YOUNGSTOWN Jury to continue deliberations in murder trial of woman

A forensic pathologist and a police detective testified Friday morning.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Testimony ended Friday in the murder trial of Sabrina Bray, accused of killing another woman in April 2001 over a drug debt.
A Mahoning County Common Pleas jury deliberated the case for about 31/2 hours Friday. It will resume deliberating Monday.
Prosecutors said Bray shot 29-year-old Alyson Buckner once in the chest, then left her lying to die in a field on Cloister Avenue on the city's East Side.
Dr. Jesse Giles, who was the county's forensic pathologist at the time, testified Friday that Buckner lived "seconds to minutes" after being shot. Giles now works in Jacksonville, Fla., and was flown back by prosecutors to testify in the case.
The only witness called by defense attorney Dennis DiMartino was Detective Sgt. Darryl Martin of the Youngstown Police Department. Martin was the lead investigator on the case.
DiMartino asked Martin why he didn't order that forensic tests be done on the inside of the 1994 Chevrolet Blazer in which Buckner and Bray were riding when the shooting took place.
Martin said police didn't recover the vehicle until about five or six months after the shooting, and it was "filthy" on the inside when they impounded it.
"After all that time, with all the people who'd gotten in and out of that car, anything we would have found would have been useless," Martin said.
Witness's testimony
Daniel Carter testified this week that he gave Buckner $170 worth of crack cocaine in early 2001, even though she didn't have money to pay for it at the time. He said Bray, with whom he had a prior relationship, vouched for Buckner and assured him he would get paid.
Carter said that when Buckner failed to pay after several months, Bray became angry and wanted to kill her. He said they drove to an open field on Cloister, with Bray in the front-passenger seat and Buckner in the back seat.
Carter, who was driving, said he stopped the car and expected the women to get out and fight. Instead, he said, Bray pulled a gun and shot Buckner as she was getting out of the vehicle.
bjackson@vindy.com