SAN ANTONIO – The man accused in the deaths of his girlfriend's mother and sister tried to smear or remove blood on his shirt as he was taken into custody on the night of April 18, 2009.
That is what homicide detective Jesse Salame told the jury as he testified in James Morrison's capital murder trial Monday.
Morrison is accused of shooting Laura Moten, 46, and Krystle Moten, 23, to death. He also allegedly shot his girlfriend Candice Moten, 25, but she survived.
The shootings came during an argument in which the women claimed Morrison had slashed the tires on Laura Moten's van.
Following the shootings, Morrison was arrested a few miles away.
Salame said he noticed what appeared to be blood on Morrison's shirt.
"He's like, ‘This? No, that's not blood.' Something like that," Salame said. "Then he started scraping it and started to pick at it."
Salame said Morrison later changed his story.
"He later said, 'Oh, that's my blood. I cut my finger,'" Salame testified.
If he is found guilty of capital murder, Morrison faces the death penalty.
Testimony will resume on Tuesday in Judge Ron Rangel's 379th District Court.