Desmon "Des" Rhea was armed, sweating and "bug-eyed" moments before shots rang out in a West Knoxville house where two women died in March 2020, court testimony showed Monday.
The shirtless Rhea acted as if he was "tweaking," said Eli Oliver, referring to the desperate, sometimes hallucinogenic symptoms a meth user will display when they've been binging on the drug.
Rhea, now 27, is standing trial in Knox County Criminal Court on counts of first-degree murder, among other charges.
He's accused of murdering Millie Blackwell and Barbara Rogers early March 8, 2020, in the Trousdale Road home where they lived. He's also charged with murdering Blackwell's daughter, Juliana White, who authorities think died first that night.
Knox County Deputy District Attorney General Leland Price and Assistant District Attorney General Cameron Williams are seeking to put Rhea away for the rest of his life with no chance for parole.
Rhea is represented by veteran defense attorney Wade Davies, who is seeking to suggest someone else might have killed the three women and that the Knoxville Police Department's case was so flawed it raises reasonable doubts about his client's guilt.
Testimony began Thursday in Judge Scott Green's court and is expected to continue much of this week.
On Monday, Price and Williams focused on three young men who visited and sometimes crashed at the Trousdale rental home with Blackwell, Rogers, Rhea and White.
White, Rhea and the visitors spent most of their time on the home's ground level. Blackwell and Rogers lived mostly upstairs where their bedrooms, the kitchen and the main living room were located.
Witnesses told the jury most of those who hung out downstairs did drugs with Rhea, either snorting or shooting up meth.
Jaquan Whitson, a longtime friend of Oliver's, testified he was with Rhea and White when they all three left the house together in White's rented Nissan Sentra. Whitson said he rode in the front passenger seat while White sat in the back and Rhea drove.
At one point as they were driving near Middlebrook Pike in West Knoxville, Rhea shot and killed White, aiming the gun at her as he drove, Whitson said. He dumped her body from the car onto the road on Division Street near Liberty Street, Whitson said.
Whitson said he had nothing to do with the killing; he said he didn't help Rhea remove White's body from the Nissan.
Whitson's testimony often was marked by pronounced pauses as he pondered prosecutor Price's questions.
Oliver offered the most concise portrayal of that night. He said he stayed at the Trousdale home at Rhea's invitation, having previously been living in a car parked in Rhea's backyard.
People took drugs at Trousdale daily, he said.
On the night of March 8, 2020, Oliver said he'd just gotten back to Trousdale from riding around with a friend who lived nearby when he encountered Rhea, sweating and appearing under duress. Rhea ran up the stairs, where the older women lived, armed with a black gun, Oliver said.
He said he recalled hearing Rhea call out, "The police! The police!"
Oliver said he heard a gunshot, and "I hit the door."
Oliver and his friend Kyle Mattson called Oliver's nearby friend in a panic to pick them up. Oliver said he heard at least one more shot as they ran away.
He testified that up until Monday in court, he hadn't seen Rhea since. As he strode out of the courtroom, Oliver stared long and hard at the defendant.
Mattson also testified. He wore cuffs and the colored top of a county inmate classified as having mental health problems.
Mattson answered attorneys' questions very softly, despite Green's numerous proddings for him to speak up. At best he responded with yes and no answers.
Mattson, however, distinctly recalled asking Rhea and Whitson what had happened to Juliana White when they returned home the night of the killings without her. They didn't respond, he said.
