Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Charlotte, NC: Mead murder trial is under way

Opening arguments began Tuesday morning in the case of a man accused of shooting his fiancée and burning her Gaston County house to the ground in 2008.

Prosecutor Robert Forbes described the defendant, Michael Mead, as a man unhappy about his fiancee's pregnancy -- and a man who killed Lucy Johnson in a brutal way.

"In addition to being shot in the back of the head ... she was raped and robbed of an engagement ring," Forbes said. "Then gasoline was poured around her, around her bed and down the stairs and her bed was torched."

But a defense attorney told jurors that Johnson gave the biggest clue about her killer.

Lisa Dubs told friends and family members that tensions had been rising with James Spelock, the father of Johnson's infant son, Cason.

Dubs said Johnson told a friend, "Remember what I said. If something happens to me, James Spelock did it. "

Mead, charged with murder, rape and arson in the July 2008 death of 31-year-old Lucy Johnson, is on trial in Mecklenburg County. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Dubs sought a dismissal in the case earlier this month, citing an arson report from the Charlotte Fire Department that was never turned over by the district attorney's office. But the judge ordered the trial to go ahead.

Mead, 42, is accused of killing Johnson - his fiancée who was pregnant with his child - and burning down her house in Cramerton to cover the crime. Prosecutors said Mead's DNA was found in Johnson's body at the crime scene.

The trial was moved to Mecklenburg in 2010 because of concerns that Mead could not get a fair trial in Gaston County.

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