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WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — The murder trial for 20-year-old Brandon Lee Fitzpatrick continued Tuesday in Mingo County Circuit Court in Williamson.
Fitzpatrick is accused of first-degree murder, first degree robbery and conspiring with 22-year-old Anthony Raheem Arriaga in the shooting death of former coal company executive Bennett Hatfield. Hatfield was allegedly shot in the back while cleaning his wife’s and in-law’s graves at Mountain View Memory Gardens in Maher Memorial Day Weekend last year.
Arriaga was found guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and two counts of conspiracy in October.
The state began presenting witnesses Monday afternoon once a jury was selected.
Tuesday, before lunch, jurors heard testimony from law enforcement officials, two witnesses at the scene and the state medical examiner. Before lunch, no evidence was linked to Brandon Fitzpatrick.
After lunch, however, more pieces of the puzzle were put together. While the evidence at the scene couldn’t be traced to Fitzpatrick, more people could link him to Arriaga and being with him when the crime occurred. The jury heard testimony from more law enforcement officers and three people who saw the two alleged co-conspirators together after the crime took place.
The trial is expected to continue throughout the rest of the week.