Closing arguments are expected to begin this morning in the murder trial of Jonathon Bernard Davis, 33, of Osceola in connection with the June 15, 2008, death of 3-year old E'Shana Vornes.
The state and the defense presented the remaining witnesses Thursday to conclude that portion of the trial.
The day began with the conclusion of testimony by Osceola Police Lt. Ollie Collins, who played three interviews he and his co-workers had with the defendant.
In the first two interviews, Davis denied being home at the time of E'Shana's injuries.
On Wednesday, Dr. Charles Kokes, the state's medical examiner, testified that the child died of blunt force trauma to the abdomen which resulted in internal bleeding and shock. Kokes said that E'Shana died within two hours of the blow that caused her death.
In the second interview with Davis, Osceola Lt. Jennifer Ephlin told Davis that the child's mother, Antwonette Henderson, said that it was Davis, not she as they first said, at home with the child when she became ill.
Again, Davis denied being home with the child. But in the third interview with Collins and Ephlin, Davis admitted that Henderson had gone out and left him alone with E'Shana and her siblings.
Under cross examination, Collins admitted that initially, officers felt that Henderson had been the one to hurt E'Shana, but changed their minds after they received the preliminary autopsy report from the medical examiner's office.
A later witness, Willie Garr, testified that Henderson had come to his home that morning and was visiting with his girlfriend. Garr testified that after being inside the residence a few minutes, Henderson came running out the door and ran down the street toward her home. Garr said he remembered it because he told Henderson to slow down because she was pregnant and he didn't want her to hurt herself.
After the prosecution rested their case, Davis' defense attorneys, Simmons Smith and Eric Wilson of Little Rock asked Circuit Judge Victor Hill to dismiss the charges. The defense argued that the prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to prove their case.
Hill denied the motion.
The defense also asked Hill to suppress, or throw out, the recorded interviews Davis had with police. The judge denied that motion as well.
Witnesses for the defense were then called. The first was Amanda Smith, an emergency room nurse at South Mississippi County Regional Medical Center. Smith testified that during E'Shana's visit to the ER on May 25, 2008, she "did not want to interact" with her mother.
Smith said that she had had previous experience dealing with children who have been abused and suspected such with E'Shana. "I can usually tell if a child has been hurt by a parent," she said.
E'Shana only wanted to be held by Smith, not her mother, Smith testified. Smith also saw E'Shana interact with Davis. "She didn't seem afraid of him," Smith said.
Under cross-examination, Smith said that she "wasn't surprised" to see the child interact with Davis and Henderson, saying it was common in abuse cases.
Barbara Littleton, a bus driver for the Head Start program, testified that E'Shana would often cry when she was driving her home after school. "She just didn't want to go home," Littleton said.
Natasha Garrett, another employee of Head Start, said she also witnessed E'Shana's reluctance to go home, so she asked Henderson why. Henderson told Garrett that the child was "acting up" and "spoiled."
Under cross examination, Garrett testified that E'Shana cried every day "for a couple of months," until school was dismissed for summer.
Davis' brother, Dennis, then testified. An Osceola firefighter, Dennis Davis testified that he went over to Davis and Henderson's home that morning to move some items from his mother's house to Henderson's house.
When asked how Davis treated Henderson's children, Dennis Davis said "He treated the children like they were his." He added that he never saw his brother "get physical" with the children.
The defendant's mother also testified and confirmed that she asked her sons to move items from her home to Henderson's home. She said that she saw her son and Henderson with the children about every other week or so and that she never saw her son get physical with the children. "If I saw him harm them, I'd probably harm him," she said.
Under cross examination, Mrs. Davis admitted that her son did things that she did not approve of, such as drinking and smoking. She also admitted that her son had lied to her on occasion.
The final witness for the defense was Dr. Reggie Cullom, a family practice physician in Osceola. He testified that he and other doctors in the SMC ER had seen E'Shana on more than 10 occasions during the child's life.
Most of the visits were for "non life-threatening" conditions, such as cough, cold, earache, etc., the doctor said.
On March 11, 2008, E'Shana was brought into the ER for a small cut on her forehead, which was glued together. The child was released after treatment, he said.
Cullom also treated E'Shana after she was admitted to the hospital on May 25, 2008, after the ER doctor suspected child abuse caused her injuries.
Cullom said E'Shana had injuries to both sides of her body, which was not consistent with a fall off the bed, as Davis and Henderson said.
Cullom said he wanted to keep E'Shana in the hospital for the full 72 hours allowed in suspected child abuse cases, but that the caseworker from the Department of Human Services gave the OK to let E'Shana return home.
"I don't think DHS acted appropriately in this case," Cullom said.
He also described Henderson's outrageous behavior when he wanted her to wait less than an hour to come to the hospital to discharge E'Shana. Henderson was disrespectful to everyone involved, Cullom said. "She was only concerned with her own time," he said.
Cullom admitted the incident was probably the reason why Henderson did not want to take E'Shana to SMC's ER on June 15. Instead, Henderson and Davis had someone take them to the ER at the Great River Medical Center in Blytheville, 22 miles away.
"I'm the reason she (Henderson) wouldn't bring (the child) to SMC," Cullom said. "She was mad at me."
Under cross examination, Cullom testified that E'Shana showed no signs of child abuse until the incident in May. He also said that it was common for child abuse victims to seek attention from their abuser. "The child just wants to be loved, even by those who mistreat them," the doctor said.
The state is being represented by deputy prosecuting attorneys Catherine Dean and Curt Huckaby.
If convicted of first degree murder, Davis could be sentenced to 20 years or life in prison.
dhilton@blythevillecourier.com