When Claudette Robinson was found dead in a Seventh Avenue home earlier this year, her injuries were numerous and severe.
Her boyfriend, Davarius James, claims the injuries stemmed from a pair of nasty falls.
State prosecutors, however, are working to convince a jury that Robinson’s wounds are evidence of murder.
James is charged with second-degree murder for allegedly beating Robinson to death Feb. 3. He’s also charged with tampering with evidence for allegedly trying to wash clothes and bed sheets covered in blood.
Prosecutor Andrew McGraw told the jury that Robinson suffered broken ribs, fractured cartilage in her throat, a fractured chest plate, hemorrhaging to the top of her spinal cord and the base of her brain. She also suffered numerous external bruises and scratches—including her right eye being swollen shut from severe bruising—and she even had air in some of her blood vessels.
“At the end of the trial tomorrow, I’m going to stand back up here and ask you for the only verdict that’s supported by all of the evidence,” McGraw said, “and that’s guilty as charged of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence.”
James and family friend Essie Rease, known as Auntie Essie, traveled to Robinson’s home sometime after 3 p.m. at James’ behest after he said she may be in trouble. When they arrived at the home, Rease testified Robinson was cold to the touch and unresponsive.
After saying they needed to call 911, Rease testified James said, “I have to go.” and left the home before Pensacola police arrested him hours later.
McGraw also said the medical examiner could not place a time of death due to various complicated factors, but James’ search history discovered on his phone forms some sort of timeline.
After James’ arrest, investigators browsed his search history where McGraw said the defendant began searching how to do CPR around 6 a.m. on Feb. 3. McGraw also said James searched a few hours later, “If I performed CPR over five hours ago, why isn’t it working.”
James also allegedly made searches of how long someone can survive from CPR, how long CPR takes to work and how someone can tell if a person was choked “by the neck.”
Jeremy Early, James’ attorney, informed Judge John Miller of the defense’s decision to waive their opening statements to the jury, electing to not provide their version of events until closing arguments at the end of the trial, which is expected to conclude Oct. 23.
Davarius James claims Claudette Robinson suffered injuries from two falls within the home
According to James, Robinson would frequently give his personal items away to family due to her “diminished mental acuity.” On the day of the incident, James says they were having another fight when Robinson began walking away from him.
“James attempted to grab her arm and she yanked away from him, falling in the process where she hit the back of her head on the ground,” the report said. “James then said that fall resulted in the injury to her eye.”
When questioned how she fell on the back of her head but injured her eye, James told investigators she “fell in a twisting fashion,” first falling on her face then hitting the back of her head.
He then said Robinson was “wobbly” when she got back up and walked to the bathroom where he heard a crash and found her sitting in the corner asking for help.
The two went to their room where James said Robinson was “shaking and her eyes were rolling in the back of her head,” so he poured cold water on her which “shocked” her awake.
“James stated that he was satisfied that she was not dead and the two went to sleep,” the report said. “Throughout the night, James would check on Robinson to make sure she was still breathing but still never felt any desire to call 911 for medical treatment.”
According to photos and witness testimony presented during the trial, Robinson was sitting in a recliner in their bedroom, the same recliner where Rease and James later found her. Rease later had to pull Robinson out of the chair at the instruction of the 911 operator to perform chest compressions.
Jurors heard testimony from Rease and responding law enforcement officers on the first day of trial Oct. 22. The trial is scheduled to conclude Oct. 23 and go to the jury for deliberation. If found guilty as charged, James faces up to life in prison.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Claudette Robinson suffered horrific injuries. Are they evidence of a bad fall or murder?
Reporting by Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
