Testimony Ends In Trial Of Man Accused Of Murdering Teaching Student For iPod
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Testimony has ended in the trial of a South Philadelphia man accused of murdering a teaching student from Minnesota.
The defendant, Marcellus Jones, took the stand and denied any involvement in the shooting death of Beau Zabel.
Jones told the jury that the witnesses who testified against him were all liars and that he was being railroaded.
In a contentious back and forth with the prosecution, 37-year-old Jones insisted he was not present at 8th and Ellsworth Streets on the night 23-year-old Beau Zabel was shot in the back of the neck in June of 2008.
As for the witnesses, Jones claimed he had no relationship with his sister's boyfriend, and didn't even know Devone Brinson, his old Graterford cellblock mate who testified that Jones admitted to gunning down Zabel and his suspected accomplice, Tyrek Taylor.
Jones also denied killing Taylor, despite his conviction and life sentence for the crime.
That statement prompted one juror to roll his eyes and shake his head.
With no physical evidence tying Jones to the murder, the prosecution has leaned exclusively on witness testimony.