Closings in Double Homicide Trial Present Conflicting Accounts of Shooting

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The prosecution and defense offered contradictory explanations of a fatal shooting in their closing arguments in DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan’s courtroom on July 25.

Keanan Turner, 35, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder while armed with aggravating circumstances, aggravated assault knowingly while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, second-degree cruelty to children, first-degree attempted murder against a minor, four counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, destruction of property, carrying a pistol without a license, tampering with physical evidence, and arson.

The charges relate to his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of Ebony Wright, 31, and her mother, Wanda Wright, 48, on the 2300 block of Good Hope Court, SE on April 12, 2021.

According to court documents, Turner is the father of Ebony’s child, who was an infant at the time of the shooting. The child survived the incident, as did Ebony’s sister, who was shot in the face.

According to previous testimony by Ebony’s sister, Turner had been invited to Ebony’s home to meet their child, despite his request for her to get an abortion.

When police arrived at the scene the apartment was on fire. Turner is accused of starting the fire before he fled.

The prosecution closed by saying Turner was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and “told on himself” when committing the crimes through his actions.

“The defendant tried to quite literally burn his second life to the ground,” the prosecution said in reference to their theory that Turner was attempting to rid himself of the consequences of his affair with Ebony, including their child.

The prosecution focused on five main things as identification evidence including: Turner’s potential motive as he was served custody papers along with a lawsuit Ebony filed against him a few weeks before; cell site data from his seized phones; surveillance footage of the apartment complex and Ring camera attached to apartment door; and after the homicide when he visited his estranged father unannounced.

The main point of the prosecution centered on the testimony given by Ebony’s sister claiming Turner was the individual who shot her in the face. At the end of their rebuttal, the prosecution urged the jury to “hold the defendant accountable.”

Franz Jobson, one of Turner’s defense attorneys, argued that the jury should remember that Turner is “cloaked with innocence” until and unless the prosecution proves their case for his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Jobson accused the witnesses and investigators of targeting Turner as the main suspect and “piecing together a flawed theory irrespective of the facts.” Jobson called this phenomenon cognitive dissonance or holding irreconcilable ideas.

Jobson went on to argue that Turner was not the perpetrator pointing to inconsistencies in the testimony of Ebony’s sister and incomplete DNA and fingerprint evidence.

“The tunnel vision approach cannot work in our justice system,” Jobson said.

The prosecution rebutted, stating that if Turner was innocent it would “have to be coincidence after coincidence after coincidence.”

Jury deliberation began immediately after closing statements and rebuttal.

Parties will reconvene when the jury finishes deliberations.