Beebe's mom: son, Howarth had bruises

PAW PAW, Mich. (WOOD) - The first witness to testify in the double-murder trial of Junior Beebe Jr. was the husband of one of the women he's accused of shooting to death in January.

James Henslee, Amy Henslee's husband, took the stand around 2 p.m. Wednesday.

A jury of nine men and five women were seated earlier in the day, began to hear the case against Beebe, accused of killing both Henslee and Tonya Howarth in January.

Opening statements began at 11 a.m.

When prosecutor Juris Kaps began his opening statements, he told the jury Beebe was "in effect, taunting" the people who were looking for Amy Henslee. He knew she was dead, Kaps said, and even when Beebe approached investigators at the scene where blood was found, he still lied to the police.

But once confronted with evidence, Kaps said, Beebe began to tell police his story.

"Mr. Beebe does have a story," Kaps said, "and I would suggest to you that's exactly what it was - a story."

He added that Beebe hid the gun used in the killings under the mattress in another trailer.

Beebe's story, Kaps said, is that he and Amy were kissing when Howarth walked in on them. She picked up a gun, shot Henslee, and then he struggled with Howarth before shooting her.

"Who cover up self-defense?" Kaps rhetorically asked the jury.

The medical examiner's report showed "multiple bruises" on Henslee's body that are believed to have happened right before she died, Kaps said.

After recess, defense attorney David Hunt told the jury Beebe was "in shock" after the shootings, and that his actions when he cleaned up afterwards was similar to "a zombie going through the motions."

His story, Hunt told the jury, is the only one that made sense.

After James Henslee's testimony and a short recess, Marie Thomas, who lived across the street from the Henslees, testified that on the morning Amy disappeared, she saw a woman she believed to be Amy get into a truck similar to Beebe's.

Then Karen Beebe took the stand. The defendant's mother said her son and Tonya Howarth had been together since 2005, and that they lived off-and-on in her home during that time. Occasionally, she said, Howarth and her son would have bruises from "horseplay."

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Junior Lee Beebe, Jr. has admitted his role in the incident surrounding the deaths of Amy Henslee and Tonya Howarth, his attorney said, and he wants to say he's sorry to the victim's families.

Beebe has not confessed to murder though, claiming Howarth was actually Henslee's killer in a fit of jealous rage and that he shot Howarth in self defense.

"He wants to appologize for what he's responsible for," defense attorney, David Hunt, said, "not for what he's not responsible for."

The victim's families have not wanted to receive Beebe's apology, Hunt said.

The testimony portion of the trial is expected to be relatively quick, but seating a jury has been a challenge.

More than 100 people were summoned to the court to be a part of the jury pool Tuesday morning. Many of them were eliminated after dozens of individual interviews with the attorneys and the judge in closed chambers, saying they already believed Beebe was guilty.

Jury selection resumed around 9 a.m. Wednesday and attorneys hope to have a panel selected in time to start testimony by the afternoon.

Several of the victims' family members appeared in court wearing pink ribbons. They sat together in the front row of seating, directly behind and a few yards away from Beebe.

In a motion filed outside of jurors' presence Wednesday afternoon, Van Buren County Prosecutor Juris Kaps requested evidence of Henslee's extra-marital affairs be barred from trial.

Hunt agreed and the judge granted the motion as long as witnesses and prosecutors don't try to refute the defense's claim that Henslee was having an affair with Beebe.

Both attorneys and the victims' families say they are anxious for the trial to begin and get over with. Attorneys say the case could be in the jury's hands by the end of the week.

While the case has captured a great deal of attention, Hunt says, there isn't much evidence to go through, characterizing the evidence to be presented as 'simple'.

24 Hour News 8 will have a crew in the courtroom as the case moves forward.
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