CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A jury heard testimony Wednesday in the trial of a man charged with raping and killing his cousin Brittini Ward in 2010.
Derek Ward was charged with killing his cousin in 2010. The trial had been delayed for years because Derek Ward was deemed unfit to stand trial. After 14 years, a judge allowed the trial to begin on Monday, with Ward representing himself.
Opening statements started just after 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. The state laid out tragic details of the case, saying Derek Ward convinced Brittini's family that she was "possessed."
Derek Ward defended himself with statements saying the DNA found on Brittini was not his, and claimed the injuries she sustained were not from rape. The state called multiple witnesses to the stand, including Brittini's brother, Blake, who testified that when he arrived at the house, Brittini Ward was unresponsive.
He testified that Derek Ward said she was "fighting this demon", referring to the schizophrenia Brittini Ward was diagnosed with while still in high school.
Carli Ward, Brittini's sister, was also called in to testify. In a tearful testimony, she said she recalled Derek Ward choking her sister three times before she was found dead in the apartment she shared with her mother, Dawn Ward, and her cousin, Derek Ward.
"He put his hands around her throat and started to squeeze and did it three times," she recalled. "And while he was choking her, he was saying he wanted the demons to leave his cousin."
What happened Friday
During Friday's session on the trial, the state called for investigator Roy Patterson to take the stand. Patterson was the man who collected the phones for evidence in this case. One of them has texts messages that were deleted from a blue slider type of phone. The other phone was a BlackBerry. But Derek Ward raised an issue.
“I have to pose an objection to those additional photos for that evidence," he said. "It doesn’t seem quite correct to me. I think on record, [Patterson] said himself that the serial is not present on those evidence photos.”
While Patterson was on the stand, Ward also questioned the images of the BlackBerry, claiming the one showed was blue in color while his own was black.
What happened Tuesday
There was a shift with Tuesday’s testimony.
Ward has been defending himself throughout the entire trial. That all changed ahead of closing arguments.
His public defender, Michael Kabakoff, took over to represent Derek during the closing arguments phase of the trial.
“I ask you to consider that if you feel strongly that you’re right and to not give in just to make the process go faster," Kabakoff said.
Kabakoff questioned the state’s evidence and statements made by Brittani Ward's mother, Dawn.
“She said when they were tending to Brittini, she felt a pulse. It’s interesting that when she testified about that the prosecutor asked, planned on the knowledge that you have now, was there a pulse? It’s a funny question to say, ‘when you say that you felt a pulse back then’ but let’s go back 14 years ago and just export your knowledge from the present day, do you feel a pulse?" he added.
Because Ward is representing himself, there have been dozens of objections from the state. The judge reminded Ward to stay on track and only talk about evidence in this case.
Deliberations from the jury are scheduled to begin on Wednesday.