None of the physical evidence collected at the scene of a double homicide in north Fayette County in May 2003 can be tied to Eddie Robbins, the suspect on trial for those murders, the jury was told Friday morning.

But the jury was also shown a handgun collected at the scene two feet from David Mangham’s “outstretched hand” which could leave one to believe he may have been attempting to defend himself when he and Francis Michael “Mike” Fowler were shot and killed. Mangham’s body was found dead in the bedroom of his home, and he was shot once in the front of his head and once in the back, testified Lt. Tray Powell, head of the crime scene unit of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department.

Fowler’s body was found near the kitchen, and he died of two shots to the back of his head, Powell said.

Only three of the bullets were retrieved, and a firearms expert from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation previously testified that they all came from the same gun.

The alleged murder weapon has never been found, police have said. They looked for Robbins’ Colt .45 caliber pistol, but he told detectives that he traded the gun away — although his original story that he traded it to a former coworker was found to be false, according to Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard.

Sheriff’s crime scene detectives lifted and photographed multiple fingerprints from Mangham’s home in the Princeton Chase subdivision.

So far in the case, the most significant testimony has come from Eddie Robbins’ two sons, who testified about the time after the killings when they confronted their father about whether or not he killed Mangham and Fowler.

Matt Robbins and Bill Robbins said they questioned their dad about the killings days after the bodies were found. They 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 didn’t agree about the exact question that elicited the answer.

Matt Robbins said the response came after they 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 that his dad previously owned a Colt .45-caliber handgun, but Bill Robbins said he didn’t recall his dad having such a weapon.

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. Matt Robbins and Mangham went to the same church and were friends, so he became concerned when Mangham didn’t return several messages left on his cell phone.

Matt Robbins said he was still at Mangham’s house after finding the body when his dad called him to see what was going on. Matt Robbins said he explained to his father that Mangham and Fowler were killed, and his dad replied, “Mike who?” intimating that he didn’t know Fowler.

Matt Robbins said that he knew his dad, Mangham and Fowler went to Forest Park High School together, and because Mangham and Fowler used to talk about their school days, he thought his dad knew Fowler too.

Lt. Col. Bruce Jordan of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office is expected to testify during the trial about how Robbins was identified as the chief suspect in the case. In pre-trial hearings, Jordan testified that he asked Robbins whether he killed Mangham in self-defense, and Robbins replied with a “slight nod.”

But no one else was there at that instant to witness Robbins’ reaction, so Jordan got another detective to come to his side, and Jordan asked the question again.

The second time, Robbins declined to answer at all, Jordan has said.

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