- 6 months ago
Active-duty Army Sergeant Demarcus Little is on trial for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Anitra Gunn. Little has decided to testify in his own defense to tell the jury he would never harm his "soulmate." Will the jury see Demarcus as an innocent upstanding soldier or send him to prison for life?
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00:00it's incredibly rare for murder defendants to take the stand the risk very few take at stake
00:18their freedom or even their lives this is demarcus little a staff sergeant in the u.s. army
00:30charged with the murder of anitra gun his on-again-off-again girlfriend you've dumped your
00:36soulmate like garbage in the middle of the woods didn't sir don't know he's decided to testify on
00:43his own behalf can he sway the jury and convince them of his innocence i think no or will this
00:49decision ultimately be his undoing they still have problems every relationship has problems
00:55take a courtside seat through the eyes of the friend of both the victim and defendant i love
01:04them both deeply and i don't want him to have done it but i do want us to find out the lead
01:11investigator the podcaster who covered the case no one wants to believe that someone supposed to
01:17serve and protect would actually commit such a heinous crime the legal analyst and the team of
01:24prosecutors this was very much a circumstantial case the problem is that jurors really love direct
01:31evidence i'm dan abrams and this is taking the stand raise your right do you solemnly swear i'm being
01:38honest with everything i say to you do solemnly swear the whole truth and nothing but the i would
01:43like to testify the testimony you are about the truth and nothing but the truth so how you got
01:49when you have a college student missing everyone is fearful is there a serial killer out there
02:15everyone's taking precautions and everyone is searching for anitra anyone with information
02:20about guns whereabouts is asked to call the fort valley police department immediately i was like no
02:27like in denial complete then i was like no when sir is that you say that you saw anitra last
02:35and your soulmate your girlfriend walked out of the house because she's on
02:46demarcus little a 23 year old active duty soldier in the u.s army stands accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend
03:00and anitra gun a student at fort valley state university anitra age 22 went missing on february
03:0814 2020 the state is charged little with felony murder and aggravated assault they contend he
03:14murdered anitra at his aunt's house and then dumped her body in a heavily wooded area in the early
03:21morning of bedware 14 valentine said marcus said for his heart out to the and she spurned demarcus little
03:31then struck anitra hit her and shot dead strangled with his hands they've also charged him with malice
03:41murder which is unique to the state of georgia they believe he intentionally caused her death
03:47as he's choking her and squeezing the life out of her he had plenty of time to stop that's intent
03:55that is malice if he's found guilty he'll be serving a life sentence without parole
04:01in a georgia prison but the defense maintains that the state simply got the wrong man
04:06and whatever evidence they may have against him is completely circumstantial
04:13it makes no sense i mean how do you kill somebody and choke them presumably in a bedroom
04:20on a bed and you're leaving no trace evidence no blood nothing if demarcus little is convicted
04:34for taking her life do you allow the real killer
04:42every relationship would have a problem we all know that if someone was scared
04:45them they would stay away from you one of them came back
04:50i knew demarcus since high school he always had a girlfriend he was one of those people who
04:57loved love i guess demarcus and anitra met sometime in 2019 demarcus little was the sergeant in the army
05:07he was stationed at fort gordon and as a supply sergeant he was in the supervisory role of younger
05:15soldiers after her mother passed away that is when anitra moved with her father in atlanta
05:22being in fort valley was like a whole new world anitra gun was my best friend really really likable
05:31person she was so sweet and she was goofy anitra lache gun was a senior at fort valley state university
05:43majoring in agriculture however she had kind of wanted to go a different way
05:51yay yay she changed her major to performance
05:54i think what grabbed the interest of anitra and demarcus together would be music i think they
06:03bonded over making songs together
06:13just like yeah i like i like demarcus i was like okay girl you know do your thing
06:18i think he found himself in love but she didn't want the relationship as much as demarcus did they
06:29will break up and then she will go back and it was kind of that cycle on the night of february 13 2020
06:38after the recent breakup of their five-month relationship they both found themselves attending
06:43this same party on carver drive in fort valley also in attendance were anitra's friend india head
06:50india's brother tracy and another friend javon abrin did you guys actually get to the party yes ma'am
06:59and when you saw anitra there that night did she say anything to you yes ma'am she right
07:07towards the end of the night there was some sort of scuffle with a different group of people who were at
07:11that party at which point this core group of friends decided it was kind of time to leave
07:17did anitra leave with you no do you know how anitra was going to get home that night
07:23she's like i'm gonna go with d i was like no don't go with d because i didn't want her to fall back
07:29into the pattern and do you remember where you went after the party we went to her house and dropped
07:39them off and into the box who did you drop off there miss gun and mr little ended up going to
07:49her house switching vehicles and she and him went to a waffle house they left there and went back to
07:56his aunt's house february 14 2020 started out normally enough family and friends exchanged happy
08:05valentine's day text messages with anitra but as the day progressed david scoot howard a man anitra had
08:12been casually dating began receiving increasingly odd texts mr howard also known as scoot he was a local
08:22barber who met miss gun at a party they'd hit it off and had to spend some time together the night
08:29before she went missing 24 and 5 in the morning uh scoot texted miss gun's phone yeah there was no
08:36reply or anything like that until much later the next day read that message to me at 1109.
08:46but i need to work on myself did anything about this text message strike you as odd
08:52anitra is asking him like where do you live which immediately piques his interest because he's like
09:08she knows where i live so scoot started texting sierra who is anitra's friend and was like what's
09:14going on with anitra she's acting really weird and scoot wasn't the only one receiving messages from
09:21anitra's phone that didn't quite sound like her anitra's friend sierra stewart was too
09:28he takes me and we was going back and forth and it just felt real patient
09:34anitra's phone responds to text messages but those responses don't make any sense
09:42then they stopped receiving texts from anitra's phone altogether it was pouring down raining but i
10:01didn't care i just you know i got in the car i'm going to her house and i'm calling her phone i'm
10:06leaving messages i'm scared i know of what could happen
10:18anitra gun was last seen around 11 a.m on valentine's day gun's father says it's not like
10:25anitra to go hours without speaking to her family
10:28when no one is able to make contact with anitra anitra's father calls in the fort valley police
10:48department to go do a welfare check they actually go out to her house and they don't see her vehicle
10:54and they also don't see anything disturbed like outside her house or any broken windows or anything
10:59like that were other members of your family coalescing to go look for her yes they were
11:08on february 15th there's a huge community search for anitra they're also searching for her car
11:13that's missing and they're searching for her phone when the authorities and the family was looking for anitra
11:19gun demarcus little he actually assisted in the search what's going on yeah yeah yeah yeah you
11:29the boyfriend demarcus little is the one who points out the vehicle that is kind of parked on
11:36this grassy area they realize yes this is anitra's car it was parked behind a vacant residence which
11:45in and of itself is suspicious the front bumper was missing we found saplings under the vehicle
11:51it appeared it had been driven through a heavily brushed area edge boyfriend said that the front end
11:59was fine the other night when they went out to eat when it hurt hard to walk out then you came back
12:06to my aunt's house and she loved um like around like 11 like around 11.30 or something she loved
12:12and she had sent me a text and i responded then getting up i'm trying to figure out why these flies
12:18circling around this trunk there was some concern on my behalf that the uh victim may have been in the
12:28trunk of the vehicle when we opened it she was not
12:33a little bit off my chest at that point when you last saw a wind um yesterday
12:39is he was last seen on it's out west out at 344. although investigators had located anitra's badly
12:47damaged car the bumper was nowhere to be found and anitra gun was still missing there were upwards of
12:55about 100 students that came out to help in several campuses the search efforts were massive
13:03everybody was just hopeful that she would be found alive
13:10a peach county deputy saw tracks that led off into a wooded area that weren't normal
13:15the deputy found a body matching anitra gun's description anitra's body was discovered on february
13:2518th and of course when we discover someone's body in the woods we know that there is clearly foul play
13:32once we located her body we were able to tie the saplings from the vehicle to where her body had been
13:40located we believed based on the evidence that her car had transported her body to that location
13:48the day her body was found i was talking to to marcus and i was like are you okay he didn't say a word
13:57he just sat on the floor and was quiet
14:01i didn't know what to take that ass i'm thinking that he just lost someone that he loved or
14:12or maybe he didn't
14:16did i communicate that the cause of death was manual circulation yes what was the manner of death
14:23no man it was concept when you performed your external examination was there anything of note
14:30i noticed that there was confusion or a bruise on the forehead there was a bruise on the inner surface of
14:36the upper lip there was something called uh scleral hemorrhage which is bleeding into the white parts of the eyes
14:47we always look into anybody who's romantically involved with the victim the two main suspects was mr
14:55howard and mr little howard had no violent criminal history that indicated any type of violent tendencies
15:17whereas mr little had admitted to violent tendencies already
15:21when demarcus little was questioned by authorities he made a surprising confession
15:27about an incident that occurred two weeks earlier at anitra's house
15:41on february 5th nine days before she disappears he slashed her four tires through a brick through her window
15:51i called a landlord and i called him fearing a dishonorable discharge for committing a crime while
15:58on active duty little admitted to anitra that he got upset when he realized another man was in her house
16:05so he vandalized her property she agreed not to report him to police if he paid for the damages
16:11which he did but once anitra went missing friends told police about the altercation
16:17and he quickly became their main suspect david scoote howard was cleared of all suspicion
16:34county deputies confirmed that anitra gunn's boyfriend demarcus little is a person of interest
16:41it wasn't until february 19th that demarcus little was arrested but he wasn't arrested for murder or
16:47for anitra's death he was actually arrested for criminal damage to personal property due to his
16:54admission after the breakthrough in this gun's window we decided to go ahead and charge the criminal
17:00trespass charges to restrict any type of flight and then once anitra was found he was charged with murder
17:10the trial of a man accused of murdering a middle georgia college student is underway anitra gunn went
17:16missing and days later she was found dead sure you could say demarcus was the jealous ex-boyfriend
17:24this got out of hand and something happened it would be pure speculation who killed anitra
17:30was there really an investigation committed to finding out what did they settle on the boyfriend
17:40the most obvious suspect
17:45first thing tomorrow morning there'll be a hearing about whether certain evidence can be heard
17:50according to ada baskin anitra made statements to friends and family about demarcus little and her
17:56relationship with him the defense is calling those statements hearsay but the prosecution will argue
18:02that had she not been killed by the defendant she could testify to those statements herself
18:09the judge actually ruled in the defense favor this was a huge win for the criminal defense side
18:17now as the trial gets underway defense attorney benjamin davis wants to present evidence not just try to
18:24exclude it first he argues that investigators didn't look deeply enough into david scoot howard
18:30and other suspects including another ex-boyfriend who anitra claimed harassed her in the past
18:37this gun did go to the police department to report someone for harassing her correct yes
18:44one of the things you might be able to take from that is this was the state's approach
18:49they locked in on one person and then they used what evidence they could to say well this one person did
18:57it attorney davis tried to create reasonable doubt because the more that you have in a case the more
19:06that the jury should find in favor of the defendant
19:10davis also contends that since no one really knows where or when anitra died that there's no crime scene
19:29but the prosecution has a theory mr little and anitra eventually made their way back to the little's
19:38aunts residence during that early morning mr little strangled anitra put her body in the trunk of her own
19:48car then drove anitra's vehicle to the remote location where he disposed of anitra's body
19:57why would he drive a car in which he could be identified to dump a body in broad data
20:07they didn't even try and see if miss gunn
20:12fit in the trunk with everything she had in the trunk and if she was in there what was the blood
20:18and all of the evidence that would have been left in the trunk if he had choked her to death she would
20:28have defended herself there's no way that there's no scratches on his entire body
20:33that really makes no sense nobody in the house even hearing it thank you shrie tolbert shrie tolbert
20:45went by aunt glock aunt glock is really like a mother figure to demarcus she helped to raise him
20:53after his mom passed away from cancer after talking that's sad and so i went to the door and i saw it
21:00was anitra and demarcus anitra comes in they have a brief conversation she realizes that anitra is
21:07probably going to spend the night there because it's you know now almost four o'clock in the morning
21:11you were at a polling until the early morning of february 14th that right yeah did you ever hear
21:18any commotion in your house that sounded like somebody was being attacked you know did you
21:23ever hear anybody screaming out no going to the stake down she was struck in the face and she
21:29bleeding so some blood would be on the sheets but when you look at obvious uncontroverted evidence
21:38is just not here because they jumped to conclusions aunt glock was scheduled to work at eight o'clock the
21:46next morning and she never saw anitra leave the house he's a street young man anything you can do
21:54for you he's working to do this did you tell the gvi agent that demarcus would never do anything break
22:01your heart he wouldn't you know do anything like that would you buy for him if he did no i would
22:07not not at all but demarcus little is still the most obvious suspect so the defense decides they
22:17need to do more you know the fence calls have standing tomorrow
22:23the defendant has decided to testify with the complete understanding of this rod
22:27demarcus very great you saw this where i'm trying to tell the truth the whole trip to this
22:32south before this time of course it'll be dark i know
22:42you've heard the allegations in this case let me ask you this when did anitra leave you
22:48through my cell phone would you ever be
22:51mr davis is there a reason why mr little needs to wear his mask
22:56take her take her take your mask off okay you described i meet you with your soul name
23:03what do you mean by it's like a lot like mom and it's gonna hurt the best
23:09how have you been coping with the fact that she's no longer
23:13no sir
23:21there are
23:23yeah would you ever take her like no sir would you ever uh kill someone the way that they described
23:34in the home of your aunt?
23:37Yes, sir.
23:39His defense wanted him to take the stand
23:42so that everybody can hear from him
23:44how he felt about her
23:46to make everybody look at him as human
23:50and not like a monster.
23:53That's all I have.
23:55After a very brief direct examination
23:58by his attorney,
23:59Demarcus Little will now face the prosecution's cross.
24:03Will he maintain the demeanor
24:05of an upstanding soldier falsely accused?
24:08Or would he crack under the pressure
24:10of what will be a longer,
24:12far more intense examination by the state?
24:16Anything is passing.
24:18Oh, yeah, passing.
24:19We all knew what was getting ready to come,
24:22and it was Hurricane Dawn.
24:24And we knew then it was on.
24:27First, I want to talk about
24:33yours and Amitra's relationship.
24:36Why did you break her windows
24:38in the middle of the night?
24:40I think, well, I don't know.
24:42I didn't.
24:43You didn't break her windows
24:45when you were happy with her.
24:46You broke her windows
24:47when you thought she was moving on from you, correct?
24:50Did you know that was the...
24:52Why?
24:53No, no.
24:53Was it, I mean, were you like, I don't know,
24:56maybe in a blind rage?
24:58I wasn't yet.
25:00I wanted the full scope of that crime
25:03to be in front of the jury.
25:05He knew she had another man in her home,
25:07and the only way he could have known that
25:09was if he was physically spying on her,
25:11which really would expand
25:13his obsessive nature with her.
25:16The prosecutions argued
25:17that Demarcus Little is a jilted ex-boyfriend
25:20who couldn't deal with Anitra Gunn moving on.
25:23But with no definitive crime scene,
25:26only the location where a body was found,
25:29they'll present evidence
25:30to try to put Demarcus Little
25:31in that heavily wooded area off Greer Road.
25:35The evidence in this case
25:37came down to Demarcus Little.
25:39It was Demarcus Little's statements.
25:41It was Demarcus Little's actions.
25:42It was Demarcus Little's phone.
25:45What we had to do was use each of those pieces
25:48and put it up so that the jury
25:50could see the whole picture.
25:54Mr. Little, I have a number of questions for you.
25:58I'm going to try and see if I can understand
26:01as the evidence that's been put in,
26:03if you can help me understand
26:05how it says one thing
26:07and you're saying something else, okay?
26:10That was your soulmate?
26:12Now, you slashed your soulmate's tires.
26:16Is that correct?
26:18His mom.
26:18You broke your soulmate's window.
26:21His mom.
26:22But she's your soulmate.
26:25When you say something so ridiculous
26:27as that's my soulmate
26:29and then compare that to the statements
26:31that you had made,
26:32the jury was able to see
26:33this is an individual
26:34who's willing to say whatever he thinks
26:36that the jury wants to hear
26:38in order to cover his tracks.
26:40Let's talk about your day on February 14th.
26:43We have your phone.
26:45Your cash locations from 12 to 1
26:49show correctly.
26:51You're standing in the pawn shop.
26:53Yes, ma'am.
26:54Now, let's skip to 220.
26:56Those same cash locations from your phone
26:59show you the length of Target and Walmart,
27:02dad's house, correct?
27:03Those long-waring-lossed by a week,
27:05right home.
27:05Yes, ma'am.
27:06The cell phones in this case
27:08provided us with
27:09a very specific timeline.
27:11So by the end of
27:12him acknowledging
27:14that the phone was correct,
27:15then we began to ask him
27:17about the part
27:17that put him at the location
27:19where Anitra's body was.
27:21And then those same cash locations
27:24which were right
27:25from noon until 1 o'clock
27:28and from 2.20
27:29for the rest of the day,
27:30they then show you
27:31in the woods
27:32off Greer Road, correct?
27:34Don't know.
27:35They don't show you there?
27:37I wasn't in the woods.
27:38Now, that wasn't my question.
27:39My question was,
27:40is do those cash locations
27:42which you just testified
27:43were absolutely accurate
27:45with regards to your whereabouts,
27:48those same cash locations
27:49show you in the woods
27:51off Greer Road, don't they?
27:54Those are inaccurate.
27:56Just those?
27:57Yes.
27:58Because if they were accurate, sir,
28:00they would show you
28:01standing next to the body
28:02of your soulmate, Whitman.
28:06She really dug
28:08into this cell phone location.
28:10She just wanted the jury
28:11to see that he liked
28:13to pick and choose
28:14what was accurate
28:15and what was inaccurate.
28:17Isn't it just like
28:19your phone says
28:20when you got back
28:21in Anitra's car
28:22and you drove it
28:23over ditches
28:25and trees
28:26causing the bumper
28:27to fall out
28:28and you dumped
28:29your soulmate
28:31like garbage
28:32in the middle of the woods
28:33just like your phone
28:34said you did?
28:37Because you would agree
28:38with me that
28:38whoever
28:39put her car
28:41at Bell and Montrose
28:43killed it.
28:43How did the car
28:47get to Bell and Montrose?
28:49Well, we can explain
28:50that here.
28:51You can watch
28:52the phone
28:52literally drive
28:54from the area
28:54where Anitra's body
28:55was disposed of
28:57to where the car
28:58was parked.
29:00That's where
29:00the bumper comes in.
29:02The bumper
29:03fell off
29:04when he was trying
29:05to maneuver
29:06this vehicle
29:07in this tight area
29:08out in the woods.
29:10The prosecution
29:11also hones in
29:12on the odd
29:13text messages
29:14sent from Anitra's
29:15phone
29:15to the man
29:16Anitra had been
29:17casually dating
29:18David Scoot Howard.
29:21Sir, do you know
29:23David Howard
29:23before February 14th
29:252020?
29:25No, ma'am.
29:26I believe that
29:28after Mr. Little
29:29killed Ms. Gunn
29:30and had her phone
29:32and was texting
29:32others
29:33pretending to be her.
29:35You don't know
29:36David Howard.
29:37You certainly don't know
29:38him by the name
29:38Scoot.
29:39Lord knows
29:40you don't know
29:40where he lived
29:41and he didn't
29:41know what he
29:41looked like.
29:42I'm not.
29:44It's a little
29:45let's be straight.
29:48It doesn't make
29:48sense though.
29:51You ever heard
29:51the old saying
29:52simple sexual
29:53interviews
29:54you do the trick?
29:55No, ma'am.
29:59Thank you, Mr. Little.
30:00I don't have any
30:00other questions.
30:02By taking the stand
30:03Demarcus Little
30:05opened the door
30:06for the state
30:07to point the finger
30:08directly at him
30:09as the murderer
30:10of Anitra.
30:11He actually
30:12looked like
30:14a deer
30:15caught in
30:16headlights.
30:17Didn't look great
30:18but it also
30:20did not prove
30:21that he was a
30:21murderer.
30:22He didn't admit
30:23that he was
30:25where Anitra's body
30:26was found.
30:27Through cell phone
30:28data,
30:29the state seems
30:30to connect
30:31Little's phone
30:31to the general
30:33area where
30:34Anitra's body
30:34was found.
30:35But cell phone
30:36data is far from
30:37perfect and can
30:38still leave
30:39open questions.
30:40So the prosecution
30:41hopes to answer
30:42those questions
30:43by calling
30:44Javon Abram,
30:46Little's best friend.
30:47I'm on a race
30:48and a life.
30:49I was in that
30:50like, what's going on?
30:53Now I'm just here.
30:55I'm calling
30:56a door.
30:56Javon Abram.
31:07Javon needed
31:08to say
31:09what happened.
31:10Raise your right hand.
31:12He needed to do
31:13it for Anitra
31:14and he needed
31:14to do it for himself.
31:16During the course
31:16of Anitra Gunn's
31:17homicide investigation,
31:19Javon was questioned
31:20several times
31:21by the police.
31:22The first two times,
31:23he denied
31:24he had any knowledge
31:25about the case.
31:26But during his
31:26third interview,
31:27Javon tells investigators
31:29about a conversation
31:30he says he had
31:31with Demarcus Little
31:32two days after
31:33Anitra's disappearance.
31:35And now,
31:35two years after
31:36initially making
31:37false statements
31:38to investigators
31:39on behalf of
31:40his best friend
31:41Demarcus Little,
31:42Javon is now
31:43testifying against
31:44his childhood pal.
31:47The morning of
31:47February 16th,
31:49just two days
31:50after Anitra
31:51went missing,
31:52the two men
31:53end up meeting up.
31:54They're driving
31:55in Demarcus' car.
31:57Demarcus then
31:57tells Javon,
31:59I have something
31:59to tell you,
32:00but you can't
32:01tell anyone.
32:03You're like,
32:03if I tell you this,
32:04bro,
32:05you can't say
32:05that to nobody.
32:07If you do,
32:08you know it's
32:08so long,
32:09hold on,
32:10chill up.
32:11Why did you
32:12take that to me?
32:14I'm gonna tell you
32:15what's going on
32:15and if you say something,
32:18I'm gonna get you.
32:19You know,
32:20I'm gonna get you.
32:21He was like,
32:22man,
32:22I was talking
32:23on the knee,
32:24bro,
32:25talking to her
32:26how I feel about
32:26her.
32:27Once I love
32:28her and stuff,
32:29she ended up
32:30laughing in my face.
32:33He was like,
32:33Brian,
32:33I don't know
32:34what happened,
32:34I just can't
32:35black it out.
32:36And I don't
32:36shit it to me.
32:39He just grabbed
32:40me and started
32:41choking me.
32:43At first,
32:43she was trying
32:44to fight back,
32:45but then,
32:47at a point in time,
32:48she just
32:48stopped fighting.
32:49until she felt
32:51like she wanted
32:52to go with her
32:52mama.
32:54Father who's
32:54dead?
32:56Your mother.
32:59Just to hear
32:59that statement,
33:01I was sick
33:02because,
33:03yes,
33:03she did miss
33:04her mother,
33:05but,
33:05no,
33:06she didn't
33:06want to be
33:07murdered.
33:09When you're
33:09hearing this,
33:11what are you
33:11thinking?
33:13Anyone?
33:14I'm shocked.
33:15Javon couldn't
33:17believe that
33:19his friend,
33:20who he had
33:20known for years,
33:22could do
33:22something like
33:22this.
33:24Did he tell
33:24you what he
33:25did with
33:27the major
33:27body?
33:33Tick her
33:33in the
33:34dumpster
33:34in the
33:35balloons.
33:37I might
33:38shit like
33:38so.
33:39Javon,
33:40at this point,
33:40is freaking
33:41out because
33:41he's like,
33:42this man just
33:43confessed to
33:44killing someone.
33:45And now,
33:46DeMarcus wanted
33:47to go back
33:48into the woods
33:48where he had
33:49dumped Anitra's
33:50body,
33:50and he wanted
33:51to retrieve
33:52some evidence.
33:54He's been
33:54a guy in the car.
33:56Yeah,
33:56I walk like
33:57it with you.
33:58He gave his hand
33:59and I really
33:59know it was
34:00something.
34:02I did this
34:03and that's
34:03no evening.
34:04I really
34:05got to shit.
34:06Did she think
34:07that's where
34:08Anitra is?
34:09Yes,
34:10man.
34:11Did you
34:11ever look over
34:12to see
34:13Anitra's body?
34:14I got that
34:14out of the car.
34:15Why not?
34:16I was feeling.
34:18What did you
34:19see him do next?
34:21He went and
34:21got the bumper.
34:23He was trying
34:23to wait for Trump.
34:25Can I say,
34:25Javon,
34:25if you want
34:26to help me,
34:26bro?
34:27They took
34:28the bumper
34:28that you saw
34:29your friend
34:29pick up.
34:31He went on.
34:32The two of them
34:33then drive
34:34a couple of miles
34:35out and then
34:36they dump
34:37the bumper
34:37in some sort
34:39of trench.
34:41Javon is
34:41interviewed
34:42two times
34:43by the police
34:44and he keeps
34:46DeMarcus a secret.
34:48About 10 days
34:49later,
34:49the investigators
34:50bring Javon back
34:51in and at that
34:52point,
34:53he reveals
34:54what DeMarcus
34:55Little told him.
34:55And you were
34:57actually even
34:58charged with
34:58tampering with
34:59evidence for
35:00being part of
35:01removing a bumper,
35:02correct?
35:03Yes, ma'am.
35:03And those charges
35:04are still pending,
35:05correct?
35:06Yes, ma'am.
35:07Did you kill
35:08an intergun?
35:09No, ma'am.
35:11Did you help
35:12kill an intergun?
35:13No, ma'am.
35:14Did you help
35:16dispose of
35:17an intergun's body?
35:18No, ma'am.
35:21When Javon
35:22was on the stand,
35:23you can tell
35:23that this wasn't,
35:26you know,
35:26a stunt of
35:27trying to get
35:27himself out
35:29of a situation
35:30by throwing it
35:30on someone else,
35:31it seemed like
35:32he didn't choose
35:33to be in that,
35:34in that predicament.
35:37Javon was
35:38wracked with guilt
35:40because he felt
35:41he was being
35:41disloyal to his friend,
35:42but he realized
35:43that his friend
35:43had put him
35:44in a situation
35:45where it looked
35:46like he was
35:46covering up
35:47for a murder
35:47he had nothing
35:48to do with.
35:50Even though
35:51Javon is
35:52the prosecution
35:53start witness,
35:55the prosecution
35:56has kind of
35:57a hurdle
35:57to overcome.
35:59Javon had
36:01given false
36:02statements
36:02to authorities.
36:03He was still
36:04facing charges
36:05of his own.
36:06He had
36:07no immunity.
36:09He really
36:09didn't know
36:10what was going
36:10to happen
36:11with his own
36:12charges.
36:12Javon spent
36:13five months
36:14in jail
36:14relying to
36:15investigators,
36:16and now
36:17he's just
36:18implicated his
36:19best friend
36:19under oath.
36:21But that
36:21was before
36:22the cross
36:22examination
36:23by DeMarcus
36:24Little's attorney
36:25who puts
36:26Javon's
36:27credibility
36:27to the test.
36:29Initially
36:30when you talked
36:30to the police
36:31you told me
36:31there's no
36:31anything about
36:32death and
36:33misgad, right?
36:35Yes, sir.
36:35All right.
36:37You gave three
36:37statements, correct?
36:40Yes, sir.
36:41I lied.
36:42So you're not
36:44getting anything
36:44out of it?
36:45Yes, sir.
36:46The defense
36:52attorney kind
36:53of flipped
36:54it on its
36:54back.
36:55If he
36:56testifies the
36:56way that the
36:57prosecution wants
36:58him to, which
36:59of course will
37:00be the nail on
37:01my client's
37:02coffin, then he
37:03is more than
37:04likely to get
37:04a deal.
37:05Javon Abrams
37:06testified before
37:08he got arrested
37:09that DeMarcus
37:11Little did not
37:12kill Miss
37:13Gunn.
37:14Now what
37:14happened when
37:15he got arrested?
37:16They put him
37:17in jail five
37:18months.
37:19He still has
37:20pending charges.
37:21He can still
37:21go back to jail.
37:23And now
37:23Javon Abrams
37:25changed his
37:26testimony.
37:26At the end
37:33of this case,
37:34you left
37:35with the
37:36same questions
37:37that you
37:38would have
37:38at the beginning
37:39of this case.
37:40Who killed
37:41the betrayal?
37:43Was there
37:44really an
37:44investigation
37:45committed to
37:45finding out
37:46the death?
37:47It's the
37:48seventh day
37:48in the murder
37:49trial of Army
37:50Sergeant DeMarcus
37:51Little.
37:51And now
37:52the case is
37:53in the hands
37:53of the jury.
37:54All the defense
37:55has to offer
37:56is reasonable
37:57doubt for an
37:58acquittal.
37:58And no one
37:59knows definitively
38:00when or where
38:01Anitra Gunn
38:02died.
38:05Does the state
38:06of Georgia
38:06have a video
38:07of her being
38:07killed?
38:08Absolutely not.
38:10Giving you
38:10everything short.
38:14The prosecution
38:15presented the
38:15jury with
38:16cell phone data
38:17that seemed
38:18to put Little
38:18at the same
38:19location where
38:20his ex-girlfriend
38:21Anitra's body
38:22was found.
38:23They also called
38:24Little's best
38:25friend,
38:25who testified
38:26that Little
38:27confessed to
38:28the murder.
38:29But there
38:30were still
38:30questions that
38:31could create
38:32issues for
38:32the jury.
38:33One of them
38:34was this
38:36really malice
38:37murder?
38:38The jury,
38:39they have to
38:40consider the
38:41three charges
38:41that DeMarcus
38:43is facing.
38:44First is
38:45malice murder.
38:46for the medical
38:48examiner,
38:49she was
38:50strangled so
38:52badly that
38:53the petechiae
38:54in her eyes
38:54were pretty
38:55much blown
38:55out.
38:57That was not
38:58a quick death.
39:00That is malice.
39:01That is an
39:01intense kill.
39:03He caused
39:04her death.
39:06Felony murder.
39:08The second
39:08charge was
39:09felony murder,
39:10meaning did he
39:11commit this murder
39:12while he was
39:12committing another
39:13felony?
39:14And the felony
39:15being aggravated
39:16assault.
39:17Did he punch
39:19her, strangle
39:19her, and then
39:20accidentally maybe
39:21murder her?
39:23I knew we had
39:24put up every
39:24piece of evidence,
39:25but you cannot
39:26help a sense
39:27of responsibility
39:28kind of weighing
39:29down on you
39:30and saying,
39:30did I communicate
39:31effectively with
39:32a jury?
39:33Because it
39:35takes all 12
39:36to agree.
39:41Right here,
39:41Mr. Rick.
39:42I'll ask the
39:44defendant to
39:45stand to
39:45receive the
39:46verdict.
39:51The verdict
39:52is, count
39:53one, malice
39:55murder.
39:57We, the jury,
39:58find DeMarcus
39:58Devontae
39:59Little not
40:01guilty.
40:04DeMarcus
40:05Little was
40:05found not
40:06guilty of
40:07malice murder.
40:08The jury
40:08really did
40:09take J.
40:10Vaughn's
40:10testimony into
40:11consideration.
40:13DeMarcus told
40:14J. Vaughn he
40:15confessed his
40:16love to
40:17Anitra, and
40:18when she laughed
40:19at him, he
40:20blacked out
40:21and then
40:21murdered her.
40:23I think the
40:24audience was a
40:25little bit
40:25shocked.
40:28So I just
40:30turned to Mr.
40:30Gunman, I
40:31said, hold on.
40:33And then the
40:56guilty verdict, and
40:57you could see
40:57just this sense
40:58relief.
41:01People say, you
41:02made your bed,
41:02and you have to
41:03lay in it.
41:06At this point,
41:07you have to
41:08accept that
41:09she's gone
41:11because of you.
41:14Up until the
41:15sentencing, Mr.
41:16Little continued
41:17to deny, deny,
41:18deny.
41:19To me, there's
41:21no worse person
41:22than that.
41:22All right, Mr.
41:26Little, if you
41:26will please stand.
41:29All right, the jury
41:29has found you
41:30guilty of felony
41:31murder and
41:32aggravated assault.
41:35I've sent you to
41:36life without the
41:37possibility of parole.
41:41He's going to be
41:41in jail for a very
41:43long time.
41:45She received
41:46justice.
41:46We had
41:51obtained a
41:52level of
41:53justice for
41:55this family,
41:56but how do we
41:57ensure that
41:58this tragedy
41:59doesn't, you
41:59know, happen
42:00again?
42:00Because there
42:01were signs.
42:03So we did
42:04create a
42:05domestic violence
42:06unit to
42:06better educate
42:07the community.
42:08This is not
42:09what I think
42:10is the
42:10stereotypical
42:11domestic violence
42:13victim.
42:13It doesn't
42:14happen to
42:14young, vibrant
42:15women who
42:16were strong
42:16and independent.
42:17It doesn't
42:18happen to
42:18young women
42:19who come
42:19from healthy
42:20and loving
42:20families, but
42:22it does.
42:31Defendants
42:32are never
42:32forced to
42:33take the
42:33stand, but
42:34that decision
42:35is likely
42:36the biggest
42:37one they'll
42:38ever make.
42:39For Taking
42:40the Stand,
42:41I'm Dan
42:42Abrams.
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