Calls, texts examined in Hamilton murder trial

The first day of Marcus Jay Hamilton’s murder trial saw testimony from investigators that Hamilton was in communication with the victim, Keyiona Chenevert, shortly before her death and another man who had recently bought ammunition similar to a round found at Chenevert’s apartment.
Authorities weren’t able to find the gun believed to have been used to kill Chenevert, a detective also testified.
The trial is being held in 16th Judicial District Court at the St. Mary Parish Courthouse in Franklin.
A grand jury indicted Hamilton, 21, of Patterson May 13, 2013 on the charge of second-degree murder in the killing of Chenevert Jan. 21, 2013 in Bayou Vista.
In opening statements, prosecutor Anthony Saleme said he was there solely to get justice for Chenevert. The fact that Hamilton was 18 years old at the time doesn’t matter when deciding his guilt, Saleme said.
An extensive St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office investigation took over a month to make an arrest, but eventually the investigation focused on one person, Hamilton, Saleme said.
The only just verdict is to find that Hamilton intended to kill or inflict great bodily harm upon Chenevert, the definition of second-degree murder, Saleme said.
Hamilton’s attorney, Garron Johnson, said Hamilton was identified as a suspect because Treylon Jenkins stated he loaned a gun to Hamilton. But Johnson questioned why Jenkins was never charged in the case if he loaned a gun to Hamilton with the intent to kill.
The Sheriff’s Office investigation determined Hamilton had no intent to kill Chenevert, Johnson said. Jurors will have the option to determine if Hamilton is guilty of the lesser charge of negligent homicide, Johnson said.
Johnson asked jurors to not send Hamilton to jail for the rest of his life for a mistake that anyone could make, he said.
Sheriff’s Office Detective Lt. Beau Martin said he was a patrol supervisor in January 2013 and responded to the scene of Chenevert’s apartment. Martin saw a black female lying in the hallway of an apartment unit and noticed blood running out of her mouth, he said. Acadian Ambulance responded but didn’t attempt life-saving procedures, Martin said.
Sheriff’s Office Detective Capt. Gilbert Blanchard said he began investigating the homicide at 101 3 B’s Lane in Bayou Vista Jan. 21, 2013, after Martin called him. Blanchard collected two cell phones at the scene as evidence. Blanchard discovered that a round went through top freezer compartment of the refrigerator, through the refrigerator’s side and into a stove to the right, he said.
Detectives determined that no one forced entry into the apartment and found valuable items inside the home, thus eliminating the possibility of a robbery, Blanchard said.
Blanchard recovered a .45 Long Colt Winchester PDX 1 Defender round from the apartment, he said. That ammunition isn’t commonly used anymore and was more common in the “old cowboy days,” Blanchard said. Investigators never recovered the gun believed to be used in the shooting, Blanchard said.
However, a Taurus Judge Pistol is the most common gun that uses for the ammunition found at the scene, Blanchard said.
Blanchard began checking local gun shops for the type of pistol and ammunition, he said. Blanchard went to Walmart and found that Jenkins had bought a box of .45 Long Colt ammo Dec. 26, 2012.
Blanchard then searched the phone and found that Jenkins was a contact in Hamilton’s phone, but all calls with Jenkins had been deleted on Hamilton’s phone, Blanchard said. Phone records showed there were 37 calls between Hamilton and Jenkins from Dec. 26, 2012, to Jan. 21, 2013, but no more calls between them until Jan. 30, 2013, Blanchard said.
After Chenevert’s death, Jenkins told detectives he sold the gun to another man, who detectives attempted to information from, but didn’t cooperate, Blanchard said.
Detectives didn’t have a specific location to search for the gun to be able to issue a search warrant, Blanchard said.
Investigators considered several people as initial persons of interest but were eventually able to exclude everyone but Hamilton, Blanchard said.
On the night of Jan. 20, 2013, cell phone records show that Hamilton’s phone was initially in Patterson but eventually moved to Bayou Vista, Blanchard said. Chenevert began texting Hamilton at 9:30 p.m.
Chenevert texted Hamilton around 10:15 p.m. Jan. 20, 2013, telling him she wasn’t pregnant, Blanchard said.
Chenevert later texted Hamilton telling him to stop calling her. Hamilton texted how are you “gonna leave me in the cold.” Chenevert texted back that she was with her new “boo,” Blanchard said.
At 11:17 p.m. Hamilton called Jenkins. At 12:03 a.m., Chenevert texted Hamilton telling him not to come to her home and stated she was about to call the police, Blanchard said.
The last call Chenevert made was to Hamilton at 1:02 a.m. Jan. 21, 2013, followed by her final text at 1:03 a.m. to Hamilton, Blanchard said.
At 1:26 a.m. Hamilton texted Chenevert’s phone saying he was sorry for what he said earlier and that he wanted her to keep the baby. Hamilton’s last text to Chenevert was at 1:43 a.m.
Witness Carl Whiley, 51, of Patterson, who was romantically involved with Chenevert, said he last spoke to Chenevert on the phone the evening of Jan. 20 While on the phone, Chenevert told Wiley someone named “Lips” kept knocking on the door, but Wiley didn’t know who that was, he said.
Chenevert and Wiley ended their conversation before Chenevert opened the door, Whiley said.
Whiley went to Chenevert’s apartment around 1 p.m. Jan. 21 because she was supposed to call him to have him pick her up. But she never called, and Wiley was concerned, he said. He had tried to reach Chenevert several times but couldn’t, he said.
Whiley went to Chenevert’s apartment in Bayou Vista and saw a body lying on the floor of the hallway, he said. Whiley asked others in the area if they’d seen anything happening, and then went to get Chenevert’s grandmother in Patterson, he said.
Witness David Martinez, who had recently been released from jail in Mississippi at the time, said he rode with Whiley to the Bayou Vista apartment. Martinez used to work for Whiley at his mechanic shop, Whiley said. Martinez didn’t know where they were going and didn’t know Chenevert, Martinez said.
Martinez rode with Whiley to Chenevert’s apartment while on the way to pick up a part at a salvage yard, Whiley said. The door to the apartment was cracked, and Martinez could see a woman inside on the floor near the door, he said. Martinez pushed the door open wider, and went inside to get a closer look, Martinez said.
Ambulance personnel told Martinez to check for a pulse, and he told them she was dead, he said. Martinez never touched the body, and he quickly left the residence, he said.
Acadiana Crime Lab forensic chemist Claire Guidry, who specializes in DNA analysis, said finger nail clippings from Chenevert’s right hand showed a mixed DNA profile from at least three people. Whiley couldn’t be excluded as a contributor to the DNA, but Hamilton could be excluded, Guidry said.
Another Acadiana Crime Lab forensic chemist Mark Kurowski, a firearms identification expert, said he received three bullet fragments from the scene. The fragments were likely from a Taurus Judge Pistol based on Kurowski’s analysis, he said.
Kurowski also examined crime scene photos of the refrigerator and freezer, which had bullet holes in them, he said. Kurowski determined the gun was 1 foot to 3 feet from the refrigerator when it was fired and 3 feet to 6 feet from the floor, he said.
Sheriff’s Office Capt. Sennet Wiggins, who was a detective in 2013, interviewed Hamilton Jan. 23, 2013, when Hamilton wasn’t yet the focus of the investigation. Wiggins got consent from Hamilton to search his phone, he said.
Hamilton stated that he and Chenevert had a sexual relationship, and he last saw Chenevert Jan. 20 at her apartment, Wiggins said.
The trial was set to resume at 9 a.m. today. Judge Keith Comeaux said he anticipates the trial finishing Thursday or possibly Friday.