Arbery slaying trial opening statements, Rittenhouse trial focuses on victim

On the same day the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse focused on one of the three people Rittenhouse shot at a protest in Kenosha last year, the trial of the three men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery held opening statements. Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael, as well as their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan, allegedly followed Arbery while Arbery was running through their neighborhood when the shooting happened.

Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski described Arbery as an “avid runner”, saying it was not surprising for him to go on a run through the neighborhood, which was less than 2 miles from his home. She said the McMichaels and Bryan followed Arbery “because of assumptions and driveway decisions”, and Arbery gave them no reason to suspect him of any wrongdoing.

“A very wise person once said don’t assume the worst of another person’s intentions until you actually know what’s going on with them,” Dunikoski said. “Don’t assume the worst with what they intend to do. But in this case, all three of these defendants did everything they did based on assumptions.”

Defense attorneys for the three men described Arbery to the jury as “an intruder” who had four times been recorded on video “plundering around” a neighboring house under construction. They also said Travis McMichael, the man who shot Arbery, was acting in self-defense.

“The evidence shows overwhelmingly that Travis McMichael honestly and lawfully attempted to detain Ahmaud Arbery according to the law and shot and killed him in self-defense,” Travis’ attorney Robert Rubin said.

“Greg McMichael was absolutely sure he was absolutely certain, and he was absolutely right,” Greg’s attorney Franklin Hogue added. “The guy he saw was the guy he suspected.”

As they Arbery trial wrapped up opening statements Friday, the fiancé of one of the people killed by Kyle Rittenhouse took the stand in his trial. Kariann Swart disclosed that Joseph Rosebaum was on medication for bipolar disorder and depression, but didn’t fill his prescriptions because the local pharmacy was boarded up as a result of the unrest in Kenosha.

Also testifying was Jason Lackowski. He’s a former Marine who said he took an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle to Kenosha to help protect property. Lackowski described Rosenbaum as a “babbling idiot” who was acting “belligerently”. However, Lackowski also testified that Rosenbaum did not appear to pose a serious threat to anyone.