A Gloucester County jury viewed graphic crime scene photos Wednesday morning as the trial began for a Paulsboro man accused of killing a woman who was housesitting for a friend in September 2017.
Brandon D. Wilson, 21, allegedly bludgeoned Shawneeq M. Carter, 26, of Camden, with a piece of gym equipment after breaking into the Woodbury home where he once lived as a foster child.
In opening arguments, Assistant Prosecutor Bryant Flowers laid out the state’s case against Wilson, describing various types of evidence allegedly tying him to the crime.
“A metal bar was used to repeatedly beat her head,” Flowers told the jurors. “The evidence will show that he is the person that murdered Shawneeq Carter.
“The evidence will show that his DNA was found on the metal bar used to repeatedly beat her over the head. The evidence will show that his DNA was found on a window used to gain entry into the residence.”
Evidence will also show that his DNA was found on a shirt covered in her blood that was recovered by investigators, Flowers said, adding that Wilson was seen wearing a similar shirt earlier that day.
Shawneeq M. Carter, 26, of Camden, was killed in a Woodbury home in 2017.
Prosecutors allege Wilson assaulted Carter after she encountered him in the Hopkins Street house.
Carter’s 5-year-old son and a 5-year-old cousin were staying with her and were apparently asleep when she was killed. The kids found her body in a second-floor bedroom and later left the house to seek help.
Investigators recovered the murder weapon, as well as a knife Wilson allegedly used. The prosecution presented photos showing 25-pound barbells found near the victim’s body and a bloodied piece of workout equipment located in the kitchen.
Prosecutors will also present video surveillance from another house that allegedly shows Wilson with three other men on Hopkins Street around the time of the crime.
Wilson was driving a stolen vehicle and a GPS device recovered from that car places him near the scene of the crime around the time Carter was killed, Flowers added.
Defense attorney David A. Snyder acknowledged the importance of this case to Carter’s family and the state.
“The case is also of enormous importance to the defendant and his family, because Brandon Wilson has maintained that he is innocent and was not involved in the events that will be presented to you folks over the next couple of weeks,” Snyder told the jury.
Snyder stated that Wilson had no prior relationship to the victim, that no motive for the crime had been established and that GPS evidence doesn’t place him at the crime scene.
Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media
Assistant Prosecutor Bryant Flowers delivers his opening arguments in the murder trial of Brandon D. Wilson, 21, of Paulsboro, in Gloucester County Superior Court, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. Wilson is charged in the September 2017 murder of Shawneeq M. Carter, 26, of Camden.
Wilson was in Cape May County’s jail in an unrelated case in October 2017 when investigators zeroed in on a shoe print found at the home and asked jail officials to remove his footwear for inspection.
“When Brandon Wilson thought the police were getting close, he called his parents and told them to destroy further evidence,” Flowers said.
Wilson allegedly called his parents from jail and asked them to get rid of two pairs of shoes.
“You will hear that call,” Flowers told the jury. “You will hear that they were surprised to hear from him. … You will hear him then tell his dad, get rid of those shoes.”
Detectives visited the family’s Paulsboro home and recovered two pairs of sneakers from the attic that were wet and smelled of cleaning solution, according to court documents.
In November of that year, Wilson was charged with first-degree murder and other charges, while his parents were charged with hindering for trying to hide the footwear.
David A. Wilson, 54, and Kim Ward, 52, were also facing trial, but pleaded guilty to hindering charges two weeks ago. They will be sentenced Jan. 17.
In addition to murder, Brandon Wilson is charged with burglary, weapons offenses, two counts of endangering children, hindering and receiving stolen property.
Investigators interviewed more than 30 people and collected about 250 pieces of evidence from the home where Carter was killed.
In addition to reviewing physical evidence, the jury will hear from investigators, witnesses and forensic scientists regarding DNA found on recovered items, Flowers said.
Snyder spoke at length about upcoming testimony regarding DNA evidence and told the jury that it’s not an exact science.
“You will likely hear that a person’s DNA may be located in places a person has never been,” he said. “DNA results cannot tell you who was the last person to touch an object. You will hear that you can take someone’s DNA with you and place it somewhere else.
“You will likely hear that the results reported by the laboratory technicians are based upon their own interpretations of data and that it is a subjective interpretation.”
Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media
Defense Attorney David Snyder delivers his opening arguments in the murder trial of Brandon D. Wilson, 21, of Paulsboro, in Gloucester County Superior Court, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. Wilson is charged in the September 2017 murder of Shawneeq M. Carter, 26, of Camden.
He also told jurors that his client previously lived in the home.
“Therefore, the presence of his DNA at this location, I will argue at the end of this case, can be explained,” Snyder said.
As a foster child, Wilson lived in the house for less than a year in 2015 and was caught trespassing in the home the following year, prosecutors previously revealed.
Wilson has been jailed at least seven times since August 2016 on charges including theft, burglary, drug offenses and criminal mischief. He has remained jailed since his arrest in the Carter case.
Members of Carter’s family attended the trial Tuesday.
Prior to opening arguments, Snyder sought to have a new jury selected, arguing that 12 of the 16 jurors about to hear the case were present when Wilson’s parents were still defendants facing trial in the case.
While state Superior Court Judge M. Christine Allen-Jackson instructed those jurors not to speculate on why the parents are no longer involved, the situation could still prejudice these jurors against his client, Snyder argued.
The judge denied his request.
Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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