Prosecutors for a 2005 homicide argued that the victim was murdered by her foster brother in a trial before DC Superior Court Judge Jason Park on June 8.
Michael Wells, 55, is charged with premeditated first-degree murder while armed, second-degree murder while armed, two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, arson, and tampering with physical evidence for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Makia Mosby. The shooting occurred on Nov. 24, 2005 on the 1200 block of Valley Avenue, SE. Mosby sustained burns and gunshot wounds.
During opening statements, the prosecution argued that Mosby was “murdered in cold blood by a member of her family,” referring to Wells. According to prosecutors, Wells was Mosby’s foster brother.
The prosecution said Wells had a motive to kill Mosby because he believed she was involved in murder his best friend’s murder. They argued Wells in retaliation committed arson “to mimic what happened to his best friend and to destroy the evidence he left in his wake.”
Prosecuting attorneys said they will bring forward several witnesses, including an individual that will testify that Wells and Mosby were left alone in Mosby’s home the day of the murder. They expect Wells’ ex-girlfriend to testify that he reportedly confessed to murdering Mosby and said he shot himself in the leg by accident afterward.
The prosecutors said that even though witnesses “come with baggage,” Wells inadvertently chose who became a witness by his reported actions.
In the defense’s opening statement, they argued that the prosecution focused their argument on “emotions over evidence” with a case that “lacks basic integrity” and ignored evidence pointing to another suspect.
The defense identified three main reasons that highlighting Wells’ innocence–problems with the early investigation, a possible alternative suspect, and prosecutors relying on a questionable witness, Wells’ ex-girlfriend, who they referred to as a “demonstrable liar.”
The defense will present evidence of a footprint belonging to someone other than Wells’ found on a Victoria’s Secret bag at the scene and DNA found under Mosby’s nails not belonging to Wells.
According to the defense, the police had critical leads to the “actual” suspect, but didn’t follow up, and later destroyed evidence.
After opening statements, prosecutors called a former crime scene technician from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to testify and identify items discovered from the crime scene.
The technician identified a Victoria’s Secret bag, a red lingerie set, a Bud Ice beer can, an earring, a polaroid photo, two bullets, and two cartridges. When asked by Well’s attorney, Hannah Claudio, he viewed the scene as though there were “signs of a violent struggle.”
Claudio questioned the technician about evidentiary details lost over the past 20 years. She pointed out that the evidence folder was not located and asserted that the only record from the scene is the technician’s evidence report, which contains what Claudio described as a “basic” description of the scene.
In the document, the technician claimed he used one roll of film to photograph a vehicle. In court, however, the witness asserted that he did not recall a vehicle at the scene and his mistake was a “typographical error.” Claudio highlighted that the evidence report, despite this error, was signed by both the witness and his supervising officer and has never been corrected.
However, the prosecutor clarified that the evidence folder is typically stored in a file room. The technician was unaware if another crime scene technician pulled the folder or if a homicide detective requested it. He reached out to previous partners in an attempt to locate the folder, but was unsuccessful.
In testimony for the prosecution, he described 22 crime scene photos that he took at the scene that showed injuries to Mosby’s body, including a gunshot wound and burns, fire damage in Mosby’s apartment, and the initial recovery of cartridge and shell casings. The photos also showed the Victoria’s Secret bag found in Mosby’s living room and a lighter found on Mosby’s bathroom sink.
Mosby’s older sister was also called to the stand who explained Mosby was separated from her family when she was a teenager. According to her sister, Mosby was subsequently placed in Wells’ home and he regarded her as a sister.
The witness said Mosby was planning on working overnight at the post office the day of the incident and had called her sister to check in on her son who was staying with Mosby’s sister for Thanksgiving. Mosby’s sister said she recognized Wells’ voice in the background of Mosby’s call the night of the incident. After she questioned Mosby about the voice, Mosby replied, “That’s just Mike.”
Later that day, Mosby’s sister said she was informed that there were firetrucks at Mosby’s apartment and detectives confirmed she was with Mosby’s child. Mosby’s sister and mother were informed of her death at the police station, according to testimony.
Mosby’s sister said that she spoke to Wells days later and he first denied being at Mosby’s house the day of her death. Then, the sister said Wells told her he was there and left Mosby’s house prior to her death. Mosby’s sister said Wells did not ask her any questions about the circumstances surrounding Mosby’s death.
In cross-examination, Mosby’s sister clarified she didn’t hear yelling or arguing when she heard the male voice on the phone with Mosby.
The prosecution also called a former MPD officer who was present for Mosby’s autopsy. She identified a tattered, burned bathrobe that was removed from Mosby’s body during the autopsy. She also identified a bullet fragment removed from Mosby’s brain, and left and right finger-nail clippings, taken during the autopsy.
The officer reminded the jury that precautionary measures were taken to prevent contamination, such as wrapping brown bags over Mosby’s hands prior to the autopsy.
A firearms expert also testified on behalf of the prosecution and could not determine if the two cartridge cases and two bullets found at the scene were all fired by the same or different guns.
The parties are slated to reconvene on June 9.
