Jury deliberations underway in Bradley murder trial

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Closing statements are underway in the murder trial for James Bradley, the man charged with the death of Shannon Rippy Van Newkirk.

Bradley’s defense attorney started first by telling the jury prosecutors are trying to say Elisha Tucker and Van Newkirk are similar, but they are not. The defense said Elisha Tucker was a prostitute abusing drugs and Van Newkirk was not doing those things.

The defense also said prosecutors are trying to bend and shape anything they can to make Bradley guilty, but there is no evidence he did it.

District Attorney Ben David then started his closing statements by talking about how Bradley has constantly lied and talked in circles. David also told the jury there have been cases in all other states where someone was charged with murder without a body. He read some of the cases where the verdict came back as guilty.

“The fact that a murderer may successfully dispose of the body of the victim should not entitle him to an acquittal,” David said. “That is one form of success for which society should have no reward.”

David also talked about the phone records again that put Van Newkirk and Bradley together the night she went missing. David said he may not know what time Bradley killed her, but he knows Bradley killed her sometime between 8:38 and 11:00 p.m. when both of their phones were off.

Finally, Bradley’s defense attorney Rick Miller made his closing statements. He focused on an issue with the crime lab report that was used as testimony in the trial. Miller told the jury, if he had not found the issue with whether detectives found Elisha Tucker’s DNA or blood in Bradley’s car, they would have been mislead. He also said it was strange that the stain was found on the driver’s side of the car.

Miller also talked about how prosecutors kept saying Bradley is so smart.

“If he is so smart, why would he bury a body (Elisha Tucker) on the property he’s working on?” Miller asked.

Miller told the jury he wants to find peace for Van Newkirk’s family, but convicting Bradley is not the way.

“These are good people, but if we convict somebody on flimsy evidence, does that resolve anything? Does that make anything any better? Do two wrongs make a right?”Miller said.

The jury came back after lunch for instructions on how to fill out the verdict sheet. The jury began deliberating just after 2:30.

Around 3:00 p.m. the jury came back into the courtroom and asked to see the pictures of the inside of Steve Mott’s storage container, Bradley’s cell phone record, and still photos from the Exxon, Husk and all traffic cameras from the night Van Newkirk went missing.

Bradley worked with Van Newkirk and was the last person who saw her the day she went missing in April of 2014. Her body has not been found. While searching property in Hampstead for Van Newkirk, officers found Elisha Tucker’s body buried in trash bags. Bradley’s trial for Tucker’s murder will start at a later date.