Testimony began Tuesday in the trial of a man accused of murdering a woman during a botched burglary in Garland last summer.
The shooting of 60-year-old Patricia Eifert occurred in the 700 block of Briar Way on July 27. Two days later, Garland police identified and arrested two suspects in the case, 20-year-old Kvaughandre Lapaul Presley and 21-year-old Gabriela Liliana Torres. Both suspects have been charged with capital murder.
Presley’s trial began Tuesday with testimony from Joseph Bryant, the son-in-law of the victim, who recounted finding Eifert’s body when he arrived home from work on July 27.
He said that she was there helping him and his wife, Annie Bryant, settle into the new home they had recently purchased.
Bryant recounted finding his mother-in-law’s body face-up, covered in blood, sprawled among scattered cardboard moving boxes and plastic totes in the living room. He called his wife Annie and then called 911.
A recording of the 911 call was played for the courtroom in which Bryant could be heard repeatedly counting to four, presumably amid chest compressions, and pleading, “Come on, Mom! Wake up, Mom!” as he tried to resuscitate Eifert. Family members were brought to tears as they listened to the minutes-long emergency call.
“Panic is the only word that comes to mind,” Bryant said, describing to jurors his mental state when he called 911.
Bryant told jurors some of Eifert’s belongings were missing following the burglary. He specifically noted that his mother-in-law had a gun she always carried, which she called “Siggy.” The weapon, as well as her wallet, tools, his wife’s briefcase, a game console case, and video games, were missing from the home, Bryant said.
Surveillance video from a neighboring house showed that the garage door facing the alley was open and captured a person getting out of a black sedan and entering the garage. The car then moved down the alley before a second person arrived on foot and entered the garage.
Several minutes later, a person ran from the garage, pulled the black sedan into the driveway, and then got out and rummaged through the contents of the Eifert’s silver sedan, which was also parked in the driveway. The two figures then got back in the black sedan and drove away.
Prosecutor Hillary Wright stated that Presley’s fingerprints were allegedly found at the crime scene and claimed that he was in the home for more than six minutes.
Prosecutors also presented evidence from a front door camera across the street from the home, which recorded the sound of loud pops that investigators said were gunshots. Two Garland investigators testified that they found at least seven shell casings, seven bullets, several bullet fragments, and Eifert’s empty holster in the home.
Presley’s attorney, Heath Harris, argued that while Presley’s fingerprints were found on the interior garage door, they were not found anywhere else at the crime scene.
The trial continues this week. A separate trial for Presley’s alleged accomplice, Gabriela Torres, is pending, according to court records.
