Jury hears from 12-year-old who witnessed mother's murder in trial of Sellersburg man

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Clark County jury heard from a 12-year-old girl who allegedly witnessed her mother's murder.

Police said the child was distraught and her hands were covered with her mother's blood at a crime scene in southern Indiana.

Last week, jurors heard from the first officers on the scene in the murder trial of Mac Lewis as Wednesday was day two of the murder trial at the Clark County Courthouse. Lewis is accused of killing his wife, Elizabeth Bennett Lewis, in front of her daughter.

On Monday, the jury heard from the victim's daughter and a friend who were in the home at the time of the murder. They also watched a video of the suspect being questioned by police.

"We certainly believe there was a lot of real emotion there," said Mitchell Harlan, one of the attorneys representing Lewis. "I was actually kind of counting and I don’t have my pad in front of me but that’s obviously something I’ll talk about in closing argument. Remember, you all had asked me in the beginning was he remorseful, was he emotional and crying and you know now the answer to all of those is yes."

"I have seen individuals appear to cry on many occasions and many times the police officers will say," Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull said. "I didn’t see any tears when that was going on."

The killing happened last April inside their home in Sellersburg.

On the witness stand, the victim's daughter and friend shared details of what happened on that day, including why Lewis is also charged with attempted murder.

But the defense maintains Lewis was threatening to take his own life on the day of the shooting.

"I think he said to police that he pointed the gun at his head and he was trying to discourage her from going forward with the divorce," Harlan said.

"One of the counts that I have is attempted murder for pointing that gun at that little 11-year-old girl and pulling the trigger and shooting at her and I’m going to be asking the jury to hold him accountable for that," Mull said.

Closing arguments are expected on Tuesday afternoon. The defense still hasn't decided if Lewis will take the stand.

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