Post by Sher on Jun 14, 2005 15:48:03 GMT -5
Trial begins for man accused in serial killings
08:39 AM Mountain Standard Time on Tuesday, June 14, 2005
By The Associated Press
PHOENIX -- A man accused of killing five women lured them to the camper behind his aunt's house and strangled them during sex before eventually dragging their bodies to nearby alleys or sidewalks, prosecutors said in opening arguments.
Deputy County Attorney Juan Martinez painted a gruesome picture Monday of Cory Morris, the man facing five counts of first-degree murder for the killings that occurred in 2002 and 2003 in a downtown Phoenix neighborhood.
The women - Barbara Codman, Shanteria Davis, Jade Velazquez, Sherri Noah and Julie Castillo - were in their 30s or 40s and had drug or alcohol problems. Several were prostitutes, one had emotional and developmental problems and one was a friend of Morris. Morris, 27, was a suspect in the death of a sixth woman, Janice Irvin, but he was never charged.
"All of them shared one thing in common," Martinez said. "They were brought over to the trailer for the defendant's sexual gratification."
Martinez described in his opening arguments how the bodies decomposed in Morris' trailer before he moved them and how friends and co-workers complained about his strange odor - the smell of decaying bodies on him.
Morris' uncle called police when the smell and flies led him to the trailer, where a body was found.
The defense delayed his opening statements for later in the trial, which is expected to last six weeks.
Morris faces the death penalty if convicted.
08:39 AM Mountain Standard Time on Tuesday, June 14, 2005
By The Associated Press
PHOENIX -- A man accused of killing five women lured them to the camper behind his aunt's house and strangled them during sex before eventually dragging their bodies to nearby alleys or sidewalks, prosecutors said in opening arguments.
Deputy County Attorney Juan Martinez painted a gruesome picture Monday of Cory Morris, the man facing five counts of first-degree murder for the killings that occurred in 2002 and 2003 in a downtown Phoenix neighborhood.
The women - Barbara Codman, Shanteria Davis, Jade Velazquez, Sherri Noah and Julie Castillo - were in their 30s or 40s and had drug or alcohol problems. Several were prostitutes, one had emotional and developmental problems and one was a friend of Morris. Morris, 27, was a suspect in the death of a sixth woman, Janice Irvin, but he was never charged.
"All of them shared one thing in common," Martinez said. "They were brought over to the trailer for the defendant's sexual gratification."
Martinez described in his opening arguments how the bodies decomposed in Morris' trailer before he moved them and how friends and co-workers complained about his strange odor - the smell of decaying bodies on him.
Morris' uncle called police when the smell and flies led him to the trailer, where a body was found.
The defense delayed his opening statements for later in the trial, which is expected to last six weeks.
Morris faces the death penalty if convicted.