TBI experts testify in murder trial for man charged in elderly woman’s death

CROCKETT COUNTY, Tenn. — The murder trial for a man charged with shooting and killing an 89-year-old woman in 2011 continued Tuesday with more testimony.

Prosecutors built their case Tuesday against Daniel Parker, who is charged with first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of 89-year-old Frances Lilley.

“The rear sliding glass door was shattered,” TBI forensic scientist Dr. Eric Warren said. “It appeared to be consistent with the passage of a bullet.”

The jury saw evidence including crime scene photos, bullet trajectory charts and the suspected murder weapon.

“The cause of death was a gunshot wound of the neck,” Medical Examiner Dr. Marco Ross said.

The medical examiner said the shot to the neck caused Miss Lilley to bleed out before medics could be reached.

“Injury to a major artery like that probably would occur within 15 minutes time frame at the most,” Dr. Ross said.

Phone records showed Lilley’s husband, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, attempted to call for help. But it was more than an hour before he successfully dialed 911.

“Because we didn’t know who had done this, I subpoenaed the phone records from the Lilley home,” TBI agent Cathy Ferguson said. “That helped us narrow the time frame of when Miss Lilley was killed.”

Judge Clayburn Peeples expects the trial to last the rest of the week. The prosecution will likely wrap up their proof Wednesday, and the defense will begin their arguments.