Oct 19, 2006 5:43 pm US/Eastern
Key Witnesses Take Stand In Worthington Trial
by Bill Shields
BARNSTABLE (CBS4) ―
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Police said DNA evidence matches McCowan, but McCowan's attorney brought up to the court today that Tim Arnold's DNA was found on a blanket in Worthington's home.
CBS/AP
Witnesses were under fire today in the
Worthington murder case. Christa Worthington's former garbage man is on trial for the crime but on Thursday, the defense turned the tables on two key figures in the case.
The garbage man,
Christopher McCowan, is accused of killing Worthington with a single stab that penetrated her left lung.
Defense attorney Robert George said on Wednesday that the case against his client, a black trash collector, was tainted by racial prejudice and pressure to solve the high-profile killing of a wealthy woman.
George told jurors that police spent more than three years investigating former boyfriends of Worthington, including
Tim Arnold, as suspects in her killing. Immediately after police matched McCowen's DNA to Worthington, they believed she had been raped and accused McCowen of assaulting and killing her, he said.
For months though, police thought the murderer was Tim Arnold, Worthington's former lover.
Thursday, Worthington's cousin, Jan Worthington admitted on the stand to profiting from Christa's death in writing a screenplay.
"I sold it early on so that no one else would sell the story…so no one else would exploit it," she said.
Police said DNA evidence matches McCowan, but George brought up to the court today that Arnold's DNA was found on a blanket in Worthington's home.
With Arnold's DNA entering the trial, CBS4's Bill Shields said doubt may enter some jurors' minds that McCowan is the real killer.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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