The first week of Jakob Blankenship's fentanyl-related murder trial concluded Friday afternoon in Wichita County, with prosecutors calling several expert witnesses, according to KFDX.
Dr. Jill Urban of the Southwest Institute of Forensic Sciences testified that she conducted the autopsy of 20-year-old Zoe Brewer and determined the cause of death to be the toxic effects of fentanyl. Urban said the manner of death was an apparent overdose and ruled out suicide.
Lead prosecutor Chelsea Carlton called Wichita Falls Police Department narcotics officer Chad Grace, who testified he observed a baggie containing nine pills with fentanyl fall from the area of Blankenship's hip during a traffic stop in January 2022 — months before the alleged sale of the drug to Brewer.
Defense counsel Todd Greenwood cross-examined Grace at length about methods of fentanyl ingestion and officer-safety procedures. Carlton raised multiple objections that prompted bench conferences with presiding Judge Meredith Kennedy.
Greenwood has been warned multiple times during the trial. Kennedy admonished him on opening day that he would not continue trying the case if he violated pretrial motions, and she issued four additional warnings during his cross-examination of Department of Public Safety forensic expert Christopher Cisneros.
Cisneros testified that forensic analysis of the pills recovered from Blankenship and the straw allegedly used by Brewer to ingest the drug both returned positive results for fentanyl.
The jury was dismissed at about 4:30 p.m. Friday. Testimony is set to resume Monday morning.
All individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.