Bloomington, IN— A crammed courtroom heard the closing statements this morning in the barrel murder trial. Emotions were not in absence as the victims’ family members filled half the room, and as the prosecutor and defense attorney delivered their passionate statements.
Jerry E. Pelfree, 52 is being tried for the murder of both Doug Brown and Everett Shaw. Both men were shot to death and their remains dumped into 55-gallon and 35-gallon drums, respectively.
“I kill people,” were the first words of prosecutor, Jeff Kehr’s statement. That statement was uttered by Pelfree to his cellmate when asked what he does when he gets angry.
Kehr also explained that Pelfree had three rules; don’t lie, don’t steal and don’t mess with his family. According to Kehr both victims, Brown and Shaw, violated every one of these rules.
The anger of Pelfree was exemplified by the prosecutor by playing the phone call Pelfree exchanged with his daughter from jail in which he yelled, “If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be in this god**** place to start with, b****.”
Evidence possibly pointing to Pelfree’s guilt was then briefly highlighted such as the couch that would have possibly contained the bullets, yet Pelfree burnt it. The testimony’s of the two witnesses that reported helping Pelfree put the victims bodies in barrels.
Kehr stated however, that “the bottom line is you don’t cross Jerry Pelfree. . . If you cross Jerry Pelfree, he kills you and puts you in barrels to rot.”
Defense attorney, Ron Chapman began by explaining this is a “big CSI case” due to the amount of money and expertise spent on the DNA testing and other evidentiary causes. However, the money spent still could not supply sufficient evidence to indict Pelfree, according to Chapman.
Chapman highlighted the lack of DNA found on Pelfree’s carpet in which witnesses explained there was a pool of blood spilled yet only drops could be detected from the testing. And the absence of blood found on the saws that Pelfree apparently used to fit the victims in the barrels.
The lack of thoroughness by the detectives was also highlighted by the defense. The police failed to search the two witnesses property for any evidence, which, Chapman argued, meant the police must have figured Pelfree was the guilty part since the only searched his residence.
Chapman concluded that he knows Jerry Pelfree “looks gruff and sounds gruff” but that is not “a reason to find a man guilty.” He concluded with reminding the jurors that, “This is a decision you’re going to have to live with forever.”
The jurors then dismissed, and currently no verdict has been reached.
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