LEE COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) — Note: WALB will livestream opening statements, testimony, and closing statements in this story. We will also stream a recap of the day’s events at 7 p.m. each evening as the trial progresses. Scroll down to view the daily trial recaps.

Editor’s note: This story includes descriptions of crime scene photos that may be sensitive to some readers.

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DAY 3 RECAP

Jurors in the Lee County double murder trial of Marcus Butts heard Thursday, Oct. 29 from GBI Crime Lab experts about ballistics and DNA evidence recovered during the investigation.

Butts, who is representing himself, spent day three of the trial challenging the GBI’s forensic findings. He questioned the physical and biological evidence, including evidence involving a gun and DNA recovered from a condom found at the scene. He challenged whether more than one weapon or person was involved.

Firearms testimony

Court heard from GBI firearms examiner, Kelsie Nash, about bullets, cartridges, and a bullet retrieved from Julianna Thompson’s body. Nash testified that the casings recovered were cycled and fired from the same firearm.

“I’ve determined that all three of the cartridge cases were fired from the same firearm, and I’ve determined that all three of the cartridge cases were cycled from the same firearm as one of the cartridges,” Nash said.

During cross-examination, Butts challenged whether all of the projectiles and evidence matched a single weapon.

DNA testimony

A GBI forensic scientist then testified about DNA extracted from cigar butts and a condom found at the apartment.

Saliva recovered from the cigar wraps matched both Butts and Julianna Thompson.

Testing on the condom revealed Julianna Thompson’s DNA and a partial profile matching Butts. Experts also identified DNA from one other unknown contributor.

The scientist said DNA can remain for days. The scientist acknowledged the findings could be consistent with another person having sexual contact with Julianna Thompson before the crime. Questions remain about who the unknown contributor was and when the sample was left.

GBI Investigates Scene

Samantha Fort, a GBI Field Agent that responded to the scene, walked jurors through how investigators recovered and extracted data from Julianna’s cell phone found inside the apartment.

Jurors heard personal text messages between the defendant Butts, and Julianna Thompson, which contradicted Butts’ opening statements.

Fort testified that two phones were found sitting out in the living room. Investigators eventually were able to access Julianna’s phone and extract it’s contents.

The GBI Field Agent read some of the messages to the jury. In one, Butts told Julianna he would never hurt her or her mother.

Butts Initial Interview With GBI

The agent also testified that Butts told investigators he last saw Julianna few days before the two were found dead.

Another part of the testimony consisted of Fort speaking on a way officials at the GBI can figure out when someone is responsible for a crime.

“We know the process of how to process crime scenes and what information is considered guilty knowledge. We purposely kept everybody out, so nobody would know except us. So when we were conducting interviews, if we came across someone who knew what the murder weapon was, that’s be what we say a clue. At this point, some of the deputies outside had already been speculating. It wasn’t a secret that they had been shot inside that apartment. The rumor that was going around was that it was a revolver, so we just let everybody think that. He started to tell me that while he was in Smithville on Monday and he saw Pacman whose Kirby Smith with a Taurus 9mm.”

Testimony is expected to resume Friday morning as the state calls its last few witnesses.

DAY 2 RECAP

Crime scene photos were shown to the jury Wednesday, Oct. 28 in the trial of Marcus Butts, the man accused of killing a mother and daughter in Smithville in 2024. Butts is representing himself.

Charges and background

Butts faces 18 charges in an indictment in connection with the deaths of Jessica and Julianna Thompson. The two were found shot to death inside their Smithville apartment in March of 2024. Butts was indicted in June of 2024.

Court resumes with ruling on evidence

The trial resumed Wednesday morning with Judge Brown ruling on evidence regarding text messages sent from Jessica Thompson to someone at Aspire, a facility that offers mental healthcare services. According to testimony presented during the trial, her daughter suffered from bipolar depression. Butts made no objections, and the judge issued the ruling.

Seven witnesses testified Tuesday during the first day of testimony. They included neighbors of the apartment complex, complex employees, and experts.

GBI special agent testifies

GBI Special Agent James Gibson, a crime scene specialist, resumed testifying Wednesday morning. He testified about what the apartment and the bathroom looked like when Jessica and Julianna were found.

The photos shown in court showed Jessica Thompson and her daughter in a bathtub. Juliana was found positioned on top of Jessica. Jessica’s hands were bound together, and her pajama pants were tied around her neck.

“Juliana was on top of her mother’s legs, so she would have been in the water, but her mother’s body being at the low end of the tub, her lower part portion of her body would have been under the water,” Gibson said.

Both women suffered gunshot wounds to the head. Jessica Thompson’s glasses were apparently broken by a bullet.

On cross-examination, Butts asked whether any evidence from the scene pointed to him.

“I know items were sent to the lab, and there were lab reports that came back, I’m familiar with that there were lab reports, as far as what all of them said, I don’t have them in front of me, and I can’t testify to what the lab results were,” Gibson said.

Therapist testifies

The state called Kaitlyn Norman, a counselor who worked at Aspire Behavioral Health. Norman had several sessions with Julianna Thompson.

According to testimony presented throughout the trial, Julianna Thompson suffered from bipolar depression, among other things. Norman testified that when Julianna began a relationship with Butts, her behaviors in their sessions escalated and she declined drastically.

Norman also read aloud messages during her testimony between herself and Jessica Thompson.

In the text messages, Jessica Thompson wrote: “She has told her sister that he sells weed. She also told her that he supplies her with weed and buys her Delta 8 vapes and alcohol. I am so, so worried about the influence and potential control that he has on her.”

Butts is defending himself in the case. During cross-examination, he asked Norman only whether Julianna ever told her that he put his hands on her. Norman answered no.

DAY 1 RECAP

The state called its first set of witnesses in the trial of a man accused of shooting and killing a mother and daughter in 2024. The defendant, Marcus Butts, is representing himself and cross-examined the state’s witnesses.

Butts faces an 18-count indictment that includes several counts of malice and felony murder, aggravated assault, theft by taking, and other charges.

State describes how victims were found

District Attorney Lewis Lamb said in opening statements that several cartridges recovered from the scene were tested by the GBI. He said the results showed an identical match to other casings provided by the original owner of the stolen weapon.

Lamb says all the evidence in the case points to Butts.

“When you look at the sum total of that evidence, that it leads to only one conclusion. And that conclusion is that Marcus Butts is a cold-blooded, heartless murderer who pointed a pistol in the face of his 17-year-old girlfriend from a foot and a half away and put a bullet in her brain. And who tied up her mother and put a bullet in her brain.”

Butts admitted involvement in the stolen weapon incident. He said he and Julianna Thompson sold the weapon before she and her mother were found dead.

“When you’re in a relationship with your girlfriend then, you’re gonna be the first suspect,” Butts said. “No physical evidence that he killed them folks.”

“They ain’t got nothing to do with me if me and Juliana sold this gun,” Butts said.

Boyfriend testifies

Jessica Thompson’s boyfriend, Vance Turner, testified he had not heard from her in a few days. He said he called her mother, who went to the apartment and found both women dead in the bathtub, shot to death.

Officer testifies about response to 911 call

A Smithville police officer, by the name of Michel Francis, who responded to the 911 call testified that a condom was found by the front door of the home. That’s significant because it might have had DNA evidence that would put him at the scene.

“I can’t be able to tell you exactly how far it was from the door. I just remember it was right there when you first walked into the building,” Michel Francis said.

When Butts cross-examined the officer, he asked if the officer knew him. That led to questions about multiple calls the officer had received about Butts in Smithville.

Medical examiner testifies

A former GBI medical examiner also testified about the gunshot injuries to the heads of both Jessica and Julianna Thompson.

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