Closing arguments underway in Georgia in baby-stroller murder case
MARIETTA, Ga. -- Closing arguments were underway Friday in the trial of a man accused of fatally shooting a baby in a stroller in coastal Georgia.
De’Marquise Elkins is charged with murder in the March 21 killing of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago in Brunswick. Elkins’ mother, Karimah Elkins, is on trial alongside him on charges of evidence tampering and lying to police.
Defense attorney Jonathan Lockwood told the jury that the investigation of the shooting was unprofessional and that police ignored any leads that didn’t point to his client. He also said that witnesses for the prosecution were unreliable and had shifting stories.
Prosecutors say De’Marquise Elkins killed Antonio in an attempted robbery. The baby’s mother, Sherry West, was also shot. The trial is being held near Atlanta after it was moved from Brunswick because of pretrial publicity.
Jackie Johnson, the Brunswick Judicial Circuit district attorney, said in her closing argument Friday that the only person whose story didn’t match with the evidence in the case was De’Marquise Elkins, and that video and other evidence doesn’t lie.
Brunswick is about 30 miles north of the Florida border. At the time of the shooting, police spokesman Todd Rhodes had talked about the residential neighborhood where it took place.
“It’s a nice area, it’s a clean area, it’s an area where law-abiding citizens not only live, they also work and play,” he said. “Much like every other city in these United States, from time to time we will have a glitch. Unfortunately, this happened here in Brunswick, Georgia.”
If convicted of murder, 18-year-old Elkins faces up to life in prison.
Fifteen-year-old Dominique Lang is also charged with murder in the case and will be tried later.
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