Tearful testimony continues in Opelika capital murder trial

Carol Moore sobbed and covered her eyes as she saw a photograph of the injuries to her 7-month-old son, Kevin Christopher Jones.
As the 25-year-old described the events of the morning of Dec. 11, 2007 — the day Kevin died — her voice cracked and tears rolled down her face with every utterance of the baby’s name.
She could hardly answer questions from Lee County assistant district attorney Kenny Gibbs Thursday afternoon in the capital murder case against Barry Lee Jones, 20, of Opelika, whom she says she married in March 2007. Moore said she and Jones also have a second child together, Christopher, who is now “a year and some months old.”
Jones faces charges of capital murder, sexual assault, sodomy and rape in connection with the death of his infant son, Kevin, and injury to a young non-relative girl in December 2007.
Moore, 25, faces charges of willful abuse of a child and failure to report child abuse related to the December 2007 incident. While on the stand she told William Whatley of Montgomery, one of Jones’ defense attorneys, that her case would not benefit from her testimony against her husband.
On Thursday, the fourth day of court proceedings in this case, the state rested at 3 p.m. Before the case was handed to the defense, Whatley made a motion for acquittal based on the state’s lack of evidence linking Jones to the baby’s death. Circuit Court Judge Jacob A. Walker III disagreed and denied the motion. The defense started presenting its case at approximately 3:45 p.m.
Moore cried numerous times throughout her testimony, often pausing to compose herself. Gibbs asked her on more than one occasion to repeat her answers because they were unclear initially.
On that December morning almost two years ago, Moore said Jones and the two children were all fine at the home they all shared on Toomers Court in Opelika before she left for work.
“I got him (Kevin) some milk and toys. And I put him in the bed with his father,” Moore said.
But their well-being was much different about two hours later.
Moore said Jones called her at work and claimed “he was hit in the head and knocked out.” He checked on the children and reported that the young girl was fine.
“He put the phone down and I heard a baby noise and then not at all,” she said, sobbing.
Moore said she rushed home to find the front door open.
She then paused to compose herself before she continued her testimony. “I saw the baby on the couch. Barry was on the couch. And Barry was trying to breathe air into Kevin,” she said.
They rushed to East Alabama Medical Center, where the young girl first complained of stomach pains, Moore said.
“She said that Kevin hit me in the stomach,” Moore recalled.
When Moore learned of Kevin’s death, she said she fell to the floor. Jones was arrested and Moore said she was questioned “for hours” by detectives, while the little girl underwent emergency surgery.
Thursday, she walked past Jones to leave the courtroom without so much as a glance toward him. Jones’ family appeared behind him for the fourth day in a row, dressed to match him in the same color as his dress shirt as they have for the last three days.
Early in the testimony Thursday morning, Kristen Maturi, a forensics expert with the state department of forensic sciences, testified about blood and semen found on a quilt from the defendant’s Opelika home. Moore identified the quilt as Barry’s and was surprised to learn it was found in the little girl’s room.
Whatley objected to Maturi’s testimony out of the presence of the 16-member jury because he deemed it “irrelevant and prejudicial” to the case which is strictly about the baby’s death. He said it would only serve to “inflame” the jury since Kevin died of blunt force trauma, not of any sexual assault.
When the jury returned, Walker instructed them to consider the evidence for identification purposes only.
Maturi went on to explain that the office found DNA that matched Jones’ profile in various samples of blood and semen from the quilt. Some samples were too small for a definitive result, but she said they determined the DNA was a mixture of two people, one of which was definitely male and Jones could not be excluded as a match.
When the defense portion of the proceeding began Thursday, Whatley called one witness, Opelika police Corp. Jason Dunson, to discuss security video from the BP gas station on Marvyn Parkway. He showed the portion of the recording taken the morning of Dec. 11, 2007 just before 8 a.m. until 10 a.m.
After Dunson’s testimony, Whatley decided he would need to subpoena other police officers. Walker then recessed the proceedings for the day at 4:30 p.m. Testimony is expected to continue at 9 a.m. today.
It is the Opelika-Auburn News’ policy to not publish the names of abuse victims.