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Pieces continued to fall into place as prosecutors made their case Wednesday against a Greenwood man accused of attempted murder.
At the same time defense attorneys worked to establish doubt and discrepancy in the events surrounding what they are characterizing as an accidental shooting.
Darius Birk is charged with attempted murder in the shooting of his then-girlfriend, as well as aggravated battery, pointing a firearm at another and carrying a handgun without a license. Birk and the victim were riding together in a van on Park Drive in Greenwood on March 13, 2021, when the shooting occurred, according to the probable cause affidavit. The victim, who was driving the van, was shot once in the face, resulting in extensive facial damage that she is still recovering from today.
Prosecutors spent much of Wednesday highlighting the observations of police officers, paramedics, health care workers and others who were involved with the shooting.
A registered nurse who was working at Community Hospital South when the victim was brought in described seeing Birk drive the van up to the hospital. The van’s side panel doors were open, and a woman appeared to be half-in and half-out, her face covered in blood.
Greenwood Police Department officers talked about the evidence they saw both at the hospital and the scene of the shooting. They testified that when they encountered the victim, her face had been disfigured and she was spitting out blood and teeth.
“The jaw was hanging down, part of it was missing, and just pouring blood,” said Mitchell Young, a Greenwood police officer.
Testimony also established the chain of custody for evidence, such as the victim’s bloody clothing and the victim’s van.
With each witness, defense attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Carrie Miles prodded at those protocols, questioning decisions and approaches to the investigation. Repeatedly, they questioned why police focused so intently on Birk without looking at other potential suspects, or investigating new evidence that came to light.
Miles questioned detectives who had put together a photo lineup for a witness to look at. She asked why, despite the witness describing the person he saw at the scene of the crime as “white,” officers put no white individuals in the photo lineup.
The most lengthy testimony of the day was given by Steven Estrada, a crime scene specialist for the Greenwood Police Department. He walked prosecutors through the protocols of organizing cases, collecting evidence and storing it securely.
Recalling the events of March 13, 2021, he specifically went step-by-step through how he collected evidence that day, including DNA from Birk and his clothing. Reddish-brown stains, consistent with blood, were on Birk’s clothing and shoes, Estrada said.
He opened sealed evidence bags containing that clothing on a table in front of the jury, and identified DNA swabs taken from Birk.
Moving on to the victim’s van, where the shooting took place, Estrada went through more than 20 photographs that had been taken of the interior. He took so many photographs to capture how much blood there had been, he said.
Again, the defense questioned the process. Baldwin asked about a cell phone found at the scene of the crime, and if it had been fingerprinted. It had not, Estrada said.
Baldwin also focused on any potential important documents, such as a birth certificate, that may have been in the van. The victim had testified that Birk had tried to rip up her birth certificate and other documents from her purse before the shooting.
Again, Estrada said he had not identified anything like that.
The trial continues today.
