MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – The prosecution has started trying to establish a motive with witness testimony in the fifth day in the Ronald Jabalee Jr. murder trial.
Jabalee Jr., 42, was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of his parents, Ronald and Christine Jabalee, both 58, in their New Baltimore garage in 2006.
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The prosecution has argued that Ronald Jabalee killed his parents because of money and an addiction to the prescription painkiller Vicodin. The defense has said that someone else murdered the couple.
The couple?s death gained national attention after detectives revealed that months after the initial investigation, a message that read ?SSEUIC? was written in Christine Jabalee's blood. The message was found next to the couple's bodies.
On Wednesday, Judge Richard Caretti of Macomb County, asked attorneys to prepare briefs after a heated exchange on whether to admit graveside tapes.
Ryan Jabalee is heard on a recording machine sobbing while standing at his parents grave, while Ronald Jabalee did not sound distraught. The defense said the tapes were installed without a warrant and that it violates the Fourth Amendment.
Prosecutors argue that there is no privacy in public places.
A decision has yet to be made.
Court kicked off Thursday with the judge granting the prosecution's request to have two family members removed from the witness list.
The prosecutor said Ryan Jabalee is no longer a credible witness because he spoke to a radio show last week and professed his brother's innocence. Roger Jabalee, which is Ronald Jabalee Sr.'s brother, was removed because he was deemed unreliable.