The Brian Brush murder trial finally began today — more than two years after Lisa Bonney was gunned down in front several hundred people on the Bolstad beach approach.
The picture above is the first time I've seen Brush look somewhat normal since this whole thing started. All the previous times I've photographed him in court he was haggard looking, unshaven usually, and in a jail jumpsuit with shackles. Quite a bit different today as he was clean shaven, wearing casual clothes, and strolled around the front of the courtroom during breaks.
The prosecutions first witnesses were the three police officers first on the scene, and each were asked to demonstrate what they saw Brush allegedly do. The jury also saw two highly graphic crime scene images from the scene.
The new defense attorneys came off a little odd, giggling to each other back and forth throughout the hearing, including during testimony. The lead attorney had to be reprimanded by judge Sullivan during his opening statement — which meant the jury had to be cleared from the room — because he started talking about something that the judge had already ruled that he couldn't mention. As you can see below, directly afterward, he didn't seem to mind.
The trial is set to last for the better part of the next three weeks, and I will likely be in attendance at least once each week.
(FYI, in case it wasn't obvious enough, any opinions shared on this blog and mine, and mine alone and do not represent the newspaper or anyone else. This is simply a retelling of things as I saw them.)
-DKM
