Before court officially began Judge Barron dismissed one juror, not for anything he had done wrong but because of statements made by a neighbor of his and rather than leave the verdict with any sign of impropriety he was replaced with an alternate and sent home.
DA Paul Frasier delivered his closing arguments which included a power point presentation. The defense will begin their closing statements at 1PM and I will try to provide a narrative of both later this afternoon.
Frasier began by explaining that the State does not believe McGuffin planned to kill Freeman but that the volatility of the relationship got out of hand, McGuffin panicked and went about trying to cover up his actions. He laid out a timeline of events, including witness sightings and contradictory statements made by the defendant during the days following her disappearance. He pointed out that McGuffin was aware of details of an argument at the Mitchell house between the hours of 7 and 9 PM that he could only have learned from the victim. McGuffin maintains he never saw Freeman again after 7 PM.
As Frasier laid out the evening of June 28, 2000 McGuffin became tearful, he was exhaling heavily and at one point was rubbing the back of his neck and it appeared his hands were trembling.
More later.
