Recap of Day 2 of Mavrick Fisher Murder Trial

CALLIE FRYE: 

Today was the second day of the murder trial: State of California vs. Mr. Mavrick Fisher. He is accused of murdering Mr. Grant Whitaker. 

I observed that all the jurors are white. On Tuesday there were 18 in total. Today there were 17. One person was unable to make it and an alternate took their place. 13 jurors looked like a woman and four looked like a man. Mavrick was not in an inmate outfit like he was in previous hearings. He wore nice clothes just like on Tuesday. There were police officers stationed at a distance to maintain safety. Mavrick’s friends and family were not present, but members of Grant’s family were present. 

A total of four witnesses were called. The first was Detective Wesley Besgrove. He went to the Dollar General store to inspect the 2011 blue Chevrolet Impala that Grant borrowed from her grandmother. After Grant died, Mavrick drove in the car. Besgrove was asked what he observed and he described specific information such as seeing dried blood on the front and a strong odor and flies. The floor of the car’s back seat was soaked, the mat was soaked with blood and there were maggots of various sizes and ages. Besgrove took out things like water bottles or clothes. In the glove compartment, they found a brown-colored wallet that belonged to Grant. There were drivers licenses for both California and Illinois but both were expired. The defense attorney asked why a license had a hole punched through it and whether the DMV did this. The detective said he didn’t. The defense attorney pondered why the license had a hole on it and asked how he could determine whether the blood was human or animal. Besgrove said it could be either. 

Up next was Lee McCarrell and he was asked what his relationship was with Grant and Mavrick. Lee said he had several verbal confrontations with Grant. He said Grant once poked his chest with a finger, causing him to stumble backwards before a friend intervened to calm things down. Lee was asked how he met Grant and he said it was through the WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farming) which is a program that allows people to work on farms in exchange for free board and room. Lee appeared to be nervous and went to the restroom twice. Lee would talk at length in his responses and put Grant in a negative light. There were two instances in which the judge asked jurors to ignore statements he made. Lee also spoke favorably about Mavrick, saying he was a gentle soul who acted out in self defense. He showed care for Mavrick but disdain for Grant. Lee said Mavrick was welcome back and that he was a good person who would always help out on the ranch and fixed his two trucks. Lee described some specific things that Mavrick did and expressed anger that detectives borrowed his ATV (4x4 vehicle) to drive and locate Grant’s deceased body. Detectives and the police department held possession of the ATV and Lee said he was still making payments on it and have never gotten it back. He was upset about it. There were a series of questions from the defense attorney and the district attorney. When Lee left, he glanced to and saluted Mavrick, but he remained stoic. Lee then turned to Detective Kreutzer and spoke something to him, and he quietly nodded. That was the last of Lee. 

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The next witness was Detective John Gregory. He said he went to Lee’s property for the purpose of going into Mavrick’s camper to take a tote bag and a gray sleeping bag to collect it for evidence. He said there was a very strong odor and that inside of the tote, there were tent materials and it had an odor he recognized as a decomposing body and blood. 

The fourth and last witness was Detective Richard Kreutzer. He was questioned because he was an officer and also involved with the autopsy on Grant’s body. There were images of Grant’s face that showed a hole on his skull. His teeth were intact. His arms and legs were decomposed and there were maggots. As Detective Kreutzer was seated and giving responses and showing pictures of the body found on Lee’s ranch, Grant’s family were crying and visibly emotional. Mavrick would glance back and forth in silence. When the court showed the pictures of Grant’s body, Grant’s grandmother and other relatives, a female, got up and left the room in tears. It was touching to see. Mavrick glared back and forth and as the court showed more pictures, Mavrick was physically shaking and gasped several times. I am not sure if he was crying because I couldn’t see the front of his face, only his back. He was clearly showing emotional distress. After the court was finished showing pictures of Grant’s body, Grant’s grandmother and relatives, there were two or three, came back. 

That wrapped up the day. The court asked for more witnesses and when there were no more, Judge Blum said they were done for the day and said see you on Friday at 9 a.m.

Livestream Video of Day 2, Part 1: https://youtu.be/ntqFVy4aoVI

Livestream Video of Day 2, Part 2: https://youtu.be/0bQiHRF8zDQ