NORFOLK, Va. — A murder retrial is underway in Norfolk this week.
Javon Doyle faces several charges in the killing of Old Dominion University student Chris Cummings in 2011.
A judge declared a mistrial in August 2022, because jurors couldn’t reach a verdict for Doyle. Now loved ones of both Cummings and Doyle are sitting through this murder trial for the second time.
The prosecution rested its case on Wednesday, after presenting evidence and witness testimony for two days.
Prosecutors showed graphic photos in the courtroom of Cummings lying by his front door, covered in blood.
Inside the courtroom, Jake Carey walked jurors through a home invasion that led to Cummings murder on June 10, 2011. The two met through a fraternity at Old Dominion University and lived together off-campus on West 42nd Street.
Cary said hours before the shooting, Cummings told him someone tried to rob him. He said he came home to find Cummings arguing with a man while two other people sat in a small, red, compact car in the driveway.
Witnesses testified Cummings sold marijuana from his home.
Later that night, Carey said he woke up to someone kicking in the front door and heard several footsteps going upstairs to Cummings' room. He said he heard yelling, two gunshots, and the sound of movement downstairs.
Carey told jurors once it got quiet, he opened his door to see a tall, dark figure run out of the house. Carey said he came out and saw Cummings lying at the bottom of the steps. Then Carey said someone shot him multiple times, at which point he passed out.
Prosecutors said they questioned Cummings' neighbor, who testified he is 80 to 90 percent sure he saw Doyle run out of the house.
When defense attorney Emily Munn questioned investigators and forensic examiners, they told her DNA evidence didn't reveal how many people were involved in the shooting, or placed Doyle at the scene.
Prosecutors called a former inmate to the stand who said he knew Doyle in jail. He said they were watching a news broadcast about the Cummings murder when Doyle made a shooting motion with his hand and told the inmate he and his buddies were responsible for Cummings' death. Attorneys also flew another inmate to town who knew Doyle but said that man refused to testify.
Cummings' father said his family is hoping for a conviction this time around, while Doyle’s defense attorney has said her client maintains his innocence.
Attorneys also questioned a friend of Cummings who said someone tried to enter Cummings' home with a gun and rob him a month before the deadly home invasion. He said they called the police but investigators never found a suspect.
In September, a jury convicted Rashad Dooley of conspiracy to commit murder in the Cummings murder case. They acquitted him of 10 out of 13 charges he faced. He is in jail awaiting sentencing.