Convicted on lesser charge

we will set the hearing for the earliest convenient time,” Graham stated.

The pending presentencing hearing will allow both counsels the opportunity to call witnesses regarding the pending sentence, such as Saxton or his family on his behalf or LaCombe’s children and family.

LaCombe, formerly of Canton, Ga., had been dating Saxton since November 2011, and the couple moved into the Knollwood Village Apartment complex in Ringgold in January 2012.

Just before noon on

Monday, July 9, Saxton called 911 after arriving home to find LaCombe’s lifeless body laying in the living room.

The prosecution claimed Saxton threw LaCombe down the stairs and then beat her, while Saxton claimed the couple did argue and fight, but that LaCombe was alive and healthy when he left the apartment.

After the verdict was accepted, Saxton was kept in custody, as he has been since his arrest on July 9, 2012.

Monday, Sept. 23: Trial begins

The trial for Terry Wayne Saxton began Monday, Sept. 23, in Catoosa County Superior Court, with judge Kristina Cook Graham presiding.

With members of his family looking on, and family members of the deceased sitting just a few feet away, Saxton sat quietly as his attorney Dan Ripper of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit district attorney Herbert E. “Buzz” Franklin.

Opening statements, from the prosecution and defense began about 1:15 p.m.

District attorney Franklin told the jury he would be pointing out a violent history, a second girlfriend, and repeated inconsistencies in Saxton’s account of what took place, as well inaccurate stories from interviews with detectives.

The prosecution believes that Saxton threw LaCombe down the stairs of the couple’s two-story apartment, then beat her to death, while the defense contends that a scuffle did take place, but that LaCombe fell during the scrape, and that she was OK when Saxton left the apartment.

“We’ll hear various timelines from Mr. Saxton. We’ll hear from his other girlfriend, and you’ll hear where he starts giving his alibi during the 911 call he placed.” Franklin said. “The injuries Ms. LaCombe suffered were more like injuries from a high-speed automobile accident. … Ms. LaCombe took a savage beating and died a slow agonizing death.”

Defense attorney Ripper said the incident resulted from alcohol and drug use within the home, and that incomplete detective work led to Saxton’s arrest.

“Things got sideways because of alcohol and prescription medication,” Ripper said. “She (LaCombe) grabs a drink, which led to altercations throughout the day. They (detectives) talked him into agreeing to what they believe happened.”

He asked the jury to pay close attention to details.

“Listen to all the evidence, but more importantly, listen to what they (the prosecution) don’t have,” Ripper said. “Don’t let them push you into convicting Terry, the way they tried to push him into this crime.”

The first witness testimony in the case came from Catoosa County sheriff’s deputy Bret Lamountain, who was the first officer to arrive at the scene of the crime.

Lamountain told the court how he met with Saxton near the entrance to the apartment, at which time Saxton claimed he left the residence the night before around 11 p.m., and returned to find her laying on the floor dead from a possible drug overdose.

“There was a packed suitcase by the front door, and a fan blowing on her as she laid on the floor,” Lamountain said. “There were several broken dishes in the sink and broken glass on the floor. It did appear as though an altercation had taken place.”

During cross-examination, Ripper had Lamountain clarify that the body wasn’t laying at the base of the staircase, but was instead found approximately 5 to 7 feet away in the living room.

“She was found laying on her side with her left hand under her right cheek,” Lamountain said.

Ripper pointed out that Lamountain didn’t record video or audio of the meeting with Saxton, but did ask him to describe Saxton’s demeanor during the meeting.

“I’m not a psychologist, but he was very matter of fact, and very much cooperative,” Lamountain said.

Saxton’s alleged “other girlfriend,” Mary Ann Whitamore, took the stand, saying she’d been in a relationship with Saxton prior to his involvement with LaCombe, but that they were only friends at the time of LaCombe’s death.

The day before LaCombe’s body was found, Whitamore says that Saxton texted him for help after learning of the death of his brotherin-law.

“He showed up over at my house around 9:30 p.m.,” Whitamore said. “It’d just gotten dark. He drove over on his motorcycle. … I thought he’d been drinking, but I was not sure how much.”

Whitamore recalled Saxton claiming that he and LaCombe had been arguing all day over his pending travels to attend the funeral of his brother-in-law, and that LaCombe had been violent towards him by striking him in the face on multiple occasions.

“He said he pushed her and that she fell down the stairs,” Whitamore said. “He said she was fine when he left.”

Whitamore’s testimony created a discrepancy in Saxton’s timeline, as she claimed she talked to him on the phone at 9:04 p.m., and that he made it to her house around 9:30 p.m. —this coming after Saxton told police he left his apartment at approximately 11 p.m.

Upon arrival at Whitamore’s house, she says that Saxton was crying uncontrollably over the death of his brotherin-law, and that his nose was red and swollen where he claimed LaCombe had hit him in the face and broken his nose.

“His nose was red and he went to the bathroom to fix it or re-break it. … He said she’d hit him three times,” Whitamore said.

Whitamore also claimed that Saxton showed up at her house months earlier during a similar altercation where his face was heavily damaged, in which he claimed LaCombe had hit him in the face with a whiskey bottle.

The late afternoon included testimony from Catoosa County sheriff’s detective Timothy Busby and Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Dan Simms.

Franklin entered as evidence, and had Simms explain, 62 of the nearly 100 photos he took of the crime scene.

The photos included those of the front of the apartment, the staircase, kitchen, living room, bedrooms, bathrooms, and also the victim’s body as it was found.

Simms told the court he examined the apartment for between two and three hours on July 9, and for an additional half-hour at a later date at the request of the medical examiner’s office.

“The examiner’s office requested the dimensions of the apartment, so I went back a second time,” Simms said. “Based on the shattered glass, the overturned table, and the various articles on the ground, I would say it all falls in line with untoward events taking place in the household.”

The majority of Ripper’s cross-examination consisted of questions about the crime scene work that did and did not take place.

Ripper contends that no fingerprints and no DNA were taken during the crime scene investigation, and that the anxiety medications LaCombe was taking were nowhere to be found in the home.

Simms insisted that no fingerprints were taken, and no DNA was collected because there were no signs of forced entry into the home, and that they were reacting to an in-home death or possible overdose as opposed to a burglary or robbery.

“It’s not like CSI on TV. You act based on what you see, what you hear, and what you’re given,” Simms said.

The last witness of the day was Jennifer Blackwell, a Catoosa 911 dispatcher, who took Saxton’s call after he found LaCombe’s body.

The 911 call was played for the court and revealed Saxton’s emotions ranging from somewhat calm to a panic by the end of the call.

“I need an ambulance. … I think my girlfriend has passed away,” Saxton said. “I left yesterday and she’s blue. Oh man.”

Asked by Blackwell if he wanted to perform CPR on her, Saxton replied, “No, I left yesterday afternoon.”

As the call unfolded, Saxton told Blackwell that LaCombe had “trashed” the apartment, and that it may have been done because he told her that he was going to break up with her.

Saxton also stated “her pills aren’t here.”

As the call came to a close, Saxton began to panic and cry over the phone: “I can’t breath ma’am.”

As the call played, Saxton started to cry and cover his face, as did his daughter and family members sitting in the audience a few rows behind him.

One of LaCombe’s three sons walked out of the courtroom as the call played.

Tuesday, Sept. 24: Testimony ends; closing arguments begin

Following a day and a half of witness testimony, attorneys in the murder case rested Tuesday afternoon.

After hearing from five witnesses Monday afternoon, the trial picked up Tuesday morning with testimony from Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) medical examiner Dr. Jonathan Eisenstat, who discussed and explained photographs of LaCombe’s body that were taken during her autopsy.

LaCombe’s grown children left the room during Eisenstat’s testimony as he went over the 18 pieces of evidence.

“There were multiple bruises and abrasions, multiple rib fractures, and fractures in the pelvic area,” Eisenstat said. “The victim was deemed as having multiple injuries to the head, which included bleeding and hemorrhage to the inner skull.”

The detailed photos included a picture of the victim’s brain after the skullcap was removed, which revealed a pooling of blood surrounding the brain.

All in all, Eisenstat told the court that there were at least three to four injuries to LaCombe’s head, four to five to her torso, and 25 to 30 to her arms and legs.

“That’s a discreet number, meaning that there were at least that many, but were possibly more,” he said. “The injuries to her ribs are similar to those most commonly seen in motor vehicle accidents. There were too many injuries, especially of the ribs, that would be consistent with just falling down stairs.”

Eisenstat also disclosed LaCombe’s toxicology report, which revealed that she had been drinking, and had consumed medications

prior to her death.

Eisenstat told the court that LaCombe’s blood-alcohol content was 0.101, and that Valium, Benydryll, and another anti-depressant was found in her system. In Georgia, a person with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 is, legally speaking, too intoxicated to drive.

“The medications were at low end therapeutic levels,” Eisenstat said. “There was no drug overdose in this case.”

His testimony contradicted Saxton’s claim that LaCombe packed her bags and trashed the apartment after their altercation, claiming that she would have been unable to do so after suffering such injuries.

“The victim would have only been able to stand and walk for a few seconds or possibly minutes,” Eisenstat said. “Her mobility would have been limited to on her hands and knees, and not standing most likely. … She wouldn’t have been able to pack, move things, and so on.”

During cross-examination, defense attorney Ripper pointed out that Eisenstat is not involved in determining “who” actually caused the injuries, and that the exact time of death cannot be pinpointed by medical examiners.

Throughout witness testimony, Ripper has consistently argued the possibly that another person could have been present and inflicted the injuries to LaCombe after Saxton left the apartment.

In doing so he presented a boxing scenario argument, in which a boxer takes on a fighter and only suffers scrapes and bruises, and then takes on another fighter later and suffered a significant head injury, claiming that the first fighter isn’t at fault simply because he caused more noticeable physical damage.

In addition to Eisenstat, Saxton’s ex-wife Tammy also took the stand as the state attempted to establish a history of domestic violence by describing a March 2000 incident that turned violent during an alcohol-fueled argument.

Tammy Saxton testified that an argument ensued between her and her then-husband over two guns he wanted to purchase, at which time she left the residence and went out to celebrate a friend’s birthday.

She claims that later that night, Saxton came to the country club where she was and became very violent.

“He drug me out of the club, forced me into his car, and hit and beat me,” she said. “I had bruised arms, a black eye, my nose.”

She said Saxton was arrested for domestic violence after she called 911, but that incident he was never prosecuted.

“It was because I was ashamed,” she explained. “I didn’t want other people to know what had happened, and I wanted to keep my family intact.”

The afternoon consisted of testimony from Catoosa County sheriff’s detective Ronald “Buggs” Roach, which included two videos of interviews he and captain Chris Lyons conducted with Saxton on consecutive days following LaCombe’s death.

Roach stated that Saxton voluntarily let detectives into the apartment when the bodies were found, and came to the first interview at the sheriff’s office on his own before being arrested at the conclusion of that interview.

During the videos, Saxton repeatedly offers detectives varying timelines of where he was and when events took place between him and LaCombe.

Initially, Saxton told officers on the scene that he left the apartment around 11 p.m. on Sunday, July 8. That time was thrown off by testimony from his ex-girlfriend Mary Ann Whitamore, who claimed that he made it to her house around 9:30 p.m.

During the first interview, Saxton claims that he left sometime around 5 or 6 p.m., and throughout both interviews insists that LaCombe was “fine” when he left.

Saxton also changed his story about whether he hit LaCombe and threw her down the stairs. His story went from contending that he didn’t hit her to “she tumbled down the stairs.”

“If I thought she was hurt or needed an ambulance, I would have done that,” Saxton said in the recorded interview. “I know that I didn’t hurt her that bad.”

Throughout the interviews, captain Lyons continually caught Saxton in compromising accounts of the timeline he created.

“Every time you tell us something, you tell us something different,” Lyons stated in the video. “Terry, you’re lying so much to cover everything up, that it’s ridiculous. All I know is you haven’t told us the truth. You beat the hell out of her, you threw her down the stairs, and now she’s dead.”

By the end of the day Tuesday, district attorney Herbert “Buzz” Franklin rested his case from the state’s side, which prompted Ripper to ask for an acquittal.

“They not only haven’t proved that he did it, they haven’t proved that anybody did it,” Ripper said.

Judge Graham denied the request.

Wednesday, Sept. 25: Case goes to jury

The jury on Wednesday began deliberations just after lunch about 1:30 p.m. following a morning in which they heard a breakdown of the counts and charges from judge Graham, and closing arguments from each counsel.

For closing arguments, Ripper addressed the jury first and maintained that detectives in the case didn’t conduct a complete investigation, and that the majority of the state’s evidence is circumstantial.

“In a case like this, you don’t need guesswork,” Ripper said. “The things Mr. Franklin has presented, and what you’ll hear from him later … it’s all good theater, but I ask you to go back to what you heard, and what you saw.

“This case consisted of poor investigation, attempts to force a confession, and a complete lack of proof.”

Ripper also referenced Saxton’s cooperation in the case and reiterated the possibility that something else may have transpired after Saxton left the residence.

“Mr. Saxton called 911, Mr. Saxton stayed on the scene throughout, he went voluntarily to the interview at the sheriff’s office, and even after they arrested him, he voluntarily gave a second interview,” Ripper explained. “They excluded every other reasonable theory other than the guilt of my client.”

As district attorney Franklin took his turn to close, he recalled multiple pieces of evidence, and highlighted the repeated changes in Saxton’s story to detectives.

“People lie for a reason,” Franklin said. “He’s lying to avoid the consequences of killing Vicki LaCombe.”

Franklin said Saxton initially stated to 911 dispatcher Jennifer Blackwell that LaCombe “may have fallen down the stairs,” and then told detectives Lyons and Roach that she did indeed fall down the stairs during their altercation, while also reminding the jury of the scrapes and injuries to his knuckles, hands, and arms that were photographed during interviews.

“He first said, ‘oh I didn’t hit her,’ then it’s ‘just a few times,’ and finally it’s ‘I just popped her twice in the gut’,” Franklin said.

Franklin ended by advising the jury to focus on the facts of the case.

“When you come into this courthouse, you don’t leave your logic, your reasoning, and your common sense outside. You bring it in here with you,” he stated. “This defendant killed Vicki LaCombe, and had the most to gain by all this lying.”