Opening statements heard in trial for Kathy Weston murder

A trial in the 2017 Ville Platte murder of Kathy Weston, who was hit by a stray bullet, began this week in 13th Judicial District Judge Chuck West’s courtroom.
The defendant, 21-year-old Robert Marquez Wilson, has been charged with second degree murder for the shooting death of Weston. Wilson is being represented by Opelousas attorney Elbert Guillory, while the State of Louisiana is being represented by Evangeline Parish Assistant District Attorneys Marcus Fontenot and Nick Monier.
After selecting a jury of 12 on Monday to determine Wilson’s fate, the state and defense council each presented its side’s opening statements to the court on Tuesday.
During the state’s opening, Fontenot took the lead and shared that the burden is on the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Wilson was the individual who shot the fatal bullet that hit Weston in the chest in April of 2017.
The ADA shared he would call eyewitnesses to the stand during the trial to testify to what they saw the night of the shooting to prove the elements of the crime of second degree murder were met by Wilson.
The state will be arguing that Wilson’s intended target that night was Santiago Thomas, who he had an altercation with Wilson moments before they say the shots were fired from a housing authority complex on North Chataignier Street.
Fontenot also shared that he will show that the bullet recovered from Weston’s body and a bullet removed from Santiago Thomas were both fired from a 9 mm Smith and Wesson gun.
Following the state’s opening, Guillory, on behalf of the defendant, addressed the jury.
During his opening, he shared that he will prove the state’s case is a “shot in the dark.”
This, he stated, will be done by showing that the state’s witnesses are “non-credible persons.”
Following opening statements, the state began to call its witnesses starting with officers who responded to the scene the night of the shooting.
The trial is currently still taking place, and is expected to last at least until the end of this week.