CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The state has called its final witness in the case charging William Roger Campbell for the double murder of his elderly parents, William ”Bill” Campbell and Ina Campbell.
“The defendant who was in that house with his parents and killed them while they were sleeping, although he says they were awake at the time, all the evidence points to them not being awake,” Assistant District Attorney Marianne Bell said.
The defense questioned if premeditation was shown.
“There is a question as to the premeditation aspect that exists. Mr. Campbell we know was at his parent’s house for a few days, went back to Georgia, something happened, that’s all we know,” Defense Attorney Jason Allen Price said.
Court moved quickly Thursday as the prosecution called its final seven witnesses.
TBI agents confirmed spots on a dish soap bottle by the sink were in fact blood, and it matched the DNA of William Roger Campbell. But as for red-stained sheets found in his truck underneath his seat days after the murder in Georgia, the same couldn’t be shown.
“Once the presence of blood was not detected, did you test for a cleaning agent? Test for bleach or anything?” Price asked.
“No, I don’t perform that type of testing,” said Bradley Everett with the TBI Crime Lab.
Next, we heard from a different TBI employee who works with fibers. She said the sheets were consistent with bedding found in the downstairs bedroom of William and Ina’s home, where William Roger Campbell slept when he visited.
“[Testing] revealed them to be consistent with respect to optical properties, colors, and fiber types. Therefore the fibers recovered from the bedsheets from William Roger Campbell’s truck could have shared a common origin with the fibers recovered from the bedding from 201 Jackson Road or another source with the same properties,” Miranda Gaddes of the TBI criminal investigation division and formerly with the forensic science division.
TBI agents said there was also a small amount of blood found in a sink drain, however, they weren’t able to develop a profile.
Final witnesses testified to William Roger Campbell selling the family’s grandfather clock for $5,000 the month after his parents died.
Also, testimony showed William Roger Campbell was set to inherit his parents’ estate, worth more than $180,000 total.
Court will resume Monday with closing arguments.
