Opening statements begin in trial of James Ray, New Jersey attorney charged with murdering his girlfriend in 2018
MONTCLAIR, N.J. -- A trial began Wednesday for an attorney accused of killing his girlfriend nearly five years ago in Montclair.
James Ray III, now 60 years old, looked at the jury as his lawyer argued he shot 44-year-old Angela Bledsoe in self-defense, not cold blood.
"Angela Bledsoe, on October 22nd, 2018, picked up a 9-millimeter and pointed it at James Ray. Period," defense attorney Brooke Barnett said. "He had no choice but to shoot."
Prosecutors allege otherwise and say he was a man with murder on his mind.
"This defendant took his loaded .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun and shot at Angela four times," said Michele Miller, assistant Essex County prosecutor. "He shot her in the face."
That gun, they say, has never been found.
In fall 2018, Ray -- a former Marine, NYPD officer and lawyer -- was captured in Cuba, a non-extraditing country, after allegedly shooting Angela Bledsoe in their shared Montclair home a week prior.
Authorities say he dropped their then-6-year-old daughter off with his brother, then fled.
Ray's brother, Robert Ray, took the stand Wednesday; he's the one who initially called police after reading a note his brother left for him.
"Immediately, I cried ... Because the letter indicted that Angela had been killed," Robert Ray said.
Prosecutors told the jury the relationship was difficult and also over. Both sides acknowledged an affair Bledsoe had.
"Angela complained that he was controlling and demeaning. He didn't respect her as a person," Miller said.
"Angela was an opportunist, one who used people and, most notable, successful men," Barnett said.
Prosecutors say she was moving on and moving out with their daughter and had an appointment that day with a realtor.
"A new chapter that did not include him," Miller said.
Bledsoe's family and friends were in the courtroom listening and, at times, crying. They've been waiting five years for this trial.
