Prosecutors in Dudley murder trial unveil text messages; defense tries to discredit investigation

Court documents presented in court Monday state the 51-year-old man accused of shooting and killing his common law wife had a history of family violence and sent the victim text messages threatening to kill her.

Greg Dudley, charged with the murder of 38-year-old Deanna Stewart, sat quietly in court as defense attorneys continued to present their case.

Dudley allegedly killed Steward inside their home on the 11500 block of Jerry Lewis in April 2015.

The defense showed crime scene photos to detectives who investigated the murder scene afterward. Officer Oliver Sotello was asked about a crime scene picture of droplets of blood in the front doorway of the home where Stewart’s body was found.

Sotello said it wasn’t his responsibility to collect the evidence and he wasn’t sure if it had been collected.

Crime scene photographer officer Robert Cano was then called to the witness stand. He was asked about damage to door jams he took pictures of and whether that could be signs of possible forced entry.

Cano replied it could be signs of forced entry.

The defense, trying to show that someone else could have killed Stewart, also pointed to two coffee cups on the table next to the body that were not tested for fingerprints.

Jurors later heard from Martha Tucker, a neighbor of Dudley’s and Stewart’s.

Tucker was asked about a suspicious vehicle and driver spotted parked on the street for hours the day of the murder.

“It just seemed strange someone was there in that vehicle with the seat reclined all day,” Tucker said.

A defense attorney then asked, “Did officers ever ask you for any information about the silver car?”

“No,” Tucker replied.

Last week, Stewart’s daughter Adriana Medina told the jury she came home from school the day of the murder and dudley slammed the door in her face. Medina said Dudley then opened the door and said he and her mother had an argument and she had left the house.

Medina’s aunt discovered the victim’s body a few days later.