SCOTTSBORO, Ala. -- In early December 1997, Jackson County, Ala., resident Michelle Townson Whitton was bludgeoned to death with the butt of a shotgun in her bedroom.
The culprit, according to opening arguments and testimony from the state's initial witnesses, was her husband of six years, Barry Van Whitton.
He is on trial in Scottsboro, Ala., this week in the more-than-17-year-old cold-case killing of 28-year-old Michelle Whitton. Her body was found on Jan. 20, 1998, in a shallow grave on the slope of a creek bank in neighboring DeKalb County.
Barry Van Whitton faces trial in the 1997 cold case death of his wife, Michelle Townson Whitton.On Monday, Barry Van Whitton was dressed in a light purple dress shirt buttoned to the top, his hair in a tight ponytail, as he sat between his attorneys at the defense table. Judge John Graham is presiding over the trial.
Prosecutor John Hensley said in his opening arguments that blood evidence found in the master bedroom and bathroom of the home the two shared in Dutton, Ala., indicated a deadly attack.
Hensley said upcoming testimony will show that Whitton bludgeoned his wife at the foot of their bed, then dragged her to the master bathroom to begin cleaning up the bloody scene.
Jurors watched the videotaped recovery of Michelle Whitton's body as the state's first witness, longtime investigator Ed White, testified about the grisly scene. The video showed a blue towel, Michelle Whitton's pink sweat suit and some sandals lying beside the body in the grave less than 3 feet below the ground.
White also testified about large holes cut from the bedroom carpet and an examination of the carpet with the chemical Luminol, which reveals, among other things, the presence of blood.
There were bright, glowing spots on the carpet that were blood, surrounded by a lighter glowing area that White said was likely some kind of cleaning fluid.
The long-awaited trial got underway about lunchtime on Monday after more than three days of jury selection.
In opening arguments, Hensley said Whitton had bragged about killing his wife, discussing details only he could have known. He also monitored sessions of the Jackson County grand jury for indictments being issued against him.
When one grand jury session ended without an indictment against him, Whitton would remark, "I got by again," Hensley said.
But Whitton's attorney, Gerald Paulk, contends other evidence presented in the trial will show sightings of Michelle Whitton outside the timeline the state has proposed.
Paulk said in his opening arguments that prosecutors might have left out other potential suspects suggested by evidence - a wallet belonging to another person - found near Michelle Whitton's car when it was recovered a week later. Paulk said three fingerprints found on the dead woman's car didn't match Whitton's.
In the courtroom gallery, some of Michelle Whitton's family and friends grimly watched the jarring images and listened to testimony.
Daphne Holcomb was friends with Michelle Whitton for four years before she was killed. Holcomb said Michelle Whitton was "trusting and honest."
Holcomb said she knew Barry Whitton through her acquaintance with Michelle Whitton, and described her friend's accused killer only as "quiet."
The trial is expected to continue for two weeks, according to Judge Graham.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.