UTICA -- While the first day of testimony in the David Trebilcock trial focused primarily on the death of Lauren Belius and the events surrounding it, day two of testimony was more about the defendant and his state of mind. Trebilcock is accused of stabbing Belius to death. She was the daughter of his girlfriend.
The prosecution called four more witnesses on Tuesday, and the defense called its first witnesses. Darlene Humphrey took the stand first Tuesday morning. She was the nurse who spent time with Trebilcock at St. Elizabeth Hospital after Lauren's death.
Trebilcock was taken to the hospital with multiple stab wounds to his arms and chest. Humphrey said she did a mental assessment on Trebilcock while he was at the hospital.
She testified when she asked Trebilcock about what had happened, he made statements such as, "She had to die. She was evil," and "I don't feel any remorse." Humphrey says at the time, Trebilcock was lucid and coherent.
The prosecution called Sgt. Anthony Martino next. He works for the Utica Police Department and does work in computer forensics. He says he was asked to evaluate Trebilcock's computer and find out if Trebilcock had been searching for anything related to law enforcement or religion.
Martino says there had been on a search on the computer for the phrase, "How long do police do surveillance before they arrest you?" He also said there had been 20-30 searches related to religion.
Defense Attorney Patrick Marthage asked if there was any way to know for sure who had done the searches, and Martino said no.
Investigator Chad Tangorra was called to the stand next. Tangorra says he interviewed Trebilcock after Lauren's death and found him to be coherent and able to carry on a normal conversation.
Tangorra testified that Trebilcock told him he had never received treatment for mental illness, and he was "not mentally ill." He also testified that Trebilcock told him he knew he could go to jail for life for the crime.
Tangorra was asked to read Trebilcock's statement aloud in the courtroom, an emotional experience for Lauren's family members who were watching.
The defense also had the chance to call its first witness today. Nichole Marioni is a Chief Psychologist at CNY Psychiatric Center.
Marioni said she had evaluated Trebilcock and learned more about his background. She testified Trebilcock's mother had left him at a young age, and he didn't always get along with his stepmother. She said he did well on standardized tests, but didn't try in school, so he received poor grades. He didn't seem to have any significant behavioral problems in his background
Marioni also said Trebilcock's sister and great-grandmother had been diagnosed with mental illnesses. She says tests were done on Trebilcock, and his scores were consistent with schizophrenia.
The defense will continue with his witnesses Thursday, and all testimony is expected to wrap up by Friday.
