At the end of yesterday’s court session, the judge ruled prosecutor Lisa Green could present more rental car records. Green said Brothers rented a car with a friend in September, several months after the murders. Brothers then drove to Columbus to drop off a $2500 check to his brother Melvin to reportedly cover attorney costs. Green says it’s relevant because the records show Brothers was physically able to make the drive, contrary to the defense’s contention. However, the car was rented between September 22, 2003 and September 29, 2003. That’s 7 days, a timeframe longer than that proposed around the murders in July. “He would do it at the drop of a hat,” Green said of the drive. But the judge agreed, saying the records are relevant.
This morning, a criminalist testified she found a blond hair inside the contents of a rape kit performed on Joanie Harper. Collette Martin says she isolated the hair for further examination, but she did not analyze it. Under questioning, Martin says should not could determine if the blond strand was a fiber or a hair. A supervising criminalist, Greg Laskowski, later analyzed the blond strand and determined it was a carpet fiber. The defense posits the blond strand could be a hair and if so, it points to the possibility of another killer.
Martin also analyzed both Earnestine and Joanie Harper's panties and tested for the presence of semen. Both tests were negative, indicating neither woman was sexually assaulted. Prosecutor Green says rape or sexual gratification were not motives in these murders.
Another woman, Shyanne Fothergill took the stand and started to testify about her relationship with Vincent Brothers. But the defense objected. Fothergill had a sexual relationship for 8 months while both she and Brothers were unmarried. But the prosecutor is not able to present that evidence because the judge has limited the number of witness who can testify about their sexual relationship with Brothers. Fothergill was instead asked about whether Brothers was frugal with his money. Fothergill said yes, Brothers was very careful with his money. The prosecutor says the monentary issue is part of the motive for murder. Green says Brothers klled his family to avoid making large child support payments. The defense disagrees, saying Brothers was already making payments on a child he had with another woman.
