Prosecution rests in Carpenter murder trial

The prosecution has rested in the murder trial of Jack Carpenter of Ishpeming.

Courtroom proceedings Friday began with two snowmobilers who said Carpenter threatened in February 2012 to shoot them if they ever rode their sleds near his house again.

An officer from the Ishpeming Police Department testified next, but a Michigan State Police fingerprint expert from the Marquette crime lab who examined the scene spent the most time on the stand.

He said that in the living room of the house Carpenter and Meyer shared, there was more blood near a chair than where Meyer’s body was found on June 8, 2012.

“The way the body was lying, with the large amount of blood that had pooled near the chair, it appeared that the victim had been moved,” Michigan State Police Det. Sgt. Jay Peterson said.

Marquette County Prosecutor Matt Wiese introduced into evidence the .40-caliber handgun that Carpenter is said to have used.

“The gun was located, actually, in the adjacent bedroom on the first floor,” Det. Sgt. Peterson said. “It was underneath a pillow, and with some blood stains next to it.”

A single shell casing was found in a grocery bag in the kitchen.

Peterson said the shell casing could have come from a bullet fired from that gun, but he never did any tests to find out if it did.

There were also no signs of a struggle between Carpenter and Meyer.

Carpenter’s defense attorney, Karl Numinen, asked, “Would you agree with me that there’s no evidence of any two full-grown men getting pushy and shovy in that house?” Peterson answered, “It did not appear that there was any type of a physical altercation, no.”

During cross-examination, Numinen introduced as evidence the knife that he claims Meyer threatened to use on Carpenter. Peterson did not find any fingerprints on the knife when he tested it two months ago.

“Just shortly before the trial was to have commenced?”, Numinen asked. Peterson said, “Yes.” Numinen continued, “The trial was adjourned ’til now, but literally that knife sat somewhere for over a year, and nobody looked at (it for) fingerprints?” “That’s correct,” Peterson said. Peterson also said he tested the knife for fingerprints the day after he received it, but he said he did not receive it for testing until July 30th of this year.

The trial will resume Monday morning with defense testimony.