LOUNDON
COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — A Loudon County man accused of killing a
couple he was living with was in court on Wednesday for a
preliminary hearing.“I swabbed the blood droplets and then placed back in the envelope of the sterile swabs and then placed that into the evidence bag,” Talbott said.
Talbott testified about to the crime scenes, explained that one was a garden in the yard and the other was inside of a home off of Highway 321.
Maryville Police Officer Kaleb Pharris also took the stand. He was called to a disturbance on the same day it’s believed the Ramseys were killed. It’s important to note when Maryville Police interacted with Goodrum, law enforcement wasn’t aware of the homicides.
“Just a call for a check of welfare of a male covered in mud with a red substance that appeared to be blood on his pants, raising up his hands trying to get people to stop in traffic,” Pharris said.
The shorts were sent to the lab for testing.
“The first one was the outside front lower thigh of the shorts,” Talbott said. “The DNA profile obtained matched James Ramsey.”
Defense Attorney Greg Isaacs focused on the premeditation aspect of the first degree murder charges. Detective Martin Branam with the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office responded to Issacs’ line of questioning.
“The premeditation to me would have been after writing the search warrant on the bedroom, the way things were laid out, they way they were stacked, the last willed testament, the testament of the other people, this individual, Mr. Goodrum had prepared to carry out this app,” Branam said.
The Judge didn’t make a ruling on Wednesday instead there will be a hearing in the coming weeks surrounding statement Goodrum made to Maryville Police. The defense is trying to get these statements thrown out.