Tom Knapp had observed a birdbath knocked over of their yard that morning and went exterior to set it again up. Darlene Knapp mentioned raccoons in all probability knocked it over, however she knew Tom seemingly would blame her son, Kevin Juzek, who lived of their basement.

“We was probably blaming both of us,” Darlene Knapp mentioned, testifying that her husband did not like having Juzek of their dwelling, however there had by no means been any bodily confrontations between them. “I guess he just really never liked Kevin whatsoever.”

Minutes later, Juzek was useless on the lounge ground, shot twice by Tom Knapp after Juzek had stepped in to cease him from assaulting Darlene.

Knapp, 84, has pleaded not responsible in Plymouth County District Court of first-degree homicide and willful damage for the May 11, 2020, capturing of Juzek, 51, who was his stepson. Knapp is also charged with willful damage and home assault for assaulting Darlene previous to the capturing. If discovered responsible of first-degree homicide, Knapp would face a compulsory sentence of life in jail with out parole.

Knapp is accused of capturing Juzek with a 20-gauge shotgun by way of his bed room door, hanging him within the stomach, then capturing him a second time from point-blank vary within the chest in the lounge ground.

Darlene Knapp testified that her husband punched her at the very least twice within the face when she introduced some recent water to him. Inside his bed room, Tom knocked her down, then pulled her up onto the mattress by her hair. He then struck her with a picket train stick much like a broomstick at the very least twice, one of many blows breaking fingers in Darlene’s left hand as she tried to guard herself.

Juzek got here to the door, Darlene mentioned, and he or she ducked below Tom to depart the bed room. She mentioned Juzek held the door shut so she may name 911. She did not hear the primary shot.

“Kevin came out and told me Tom shot him in the stomach,” she mentioned.

Juzek fell to the ground and was sitting up.

“Then Tom came out and he kind of kicked Kevin in the foot and said ‘you mean you aren’t dead yet?’ and then he shot him in the chest,” Darlene mentioned. “Kevin was absolutely petrified. When (Tom) pointed the gun at him, (Kevin) said ‘oh, no,’ and those were Kevin’s last words.

“I’ll always remember it. It’s in my coronary heart.”

Darlene Knapp said Tom pursued her as she left the house, holding the gun against her.

“I used to be scared I used to be going to get shot within the again,” she said.

Able to escape, Darlene called 911 a second time from outside, and officers soon arrived while Tom Knapp remained inside the house.

Knapp’s attorneys say his actions were justified and he shot Juzek in self-defense.

In an audio recording of Knapp’s interview with investigators played Thursday for the jury, Knapp said Darlene had threatened her with the stick, and he took it from her and hit her. He also told deputies Juzek was screaming at him from outside his bedroom.

Plymouth County Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo, who has since retired, responded to the shooting and spoke with Tom Knapp, who was seated in the back seat of a patrol car. After Van Otterloo advised him of his right to remain silent, he asked Knapp why he shot his stepson.

“Because he was attacking me,” Knapp said in a video recording of the conversation played for jurors. “He was jerking on the door. He had a wooden factor, he was going to hit me with it.”

On Thursday, jurors heard other recordings of Knapp telling investigators that Juzek purposely annoyed him, and even played some kind of electronic device that kept Knapp awake at night.

Darlene Knapp testified she never heard the noise her husband — the two are now divorced — complained about.

At the conclusion of her testimony, Plymouth County Attorney Darin Raymond rested his case after a day and a half of witness testimony and evidence.

After speaking briefly with Knapp in private, public defender Wendy Samuelson then rested the defense case without calling Knapp or any other witnesses to testify.

The trial will resume with the attorneys’ closing arguments on Tuesday morning before the case is submitted to the jury.

COLLECTION: Murder case history of 84-year-old Merrill resident Thomas Knapp