Victim's Sister Testifies About Domestic Violence In Trial Of Md. Man Accused Of 1991 Murder
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (WJZ)—The murder trial resumes in Howard County for a man charged in the 1991 death of his wife.
Robert Arnold Jarrett Jr. was arrested last year and charged with first-degree murder after the human remains of Christine Jarrett—his wife who had been missing for 21 years—were discovered by police in a weather-beaten shed in the backyard of their house on Clair Drive in Elkridge.
Authorities say Jarrett reported his wife missing in 1991, saying she had walked away from their home after an argument. Police say they had long suspected foul play, but lacked the evidence at the time to prove it.
On Friday, the victim's sister, Patricia Mueller, took the stand.
Mueller testified to an earlier incident of domestic violence. She recalled how she picked up her sister from a drug store after Christine said she was abused by her husband.
The officer who took the missing person's report and a crime scene technician also took the stand.
The technician talked about how she went to the house to scan it looking for any evidence of blood splattering and didn't find anything.
A retired detective took the stand. He was assigned to the missing person's case back in 1991. He talked about a number of interviews he conducted with the Jarrett family and recounted the reports and notes he filed before it was declared inactive.
More testimony will come from police on Monday.
