Jerrita Patterson
WHNT NEWS 19 Shoals Reporter
1:34 PM CST, December 8, 2010
LAUDERDALE COUNTY, AL
Nearly two years after a deadly shooting in the Shoals, the man accused of carrying out the crime is brought to trial Tuesday. David Darryl Thompson, 49, is the alleged triggerman in the murder of Melissa Garrett.
Thompson originally told police his on-again, off-again girlfriend committed suicide at her home off County Road 63 in Killen back in February of 2009. But investigators paint a different picture and so does the autopsy. Tuesday, prosecutors brought in evidence contradicting Thompson's account of what happened on that cold February night, in which prosecutors say Thompson carried out a cold-blooded killing.
Prosecutors submitted the couch Melissa Garrett died on into evidence in front of 12 jurors. Attorney Will Powell told jurors the couch will tell the truth on what happened. And it's that truth Melissa Garrett's father, Bill Kenney, is hoping will be unveiled.
"I want to see justice done," said Kenney. "I don't know what happened, I wasn't there."
But someone who was there, to hear what investigators say was a domestic dispute that turned deadly, was the victim's 12-year-old daughter. Kenney says having to relive the incident is devastating for his granddaughter.
"You don't want to go back and relive what happened two years ago when you are trying to get over it," said Kenney. "But when you are trying to get some closure, that's the way it is."
Lawyers on both side admit cocktails and cocaine played a part in the deadly shooting. Despite Kenney having to hear about his daughter's flagrant flaws, he remembers her during happier times.
"Melissa was a unique individual," said Kenney. "She was strong in ways and weak in ways."
The trial is expected to resume on Wednesday. David Thompson is currently out of jail, on $50,000 bond.
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