Jury Deliberating in Jahaun Whirley Murder Trial | Central Missouri

Whirley, who was 16 at the time, is accused of robbing and shooting Justin Kammerich and Alex Meyers on December 12, 2018.

Whirley is charged with first degree murder, first degree assault, first degree robbery and attempted robbery with arson and felony with a weapon.

Closing arguments lasted an hour and a half, with the state and defense citing items found by police in a Lacoste bag belonging to Whirley.

This bag contained Whirley’s driver’s license, debit card, hoodie, ski goggles and a pistol with the same ammunition found at the scene.

Whirley’s DNA was found on all of these items, including the gun. He admitted that the items belonged to him in addition to the gun.

Alex Meyers, who was shot three times, survived the shooting and testified that the shooter was wearing a black ski mask and a gray or black hoodie.

Throughout the trial, the defense argued that the murder weapon did not belong to Whirley and that his DNA was only found on the items in the bag due to the way the DNA transferred onto it. Objects.

The defense says that at the time, Whirley was living in a house with lots of people and that could lead to DNA cross-contamination.

Walter Stokely, Whirley’s defense attorney, said: “There are at least three people’s DNA on the ski mask which is consistent with it being in the dirty laundry and there is at least three minus three people DNA on the hoodie. So keep in mind this is a busy house with people coming and going and sharing clothes and items.”

The state says Whirley’s DNA is on the murder weapon because Whirley is the shooter.

The state says 13 shots were fired at the scene and that’s the number of bullets missing from the gun.

Assistant District Attorney Scott Fox said: “The black ski mask that admits to being found near the murder weapon, the gray hoodie found near the murder weapon, he admits they are his, they have GSR (gunshot residue) on them both The accused lives less than a block from the murder he committed and he returned to the scene of the crime that night and the next day.

During questioning, police asked Whirley if he had any gunshot residue on his hands. He told them he could because a week before he had fired his brother’s AR-15 at a shooting range.

Also during questioning, Whirley told police he was wearing a gray Nike hoodie and black sweatpants the night he heard the shots and went outside to see what was going on.

Whirley testified Friday that he wore a white polo jacket.

During Meyers’ testimony, he told the jury that the shooter was wearing a black, gray or silver hoodie.

Since Friday evening, the jury has been deliberating for four hours. It is unclear if there will be a verdict on Friday evening otherwise jury deliberations will resume Monday morning.