Deliberations underway in Ahmaud Arbery murder case

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The fate of three men charged with murder in Ahmaud Arbery’s shooting now rests in the hands of a jury of 11 white people and one Black man.

Deliberations began shortly before noon Tuesday following 10 days of testimony and seven hours of contentious closing arguments.

Addressing jurors one last time, prosecutor Linda Dunikoski said Travis Mcmichael acted out of anger, not fear, when he shot the 25-year-old from close range with his shotgun.

She repeatedly sought to poke holes in the defendants’ statements to police, arguing Mcmichael and his father, Greg Mcmichael, had no knowledge any crime had been committed when they grabbed their guns, got in a truck and chased Arbery through their neighborhood.

Arbery’s Feb. 23, 2020, killing galvanized this community of about 85,000 and beyond.

Arbery, who was Black, was killed after being chased through the Satilla Shores neighborhood. Travis Mcmichael, who fired the fatal shots; Greg Mcmichael, a former investigator for the local district attorney’s office; and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, stand charged with murder.