Suspect's sons testify in murder trial

Thu, 12/08/2005 - 4:35am
By: John Munford

Eddie Robbins of Jonesboro, on trial for killing two men in a north Fayette home in April 2003, watched his two sons take the stand as prosecution witnesses Wednesday afternoon.

Matt Robbins and Bill Robbins testified that they questioned their dad about the killings days after the bodies of David Mangham and Francis Michael Fowler were found in Mangham's home in the Princeton Chase subdivision off Ga. Highway 314 north. Each man testified that Eddie Robbins told them it was in their "best interest not to know" the answer to the question, but Matt and Bill Robbins' testimony about the question that elicited the answer differed.

Matt Robbins said the response came after the pair asked their father if he was responsible for the killings. Bill Robbins said he thought the answer was in response to a different question about the background of his father's relationship with Mangham.

Matt Robbins also testified about finding one of the bodies when he came by Mangham's home after being unable to reach him for several days. He also testified about his father's previous ownership of a Colt .45 caliber handgun, the same model that prosecutors allege was used to kill Mangham and Fowler. The murder weapon in the case hasn't been found, and Eddie Robbins's attorneys have said he traded away the gun.

In opening statements, however, Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard noted that one of Eddie Robbins's stories about him trading the gun was later proven false by the sheriff's department after it was determined the person he claimed to give it to didn't exist.

Eddie Robbins is charged with two counts each of malice murder and felony murder in addition to one count of armed robbery.

Prosecutors told the jury that Robbins shot Mangham and Fowler to death in a bid to rob the home of money. Some of Tuesday's testimony centered on cash transactions Robbins made after the date of the alleged robbery and shooting.

Defense attorneys argued Wednesday that Robbins could not be placed in Mangham's house during the time of the killing although cell phone records will show his phone "hit" on a tower near Mangham's home the day the killings are alleged to have occurred.

The defense also requested a mistrial Wednesday afternoon, alleging that seven crime scene photographs were not passed along to them by the Fayette County District Attorney's office. To remedy the situation, attorneys agreed to postpone testimony from the top crime scene supervisor from the Fayette County Sheriff's Department until later in the trial.

Superior Court Judge Paschal A. English said if the defense's crime scene expert determined those missing photos would significantly change his anticipated testimony in the case, it is likely a mistrial would be warranted. English said he wasn't going to assign blame for the photo problem.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Al Dixon insisted in court that the office gave Eddie Robbins's defense attorneys all of the crime scene photos that were provided by the sheriff's department. Dixon said the sheriff's department was asked to provide two copies of the photos to the DA's office specifically so one of the copies could be given to defense attorneys.

In additional testimony, a former longtime girlfriend of David Mangham testified that she and Mangham did crack cocaine together every weekend for roughly the past three years, with him taking her into Atlanta to buy the drugs from the same person. The woman testified that she tried to show police where they bought the drugs, but she couldn't remember the name of the person they bought the cocaine from.

A lab report in the case cites that blood tests on Mangham indicated he had cocaine in his system at the time of his death.

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