LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — The State of South Carolina versus Thomas McDowell continued Tuesday, with opening statements and testimony from six witnesses.
McDowell is charged with kidnapping 4-year-old Jessica Gutierrez from her Lexington County home in 1986 and killing her.
The first witness was a man named Michael Fowler, someone who spent time in jail with McDowell in North Carolina.
Fowler explained he met McDowell in the Polk County jail in the late part of 1986, early part of 1987.
Fowler testified that McDowell told him that he went through a window of a home, took a young girl, killed her, then buried her body.
Fowler explained that McDowell asked him to keep this a secret, but Fowler immediately told the chief jailor.
Fowler testified it wasn’t until later when he was out of jail that he was questioned by law enforcement about this case.
We also heard law enforcement officials testify they processed a white car and cigarette butt as part of their investigation, but they didn’t say how that evidence connects to the crime yet.
Rebecca was emotional when recounting the night of June 5, 1986, saying that night, Jessica had wanted to sleep in her mom’s bed, but that instead her brother got to sleep in her mom’s bed because he was sick.
Rebecca testified she felt bad about this, so she let Jessica sleep on the edge of their bed closest to their nightstand and fan. The side of the bed Rebecca most often slept on.
Rebecca then testified about feeling like someone was staring at her that night and she opened her eyes to a man standing above she and her sister Jessica.
Rebecca explained she squinted and watched a white man in a tall hat take her sister away, saying she didn’t scream for fear of what would happen. She said she didn’t tell her mom because she was terrified and thought it was a nightmare.
The prosecution asked if Rebecca knew who Thomas McDowell was. She said at the time when she was younger, she did not.
In cross-examination by the defense, Rebecca admitted she might have told investigators that it was a man of a different race when she was questioned right after the kidnapping, also saying she couldn’t hear any doors creak or close because she could only hear her own heartbeat.
The judge said Wednesday, they will have food brought to the courthouse for the jurors to keep things moving, as she expects this trial to last all week.