Testimony that began Thursday , May 22, 2019 in Caddo District Court in the murder trial of Kenneth Ray Willis, will continue Friday in Judge Charles Tutt’s courtroom.

Willis, 35 and from Shreveport, is accused of second-degree murder in the 2007 death of his infant son, and faces a mandatory life prison term if convicted as charged.

Testimony from Shreveport Police Cpl. Shaunda Holmes concluded Thursday’s proceedings. Her testimony will resume first thing Friday morning. She testified that she interviewed Willis in 2012, with regard to injuries to the child and another infant.
Also Thursday:

•  Dr. Frank Peretti, a forensic pathologist out of Arkansas, testified about the autopsy report of the victim, a 37-day-old baby boy who died after a beating. Peretti stated that the baby’s injuries were caused by force and could not be accidental.
•  Eric Farquhar, the lead detective in 2007, played Willis’s statement where he denied hurting the child. Farquhar explained the case was suspended at that time awaiting further evidence.

•  The mother of a 2012 victim testified that Willis told her that child fell from his chest and hit his face on the floor.

•  Detective David Gardner, who worked in Youth Services in 2012, testified that investigation led to Willis, who had been alone with the child.
The jury consists of six women and six men, with one male and one female alternate.

Prosecutors are Assistant District Attorneys Ron Stamps, Bill Edwards, Britney Green and Sam Crichton. Willis is being defended by Mary Harried and Michael Enright.