Update: 1:45 p.m.
Murder suspect, Joe Fields took the stand Tuesday in Clearfield County Court.
More from Day One of the Murder Trial:
A DuBois man is on trial for murder after police say he admitted to cutting his girlfriend’s throat during an argument in September.
During opening arguments, DA William Shaw says the woman had defensive wounds on her hands. Defense attorney Mike Marshall did not discuss any facts of the case, asking the jury keep an open mind.
The day before, on Sept. 21, friend Anthony Assalone testified he was building a porch near Penfield with suspect Joe Fields for Nicole Snyder’s mom Gay.
Then, around 3 a.m. on Sept. 22, he says Fields called and woke him up, saying Nicole had “flipped out.”
Officer Michael Davidson testified today that Nicole’s 7-year-old answered the door with blood on his shirt, his mom clinging to the sofa nearby.
She was unable to talk with blood coming from the 33-year-old’s neck, and when Davidson asked if anyone was around, she could only point to the back of the house, according to Davidson.
Officers checked around, and went to the attic, but found no one, they testified.
Sandy Twp. Officer Derrick Welsh said he put a bandage and pressure on Nicole’s neck.
When paramedic Jordan Anthony, then with DuBois EMS, arrived on scene, they worked on Nicole for a few minutes, but they couldn’t revive her.
Cpl. Randall Young said he tried calling Fields on his cell phone.
According to police, Fields wouldn’t come in, only saying he did nothing, needed to clear his head and was driving around.
It was only later around 5:30 p.m. that day that family members say they were searching for Gay’s dog, which was apparently scared off by police flash-banging the house in a search.
Suddenly: “He was just sitting on the bank, staring down at us,” Nicole’s brother Clyde testified, saying Fields claimed he did nothing. “He woke up and she was doing it to herself.”
They talked him down, asking about weapons, and say he showed the knife he carries around his neck. “He said this is what he used and the police would want this,” Assalone said.
The jury of 8 men and 4 women also saw a photo of fields with blood stains on his T-shirt.
The brother says immediately when he noticed Fields, he sent his daughter and her boyfriend away to call police.
The defense will present its case next.