KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Knox County jurors are about to get the case of a Knoxville man accused of murdering his girlfriend, her mother and her mother's friend in March 2020 while high on methamphetamine.
Prosecutors Leland Price and Cameron Williams rested their case in chief Wednesday afternoon against the 27-year-old. Closing arguments likely will take place Thursday, followed by lengthy instructions to the jury and then deliberations.
Rhea declined to testify Wednesday afternoon on his own behalf, although he paused a moment before confirming with Knox County Criminal Court Judge Scott Green that that was his decision. He's under no obligation to tell the jury his side.
Green assured Rhea he'd received thorough representation from veteran defense attorney Wade Davies.
Green also noted that while Rhea's statement to police after the killings had been suppressed -- because he repeatedly asked about the whereabouts of his lawyer -- the prosecution could ask him about his statement if he chose to take the state. Rhea again said he didn't plan to testify on his own behalf.
Rhea is accused of the premeditated murders of Juliana White, White's mother Millie Blackwell and Blackwell's friend and housemate Barbara Rogers the weekend of March 8, 2020.
White was shot and left on Division Street near Liberty Street. Authorities think Rhea killed her as they rode around in a car with Rhea's friend sitting in the front passenger seat.
They also think Rhea and his friend then returned to the Trousdale Road split-level home where the women lived -- and where he sometimes crashed -- and then shot and killed Blackwell and Rogers.
Evidence indicates he fired multiple times at Rogers, perhaps after realizing she was still alive. Someone busted open Rogers' bedroom door to get to her and shot her as she stood near a wall, moments after calling 911 in a futile attempt to get help.
After the state rested and as Wednesday drew to a close, defense attorney Davies called his own expert witness, Christopher Robinson of Georgia, to testify about gunshot residue found on the hands of the man, Jaquan Whitson, who had been riding with Rhea and White before White was killed.
Robinson told jurors his assessment of law enforcement testing done after the crime showed clearer evidence that Whitson had gunshot residue on his hands than did Rhea. Davies has tried to raise the possibility that Whitson was the gunman and not his friend Rhea.
Whitson previously told jurors he had his headphones on and was looking out the front passenger window when White was shot. Eyewitnesses also have testified that it was Rhea and not Whitson who ran up the Trousdale home stairs, where Rogers and Blackwell lived, shortly before shots rang out.
Price and Williams are seeking a conviction that would ensure Rhea never has a chance at parole. If he's convicted of first-degree murder, a separate hearing would be held for the jury to ponder punishment.
Medical examiner testimony showed Wednesday the killer fired a fatal gunshot from perhaps 1 to 3 feet away into the bridge of Blackwell's nose as she lay in bed. A second shot went into the pillow near her head.
Rogers was shot in the right forehead at her hairline. The bullet penetrated her brain and exited near her neck.
Dr. Christopher Lochmuller of the Knox County Medical Examiner's Office testified he found indications that another shot had been fired near her bare feet. Prior testimony has indicated Rhea may have fired at Rogers, stepped away and then returned and shot her fatally.
Rogers told a 911 operator someone had fired shots that she thought might be blanks because she hadn't been hit. But her call ended with a loud noise, after which she no longer responded to the operator's queries.
White was shot at least once in the abdomen, said forensic pathologist Dr. Amy Hawes, who performed White's autopsy. The bullet lodged in skin on the left side of White's back, she said.
Testing showed the presence of methamphetamine in her system at the time of death. During the trial, several young men who were in the house the night of the killings have testified Rhea and others routinely used meth.
Rhea's family told police they feared the effects that meth usage had had on him, records show.
Rhea was "tweaking" on meth before shots rang out in the Trousdale Road home, one witness said this week.
The apparent murder weapon hasn't been found.
Knoxville Police Department Sgt. Brian Dalton, a firearms expert, told jurors photos found on Rhea's phone of a weapon indicate it was a Ruger .45-caliber firearm. He said five shell casings found in the rooms where Rogers and Blackwell died were fired by the same gun. A Ruger magazine with two live rounds also was found in the room where Rogers was shot and killed.
The prosecution elected Wednesday afternoon in a jury-out hearing to drop one count against Rhea alleging aggravated child endangerment. The count stated the defendant had put White's 6-year-old daughter, who also lived in the Trousdale home, in danger.
Green said he was prepared to toss that charge if the state hadn't for lack of evidence during trial.
The jury is down to the final 12 members. Two have had to drop out.
Testimony started Thursday, April 13.
