Murder trial against Hillsboro woman underway in Highland County Common Pleas Court

Prosecutors presented evidence in the opening day of the murder trial against Melissa Norris of Hillsboro Monday, Dec. 11 in Highland County Common Pleas Court.

As previously reported, Norris, 50, was indicted by a Highland County grand jury July 11 on charges of murder, an unclassified felony, with a firearm specification; felonious assault, a second-degree felony; and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony.

On March 11 at 2:39 p.m., the Hillsboro Police Department responded to 801 Treewood Drive (North West St.), Hillsboro, in reference to a 911 call.

Upon officers' arrival, it was determined that a 53-year-old man had suffered a fatal gunshot wound. The Hillsboro Police Department requested assistance from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, BCI&I for crime scene processing.

Norris is being represented at trial by local attorneys William Armintrout and JD Wagoner, while the state is represented by Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins and Assistant Prosecutor Adam King.

The state presented witnesses throughout the day Monday, with the defense expected to present their case Tuesday morning. It is anticipated that the jury will begin deliberations Tuesday.

The jury was seated Monday morning, and after receiving instructions from Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss, they heard an opening statement from Collins just before 11 a.m. The defense reserved their opening statement.

Collins told the jury that the trial would reveal that Norris “shot and killed” the victim “after after going after him with a baseball bat” in his apartment on March 11. The altercation was prompted by a fight over the victim’s T-shirt, according to the prosecutor.

Collins said that Norris’s daughter stopped by the victim’s apartment that day and commented on his shirt, saying that her brother had a similar one. In response, Norris became angry and accused the victim of stealing her son’s shirt, then picked up a ball bat, which the victim was able to get away from her.

The prosecutor continued her opening statement by saying that the victim encouraged Norris’s daughter to call the police, but she left due to having a warrant for her own arrest. It was then that it is alleged Norris grabbed a shotgun while the victim dialed 911.

According to Collins’ opening statement, Norris can be heard saying “You don’t think I’ll do it?” before the dispatcher answers the 911 call (which was already recording), while the victim advises he needs help because he has “a gun pulled on me.” While the dispatcher transfers the call to the Hillsboro Police Department, “the phone rings once and you hear the gunshot,” Collins said. Later in the call, the prosecutor said, you can hear Norris say “how do you clear this thing?”

When officers determined the location of the call, they began searching the apartment building and were told by a neighbor to check the victim’s apartment. Officers found Norris “standing in the apartment holding a coffee cup and a cell phone,” Collins said. “The phone is connected to 911, still open. She’s covered in blood, and so is the phone and the cup.” The victim is also located, already dead, in his recliner, having suffered a “shotgun blast to the neck,” according to the prosecutor.

Collins told the jury that the evidence will not show that Norris “was in fear of her life” or “afraid of” the victim, but that it will reveal Norris “was the aggressor” and “went after” the victim “over a T-shirt.”

The first witness Monday morning was the victim’s son. He testified that he was listed as a caregiver on the lease for his father’s apartment, as his father had several health problems, including “heart issues,” “seizures” and “back problems.” He was still recovering from surgery in January and suffered from “excruciating pain,” the son testified.

The son reviewed photos of the apartment and said that his father kept a baseball bat “beside his chair on the floor” and a shotgun “directly behind his chair in arm’s reach.” He also said that the T-shirt that allegedly prompted the altercation was a shirt belonging to his father, which he also wore, and that it had been purchased for his father by an ex-girlfriend.

King played a portion of the 911 call, where the victim identified the male voice asking for help as his father.

The second witness was Norris’s daughter, who said she stopped by the victim’s apartment March 11 to see if he would give her a ride as his apartment was “on the way” to her destination. She said she had to wake the victim up and was “chit-chatting” with him when she noticed his shirt and made a comment about it. At that point, she said Norris “started yelling” at the victim for “stealing” her son’s shirt.

The daughter said she didn’t want to call 911 because she had a warrant but thought someone at the apartment complex would call. Under questioning, she recognized and identified the voices in the 911 call, the victim’s shirt and the baseball bat, but she testified that she did not recall seeing a gun. She also said that Norris and the victim were the only individuals in the apartment when she left.

Under cross examination by Wagoner, the daughter said that Norris and the victim “didn’t get physical” while she was there. She acted out what she observed with her mother and the victim as they argued back and forth with the bat, as she said she didn’t think it took the victim long to get the bat away from Norris.

The final witness testify Monday morning was Chris Campton of the Highland County Sheriff’s Office, the dispatcher who answered the victim’s 911 call. During his testimony, King played the 911 call in its entirety. In addition to the comments referred to by Collins in her opening statement, the call depicts the Hillsboro Police dispatcher asking multiple questions in attempt to locate the victim’s address and status and receiving no response.

Following an hourlong break at noon, Monday afternoon’s testimony included a series of expert witnesses, beginning with Dr. Kevin Jenkins of the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, an expert witness in the area of forensic pathology.

Jenkins testified that he performed the autopsy on the victim and explained that process while reviewing multiple photos from the autopsy, which included closeup images of the victim’s body and of X-rays performed.

Jenkins said that he found a 5-inch by 2-inch gunshot wound on the left side of the victim’s neck and face. The gunshot caused “soft tissue injury;” holes to the jugular and carotid arteries; a broken mandible (jawbone) and hyoid bone (in the neck); and injuries to the mouth, the doctor said.

Jenkins identified photos of the shotgun wad and of pellets removed from the gunshot wound. He said that the autopsy’s finding was that the cause of death was a shotgun wound to the neck and that the victim would’ve likely died within “seconds, or at most, minutes,” as a result of the injury.

Under cross examination, Wagoner pointed to various marks on the victim’s face and asked if they were “claw marks” or “scratches.” Jenkins said that they all appeared to be “dried blood.” He added, under redirect examination, that if there had been lacerations, they would have been in the report, as he found several “minor” ones unrelated to the gunshot wound.

The next witness was Logan Schepeler of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), an expert in the area of DNA analysis. He explained that evidence is collected and swabs taken to first test for presumption of blood, and then to test for DNA.

According to Schepeler, the victim’s T-shirt, pants and cell phone were all tested, with blood found on all three items and the DNA consistent with the victim’s.

Another BCI expert — Ian Wallace, a computer forensics specialist — testified briefly about investigating the victim’s phone and confirmed the victim’s phone number.

He was followed by a third consecutive Ohio BCI expert, Andrew McClelland, who specializes in firearms and ammunition analysis. When presented with pieces of evidence by Collins, he confirmed that the weapon was a 12-gauge shotgun and that a fired shotgun shell, as well as four unfired shells, were all compatible with the weapon.

McClelland testified that he examined a bag with a shotgun wad and a bag with lead shot pellets, which he said were consistent with the wad. He also explained the mechanics of the wad and pellets for the jury.

The state’s final witness was Detective Brian Butler of the Hillsboro Police Department, who investigated the case. Butler said he responded to the apartment complex and was told by a neighboring resident to go to the victim’s apartment. He said that when he opened the door, he found Norris “with blood on her,” holding a mug and phone also covered in blood. He also found the victim “deceased with a gunshot wound to the face,” he said, and located a shotgun “wrapped in a flannel shirt” in the room.

Butler said that he called for a squad to evaluate Norris, while he contacted Collins to obtain search warrants. Ohio BCI was also contacted. He said Norris was “passive aggressive and resistant” when the warrants were served but eventually complied.

Butler reviewed numerous photos and/or physical evidence from the scene, including of the apartment; the phone and of the mug; of Norris, prior to her being able to wash the blood off of her; Norris’s shirt and pants; the victim’s numerous pill bottles; the victim’s chair and shirt; images of the victim; and the victim’s death certificate.

It was noted in the photos of Norris that she had an apparent abrasion on her face. Butler said that he was present when Norris was asked if that injury was “from today” and that Norris responded that it was not.

According to Butler, BCI agent’s “had to clear the gun” and found a “spent shell casing lodged in the chamber,” along with “four other unspent shells” still in the weapon.

Butler testified that he did not find out about the baseball bat until later, when Norris’s daughter wrote a letter and explained that she had been in the apartment and that she had observed her mother and the victim grabbing the bat. He later went back to retrieve the bat and found it “propped against the wall between two chairs,” Butler said.

Collins again played portions of the 911 call and asked Butler to point out certain parts. He confirmed that Norris is heard saying “You don’t think I’ll do it?” at the start, while the victim tells the dispatcher “I need to get someone here, I’ve got a gun pulled on me in my own apartment.” After one ring as the call is transferred to the police department, a gunshot is heard.

Under cross examination, Butler said that Norris “appeared to be in shock” when questioned and was “nonverbal and trembling.” Collins asked him under redirect if someone can be in shock if they have “just shot someone.” Butler said, “Yes.”

Collins also asked if Norris did anything to indicate she was “no longer in shock.” Butler said “Yes,” that Norris “appeared to be faking it” and would answer questions then “go back to shaking.”

The jury was dismissed at 2:55 p.m., with the trial set to resume Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.