The defense of Eric Graves started and ended Thursday with attorney Daniel Vanderpool attempting to draw doubts on whether Graves shot himself the night of April 13.
Final instructions and closing remarks were scheduled for this morning.
Graves is on trial for two counts of attempted murder against Carl Wireman and Wireman's 14-year-old daughter.
Graves had been in a six-year relationship with Wireman's wife.On April 13, Graves went to Wireman's home in Etna Green with three handguns and 133 rounds of ammunition.
After a struggle with Carl Wireman, Graves suffered a single gunshot wound to his head with the entry point of the bullet coming under his chin. Thursday, Graves' defense tried to show that it was unlikely the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.
Vanderpool called Dr. Carl Manders, a former coroner of Marion County and neurosurgeon. Manders reviewed Graves' medical records from when he was taken to Memorial Hospital in South Bend after his gunshot wound.
Manders said that, due to the trajectory of the bullet, it was unlikely that Graves shot himself. The doctor also stated that a broken jaw Graves suffered didn't occur because of the gunshot wound.
Prosecuting Attorney Steven Hearn questioned Manders' claim that he had all the information he needed, despite not talking to investigators.
Hearn and Manders had a brief, but tense exchange as Manders continued to claim he didn't need to talk to investigators to have a full grasp of what happened to Graves.
Vanderpool recalled Graves' sister, Shannon Giles, and mother, Mary Graves, to the stand. Graves' father, Edward Graves, also took the stand for the first time Thursday.
Vanderpool used the Graves family to depict Eric Graves as somebody who was quite knowledgeable about guns and a good marksman.
The defense also called a co-worker of Graves from Zimmer, Roger Kenyon, who stated he went to a shooting range in Fort Wayne with Graves on a few occasions and noted him to be a good shot and good with guns.
During the cross examination, Hearn asked Kenyon if Graves ever placed holsters on his body and loaded himself up with 133 rounds of ammunition. Kenyon said no.
Both Edward and Mary Graves recounted their version of the night of April 13.
After talking to their son and calling 911, they drove toward Etna Green on U.S. 30. When they reached the intersection of U.S. 30 and Ind. 19, they stopped at a nearby gas station. While there they encountered an EMS vehicle, and the occupants said they couldn't give out any information on what had occurred.
During cross examination, Hearn asked Edward Graves if he was aware that due to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act laws the EMTs couldn't provide information. He agreed.
Several days after Graves ended up in the Intensive Care Unit at Memorial Hospital, he began to try and communicate with family through sign language and writing on a clipboard.
Whenever Vanderpool tried to ask Mary or Edward Graves what Graves wrote or signed about April 13, Hearn entered an objection that was sustained.
However, during his cross examination of Mary Graves, Hearn revealed that a note written by Eric Graves four days after the incident read at least in part "Carl Wireman shot me."
The Times-Union asked for a copy of the note, but that request was declined. Judge Duane Huffer, through an intermediary, said that evidence in cases become public record after there is a judgement. The note was given to jurors but not displayed in the courtroom.
Wireman previously testified that he did not shoot Graves, but that Graves shot himself.
Vanderpool's secretary, Nancy Corn, took the stand to read a timeline she came up with for the defense.
