MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Deshaun Hill Junior’s grieving mom took the witness stand, the primary witness to testify on the high-profile trial of the alleged gunman accused of killing the star Minneapolis North Excessive Faculty student-athlete final 12 months. Tuesday Sheppard informed the jury of 12 and three alternates, Deshaun was her solely son.

“A variety of youngsters needed to be like him,” Sheppard mentioned throughout her emotional testimony. “As a substitute of LeBron James, they needed to be like Deshaun Hill. That’s how nice he was.”

The second-degree homicide trial of Cody Fohrenkam was delayed twice. As soon as, final November over protection issues of some key eyewitness identification proof. Then once more final week, when Fohrenkam’s authorized staff mentioned the 30-year-old defendant was not in the appropriate psychological state to begin the trial. On Monday, the trial obtained underway with opening statements.

Prosecutor Christopher Filipski laid out the case in opposition to Fohrenkam, telling the jury, Fohrenkam’s actions on February ninth final 12 months have been captured on surveillance video together with on cameras from Wally’s Meals on the nook of Penn Avenue and Golden Valley Street, the very intersection the place the capturing occurred.

Filipski mentioned the defendant was robbed of his cellphone at knifepoint within the retailer earlier within the morning, and that he would return later. That’s when the possibility encounter with Hill occurred, the pair allegedly brushing previous each other on the sidewalk. Fohrenkam would then flip and pull out a gun, firing three photographs, Hill was killed.

Witness Ashley McNamara rushed to Hill’s aspect. She testified, blood was in all places, recalling what she informed the dying 15-year-old, “I attempted speaking to him. I took his hand. I mentioned, ‘hey buddy, it’s okay, I referred to as 911, assistance is on the best way.’”

Fohrenkam’s authorized staff tried to create doubt within the proof, declaring investigators by no means recovered the homicide weapon and a number of the eyewitness accounts of the gunman didn’t match the defendant — fallacious race, and there was confusion over what the shooter was really sporting.

“No gun, no fingerprints, no DNA, and no pink pants.,” mentioned Brooke Adams. “There isn’t a bodily proof tying Mister Fohrenkam to the capturing as a result of Mister Fohrenkam wasn’t the shooter.”

Adams informed the informed to not add one other layer of tragedy to this mindless case by convicting an harmless man.

A complete of 11 witnesses testified on the primary day of trial. The jurors obtained to take a look at Minneapolis police crime scene images in addition to surveillance video from a close-by house proprietor that captured what seemed to be a fleeing assailant, working away from the scene after the lethal capturing.

Witness testimony resumes Tuesday morning. The trial is predicted to final per week.