It was an emotional start to the trial for murder suspect Jamal Mounts Monday morning, who is accused of beating his mother to death and severely assaulting another woman in March of 2014.
Members of the audience openly wept during Commonwealth’s Attorney Rick Boling’s opening statements, where he described the brutal beating death of Roxie Mounts, the step-mother to Jamal Mounts. He spoke openly about the details of the assault, including the use of a chair in the beating and what the victim said during the event—he also spoke about how Mounts and his step-brother John Mounts struggled against each other when John attempted to stop the assault.
Mounts would also allegedly break in the door of a neighbor, Marvelyn Spray, who had attempted to interfere, and assault her. It was during this that police would arrive and take him into custody.
Boling says in the weeks following, Mounts as taken to the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center for evaluation, where he lied to professionals about his mental state and allegedly admitted it on a return visit.
Defense attorney Stephanie Mize told the jury that they would hear about drug use from the Commonwealth, but the lab reports only show marijuana in Mounts’ system that night. She says it wasn’t drugs that pushed him, but something Mounts believes was demonic possession and Mize says was insanity.
The first witness of the trial called was John Mounts, the step-brother to the defendant, who says Jamal Mounts had been sitting on the couch completely naked when he attacked Roxie Mounts unprovoked.
Jamal Mounts and his sister were adopted by Roxie Mounts and her husband when they were small children, and according to Mize, they were a loving family who Mounts visited often as an adult.
Trial is set to continue tomorrow. Mounts is charged with murder, attempted murder, assault and first-degree burglary.