The widow of slain Arlington pastor Clint Dobson took the witness stand Tuesday to tearfully describe how she learned her husband had been killed.
She said she began to panic that day on March 3, 2011 when she couldn't reach her husband or church secretary Judy Elliott, and finally a friend agreed to go by the church to check on the pair. She said she could hear in his voice that the news was bad.
"I think it was at that point that I knew he wasn't here any more," Laura Dobson testified. "I threw myself in the car and I just started screaming."
Laura Dobson then broke down on the stand in tears, and state District Judge Mike Thomas called for a brief recess. Her testimony should resume about 3 p.m.
Accused killer Steven Lawayne Nelson is standing trial on capital murder in the suffocation death of Clint Dobson and the severe beating of Elliott.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
-Dianna Hunt
UPDATE: 1:25 p.m.
A sleepy juror is apparently trying to skip his afternoon nap.
The unidentified juror, who nodded off several times during testimony on Monday, was seen downing a 5 Hour Energy drink during the lunch break on Tuesday.
After carefully reading the label, the juror tossed the drink back quickly in one motion.
The juror is among 14 panel members in the capital murder trial of Steven Lawayne Nelson, 25, in the March 3, 2011 death of Pastor Clint Dobson, 28, of NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington.
Dobson was beaten and suffocated with a plastic bag in the church building. Church secretary Judy Elliott was beaten severely but survived.
Testimony is continuing before state District Judge Mike Thomas' court.
-Dianna Hunt
UPDATE: 12:20 p.m.
Jurors in the capital murder trial of Steve Lawayne Nelson saw the grim results of the severe beating to church secretary Judy Elliott.
Photos of Elliott taken shortly after she was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital were shown to jurors Tuesday. Both eyes were blackened and swollen shut, and her jaw appears to be crushed, according to photos taken by Arlington crime scene investigator Daniel Rhodes.
Elliott was in "extremely critical condition," Rhodes told jurors.
Elliott's boss, Pastor Clint Dobson, was also beaten severely and then suffocated by a plastic bag placed over his head.
Nelson is standing trial before state District Judge Mike Thomas on capital murder charges in the death of Dobson, 28, on March 3, 2011. Dobson was killed and Elliott injured in the NorthPointe Baptist Church in north Arlington.
Prosecutors Page Simpson and Bob Gill are seeking the death penalty.
Defense attorneys Bill Ray and Steve Gordon have sharply questioned forensics experts, perhaps to suggest that additional evidence from the crime scene may have been overlooked.
Testimony was set to resume at 1:15 p.m.
-Dianna Hunt
UPDATE: 11:10 a.m.
A Daisy BB gun that looks like a semiautomatic Colt firearm was apparently used in the fatal robbery of Arlington Pastor Clint Dobson and the brutal beating of his assistant.
A firearms analyst with the Tarrant County medical examiner's office told jurors that the handle of a gun found at the crime scene was from a Daisy 15 XT air gun, which is touted online as being able to shoot 15 shots "as fast as you can pull the trigger."
Steven Lawayne Nelson, 25, is standing trial in state District Judge Mike Thomas' court on a capital murder charge stemming from the suffocation death of Dobson, 28, who was pastor at NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington. Dobson was found dead in his church office with a plastic bag over his head.
Prosecutors have indicated the butt of the gun was likely used to hit Dobson and his assistant, Judy Elliott, who was left for dead but survived.
-Dianna Hunt
There's more juror trouble in the capital murder trial of Steven Lawayne Nelson.
Testimony has been delayed Tuesday morning after a juror called to say he was having car trouble and would be late.
It is not, however, the same juror who kept nodding off during testimony on Monday, according to officials. State District Judge Mike Thomas' briefly halted testimony on Monday so a bailiff could prod the sleeping juror.
Nelson, 25, is standing trial in the brutal suffocation death on March 3, 2011 of Pastor Clint Dobson, 28, who headed NorthPointe Baptist Church in north Arlington.
Dobson was beaten and suffocated with a plastic bag during a robbery. Church secretary Judy Elliott was beaten severely and left for dead, but she survived the attack.
Prosecutors Page Simpson and Bob Gill are seeking the death penalty.
-Dianna Hunt
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