Trial got underway Tuesday morning against murder suspect Larayna Manning, the woman accused in the 2020 shooting death of Calvin “Cue” Taylor on North Kentucky Avenue.
Proceedings began with opening statements from both the Commonwealth and the defense, starting with Commonwealth’s Attorney Rick Boling, who told the jurors that Taylor was found deceased by officers with his hands duct-taped together, and had a gunshot wound to the head.
Boling says they’ll learn through the trial that Larayna Manning was the one who orchestrated the robbery of Taylor. Defense attorney Jason Pfeil says law enforcement never attempted to locate the other suspects involved, and the Commonwealth has been focused solely on Manning as the mastermind, which he says isn’t the case, as Manning and Taylor were friends.
He says Manning was the one who asked if they should call the police, but ultimately decided not to at the urging of her son, Anthony Manning.
Anthony Manning, who drove his mother both to and away from the scene, has already entered an Alford guilty plea to facilitation to complicity to commit murder and first-degree facilitation to complicity to commit robbery. He was sentenced to five-years in prison. Larayna Manning is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery.
Anthony Manning took the stand in the afternoon, where he told the jury of his role in the incidents that night. He read part of his Alford plea—which included details on what he saw, including how he found his mother after hearing gunshots and what his actions were following that.
Several witnesses were heard from Tuesday, including special agent Ryan Johnson, Hopkinsville Police Officer Shawn Moore, Hopkinsville Police crime scene analyst Morgan Lageman and a neighbor of Taylor. Trial is expected to continue at least into Thursday.