WARREN Trial in double murder continues

Jurors are expected to view the videotaped statement the defendant made to police, a prosecutor said.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The lead detective in the double murder trial of a Champion man is expected to continue testifying today.
Detective Jeff Hoolihan spent an hour on the witness stand Thursday testifying in the trial of Stanley Adams before attorneys decided to break for the day.
Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins said Hoolihan would continue today and that the jury would also view the videotaped statement Adams made to police.
Adams faces charges of aggravated murder in the deaths of Esther Cook, 43, and her 12-year-old daughter Ashley. Their bodies were found Oct. 11, 1999, in their Dickey Avenue home.
The charges carry specifications that the killings occurred in conjunction with other crimes. Adams also is charged with three counts of rape and one count each of kidnapping and aggravated burglary. If convicted of all the charges, he could face the death penalty.
Adams has maintained his innocence.
Testimony: Police officers testified Thursday that Adams became a suspect in the murders because he had blood on him when he was stopped by two detectives late in the evening of Oct. 11, 1999.
Adams had told police that he got bloody because he cut his hand. The officers testified that they were not suspicious at the time because they did not know anyone had been killed.
Esther and Ashley Cook's bodies were found the next day. Officials with the Trumbull County coroner believed the two were killed sometime the previous day, police officers testified.
Sgt. Robert Massucci, one of the officers who had stopped Adams, testified that he noticed Adams had a box full of tools in his car.
Hoolihan testified Thursday that Esther Cook was hit with "some sort of tool," but the tool has not been found.
Also on Thursday, Detective Dan Mason, in charge of evidence collection, described several pictures he took at the scene. The jurors also viewed a video of the crime scene.