UPDATE: 6:00PM Sept.17
OSWEGO -- The prosecution appears to be nearing completion in the trial of Alan Jones, accused of stranglng this step-sister, Erin Maxwell.
Earlier Thursday, 2 State Police investigators took the stand to testify about the crime scene. And Thursday afternoon, former Medical Examiner Mary Jumbelic took the stand.
Jones contends his 11 year old step-sister accidentially hanged herself with a rope by placing it around her neck and twirling it so it, somehow, got stuck on a screw protruding from a window.
State Police do not believe Jones' version of such an unusual event and used measurements of the window, rope and Erin's weight and height to try and shoot holes into Jones' explanation.
But, defense attorney, Sal Lanza, says State Police did not take proper measurements to see if Erin could have been hanging at an angle with her body up against her bed.
The jury, also, got to see a conflicting demonstration of how the rope could have snagged onto the screw which sticks out 1/4 of an inch from the window.
Lanza hooked the rope onto the screw and tugged on it to show that it could hold weight. He, also, noted that the rope is frayed on one end indicating it did get caught on the screw.
But, DA Donald Dodd also showed the jury that, while it's possible to hook the rope onto the screw, he demonstrated how easily it would come off.
Jumbelic may be the prosecution's last witness.
Stay with Action News and CNYcentral.com for more updates.
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The prosecution and defense attorneys in the Alan Jones trial wrangled Thursday over a rope. Jones is on trial in Oswego County Court for the death of his stepsister, 11-year-old Erin Maxwell.
Jones is accused of strangling Erin with a rope in the bedroom of her family’s home in Palermo more than a year ago. The defense contends it was a tragic accident.
At one point in court Thursday morning, defense attorney Sal Lanza demonstrated just how easy the rope could get caught on a screw that protruded from a window casing. The prosecution then demonstrated for jurors how easily the rope could have come off the screw, and pointed to the condition of the frayed rope.
The prosecution expects to call another State Police investigator to the stand today, as well as two representatives from the medical examiner’s office. It’s not clear if the prosecution will wrap up its case today.
The death of Erin Maxwell has captivated the region. State police described the inside of the home where Maxwell lived and died as ‘deplorable’. There were more than a hundred animals in the home, and the floors were strewn with animal waste and garbage.
Erin’s father and stepmother were convicted in town court last month on charges of endangering the welfare of a child.
