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Updates a story posted Friday at 3:30 p.m.
SPRINGFIELD – A defense lawyer in Eric Denson's murder trial dismissed the case against his client as sloppy and circumstantial during closing arguments Friday while the prosecutor assured jurors they had more than enough evidence to find him guilty of first-degree murder.
Two images of the 22-year old defendant emerged as lawyers entered a packed courtroom and summed up evidence from his three-week trial: luckless victim or viscous killer.
Citing DNA evidence, surveillance video and eyewitness testimony presented during the trial, District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni said there was overwhelming proof that Denson had stabbed Cathedral High School senior Conor W. Reynolds during a birthday party at the Blue Fusion Bar & Grill last year.
"You now have a better picture than people who were standing next to Conor when he was stabbed," Mastroianni told the jury, which began deliberating late Friday and will continue on Monday.
"You have to look this as a whole, not just the single pieces," he added.
But defense lawyer Harry L. Miles said the murder charge was concocted from false assumptions, unreliable testimony and weak physical evidence gathered by investigators who never considered other suspects.
Prosecution witness usually identified Denson by his clothing, not his face, and even the clothing identifications were contradictory, Miles said.
"Eric Denson was in the wrong place, at the wrong place, at the wrong time, wearing the wrong clothes," Miles said.
Denson, 22, of Springfield, is facing a first-degree murder charge after being accused of stabbing Reynolds on March 13, 2010 after a fight erupted during a private party at the St. James Avenue club.
If convicted on that charge, Denson faces life in prison without parole.
By 9:30 a.m., the courtroom was filled with more than 30 members of the Reynolds and Denson families, most of whom attended the daily trial sessions as well.
Lawyers, court personnel and some of Reynolds's classmates at Cathedral High School also filled the benches, with several dozen spectators standing along the side walls.
Miles began by reminding jurors that Denson is protected by the presumption of innocence, and can only be convicted if prosecutors establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The prosecution's case consists of a "series of links from Mr. Reynolds's neck to Mr. Denson's hand," according to Miles, who added: "Let's talk about how the chain breaks in this case.'
He cited discrepancies in witness accounts, including a statement by Cathedral student Michael Shea that after the stabbing at approximately 11 p.m., Denson ran from the bar to the Racing Mart next door, arriving at 11:04 p.m.
"It's not a four-minute journey," Miles said.
He challenged the DNA blood evidence found in the car that picked up Denson after the stabbing, contending that there was too many unanswered questions as to how got there.
Miles also said the "chaos and confusion" that broke out after the stabbing led to unreliable witness accounts, with only one witness, Michael Shea, claiming to get a good look at the assailant's face.
"And he had two vodka shots" before the stabbing, Miles said.
"There was mass confusion ... and like any of us, the police want to bring order to the chaos as quickly as they can," Miles said.
The result, however, was a "tunnel vision" that focused on Denson, and ignored other potential suspects – including one appearing on the Racing Mart surveillance video 15 minutes after the stabbing wearing a red hat and black jacket similar to Denson's.
For his part, Mastroianni said Denson was not just linked to the crime by surveillance video and Reynolds's friends, but by his own friends, too.
"When the panicked screaming started inside the bar, who came flying out the door? Eric Denson," Mastroianni said, referring to testimony from a woman whose brother played basketball with Denson.
Moments later, the same witness heard someone yell: What the (obscenity) E, you better run," Mastroianni said.
Two of Denson's friends testified that he jumped in their car right after the stabbing and asked to be dropped off at a nearby street corner. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets and hardly spoke at all, Mastroianni told jurors.
As for witnesses who failed to identify Denson in photo arrays, Mastroianni said they saw photos of a younger Denson with more facial hair, as opposed to the 20 year old with close-cropped hair.
Different estimates of Denson's height can be explained by his slumped posture and oversized coat; his shifting posture as he stabbed Reynolds, then was grabbed and thrown out of the bar; and the varying sizes of the people who identified him, Mastroianni said. Despite questions about the DNA blood evidence, the defense's own expert witness confirmed most of the key findings made by police investigators, Mastroianni said.
Mastroianni told jurors they should find the attack on Reynolds's was premeditated and inflicted conscious suffering - two elements necessary to prove first degree murder.
"Take a look at the muscle on the side of your neck – that's a big muscle," the district attorney said. "It was cut straight through, and the jugular vein is severed so it just curls up and pours blood," he said.
"He's feeling the blood run through his fingers and run down his elbow. He's drowning.
He's looking around from one side to the other ... as his lungs fill up with blood," he said.
"That's conscious suffering," Mastroianni said.
"Did a short guy do it? Did a tall guy do it? Eric Denson did it."
Staff reporter Stephanie Barry contributed to this report.