ATLANTA — Testimony got underway Thursday in the trial of two men accused of murdering a man near the Atlanta BeltLine.
Joggers found his body in northeast Atlanta along Elizabeth Street, just feet from the popular trail.
The judge ended up sending the jury home early on Thursday, but not before they heard some compelling testimony.
During opening statements, the state said they have text messages and surveillance videos that prove the two defendants are guilty, while the defense told jurors that this is a rush to judgment case and the real killer was not in the courtroom
Demetrice Ross and his codefendant Brandon Williams are on trial for murder and attempted robbery after investigators say the two men shot and killed 60-year-old Tom Arnold near the BeltLine in February 2022.
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“He was the victim of an unjustified shooting to the head that took his life,” prosecutor Kelcee Jones-Connor told the jury.
Friends and relatives of the defendants and the victim sat on opposite sides of the courtroom as they listened to the prosecution and defense deliver their opening statements to members of the jury Thursday morning.
“There was a rushed police investigation. They relied on limited information, on unreliable witnesses,” defense attorney Michael Norman said.
“This is a case of whodunnit. We don’t know whodunnit. Mr. Ross doesn’t know whodunit. Mr. Williams doesn’t know whodunnit. The state doesn’t know whodunnit,” defense attorney Ferleria Hemingway said.
Prosecutors said Arnold was walking home from Inman Park after a night out with his friends when he crossed paths with Williams and Ross at Elizabeth Street and Bernina Avenue.
Investigators say the two tried to rob him and then shot him once in the head.
“They are together on the video before the shooting,” Jones-Connor said.
No one knew what had happened until the following morning when police say two joggers discovered his body and then called 911.