BLOOMFIELD -- Wide-ranging emotions and technical details carried the second day of the Charles Goforth murder trial.
Although subpoenaed to testify in the trial, Josh Goforth failed to appear on Wednesday.
Stoddard County Prosecutor Russ Oliver was prepared for the possibility, though, as he requested to use Josh Goforth's testimony from the official record of the preliminary hearing.
The preliminary hearing, which took place on Oct. 1, 2012, saw Josh Goforth testify about Charles Goforth's behavior leading up to the events. Wednesday, reading from the transcript, Oliver read his own recorded words, as did Defense Attorney Stephen Wilson, and Presiding Judge Rob Mayer. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Rehmer read the words of Josh Goforth.
Josh Goforth testified that his father had asked him and Patrick "not to stay there for awhile because he didn't want to cause any harm to me or Patrick."
He testified that on another occasion his father had come to his place of employment and given him $40, requesting that they not come back to the house.
"He said he didn't want to shoot us," Josh Goforth testified. During cross examination, he defended his statement saying that, "He don't joke. [Charles] does not joke around."
He further testified that a year or two earlier his father had pointed a shotgun at him, and since starting using bath salts, had started carrying a firearm with him.
Josh Goforth also testified that his father's behavior had changed quite a bit in the 4-6 months prior to the May 5, 2012 killing of Patrick Goforth. Josh Goforth testified that he believed the change in behavior was due to use of the designer drug commonly referred to as "bath salts."
"A lot of things were occurring at the time," Josh Goforth testified. "Charles had started seeing people (that weren't there). He started saying people were at the property cooking meth and wandering around."
As the transcript was read, the jury heard Josh Goforth's account of the morning of May 5, 2012.
"As soon as I heard the gun shot I ran to make sure my brother was OK," he testified. "Then I heard Charles say, 'Tracy, I shot Patrick.' I got in his face and shouted, 'You killed my (expletive) brother?' And he said, 'Yes.'"
Goforth refused to testify in regard to his mother, Tracy Goforth.
"I went in, found my brother's body, picked him up and ran," he said.
Josh Goforth went on to testify that he and Anthony Walley managed to load Patrick Goforth's body into the truck and hurriedly left the residence to get Patrick to the hospital in Sikeston. Josh Goforth claimed that as he sped away, he heard multiple gunshots.
Josh Goforth's testimony went on to describe how he later found Patrick Goforth's cellular phone in the panel of the driver's side door of his family's Chrysler PT Cruiser. He testified that two months after finding the phone, he decided to look on it and "... found a disturbing video."
After completing the reading of the transcribed testimony, Oliver played the video Josh Goforth had discovered on his dead brother's phone. The recording was primarily audio from the video file, during which Charles Goforth could be heard proclaiming that he would be "...going to hell" for killing his "baby."
Oliver later called Tracy Goforth, Patrick and Josh's mother, to the stand. She testified that she and Charles Goforth had been married for 21 years, and though they separated multiple times, they always got back together.
Tracy Goforth described Charles Goforth as a "workaholic" who always stayed busy.
She further testified that, in the days leading up to Patrick's killing, she and Charles had been staying in different locations -- including motels -- for various reasons.
"We were remodeling the house. That was one reason," Tracy Goforth explained. "And I was afraid to go out there."
Tracy Goforth testified that she had seen people on the property that she believed were involved in manufacturing drugs.
"I was afraid," she testified. "There was a smell like ammonia out there."
Tracy also testified that, at around that same time, Charles Goforth was attempting to get along with Patrick Goforth.
"But Patrick wasn't getting along with anyone," she said.
Her testimony took on a combative tone when Oliver asked if she remembered making a statement to himself and Stoddard County Sheriff's Office Investigator Hank Trout.
"You mean when you secretly recorded me?" Tracy asked. "Yes, I remember."
"You remember telling us that Patrick was always a respectful boy?" Oliver asked.
"I don't remember what I told you," Tracy sharply replied. "Since everything that happened that night, I don't remember a lot of things."
Throughout the remainder of her testimony, Tracy Goforth answered several of Oliver's questions by saying, "I don't remember."
Tracy visibly grew agitated on a few occasions when Oliver dealt with her inability to remember by playing audio recordings relating to the things he was asking.
After playing one recording where Tracy could be heard talking about people slithering on the ground, Tracy Goforth seemed to lose her patience as she explained that she had seen "three pairs of sneakers under the camper. That's what I was talking about. People were under the camper."
She further explained that she had seen someone wearing a white mask, which she could not describe, even though she seemingly referred to multiple people at the property wearing white masks.
When Oliver asked her about making a statement concerning "the people throwing (her dog) Angel," Tracy responded with, "Yes."
"Do you remember how that came about?" Oliver asked.
"Yes!" Tracy said quickly. "They came down from space and threw her... No! They didn't! I'm sure you have a recording of me saying it."
During cross examination, Wilson asked Tracy Goforth to confirm that the SEMO Drug Task Force had been contacted by herself and Charles Goforth concerning their claims that people were on their property manufacturing drugs.
"We believed the task force was going to be out there, watching the place," she explained.
"Is that why you and Charles were worried about the boys being on the property that night?" Wilson asked.
"Yes," she answered.
Wilson also asked her about Patrick Goforth's disposition at the time, and if he was being a little disrespectful.
"He was a lot disrespectful," she answered.
Wilson also referred to an audio recording where Tracy could be heard talking about needing to get back to their residence, and the statement "If we leave we'll get away with it."
"I was talking about the people who were on the property making drugs getting away with what they were doing if we weren't there," she replied. "I don't know what we were thinking by not going to the hospital (where Patrick was). I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that that man (Charles Goforth) right there would never do anything to hurt either of the boys."
As Tracy Goforth wiped tears from her eyes, Oliver began his re-direct by asking her to confirm that neither she nor Charles Goforth had re-entered the house after Patrick had been taken to the hospital.
"Did you move anything in the house after the shooting occurred?" Oliver asked.
"No," she answered.
Oliver played another recording where Tracy Goforth could be heard saying, "You can't hide all the evidence."
"What evidence were you talking about?" Oliver asked.
"You can't hide all the evidence when you make drugs," Tracy Goforth replied. "I don't know what I was thinking at the time. I wasn't in my right mind."
"Did you or Charles ever call to check on your son?" Oliver asked.
"No," she answered. "I don't know why."
Tracy Goforth explained to Wilson, at the end of her testimony, that Josh Goforth was supposed to travel with her to the trial, but decided to step out of the vehicle because he didn't want to.
"How do you feel Josh has been treated by the police during all of this, compared to you?" Wilson asked.
"I feel like Josh has been treated worse than I have," Tracy answered.
During testimony from Don Windham, investigator with the Missouri Highway Patrol, Oliver reviewed images of the crime scene for the jury. Windham explained how he believed the original scene had been altered, due to the location of a ladder, a belt, and a board that had been placed over the pool of blood from Patrick Goforth's fatal wound.
"We checked the objects and found very little blood," Windham remarked. "If those items had been so close at the time of the event, there would have been much more blood."
Jurors examined multiple photos of a blood-spattered door with what appeared to be a bloody hand-print. Windham said he couldn't say exactly whether or not it as a hand print, and if so, whose print it was.
Oliver introduced a chest of drawers that was evidently near Patrick Goforth at the time he was shot. He asked Windham about how he processed the piece of evidence.
"I looked at the entry point of the bullet that had entered the chest of drawers, and looked for the bullet," Windham explained. "I used a rod to check the trajectory of the bullet, and based on that evidence, it should have been in the second drawer."
Windham explained the both he and Stoddard County Sheriff's Department Investigator Andy Holden removed and examined the drawers, but found no bullet.
"I looked at the back corner of the third drawer and saw a spot that was consistent with having been struck by a bullet," Windham explained as he pointed out the chipped corner of the drawer. "I looked at the platform below the third drawer and saw the bullet."
Windham testified that everything he saw of the third drawer was consistent with it having originally been in the position of the second drawer; but, it appeared to have been moved to the location of the third drawer.
"So, essentially, based on what you've said, if the second drawer hadn't been moved, what we have here is some kind of JFK magic bullet thing," Oliver remarked.
Under cross examination, Wilson asked why neither Windham nor any other officers checked for fingerprints at the scene.
But, during re-direct, Oliver confirmed the reason why no one checked for fingerprints.
"It had been related to you by (Stoddard County Chief Deputy) Tommy Horton that Charles Goforth had already admitted to shooting Patrick, right?" Oliver asked.
Windham agreed.
"So, this wasn't a who-done-it case?" Oliver asked. "It never was a who-done-it case."
Oliver also called numerous other law enforcement professionals to the stand to testify concerning their roles in obtaining and testing the state's evidence.
Day three of the prosecution's case will begin Thursday morning.