The fourth day of Zachary Bench’s second-degree murder trial included the coroner’s testimony and the videotaped questioning of Bench two days after the slaying of Jody Barlow, 33.
Bench, 22, is charged with the August 2015 fatal shooting and armed robbery of Barlow, whose body was found in a wooded area off Old River Road in Starks.
Coroner Dr. Terry Welke testified that Barlow died at about 6:30 a.m. on Aug. 26, 2015. He said Barlow was shot seven times with a small-caliber weapon and that the wound in the back of Barlow’s neck was a “fairly close shot.” No defensive wounds were located.
Prosecutor Ross Murray asked if Welke could piece together what happened. He said he believed the first shot was the one to the back of the neck, followed by five shots to the right side of Barlow’s face and then a shot in the top of his head. “The last shot was someone standing over him,” Welke said.
Defense attorney Andrew Casanave asked Welke about Barlow’s toxicology report. He said a number of drugs normally prescribed by a psychiatrist were found in Barlow’s system and that some of the levels were high.
Murray asked if the fact that Barlow’s body was already in an early state of decomposition when the tests were conducted could affect the results. Welke said it was a possibility.
Cheryl Swearinger, a state police expert on firearm examinations, testified to the testing of a .22-caliber long rifle that was taken from Bench’s home and of the rounds collected, along with nine empty casings, and the bullets from Barlow’s neck and head. She determined that none of them were fired from the rifle. The gun was the only weapon she said was submitted for testing.
Sheriff’s Office Detective Brent Young later said it was his understanding that Barlow had a .22-caliber revolver but that it was never located.
DNA expert Monica Quaal also took the stand Thursday and said Bench’s DNA was found on cigarette butts retrieved from near Barlow’s body and that Barlow’s blood was found on a flashlight taken from Bench’s home. Prosecutors contend that the flashlight had belonged to Barlow.
Jurors also viewed video of Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives questioning Bench in the early-morning hours of Aug. 28, 2015. Throughout it, detectives lead Bench to believe they are following up on a missing-person report on Barlow but are in reality in the midst of a homicide investigation.
Bench tells the detectives about meeting Barlow at a convenience store on the night of Aug. 25 and of driving around with him while he is taking drugs. Bench says he accepted a small amount of Xanax from Barlow.
He also says Barlow had a gun in a side holster. Bench says Barlow continually kept his hand on the holster and that he was worried about getting shot.
The detectives repeatedly discuss why the two men switched shirts — Bench giving Barlow his white T-shirt and Barlow giving him his orange one. Bench says Barlow was cold. He says the shirt was at his home. Detective Brent Young later testified that the shirt was never recovered.
Investigators at one point pat Bench down. He tells them that he has “maybe $10” on him. Defense attorney Andrew Casanave later said the large amount of cash that Barlow reportedly had with him was never found on Bench, in his home or in his vehicle.
Detectives are also seen repeatedly telling Bench that some of his answers don’t mesh with his mother’s. He says he got home early the next morning, changed his daughter’s diaper, snuggled with her and fell asleep. His mother, Michelle Bench, told authorities that he wasn’t at home that morning.
Several jail phone calls between Branch and his mother and girlfriend, Elizabeth Demarest, were also played for jurors. Branch talks about his attorney possibly getting him a “couple of years” in one call and about one man getting only seven years for shooting another in the chest.
“It’s not looking like I will be in here for life,” he is heard telling his mother.
The trial will continue at 9 a.m. today in Judge David Ritchie’s courtroom.
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