Bend murder trial goes to jury
On Thursday, jurors in a Bend murder trial began deliberations after hearing closing arguments in the case of Jim Hargrave, charged in the shooting death of his 28-year-old son, Steven Hargrave.
Hargrave admits to shooting his son in the chest on December 4th, 2011 after an argument escalated, but claims self-defense.
As often happens, there has been disagreement throughout the trial between the state and defense over witness testimony being allowed in court. Wednesday was no different.
The morning started with the jury again out of the courtroom as lawyers in the case were going over police testimony with Deschutes County Circuit Judge Wells Ashby.
Both men took the stand later, and Deputy Zilk with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office testified about what he says the defendant’s wife, Pamela Hargrave, told him the night her husband shot her son last December at their Tumalo home.
“Pam told me that James directly told her, ‘I’m going to kill him — there’s going to be trouble’,” Zilk said.
During the deputy’s testimony, both Pamela Hargrave and her husband were mouthing the words: “That’s not true.”
On Thursday morning, Ashby gave the jury their instructions and they heard closing arguments. Now it’s just a matter of time until they come up with a verdict.
