GALLIPOLIS — Two scenarios were presented Monday regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of Carolyn Merry at the Holley Brothers Stone Yard on April 28.

Monday marked day two of testimony in the capital murder trial of Walter Stewart in Gallia County Common Pleas Court. He’s charged in the shooting deaths of Merry and John Paul Holley.

Merry’s brother, David Merry, testified in the morning that he witnessed Stewart shooting at his sister as she was crouching unarmed behind John Paul Holley’s truck in an attempt to get away from Stewart. Defense Attorney Robert Krapenc later argued that Carolyn Merry could have been shot while standing and aiming the 12 gauge shotgun later found on her body at Stewart. Either way, it was determined that she was shot on the top of her head and a blood smear possibly containing her hair was found located on the passenger side of Holley’s truck.

Jurors heard testimony from six witnesses Monday as the prosecution’s case against Stewart continued.

Steve Robie was called to the stand first. Robie testified that he was at the stone yard with his father throughout the afternoon of the shootings hauling fill and stone for a parking lot. Around 5 p.m., he said Jack Stewart, one of the defendant’s sons, and his brother, who has been identified as Terry Stewart, pulled down near where he was loading stone and took a couple of pictures. They exchanged pleasantries and the Robies left, unloaded the truck, and returned for another load.

Upon their return to the quarry, Robie saw Holley’s and Walter Stewart’s trucks sitting driver’s window to driver’s window approximately five feet apart on the hill. When he came back after loading up, Robie said he saw that Stewart’s truck had been moved and noticed Merry lying down bleeding with a shotgun lying across the back of her legs. He also saw Holley slumped down in the front of his truck and said Stewart and his wife were in their truck with the doors shut.

Robie continued to drive past the scene and down the hill to call 911.

David Merry testified next.

He concurred with his brother Edward’s testimony from Friday that the two heard equipment running and went to see what was going on as they thought no one was supposed to be there due to a dispute with Stewart over a business arrangement.

As Edward began driving a loader up to the shop at Carolyn’s request, David followed her up in the truck. He estimated that he was about two minutes behind her. By the time he got to the top of the hill, he said he saw his sister crouching down behind Holley’s truck with the passenger door open like she was trying to get to the shotgun located inside. He said Holley was slumped over in the driver’s seat and Stewart was standing in front of Holley’s truck.

David said he drove approximately 30 feet past their trucks to see what was going on and Stewart waived the pistol at him. He began to back his truck up, he said, so that Carolyn could possibly jump in his passenger door, but at that point Stewart fired two rounds at him. So, he swung the truck around to go for help and as he was leaving he said he saw Carolyn take a shot to the head and fall against the truck. He said Stewart fired from over the top the open passenger door, in the hinge or crease area.

David said it was possible that he just did not see the shotgun in her hand. However, after reviewing the tape of an interview with Det. Chad Wallace shortly after the shootings, he conceded that he said Carolyn was kneeling trying to get the shotgun up when Stewart shot her, though he maintained that he didn’t recall telling that to Wallace.

Chris Hively testified next that the 911 call was made from his house, located near the stone yard, after David showed up there agitated. He also said he saw Stewart’s sons come driving out of the stone yard at a high rate of speed and one of them yelled out the window to him that it had been self-defense.

Monday afternoon, jurors heard testimony from Sgt. Chris Gill of the Gallia County Sheriff’s Office, Wallace, and Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification Special Agent Jonathan Jenkins.

All three basically testified about evidence collected at the crimescene.

Wallace said when he arrived there were between 35 to 50 people on top of the hill ranging from family and friends to EMS, police, and firefighters. The latter because a landing zone was almost set up at that location to lifeflight Holley, though Wallace had them move it elsewhere upon his arrival.

Wallace interviewed Stewart’s wife briefly, but said she seemed to be in a state of shock. He said the only things he was able to get out of her were that there had been no argument, Carolyn Merry pulled a gun, and Holley had pulled a gun in the past.

Wallace said that while processing the shotgun he found a round in the chamber and one in the magazine tube. In addition, he said the safety was on. A revolver was also removed from the back pouch of the passenger seat of Holley’s vehicle, which witnesses said he frequently kept there.

Wallace said all the bullets they collected were fired from Stewart’s gun with the exception of the one removed Holley, which was unidentifiable because the bullet had split. A fragment was found on the passenger seat and one was found behind the passenger seat in a plastic container holding empty beer cans. A bullet was found lodged in the top part of the driver’s door on Holley’s truck.

A bullet also appeared to have entered the back driver’s side window, the extended cab portion, of Holley’s truck and exited through the rear glass, which Krapenc implied may have actually been the bullet that struck Carolyn Merry, rather than the alternative scenario.

Wallace said investigators were unable to recover that bullet, which they did not think killed Merry. Jenkins said there would likely have been blood on the upper portion of the truck and on the shotgun if it had happened that way, though it was possible.

Following the shootings, six spent shell casings were found in Stewart’s truck along with seven live rounds for the .357 magnum revolver he turned over to police that day.

Court was scheduled to reconvene today at 8:45 a.m.