Turvey note re: Jeremy Pittari "Robert Grant found guilty of murder" Picayune Item, September 02, 2006


Having been present in the courtroom for the entire trial (from jury selection to the jury being escused), and having watched the testimony of almost every witness, my experience contridicts this reporter's. It is also perhaps a good reminder as to the political agenda of popular publications. They serve their community, and the truth it is willing to pay for.

The reporter here conveniently reports in the article that I train police agencies outside of the US. This leaves the false impression that this is all that I do. It also incompletely reflects my testimony, my CV, and every other available fact on the subject relating to my career and publications. 

Moreover, the reporter's article grossly misstates my opinion - which reamins that there was no physical evidence connecting Robert Grant to the "mask", coveralls, or alleged getaway car. Additionally, there was no physical evidence connecting any of these items to the crime as it occurred - evidence which would need to be there such as specific area blood transfers. 

I testified that the scene had clearly been staged, and spent more than a few hours explaining why to the jury based on my findings.

I did not give any opinions as to Robert Grant's guilt, and actually refused to answer such questions, reminding the court that these were ultimate issues for the jury. This was all very clear, unless one was asleep. The reporter was not asleep, and sat in the front row.

Most notably absent from the reporter's article is the dramatic on stand, under oath, confession by Terry Wayne Adams to staging the crime scene. For more than an hour after the shooting death of the victim, Mr. Adams confessed that he spent time all but successfully covering up evidence of his own criminal activity; removing 2 pounds of marijuana to the tree line, and other unnamed items, from the trailer. He also removed a witness from the scene, to keep her from talking to police. He did all of this before actually contacting the police, in his own words from the stand, "to make sure that I wasn't implicated in anything". Mr. Adams also confessed to other crimes, shouting "I am a drug dealer! That's what I do... I sell it by the ounce, by the key; I sell it any way I can!" 

Mr. Adams gave his testimony while in handcuffs, being incarcerated at that time for drug related charges.
It bears mentioning at this point that Mr. Adams was also the only one of four people in the home with GSR on his hands. Investigative, this should have been suggestive.

Also absent from the reporters recounting is that all witnesses from inside the home testified that nobody was or could have been shot in the house (a single-wide trailer). This was the state's original theory which they abandoned once I performed my analysis of the scene back in January of 2006, and requested the forensic testing of items recovered from the scene. DA Manya Creel had previously ordered the crime lab to halt testing on these items for unknown reasons.

Also, nobody ever explained why Terry Wayne Adams got everything back from police that was found in the bloody pillowcase in the yard, the very same day (approx. $4800 or so cash, a pot pipe, whisky glasses, a Crown Royal bag with unknown contents, etc...). There was no interest on the part of police to examine these items or retain them as evidence. Though Pearl River Sheriff's deputies did keep his stash of pot. And they also stated under oath that there was no indication that Terry Wayne Adams might have been involved in the drug trade whatsoever.

Strange case.


Brent E. Turvey, MS