BANGOR, Maine (AP) – A Maine man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend before leading police on the longest manhunt in state history demonstrated the sequence of events as they unfolded the night of the killing using a replica gun and a mattress brought into the courtroom Tuesday.
Robert Burton, 40, tearfully told jurors he never intended for anyone to get shot when he wrested a handgun from the victim, and he narrated as he acted out his version for jurors.
Defense lawyers say Burton shot Ginn Gebo, 37, in self-defense with her gun after she shot him in the shoulder.
Prosecutors maintain Burton acted out of jealousy.
A medical examiner says Gebo was shot in the back. Burton spent two months in the woods near his home before turning himself in.
Closing arguments and jury deliberations were set for Wednesday.
During his testimony, Burton said he and Gebo reconciled after breaking up and talked about the future in June 2015.
He told jurors he’d thought about binding the victim with duct tape and forcing her to tell him about alleged relationships with other men. But he said he thought better of it.
He said he climbed into Gebo’s home through a bedroom window with her permission.
Using the gun and mattress, he described how Gebo allegedly pulled a gun from underneath her pillow, shot him through a pillow and told him she was going to kill him “and get away with it.”
He said he acted in self-defense and didn’t realize that he’d been shot until he fled the scene and ran into the woods. He turned himself in after 68 days.
Law enforcement officials say Gebo feared her former boyfriend and bought the gun for protection. They said Gebo shot Burton when he climbed into a window, but he managed to wrest the gun from her.
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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangordailynews.com
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