The trail for accused Creighton killer, Anthony Garcia, started Monday with opening statements from the prosecution and defense.
Garcia is accused of killing Thomas Hunter and Shirlee Sherman in 2008, and Doctor Roger and Mary Brumback in 2013.
The state said this case is all about revenge, and the defense said the evidence is circumstantial.
Deputy County Attorney Brenda Beadle gave background on Garcia and his history with Creighton, and how the victims in the case were connected.
She said she they will use witnesses who saw Garcia at the Hunter home, and records that put him in Omaha at the Hunter and Brumback homes.
The defense argued the state has a loose tapestry of evidence that they can pull to unravel.
They said they will present evidence that shows there are five murders, connecting a 2007 murder of Joy Blanchard to the killings.
After the opening statements witnesses were called to the stand.
Dr. William Hunter, Thomas Hunter’s father, was the first to take the stand.
He described what he found when he got home on March 13, 2008.
He said he found Shirlee Sherman and his 11-year-old son, Thomas, dead.
WARNING DETAILS BELOW MAY BE GRAPHIC:
Hunter described how he saw Sherman on the floor, blood everywhere, with a knife in her neck.
He went looking for his son, who he found in the dining room, face down, blood soaked into the rug, also with a knife in his neck.
Hunter said he was terrified and couldn’t believe was he was seeing.
The courtroom was shown pictures of Thomas Hunter and Sherman, some family members were crying at the gruesome images.
The picture of Thomas was left up for a while and it showed him face down, glasses off to the side.
The defense questioned Hunter asking about his son’s video game activity. They also asked if he knew that Sherman had a restraining order against her daughter’s ex-boyfriend.
Another witness called to the stand was a neighbor who used to live near the Hunter home.
He said on March 13th 2008, he was walking to pick his children up from school when he saw a strange man in the neighborhood. The man was dressed in dark clothing, and was walking to the Hunter home.
He said the man seemed out of place and had olive skin and a stocky build.
He watched the strange man walk up to the Hunter home and it appeared he went inside.
First responders who were on scene the day Hunter and Sherman were killed were also called to the stand, including the detective who investigated the case.
More witnesses will be called, the prosecution said they had 60-70 witnesses, and plan to recall some of those who took the stand on Monday.
