No Verdict Yet

The Honorable Judge H. Kevin Drake presiding over the trial of Glenna Duram

Duram case heads to a second day of deliberation
By Ken DeLaat

The 9 women and 3 men who make up the jury in the Glenna Duram murder trial were dismissed for the day by Judge H. Kevin Drake after failing to reach a verdict during their 4 hour deliberation. Sent to the jury room at 11:30am the 12 had not yet arrived at a decision by 3:30pm.

There were just over 50 spectators in the courtroom on Tuesday morning,to hear the closing arguments in the trial of Glenna Duram who is  accused of killing her husband Martin Duram in May of 2015.

With last week filled with testimony brought forth by Prosecutor Ellsworth Stay, Monday saw the defense team rest without calling a single witness. Judge H. Kevin Drake sent the jurors home for the day and they returned Tuesday morning to hear Mr.Stay and the defense team of Mark Miller and Rick Prysock deliver their final discourse to the panel of citizens before them.

After hearing instructions from Judge Drake the jurors settled as Mr. Stay began his close.

“The evidence presented in this case demonstrates that the defendant is guilty of 1st Degree Premeditated Murder. That after killing Martin Duram she made an unsuccessful suicide attempt," he began.

Reviewing testimony and citing the many pieces of evidence that had been presented Mr. Stay focused on reminding the jury of the facts offered by witnesses including the autopsy report, the medical reports, DNA evidence pointing to Ms. Duram, the existence and cover-up of financial issues, visits made on her phone to websites involving the gun used in the murder, and the suicide notes found that were determined by the Michigan State Police (MSP) handwriting expert to be from Ms.. Duram’s hand. The Prosecutor continued to bring the jury back to prior testimony using images and recalling statements and conclusions made by expert witnesses.  

Mr. Stay cited the four elements of first degree murder stating Ms. Duram not only caused the death of her husband and meant to kill him, but that the action was planned beforehand and deliberate in that she considered the pros and cons before acting.  
“Ladies and gentlemen this is the only conclusion to arrive at. You should find Glenna Duram guilty as charged.”

Mr. Prysock then took the podium and questioned the evidence presented by the Prosecutor. He argued that despite the 38 witnesses and 234 pieces of evidence provided by the prosecution  that the evidence did not paint an accurate picture of the events.

Mr. Miller spoke of ‘reasonable doubt’ and expressed that it existed “in each and every element of this case”. He reminded jurors that the MSP had taken an hour to discover Ms. Duram was alive.
“How can we be sure the other members of the investigative team were correct in their findings?”

Mr. Miller also questioned the Prosecution’s case stating “All they did was show you smoke and mirrors.”

Mr. Stay countered by asking the jury to consider each piece of evidence as well as the evidence as a whole. He also spoke to the looming loss of the Duram  home to foreclosure.

“This was not just about  financial problems, there was a betrayal of trust,” said Stay “She lied about the foreclosure notice being in error and lied about taking care of it.”

“Then she shot Marty dead and tried to kill herself.”

“The bill came due that day and Marty paid for it with his life.”

The jury returns Wednesday morning to continue deliberation.

---