Jury Sees Graphic Evidence in Day Two of Murder Trial

SAN ANGELO, TX -- The contentious trial against alleged murderer Roberto Arambula continued on Wednesday. The jury spent nearly eight hours hearing testimony and evidence from a mounting list of witnesses.

At approximately 9:30 a.m., the jury was brought into the courtroom to witness the cross-examination of Jasmine Sanchez. Sanchez was the victim's girlfriend and the one who drove him to the hospital as he bled out in the back seat of the car.

To read more about her testimony and the first day of trial check out: Prosecutor Presents Damning Evidence Against Stripes Stabbing Murder Defendant

The defense attorney kicked off his questions by asking Sanchez what the three friends had been doing before going to the store for gum and drinks. Sanchez replied they were "hanging out" -- an answer that didn't appear to leave the defense council satisfied. He questioned every aspect of her initial testimony, including how she found out Talton was in a fight and implying the victim may have had a weapon on him during the time of the altercation.

This is a line of questioning Jackson would follow with every law enforcement official who testified on Wednesday. But no matter how he phrased the question, every officer testified they had not recovered or seen any evidence of a gun or knife or any item that could be used as a weapon by the victim. A search of the Stripes, the vehicle the victim was transported in, and the surrounding area of the stabbing revealed no weapon that could have belonged to Talton.

Jackson specifically focused on an "L-shaped" object that was visible in the storage sleeve of the driver seat in the crime scene photos of the car, a 2015 Buick sedan. As three law enforcement officials took the stand, the defense attorney pressed the issue repeatedly questioning why the contents of the sleeve was not documented in the evidence log.

He finally got an answer to his question from former SAPD officer John Southwell, who assisted in the search of the vehicle and was one of the first officers to arrive at the Shannon Medical Center ER.

Southwell explained that items are only added to the evidence log if they were deemed pertinent to the case. Jackson pushed back asking what criteria was used and the officer explained that any type of weapon would have been immediately retrieved and logged. While Southwell could not specifically recall what was in the pouch, a second CID tech confirmed the process and the conclusion of the search -- there was no weapon in the car. Crime scene photos of the car showed blood spatter all over the back seat.

Jackson also pursued a line of questioning that appeared to paint Talton's sister, the owner of the Buick, as being more concerned about her vehicle than her brother.

Two of the law enforcement officials that had direct contact with the sister, Malneisha Clark, pushed back on these types of questions, repeatedly saying that Clark was visibly upset about her brother and that she had fully cooperated with SAPD when they asked to search her car.

Detective Adrian Castro, who spoke with Clark, Sanchez, and Marco Portillo Jr, the victim's best friend, described them as being shaken up and extremely upset with what had occurred. Both Castro and Southwell testified to seeing Portillo with blood on his hands as a result of helping Talton leave the store and get into the car. Both officials confirmed that the officers knew Talton was deceased before the three of them were informed.

The jury was also treated to a large amount of visual evidence as a CSI tech that processed the scene at the Stripes explained the trail of blood spatter that Talton left both inside the store and in the parking lot before he collapsed by the gas pumps. The dozens of pictures presented showed the victim had run through the store and left both puddles and splatter in his wake.

The description provided by the tech and the images appeared to support the testimony that had been provided by Sanchez on Tuesday. The trail of blood extended to one end of the parking lot and the area where Talton lost a tooth and a gold grill. This seemed to confirm the victim had face-planted as he ran back to his friends. A bloody handprint was also clearly visible in a pool of blood outside.

A more graphic round of photos was presented to the jury during the testimony of Dr. Thomas Parsons -- the medical examiner that performed Talton's autopsy.

According to Dr. Parsons, he observed a total of three stab wounds -- two on the left side and one on the right. The first laceration was a stab wound to the left upper chest area that penetrated a ventricle in the victim's heart. This would be identified as the stab wound that would cause Talton's death.

The second laceration on the left side was a stab wound that was more visually graphic, but according to Parsons had only entered the soft tissue of the victim's abdomen and had not struck a vital organ. That laceration followed an upward motion that sliced the skin open but only penetrated one area.

The laceration on the right was also not deemed fatal but appeared to be a point of contention for the defense. According to Jackson, in the medical report provided by staff at Shannon, only the two stabs on the left side of Talton's body were cataloged.

Jackson questioned why the stab wound on that side was not included in the report and appeared to imply that the wound could have been caused by the medical staff as they administered life-saving measures when Talton was admitted. He also asked why the medical examiner had not included that detail in his report.

Parsons explained that while it was not typical for medical staff to miss lacerations, it could occur. He also explained that while theoretically the wound could have been caused at the hospital, he could only report the evidence he could see.

In response to Jackson's question about his report, the medical examiner replied, "I tell people what I find, not what other people didn't find."

One piece of evidence that was specifically graphic and difficult for the family and friends of the victim that attended the trial was seeing the white shirt Talton was wearing that night drenched in his blood. Whether bright red in the autopsy pictures or in the faded pink condition it now was, the shirt seemed to show just how much blood the victim lost from the multiple stab wounds.

Dr. Parsons also testified that a toxicology report confirmed that Talton had less than the legal limit of alcohol in his system and THC. The level of THC in his bloodstream could be considered as being intoxicated in other states, but Texas does not have a standard for a drug that is not legal in the state.

During his questioning, Jackson appeared to imply the level of alcohol and marijuana could have been diluted after Talton received several blood transfusions and IV fluids at the hospital. The doctor confirmed it was possible, but that he didn't have access to a blood sample before doctors tried to save his life and could not make that assertion.

The last person to take the stand on Wednesday afternoon was Detective Noel Anderson, the case agent in charge of the murder investigation. He explained how the investigation was conducted.

After the prosecutor finished her initial questioning and passed the witnesses to the defense for cross-examination, Judge Woodward announced the jury would be adjourning for the day.

The jury will return on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. in an attempt to finish the proceedings before the weekend arrives.