Prosecution rests in Nestande trial

AUSTIN (KXAN) - After five days of evidence that included surveillance video, police interviews, witness testimony, and an accident reconstructionist, the prosecution in the Gabrielle Nestande trial rested its case late Monday.

The day began with a witness who testified Nestande sent a text message to her, writing that she had five beers to drink on the night Courtney Griffin was killed in May 2011.

The trial surrounding three felony charges began last week after a group of 85 potential jurors was narrowed down to a list of 12 jurors on Feb. 11.

Since no sobriety test was able to be performed, prosecutors are relying on witness testimony and bar surveillance video to prove Nestande was drunk that night.

Cathy DeWitt, a lobbyist for the Texas Association of Business , testified that Nestande sent her a text message on the morning of May 27, 2011 with a picture of her damaged windshield.
 
During the course of the text conversation, Nestande told DeWitt she had five beers to drink and that a she hit a deer.

The two had a friendship via their jobs at the Capitol.

A DNA expert later testified that Griffin’s DNA profile was found on Nestande’s windshield.

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Read the transcript of the videotaped interview.

Read the transcript of the jail phone call.

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Investigating officer returns

After taking the stand last week, the lead detective who conducted interviews with Nestande and her boyfriend returned to the stand on Monday.

Sgt. Michael McCarter was excused last week due to scheduling conflicts.

As a part of the investigation, McCarter measured the distance from the spot of the accident to the crest of a hill on Exposition Boulevard. 

McCarter said that at a distance of 662 feet and a speed limit of 35 mph, a sober person would have almost 13 seconds to see Griffin and take evasive action to avoid hitting her.

He also said the area is well lit, something the defense has argued against.

Defense attorneys questioned Griffin's location in relation to the bike lane. McCarter testified it was his opinion that Griffin was walking in the bike lane but had no evidence to prove it and it was a possibility she may have been in the roadway.

They also got McCarter to testify that Griffin's dark clothing would make it difficult to see her along with trees and canopies that may have blocked street lights.

During McCarter's testimony, he said he also recalled seeing an empty Miller Lite bottle in the backseat of Nestande's car when he first discovered it at her boyfriend's house.

A timeline breakdown of Nestande's visit to the Clive Bar from McCarter was shown to the jury and placed Nestande entering the bar at 7:33 p.m. and leaving at 11:31 p.m., taking her last shot at 11:21 p.m.

The deposition from a city service technician was read to the jury and showed that Nestande's car was in good working order and there were no signs of flat spots on her tires which would have resulted from skidding.

Accident reconstruction

Another reconstructionist also testified about the time and distance involved in the accident.

Leonard Vaughn recreated the accident seen using a model wearing similar clothing as what Courtny Griffin was wearing and similar moonlight conditions.

While driving a 2012 BMW, Vaughn said he could clearly see the model from more than 400 feet away and would not have had a problem taking evasive action.

Defense attorney Sam Bassett attacked the legitimacy of the reconstruction by pointing out possible headlight differences between a 2012 BMW and the 2004 BMW that Nestande was driving. He also indicated height differences between Vaughn and Nestande would skew visibility and reaction times.

After the prosecution rested, the defense called their own reconstructionist who refuted many of Vaughn's conclusions. Eric Moody testified that Vaughn's recreation did not take into account possible glare or that Nestande was not expecting to see a pedestrian in the bike lane.

He also disagreed with Vaughn's assessment that the location of Griffin's shoe in the bike lane is a good indicator of where the impact happen.

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