Trial witness: "Blood everywhere" at scene of N.C. mom's murder

RALEIGH, N.C. --A construction worker who found a North Carolina mother dead in her bed in May 2013 testified Tuesday at the trial of a man accused of killing her, saying "there was blood everywhere."

The trial of 23-year-old Raleigh man Travion Devonte Smith, accused in the death of 30-year-old Melissa Huggins-Jones, launched with brief opening statements Tuesday after a nearly month-long jury selection process, reports CBS affiliate WRAL.

Smith is among three people charged in connection with the murder of Huggins-Jones in her Raleigh apartment. Smith's co-defendant, Ronald Lee Anthony, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in September and received a life sentence.

Sarah Rene Redden, of Wake Forest, who allegedly served as the getaway driver for Smith and Anthony, has agreed to testify against Smith, WRAL reports.

The first witness to take the stand was reportedly Robert Pittman, a construction worker who was working on the property the day of the murder. That morning, May 14, 2013, Pittman said he encountered Huggins-Jones' eight-year-old daughter, who he said was standing outside by a fence in her nightgown, crying.

"She said she had tried to wake her mother but couldn't and that there was blood on (her mother's) face," Pittman said.

Pittman and his supervisor accompanied the child to the apartment and found Huggins-Jones' body.

"She had blood all over her face...there was blood everywhere," Pittman said. "I put two fingers on her wrist and there was no pulse. She was cold as a block of ice."

An autopsy reportedly determined that she died from repeated blows to her head and neck.

Prosecutors argue that Smith and Anthony killed Huggins-Jones during a burglary at her apartment, the station reports. They say the three suspects had been breaking into cars in the area earlier that evening and that Redden had acted as a lookout at a different apartment complex.

In opening statements Tuesday, the defense reportedly argued that Smith was a follower and was manipulated by Anthony to take part in the crime.

If convicted, Smith faces the possibility of the death penalty. The trial is expected to last four weeks.