After only one witness testified in his defense, Caddo Parish prosecutors and the defense in the Mark Colby murder trial presented their closing arguments late Friday, March 24, 2017.
The jury is now deliberating the fate of Colby, accused of the September 2014 slaying of his partner and girlfriend Angela Godley in the Shreve Island home the two shared.
Colby, 60, incarcerated in Caddo Correctional Center, is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Godley, 53, whose body was found Sept. 10, 2014 in the laundry room of their house in the 1900 block of Bayou Drive. She had been shot several times in the upper body. The two were partners in the Noble Savage Tavern in downtown Shreveport. Colby fled to Mexico after the shooting but was found and arrested several days later.
Friday, jurors heard from a crime scene investigator, the lead detective in the case, a crime lab analyst and several people who testified about Colby’s prior acts of violence against Godley and others. These included a former police officer, a bar employee and a doctor, the latter two of whom claimed Colby discharged firearms at them. The former police officer also testified that Colby once held a knife to Godley’s throat.
Colby is defended by Curtis R. Joseph Jr., while Caddo Parish Assistant District Attorneys Britney A. Green and Ron Christopher Stamps are prosecuting.
Caddo District Judge John D. Mosely is presiding.
If convicted of second-degree murder, Colby faces a mandatory life term in prison at hard labor without parole, probation or suspension of sentence.