The George Black trial could wrap-up Wednesday
In opening statements, Ross County prosecutor Matt Schmidt described how George Black rammed Bobby Nibert full-tilt through a guardrail and a privacy fence, and then fled in the truck to Cynthiana.
That was after truck passenger Tim Keaton was in a fight at a Bainbridge bar where Keaton stabbed another man in a fight over a woman, Schmidt said.
Defense attorney Benjamin Patee said Black did not know why he was being attacked at the bar, but struggled to get into the pickup truck on an icy early morning January 13th last year.
Patee implied George Black could not be responsible for Nibert not taking medication that may have led to Nibert's death three months later.
Black impassionately listened to the testimony of the stabbing victim and witness, Billy Self.
Keaton did not appear at a hearing in September and a warrant is out for his arrest.
First witness Billy Self confidently took the stand as a cool, tough, plain-spoken man - much like a football captain, and of the same size. He said he knew he had been stabbed, but didn't know it was with a screwdriver, and tried to help Keaton back into the truck afterward. Self also described how he was bleeding profusely while applying a torquinet to Nibert's almost severed leg at the scene.
After testimony ended Monday, Judge Nusbaum expects the trial to conclude Tueday.
Kevin Coleman regularly reports on Chillicothe and Circleville councils
