Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Roanoke County jury hears details of lawyer's death in murder trial
Testimony described the suspect's actions and whereabouts in the hours before the hit-and-run
Jeffery Martin Young’s trial on murder charges in the death of attorney Tom Farrell continued this morning, as Roanoke County prosecutors filled in details on the whereabouts and actions of both men in the hours prior to the fatal hit-and-run.
A Roanoke County police officer recalled having two encounters with Young at the Country Store at the corner of Starkey Road and Penn Forest Boulevard early Jan. 28, 2008, once at 3 a.m., then again at 3:45 a.m. The first time, Young’s white Jeep was parked in an adjoining lot. The second time, Young stayed in the store about 45 minutes but didn’t buy anything. When the officer asked Young to leave the store, he became upset but eventually went outside.
A beer truck driver testified he saw Young pacing back and forth beside his Jeep in the Country Store parking lot about 4:45 a.m. Half an hour later, the Jeep was no longer in its parking spot.
Farrell, a habitual jogger and swimmer, had a session of swim training scheduled at the Carter Athletic Center at North Cross School that morning. The general manager of the center said she pulled in at 5:20 a.m. and saw Farrell’s car in the parking lot with his business clothes still in it. At 6 a.m., when Farrell didn’t show up for his training session, his instructor thought it odd because he was usually so punctual, but gave it little more note until a friend of Farrell’s wife came there looking for him about an hour later.
According to testimony, at about 5:45 a.m. on Springlawn Avenue, David Booth was surprised by a knock on his door. He opened it to find Sue Blades on his doorstep. She asked him to call 911 because she couldn’t get through on her cellphone. As she had turned on to Springlawn to get to a nearby Kroger store, she spotted an object beside the road that she realized was a body.
Police responded to the 911 call at 5:50 a.m. Farrell was found facedown, with a stocking cap he wore lying in a nearby gutter. He had a severe injury to his head and a bruise from a heavy impact above his right hip. Police found no debris from a vehicle on or near his body. Farrell was wearing an orange reflective safety vest and had reflective tape on his running shoes.
Blades testified that as she drove away from the scene after speaking to police, she saw a white or light-colored Jeep pass by, turn around and pass by again, as if the driver was trying to get a look at the scene at the other end of Springlawn.
Looking at pictures of Young’s Jeep that show a dented-in hood and bumper, the officer and truck driver who saw Young at the Country Store both said his Jeep wasn’t damaged in that manner when they observed it.
Prosecutors will continue presenting evidence when the trial resumes this afternoon.
A Roanoke County police officer recalled having two encounters with Young at the Country Store at the corner of Starkey Road and Penn Forest Boulevard early Jan. 28, 2008, once at 3 a.m., then again at 3:45 a.m. The first time, Young’s white Jeep was parked in an adjoining lot. The second time, Young stayed in the store about 45 minutes but didn’t buy anything. When the officer asked Young to leave the store, he became upset but eventually went outside.
A beer truck driver testified he saw Young pacing back and forth beside his Jeep in the Country Store parking lot about 4:45 a.m. Half an hour later, the Jeep was no longer in its parking spot.
Farrell, a habitual jogger and swimmer, had a session of swim training scheduled at the Carter Athletic Center at North Cross School that morning. The general manager of the center said she pulled in at 5:20 a.m. and saw Farrell’s car in the parking lot with his business clothes still in it. At 6 a.m., when Farrell didn’t show up for his training session, his instructor thought it odd because he was usually so punctual, but gave it little more note until a friend of Farrell’s wife came there looking for him about an hour later.
According to testimony, at about 5:45 a.m. on Springlawn Avenue, David Booth was surprised by a knock on his door. He opened it to find Sue Blades on his doorstep. She asked him to call 911 because she couldn’t get through on her cellphone. As she had turned on to Springlawn to get to a nearby Kroger store, she spotted an object beside the road that she realized was a body.
Police responded to the 911 call at 5:50 a.m. Farrell was found facedown, with a stocking cap he wore lying in a nearby gutter. He had a severe injury to his head and a bruise from a heavy impact above his right hip. Police found no debris from a vehicle on or near his body. Farrell was wearing an orange reflective safety vest and had reflective tape on his running shoes.
Blades testified that as she drove away from the scene after speaking to police, she saw a white or light-colored Jeep pass by, turn around and pass by again, as if the driver was trying to get a look at the scene at the other end of Springlawn.
Looking at pictures of Young’s Jeep that show a dented-in hood and bumper, the officer and truck driver who saw Young at the Country Store both said his Jeep wasn’t damaged in that manner when they observed it.
Prosecutors will continue presenting evidence when the trial resumes this afternoon.
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