JEFFERSON
Prosecutors used numbers yesterday to paint a grisly picture in a first-degree murder trial in which the victim was shot at 45 times with a .38 caliber revolver.
Freddie McDowell Jr., 22, is on trial in connection with the death in 2006 of Drew Lee Howell, 19. The men were friends from Hope Mills, near Fayetteville. Howell was killed at a vacation cabin in Wilkes County near the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The trial was moved to Ashe County after two tries in Wilkes. The first trial ended during jury selection last spring when a prosecutor got sick. The second try ended in a mistrial in August, after a juror said that a custodian in the courthouse had told her that the attorneys expected to make a "bargain deal" that would soon end the case.
A firearms expert testified yesterday that of 18 bullets recovered from Howell's body during the autopsy, 16 were fired from the .38 caliber revolver, and the other two bullets could have been.
Jurors were shown a sketch that the expert drew of the clothes saved during Howell's autopsy. There were 33 holes in the front of Howell's jersey, clustered around the middle right side, according to testimony.
The prosecution expects to finish its case today.
Before jurors come back this morning, Judge Ed Gregory of Superior Court will consider whether to allow an experiment in which a firearms expert, Special Agent Shane Greene of the State Bureau of Investigation, would use dummy rounds and fire the revolver 50 times.
That could establish a baseline time that it might take someone to fire so many rounds with a five-shot revolver.
Greene testified that 53 spent cartridges found on the dining-room table were all fired from the revolver. At least 14 spent bullets recovered in the kitchen were fired from the revolver, according to Greene's testimony.
Howell's body was found in the edge of woods about 200 feet from the cabin. At least three spent bullets recovered near the body had been fired from the revolver, according to testimony.
Opening statements in the new trial started Oct. 29. The defense contends that McDowell shot Howell after Howell threatened him with a 12-gauge shotgun, according to a report in the Wilkes Journal-Patriot. It also said that McDowell's memory is unclear as to how many shots he fired because he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder caused by childhood abuse and other trauma.
The defense expects to start presenting its evidence today.
■ Monte Mitchell can be reached in Wilkesboro at 336-667-5691 or at mmitchell@wsjournal.com.
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