Published: November 29, 2009 11:09 pm      

Attorneys due closing statements in trial

 

After a week-long recess due to the Thanksgiving holidays, the capital murder trial of Jerry Duane Martin will resume at 9 a.m. today at the Leon County Courthouse in Centerville.

Martin is on trial for his escape from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Wynne Unit on Sept. 24, 2007, which resulted in the death of TDCJ corrections officer Susan Canfield.

Fellow inmate John Ray Falk also escaped from the unit, exchanging gunfire with Canfield on the site of the adjacent Huntsville City Service Center, as Martin stole a city vehicle and ran it into Canfield’s horse, causing the officer’s death.

The two inmates were eventually captured, but not before leading law enforcement officers on a cross-town chase, stealing another vehicle and kidnapping its driver along the way.

Defense attorneys closed their case on Nov. 20 with closing statements from both sides expected to begin today.

State District Court Judge Kenneth H. Keeling will then read a charge to the jury before they start deliberations.

The trial began Nov. 12, with Walker County District Attorney David Weeks and his team calling about 20 witnesses to the stand, including Canfield’s husband Charles Canfield and Dr. Tracy Dyer, the Dallas County medical examiner who conducted Pat Canfield’s autopsy.

“It was clear she had an injury to her head,” Dyer said. “There was a large area abrasion and laceration as well as a visible skull fracture.

“Bruises were located on the victim’s hands, arms, trunk and buttocks.”

Also taking the stand during four days of state testimony were officers from the TDCJ Wynne Unit, the Huntsville Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety – all of whom were witnesses to the escape or involved in the pursuit and capture of Martin and Falk.

 “Martin had gotten into the truck and accelerated, heading right into Canfield,” TDCJ Officer Phillip Lynch said. “Then he stopped the truck to pick up Falk — he had to run around the truck to get in.

“I know Martin was accelerating because I saw it, I heard it,” he added. “Martin hit (Canfield) and her horse, both she and the horse flew up and Canfield hit the truck, before they both went over onto the ground.”

The defense, led by attorney William Carter, began their case Nov. 18, bringing to the stand about 10 witnesses, including TDCJ Wynne Unit inmates, lead investigator Mark Cole of the Office of the Inspector General and veterinarian Richard Posey.

“I interviewed more than 75 people, including city employees, TDCJ officers and inmates,” Cole said. “I was charged with securing the weapons involved before we turned them over to DPS.”

Also testifying were members of the DPS Accident Reconstruction Team, asked by Texas Rangers to do complete a forensic mapping of scenes surrounding the escape, including the Huntsville City Service Center where Canfield was killed.

“We had all the equipment with us needed to do a complete accident reconstruction,” DPS Trooper David Daley testified. “All we were told to do was the forensic mapping.”

The seven-woman, five-man jury will have heard seven days of testimony in the trial before entering into deliberations today.

If Martin is found guilty, the trial will then enter into the sentencing phase.