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The murder trial against Terry ‘T.J.’ Donaldson Jr. resumed at the Washington County Courthouse on Monday. The trial entered its third day with several notable witnesses taking the stand.

The State of Oklahoma, being represented by District Attorney Kevin Buchanan and Assistant District Attorney Will Drake first moved to call Dr. Ross Miller from the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s office to testify. Miller, a board-certified pathologist, has conducted over 2,000 autopsy exams.

Miller spoke on record that Gregg Meidl’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. This caused near-instantaneous loss of consciousness due to damage to the central nervous system, according to testimony from Dr. Miller.

Miller’s statement brought to light the effect of stippling, or the splattering of gun powder when shot at close range. This was proven by gun powder residue on Meidl’s body. Through this Miller was able to determine that Meidl was likely shot from a distance of 1-3 feet.

Next the state called Derek Booth to testify. Booth was sworn-in over teleconference. He is a secret service agent that used a computer software to unlock cell phones to obtain their data.

Then, Thomas Bell with the Department of Justice was brought to be questioned. Bell took the cell phone data and overlaid it onto a map to determine where the phone ‘pings’ were located. Bell testified that these locations were accurate within a 400-foot radius in most instances.

Bartlesville Police Department Investigator Tyler Lee was questioned on a report in which he was tasked with recreating movements of the defendants while trying to get into unlocked cars on Martin Place. Lee wore different colored sweatshirts to show how those colors appeared on the infrared surveillance videos. Defense counsel Kristi Sanders had a few questions that challenged the investigation.

The state then called BPD Detective Jim Warring to be questioned on his accounts of the events in August 2018. Warring was asked about surveillance video obtained from the Quiktrip on S. Washington Boulevard in Bartlesville. Warring identified an X. Johnson on video at 1:06 a.m. on August 19. A female witness also gave a positive identification of Johnson on the video.

The defense has repeatedly mentioned Johnson as a person of interest in the case. Tyler Thomison and Thomas Alexander, the two co-defendants previously testified that Johnson had no involvement. Johnson is not facing any charges related to this case and never has.

Next to the stand was Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Criminalist J.D. Lindstrom. He was questioned vehemently about the DNA tests he conducted on two hooded sweatshirts that were previously admitted as evidence. The grey hoodie couldn’t rule out the DNA of Alexander, while a black hoodie couldn’t rule out Donaldson. Johnson’s DNA was tested and could be excluded from matching any samples taken from different places on the articles.

The final witness called by the State of Oklahoma was BPD Sergeant Daniel Elkins who headed up several parts of the police investigation. Elkins analyzed surveillance videos from the neighboring residences and was questioned on his findings. Elkins shared that he observed Meidl in the cul-de-sac on Martin Place between 2:50 a.m. and 3:05 a.m. The silver 2015 Nissan Altima was observed in the cul-de-sac as well. Based on Elkins’ analysis he believes that the passenger of the vehicle was the one who shot Meidl.

Elkins was also questioned on his investigation into phone records of several involved parties. A ping shows Thomison’s phone near Martin Place at 2:59 a.m. Elkins revealed that Donaldson’s phone did not have service at the time so there were limited pings. Elkins was not asked in detail about his examination of Alexander’s phone records. However, a photo of Donaldson taken earlier on August 18 shows his apparel. Elkins later confirmed this in Martin Place surveillance video.

Phone data recovered also showed that Donaldson searched the internet for ‘news on 6’, ‘Bartlesville man killed’ and clicked on news stories relating to Meidl’s death shortly after. Also, data from a health app on Thomison’s phone showed that he ran close to two miles between 2 and 3 a.m. on the day in question.

Judge Russell Vaclaw stated that the proceedings were moving along quicker than anticipated and jury deliberations could possibly begin within the next two days. The trial will continue on Tuesday at 9 a.m. from the Washington Courthouse.

Other Related stories:

Day one summary.

Day two summary.