Jury deliberating in fishing-boat death

Chance Loftis appears before Judge Don Poole on Jan. 5, 2015.
Chance Loftis appears before Judge Don Poole on Jan. 5, 2015.

Did Donald Rogers die from a brutal beating at the hands of Chance Loftis and Travis Jenkins? Or did he rise after that beating, fall into the gunnel of a fishing boat and strike his jaw, causing his own death?

Those questions were presented to the jury Thursday as attorneys wrapped up the second-degree murder trial of Loftis, 27. And, according to an expert witness called by the defense, it's not clear what caused Rogers' death.

photo Chance A Loftis

"This is the kind of thing where somebody gets knocked out, and they're not right, but they don't die," forensic pathologist Dr. Donald Wright said.

Wright contradicted the earlier testimony of Hamilton County Medical Examiner James Metcalfe, who said Rogers died of blunt-force trauma after a beating. Wright said Metcalfe's autopsy was incomplete, and that he did not take sufficient photos to prove his conclusions. Wright said he couldn't determine a cause of death -- the weight of Rogers' lungs could prove drowning, but also could prove strangulation, for instance.

photo Travis Hayes Jenkins

During closing arguments, defense attorney Mary Sullivan Moore focused on that point. She made no argument that Loftis and Jenkins didn't beat the man. Instead, she said, it was self-defense. As the trio boated along the water and Rogers got more and more drunk, a fight broke out, and Rogers flashed or touched a knife, she said.

With nowhere to go, the men acted in self-defense. And more importantly, she said, their actions didn't kill Rogers. They left him in the boat and pushed him out into the river, and when he tried to stand, he fell and hit his head, breaking his hyoid bone, killing him.

"It's unfair, and it's sad, but it's not my client's fault," Moore said.

Loftis also is being tried on a charge of aggravated animal cruelty. Prosecutors say he killed Rogers' dog, a Yorkie terrier named Braxton, by striking him with a paddle and tossing him into the water. Moore argued there was no proof who killed the dog, or that it was malicious.

The state argued a different scenario of Rogers' death. Pointing to bruises on Loftis' arms, Assistant District Attorney General Jason Demastus said Loftis and Jenkins together beat the man to death. Metcalfe's testimony showed Rogers would have been so injured by the end of the beating that they would already have killed him, Demastus said.

"Even if he was still alive at that point, he was already dead," Demastus said.

A jury began deliberations Thursday night and is expected to continue today.

Staff writers Kendi Anderson and Will Healey contributed to this story.

Contact staff writer Claire Wiseman at cwiseman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow her on Twitter @clairelwiseman.

From the future, Feb. 2, 2015:

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