State rests in trial of Otis McKane, accused of murdering SAPD Det. Benjamin Marconi

Defense presents case Monday; jury expected to deliberate next week

SAN ANTONIO – Editor’s note: KSAT is livestreaming the entire trial of Otis McKane here. Get a daily recap like this one sent to your inbox by signing up for the free Open Court newsletter.

The state rested its case Friday afternoon in the capital murder trial of Otis McKane, who is charged with the November 2016 fatal shooting of San Antonio Police Det. Benjamin Marconi.

The prosecution called on 55 witnesses to help present its case over a 10-day period.

The defense is scheduled to present its case Monday. Defense attorneys told KSAT they expect to conclude that day.

Among the witnesses to testify in Day 10 of the trial Friday was Officer Chris Enfinger, a member of the San Antonio Police Department SWAT team who helped escort McKane from the arresting scene to Public Safety Headquarters for interrogation.

Efinger said that when their vehicle passed in front of headquarters, he noticed that McKane “was looking at that particular spot” where the detective was shot.

Efinger also escorted McKane to the vehicle that was going to take the suspect to the Magistrate’s Office, where McKane was going to be formally charged. Video of the escort, which was covered by the media and shown on KSAT 12 News and KSAT.com was shown to the jury.

“I lashed out on somebody that didn’t deserve it,” McKane told reporters in the video.

But Efinger said McKane’s apologetic tone turned into one of no regret when they arrived at the Magistrate’s Office. Efinger told jurors that inside the office, and in the presence of several officers, McKane made the following statement: “He was glad to shoot him. You can’t judge me. It felt good to do what he did. And he had to do something to get someone to listen,” Efinger testified.

McKane also displayed mixed emotions of anger and remorse when he was given a mental health assessment at the Bexar County Jail by Elroy Brown, a licensed social worker.

Brown testified that he assessed McKane for signs of homicidal or suicidal thoughts. Brown said that McKane was alert, understood everything that he was asked and was not suffering from a mental health condition.

Brown told jurors that McKane admitted that he shot an SAPD officer because “it was something that he had to do” but that he felt sorry for the officer’s family, and the shooting “wasn’t about the gentleman -- it was about the uniform.”

Jurors heard some very emotional and tearful testimony from U.S. Air Force Maj. Dr. Erica Simon, chief resident at the emergency room at Brooke Army Medical Center, where Marconi was taken for treatment.

Simon told jurors that she was the first person to see Marconi as he was wheeled into the military hospital.

“(There was ) blood everywhere, all over his face … very grave. Lifeless,” Simon said in describing Marconi’s condition.

Simon cried when she told jurors that Marconi’s vital signs were not good, he never had a heart rhythm and even if he was resuscitated, his neurological outlook was not good.

Simon recalled when the trauma team cut open the detective’s chest to inject his heart with a medication in a last-ditch effort to get his heart beating faster.

“Right about this time, I looked down and my feet are warm because I am standing in a pool of blood,” she said tearfully. “There are no signs of life.”

Simon said that the trauma team recapped all they had done for Marconi and realized they didn’t have anymore options. He was pronounced dead at 12:22 p.m.

The final witness to testify was Dr. Jennifer Rulon, a medical examiner at the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office, who performed the autopsy on Marconi.

Rulon said that she took 98 pictures of the autopsy, and Marconi suffered several skull fractures.

She said Marconi died of multiple gunshot wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide.

McKane could face the death penalty if he is found guilty.

The trial will resume Monday morning.

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About the Authors:

David Ibañez has been managing editor of KSAT.com since the website's launch in October 2000.

Erica Hernandez is an Emmy award-winning journalist with 15 years of experience in the broadcast news business. Erica has covered a wide array of stories all over Central and South Texas. She's currently the court reporter and cohost of the podcast Texas Crime Stories.