LEESBURG, GA (WALB) -
Was it a crime of passion or malice murder?
That is the central question is in the trial of Anthony Scott, a Leesburg man, who admitted to shooting his wife Cathy several times outside their home after he found evidence that she may have been having an affair.
Scott took the stand in Lee County Superior Court Thursday, weeping, as he told the court that he did not remember the act of shooting his wife several times, with two guns. He said that he remembers the events leading up to the shooting, but not the act itself.
Not even the defense is disputing that Anthony Scott shot and killed his wife, but it's his state of mind at the time, whether it was pre-meditated or in a fit of passion, that could determine whether he spends the rest of his life in prison.
Scott showed no emotion Wednesday as a GBI forensic pathologist testified about the autopsy she performed on his wife Cathy the day after she was murdered.
"She had a gunshot of her right ear and scalp. She had a gunshot wound of her left scalp. She had a gunshot of her left abdomen right above the pelvis," said Dr. Maryanne Gafney-Kraft.
She told the jury during cross examination that Cathy Scott was likely sitting down when she was shot in the abdomen, chest and arm and was likely alive for two minutes before she was shot twice in the head.
Prosecutor Lewis Lamb used a ruler to indicate how close the two head shots were fired from a .22 caliber revolver.
"It was less than 12 inches?" asked Lamb.
"Yes," replied Kraft.
Investigators testified that Scott found a picture of a nude man on his wife's cell phone. In an interview with GBI agents after the March 2011 shooting, Scott said comments his wife made after he confronted her about a possible extra-marital led him to shoot her.
Prosecutors say Scott used two .22 caliber revolvers and GBI firearms examiner testified as to how the guns are fired. Lamb demonstrated to the jury how the revolver had to be cocked each time before firing stating that it took 10 motions to fire the gun five times.
But the argument is whether Scott had time to react differently to his wife's comments before opening fire.
"I think there were several witnesses, including Mr. Scott, who stated there was not an extended period for a cooling off point," said defense attorney Nikki Bonner.
Prosecutors contend otherwise. "Words alone can never be sufficient provocation... to reduce a killing from murder to manslaughter," said Lamb.
Whether Murder or manslaughter, that decision will be in the hands of a jury.
The state rested its case but the trial will resume Thursday with more character witnesses called by the defense.
The case will likely go the jury Thursday afternoon.
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