Defendant takes the stand in his own defense Tuesday
Only a few hours after the murder case against Jeffrey Adams was turned over to the jury on Tuesday, the panel came back with a verdict that same evening—guilty of murder in the first degree. The 48-year-old Marquette man will face sentencing Oct. 17 after being found guilty of premeditated murder in the death of his wife, Angela, in their home on Feb. 26, 2023. The verdict followed six days of testimony in the trial which began on Monday, June 10.
Reactions could be heard from those in the courtroom Tuesday evening as Hamilton County District Court Clerk Wendy Dethlefs read out the jury's decision. Members of Angela Adams's family have been a constant presence in the courtroom gallery throughout the trial.
With the prosecution having rested its case against Adams early Monday afternoon, court was in recess until Tuesday morning when defense attorney Matthew McDonald began presenting his case. Adams took the witness stand in his own defense on Tuesday and said he could not remember what happened the night his wife died due to his being intoxicated. He also admitted to hitting Angela but said he did not intend to kill her.
Expert witnesses for the prosecution testified earlier that marks were found on Angela's neck indicating she had been strangled and other marks indicated she had been beaten.
Last week the eight man, six woman Hamilton County jury heard testimony from 24 of the prosecution’s witnesses. which included one of the defendant’s two ex-wives, Nicole Flagle. She had testified at a hearing last fall that she had suffered physical abuse by Adams during the course of their relationship.
Testimony wrapped up for the weekend late Friday morning after the state said it had no more witnesses available to testify that day. County Attorney Douglas Dexter said at the time that he expected to call the final three witnesses on Monday morning and rest his case. That is what happened on Monday and, working through the noon hour, the trial recessed at about 12:40 p.m. for the day.
As testimony was coming to a close late Friday morning, the trial was in recess with the judge and jury out of the room. Adams, guarded by Chief Deputy Aaron Smith, sat at the defense table next to his attorney. Gone was the orange jail jumpsuit Adams has worn for all of his other court appearances, replaced by blue jeans and a navy blue polo shirt. A red and blue windbreaker was draped over the back of his chair.
As they waited for the break to end, the court officers bantered back and forth with witnesses and others in the courtroom. In addition to Assistant Attorney General Sandra Allen, who has been assisting Dexter, the prosecution team also included Mike Maseth, an investigator with the Attorney General’s office.
Minutes later others began filtering into the courtroom including the approximately 20 people in the gallery, many of whom were members of Angela Adams’ family.
When the judge and jury returned and court resumed shortly after 11 a.m., McDonald continued cross examination of a prosecution witness who had testified earlier about blood stains found at the scene including two different blood stains found on a pack of cigarettes.
When Dexter announced he was through calling witnesses for the day, Judge Christina M. Marroquin gave instructions to the jury regarding the weekend recess. She told them they were not to talk among themselves or to anyone else about the case, they were not to do any research or investigation regarding the case, they were not to read or watch any news accounts about the trial and they were told not to form an opinion about the evidence presented so far in the trial.