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(NewsDakota.com) – Jurors in the murder case against a 22-year-old Jamestown woman saw their first photos of the crime scene Wednesday afternoon in Stutsman County District Court.
The photos showed the victim, 18-year-old Abdi Ali Ahmed, face down in mud at the bottom of the ditch of a gravel road near the Spiritwood Energy Plant about 10 miles east of Jamestown. Other photos appeared to show two puncture wounds in Ahmed’s upper body, lacerations on both arms, and blood on the road and in the grass.
The photos were presented by Stutsman County State’s Attorney Fritz Fremgen while Stutsman County Sheriff’s Office investigator Jason Falk was testifying to what they found at the crime scene on April 30, 2011.
Earlier Wednesday, witnesses testified that Ahmed and the two people charged with murdering him were together at a bar and a house party prior to Ahmed’s death.
22-year-old Janelle Alexandra Cave and 34-year-old Leron Lee Howard are charged with murder and criminal conspiracy in the death of Ahmed, who authorities say was stabbed and suffered blunt force trauma.
Cave is currently on trial. Howard’s trial is scheduled for August.
Witnesses testified that Howard and Ahmed were together at The Corner Bar in Jamestown for about 15 minutes just after 12 a.m. in the early morning of April 30. More witnesses recall seeing Ahmed, Howard and Janelle Cave together at a house party near Jamestown College a few hours later.
Roger Reed, a project manager for Wanzek Construction in Fargo, testified Wednesday that he discovered Ahmed’s body just after 12 p.m. on April 30.
In opening statements Tuesday, Fremgen said the state will prove that Cave was more than just an innocent bystander in the death of Ahmed.
Cave’s court-appointed attorney David Ogren said in opening statements that the theme of his case will come back to the level of responsibility that Cave had in the death of Ahmed. Much of the evidence is going to go against a man who is not even on trial yet, Cave’s attorney said in reference to Howard. He said Cave plans to testify in her defense.
The trial continues with more witnesses on Thursday.
