyle denied the defense's motion for acquittal, saying not all conspirators have to communicate with each other in a conspiracy charge.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 2, 2019
Mummert says the only evidence of conspiracy came from "the lips of Curtis Wright."
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 2, 2019
Mummert says a judgment for acquittal should be granted for this reason. Adding, that the only evidence presented is circumstantial evidence.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 2, 2019
Mummert says there is insufficient substantial evidence.
The defense is addressing the indictment of conspiracy.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 2, 2019
Defense attorney Michael Mummert says they have not heard any evidence that Mark Sievers in any way conspired with Jimmy Rodgers.
The state has rested its case for the #MarkSieversTrial.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 2, 2019
Court is now addressing motions.
Defense now cross-examining.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 2, 2019
Mummert asked Dr. Coyne what type of hammer was used to strike Teresa.
Dr. Coyne says it's hard to say.
UPDATE (2:25 PM) -- Next on the stand is Kimberly Torres, a neighbor of the Sievers Family for six years.
Torres says she overheard Teresa and Mark Sievers arguing.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 2, 2019
Torres says he overheard Teresa say "I'm tired of this, I'm leaving."
Torres says Mark replied, "if that's what you want to do that's fine but we'll see about that."
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UPDATE (1:55 PM) -- Next on the stand is Daniele Berardelli of Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has been friends with Teresa Sievers since they were teenagers.
Berardelli says she flew to FL after finding out Teresa had died, and she shared a hotel room with Teresa's sister, Anne Lisa.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 2, 2019
Berardelli says Mark Sievers went to go see her at the hotel she was staying at.
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UPDATE (1:35 PM) -- Following lunch, the next witness on the stand is Bethany Mitchell, a physician who was a close friend of Teresa Sievers and her family for 19 years.
Mitchell says she and Teresa confided on each other, as did Mark Sievers.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 2, 2019
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UPDATE (12:10 PM) -- Addressing some concerns before lunch, Judge Kyle asked the state and defense if they are waiving sequestration for the guilt phase. Both agreed.
Court is scheduled to resume at 1:20 p.m.
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UPDATE (11 AM) -- Taylor Shomaker, the former girlfriend of Jimmy Rodgers, is the third witness on the stand Monday. She also testified against Rodgers back in October.
Shoemaker says at one point during the night before the wedding, Sievers, Wright, and Rodgers went into a bedroom to have a private conversation.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 2, 2019
Shoemaker says when she met Mark Sievers she thought he was "kind of a pervert."
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 2, 2019
Mummert asked Shoemaker if she recalls saying she saw a hammer with a ball end on both sides inside of the cooler.
Shoemaker replied, yes.
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UPDATE (9:55 AM) -- The 2nd Witness of the day is Sherri Fentress of the FBI DNA Case Work Unit.
Fentress says the hair collected from the jumpsuit was compared with a buccal swab collected from Jimmy Rodgers.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 2, 2019
The result was that Jimmy Rodgers could not be excluded as the source of that hair, said Fentress.
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FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The state's final witnesses are expected to be called to the stand on Monday in the trial of Mark Sievers for the murder of Teresa Sievers.
Mark is accused of hiring two men to kill his wife Teresa for insurance money in 2015.
The first witness of the day is Linda Otterstater of the FBI Trace Evidence Unit. She focuses on fiber and hair trace evidence.
Tapping, vacuuming, picking, and scrapping are all ways that trace evidence can be collected, says Otterstatter.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 2, 2019
Trace evidence is then examined through a microscope to identify the characteristics of the evidence, and see if it is a fiber or hair.
Her conclusion was that the fibers collected from Teresa's body, kitchen floor, and Hyundai Elantra were consistent with the fibers collected from the Doe Run jumpsuit recovered from the roadway.
— Sandra Rodriguez (@SandraR_media) December 2, 2019
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