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November 6, 2008

State rests case

Jurors in Smalley capital murder trial view medical evidence

By Angela Weatherford Associate Editor

Prosecutors rested Wednesday in Judge Dan Moore’s 173rd District Court after shedding more light on a local man’s death on Sept. 1, 2007.

According to a medical examiner’s testimony, Tony D. Moore was violently beaten and strangled. His body also showed signs of being dragged after he had died.

While Moore’s family sat crying during the testimony, Edward Ray Smalley — charged with capital murder in Moore’s death — sat between his attorneys expression-less, occasionally looking at a screen projecting photos.

If found guilty, Smalley could receive life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors claim Moore and Smalley were in a violent fight that moved from inside a house on Clinton Street to the yard. While in the yard, Smalley killed Moore and dragged him inside the house where he was found on Sept. 3, 2007.

Smalley has claimed he killed Moore in self defense.

Assistant District Attorney Barry Spencer used Wednesday to disprove claims made by Smalley in an interrogation video. The video was shown to the jury Tuesday.

During questioning, Smalley told Athens Police Department Corporal Greg Hill and Detective Sgt. Charles Gurley that Moore hit him over the head with a flashlight and stabbed him in the top of the head with a white Bic pin.

Smalley told police that just prior to the altercation, Moore had been groping and trying to kiss him. During that altercation, Smalley knocked Moore out a couple of times, according to the interrogation video.

“Mr. Ed please, please Mr. Ed,” Smalley remembered Moore saying when he was laying in the foyer of his house after the fight.

“Strangulation is what terminated his life,” Medical Examiner Tracy Dyer said Wednesday. “There would have been no communication afterward.

Dyer said enough pressure was exerted on Moore’s neck that the deep muscles and the hyoid bone were bruised and fractured. Although the cause of death was listed as strangulation, Dyer also pointed out several extensive bruises to the face and head.

Spencer presented DNA evidence Wednesday showing only Smalley’s DNA was found on the flashlight. DNA analyst Trisha Kacer said Moore was excluded as a contributor to skin cells found on the flashlight.

However, only a partial DNA profile could be taken from the flashlight due to degradation, Kacer said.

Gurley testified he was one of the officers who inspected Smalley’s gray Isuzu truck. During Smalley’s interrogation, he said he threw the white Bic pen that was used to stab him in the head into the bed of his truck.

“To my knowledge there was no pen in that truck,” Gurley said.

“If you saw a pen in the back of a truck with blood or dried blood on it would collect it?” Spencer asked.

“It would definitely be collected,” Gurley answered.

Co-defense attorney John Scott asked Gurley if there was any chance he might have over looked a pen in the back of truck.

“Well, I’ve been doing this for awhile,” Gurley said, “and I am usually pretty thorough.”

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