Zeb Pike, court watcher
Good morning court watchers. This is John Ensslin, legal affairs reporter for the Gazette.
Today I’ll be live blogging from Division 12 where the first-degree murder trial of Marc Thomas Sylvester enters its fifth day.
The jury is about two-thirds of the way through watching a three-hour videotape of an interrogation of Sylvester on Feb. 11, 2009.
That’s two days after authorities recovered the body of Jennifer C. Warren, a 35-year-old Colorado Springs woman who was found shot to death in a field east of Schreiver Air Force Base in eastern El Paso County.
Later today, the jury also is expected to hear testimony from Dr. Sunil Prasher, a forensic pathologist who worked on the autopsy for the El Paso County Coroner’s office. Prasher is flying in from Washington, D.C. to testify.
Right now we’re coming to the crucial part of the video.
The tape shows El Paso Sheriff’s Detective Cliff Porter talking to a sobbing Sylvester. Occasionally, Porter reaches over to touch Sylvester’s shoulder sympathetically as the detective tries to coax out the details of how Warren died.
“I think it was me,” Sylvester sobs. Then moments later he gestures with his arms to show how he held the rifle that killed Warren.
On the tape, Sylvester sits with his face buried in his hands. There are periods when neither man says anything.
“You seem almost relieved,” Porter tells Sylvester. “Your sad. I get that.”
In the courtroom, Porter sits in the witness stand watching the video on a screen behind him. Sylvester sits at the defense table, reading documents.
The tape ends.
Dr. Prasher has arrived and is now testifying. He’s the former associate coroner of El Paso County.
Prasher conducted the autopsy on Warren on Feb. 10, 2009, the day after her body was discovered.
Prasher said Warren had a large gunshot wound to the center of her forehead.
The injury was consistent with a bullet from a high velocity rifle wound, he said. Death would have been immediate, he added.
I’m going to end this live blog here. Watch for a complete story later today on Gazette.com.
Jennifer was a beautiful, smart, loving person. She has been one of my best friends for 15 years. I miss her terribly and I hope the people responsible for her death get what they deserve. Many people hurt every day because of the loss of Jen.