The trial of the man accused in the Creighton killings, Anthony Garcia, focused on what investigators believe were the final moments of Dr. Roger and Mary Brumback's lives.
Though no tears were shed by the Brumback children, the testimony was heart-wrenching in Douglas County District Court on Friday.
Prosecutors say the final day of Dr. Roger and Mary Brumback's lives was Mother's Day; May 12, 2013.
Garcia is charged with their murders and with killing Thomas Hunter and Shirlee Sherman in 2008 allegedly as revenge for being fired from the Creighton Pathology Department in 2001.
Two of the Brumback’s children, Audrey and Owen, testified Friday and said they both facetimed with their parents that day.
Prosecutors believe the Facetime with Audrey was the last time anyone spoke to the couple, and she took screen shots of the couple to remember the moment.
"I'm hilarious and I make my parents laugh so I took a screenshot of them laughing at something I was talking about," Audrey explained.
Dr. Roger & Mary Brumback laugh with their daughter shortly before, prosecutors say, they were murdered @action3news pic.twitter.com/CAPuUMfkSH
— Jake Wasikowski (@jakewasikowski) October 7, 2016
Prosecutors point out that Mary's last journal entry was on May 11th.
A Digital Forensic Analyst also testified to the final phone calls and messages received. The defense questioned if the analyst compared how much the Brumbacks talked on the phone on previous weekends; only a couple calls the previous Sunday. Prosecutors argued they were out of town.
Afternoon testimony turned towards the Bewtras. The State says the home of Chhanda Bewtra, who was a senior employee in the Creighton Pathology Department with Dr. Brumback and Dr. William Hunter, had an attempted break in shortly before the Brumbacks were murdered.
Prosecutors say Anthony Garcia tried to break into the Bewtra home, another CU Doc., before killing the Brumbacks. pic.twitter.com/g036dAbRzJ
— Jake Wasikowski (@jakewasikowski) October 7, 2016
An alarm went off but Bewtra's husband, also a Creighton doctor, testified he didn't call police until after he saw what happened to his friends Roger and Mary.
"Two families from this department and you had murders come into their families, and on the same day you have the break in at your house,” Dr. Againdra Bewtra described. “It could be correlated."
The defense questioned how the door swabs were collected.
"I think they proved the DNA tech used the same swab on two different door handles I don't know how that's going to play out," said Bob Motta Jr., part of Garcia’s Defense team.
Expected topics for testimony next week include DNA, and the investigation into why Anthony Garcia was in Omaha, and motive.
