Tyshawn Lee Murder Trial: Closing Arguments Today For Trial Of Two Men Accused Of Fatally Shooting 4th Grader
CHICAGO (CBS/AP) -- After 11 days of testimony, closing arguments will begin Thursday morning in the trial of two men accused of the execution-style murder of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee in 2015.
Defense attorneys for Dwright Boone-Doty and Corey Morgan rested their cases on Wednesday without calling any witnesses.
Prosecutors wrapped up their case Wednesday by showing jurors autopsy photos, including ones of the fatal shot to Tyshawn's head.
To remind jurors of the last helpless moments of Tyshawn's life, prosecutors also showed jurors photos of a bullet wound to the boy's thumb, which they contend was struck when he tried to block the bullets.
Closing arguments were set to begin at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Two separate juries are deciding the fates of Morgan and Boone-Doty, and deliberations could begin later Thursday or on Friday.
Prosecutors have said Morgan and Boone-Doty plotted to kill the fourth grader because his father was a member of a rival gang they suspected of killing Morgan's brother weeks earlier.
Police and prosecutors said both shootings stemmed from an ongoing gang war between the Terror Dome faction of the Black P-Stones and the Killa Ward faction of the Gangster Disciples.
Morgan and Boone-Doty spotted Tyshawn playing basketball at Dawes Park at 80th and Damen on Nov. 2, 2015, according to police and prosecutors.
Authorities said Boone-Doty lured Tyshawn into a nearby alley with the promise of a juice box, and shot him multiple times at close range.
Authorities have said Boone-Doty admitted his role in Tyshawn's death and said when he shot the boy, he "seen that bitch go in his head."
"This was a targeted assassination," acting Chicago Police Supt. John Escalante said at the time. "These are calculated killers whose actions define the words brutality and cowardice."
A third man, 26-year-old Kevin Edwards, has pleaded guilty in exchange for a 25-year sentence. Prosecutors have said he was the getaway driver in Tyshawn's slaying.
On the day Boone-Doty first appeared in court accused of killing Tyshawn, the boy's father, Pierre Stokes, allegedly opened fire on gang rivals, wounding three of them, authorities have said. Stokes is in jail awaiting trial on aggravated battery and other charges in that attack.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)