Key witness IDs Turner at crime scene

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A former friend of Desmond Turner’s is testifying against him in the first Hamilton Avenue murder trial.

According to prosecutors, the testimony from 20-year-old Brandon Griffith is key because it puts Turner on the front porch of the victims’ home, just before the murders occurred.

Griffith is the first witness to say he saw Desmond Turner and another man on the porch at 560 North Hamilton Avenue the night of June 1, 2006.

Other witnesses have said they saw two black men on the porch, but none has identified Turner by name.

Special Coverage: Desmond Turner Hamilton Avenue Murder Trial

Griffith testified Thursday morning that he spent time with Turner in the hours leading up to the murders of seven people.

He said Turner told him that day that he planned to rob the “Mexicans,” at the house where the murders later took place.

Griffith also testified that Turner told him, “If we said anything he was going to kill us.”

And, Griffith said Turner asked him that day to grab one of the kids from the victims’ house, so they could ask his father for ransom.

24-Hour News 8’s Mary McDermott spoke with the child’s father about that testimony.

“I had heard but I wasn't aware that it was really true I mean it was only hear say before, but hearing it now from his month. I mean that is very sick to try and kidnap a 5-year-old for ransom, for money,” said Mario Albarran.

Albarran himself testified Thursday, about the night three years ago that he lost so many members of his family.

He had to identify those family members on the stand through morgue photos, which brought him to tears, along with several people in the gallery.

Griffith is one of several young people from Hamilton Avenue who have testified about what they saw the night of the murders.

Defense attorneys kept him on the stand for more than an hour, showing inconsistencies between his testimony Thursday and what he told police in the days after the murders took place.

In a related story, a relative of the victims named Janie Covarrubias was escorted from the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies.

She was arrested for violating a protective order filed against her by a man named Christopher Rauch.

He claims Covarrubias called him repeatedly, and left e-mails and text messages after he ended their romantic relationship.

Covarrubias has been vocal in recent weeks about her disappointment with prosecutors for not pursuing the death penalty against Desmond Turner.

For the latest developments in the trial be sure to follow 24-Hour News 8’s Mary McDermott tweets on the right-hand side of this page.