William Morva trial: Day 2 testimony focuses on trail sightings, physical evidence

Updated: 3:40 p.m.

An officer from Albermarle County, where Corporal Eric Sutphin worked before he joined the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department, showed up at the trial this morning in full dress uniform. He was not allowed inside the courtroom, due to a ruling made by the judge last year. The judge ruled that a group of police officers who appeared in their full uniforms only to show support for Cpl. Sutphin's family during the trial, may prejudice or intimidate the jury.

The officer returned in the afternoon, wearing plain clothes.

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Updated: 3:02 p.m.

After a lunch recess, Tamara Sutphin, the widow of Montgomery County Sheriff's Corporal Eric Sutphin, took the stand for some emotional testimony.

During her testimony, prosecution played the last radio transmissions between Cpl. Sutphin and the other officers patrolling for Morva. Cpl. Sutphin is heard saying he spotted Morva in the backyards of other people's homes on the Huckleberry Trail. Then "Officer Down, Officer Down" is heard.

Tamara Sutphin testified that her husband headed to the Huckleberry trail that morning following several phoned in sightings, because that's where Cpl. Sutphin thought Morva would be.

Tamara also said she did not check her answering machine until ten days after her husband's funeral. When she did, she found a message on it from her husband saying "Tamara if you're there, please pickup."

Later in the afternoon, David Carter testified. Carter's home butts up against the Huckleberry Trail, and is a witness to Cpl. Sutphin's shooting.

Carter testified that a little after 7:00 a.m. on the morning after Morva escaped, he saw Cpl. Sutphin in his backyard looking for something. Carter says he saw "something" go up steps near his home, that lead to the Huckleberry trail. Carter then says he heard two, loud, authoritative shouts, followed by two gun shots.

After the gun shots, Carter says he saw Sutphin's body roll down the trail hill, into his backyard. Carter says he then saw what appeared to be a man in a white sheet running in the opposite direction on the trail, but did not directly see the shooting. Carter then says he grabbed a towel, called 911, and went to help Cpl. Sutphin.

A Blacksburg Police Officer who helped in the search for Morva testified. The Officer says he sped down the Huckleberry Trail on his motorcycle, toward where Cpl. Sutphin claimed to have seen Morva. When the officer got there, he saw Sutphin's bike on the trail, then Sutphin's body at the bottom of the hill.

The Officer testified that he saw Cpl. Sutphin was shot in the back of the head, but Cpl. Sutphin's gun was still in its holster and snapped shut, so Sutphin did not have a weapon in his hand.

The Officer added that he was one of the ones who saw Morva when police found him. He testified that Morva was lying on his back, in a thicket. And when him and another officer looked down, they saw Morva's face at their feet. The officers asked Morva "Where's the gun?" The officer says Morva claimed he did not have it. The officer testified that when he officers pulled Morva up from the thicket, they saw the gun hidden under him.

The gun was a .40 caliber Glock, the same type of gun stolen from Deputy Russell Quesenberry at Montgomery Regional Hospital.

We'll have what was said in court tonight on WSLS at 5:00 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:00 p.m.

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Day two of testimony in the William Morva capital murder trial began with police describing the physical evidence they found from Morva's escape, then turned to people who were on the Huckleberry Trail in Blacksburg who claimed they saw Morva, the day following his escape from Montgomery Regional Hospital.

Seven total witnesses testified this morning. Four of them said they were on the Huckleberry trail. Three of those four said they saw Morva wrapped in either a white sheet or white blanket.

One man who testified, says he said "good morning" to Morva, and that Morva replied "good morning" back to him.

Another person who was on the trail that morning says they saw Montgomery County Sheriff's Corporal Eric Sutphin showing people on the trail pictures of Morva, and that Corporal Sutphin told them to call police if they see Morva.

Virginia Tech groundskeeper Joe Walker testified that he was getting ready to mow lawns near the trail, when he saw a large, white, plastic bag rise up from behind a fence, and move away. Then a few minutes later, Walker heard "pow pow," and knew it was gun shots. A few minutes after the gun shots, Walker says he saw the "plastic bag" again, this time with a face. Walker says when he watched news later that night, he knew it was Morva. Investigators believe Morva shot and killed Corporal Sutphin on the Huckleberry trail.

Blacksburg Police Officer Van Speece also took the stand this morning. He collected evidence from the hospital to the Huckleberry trail. Officer Van Speece says police found seven, .40 caliber bullet casings at Montgomery Regional Hospital, where investigators say Morva shot and killed hospital security guard Derrick McFarland. Officer Van Speece says six of the seven casings had been used, and one had not been used.

Officer Van Speece also showed the toilet paper dispenser police believe Morva used to knock out Montgomery County Sheriff's Deputy Russell Quesenberry, and discussed the blood found on the floor in the hospital bathroom. Officer Van Speece also testified police found jail issued pants and a shirt, flip flops, hospital discharge papers, and ankle chains in the bathroom.

Just before 1:00 p.m., Corporal Sutphin's widow took the stand.

We'll have what was said in court tonight on WSLS at 5:00 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:00 p.m.