JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Opening statements began Tuesday morning in the trial of the man charged with shooting and killing his former girlfriend and badly injuring her sister, but there was a delay.
Jury selection in the trial of Chad Absher, 37, began Monday, which marked five years since the double shooting, and a jury was seated by the end of the day.
But in court Tuesday morning, Judge Tatiana Salvador explained that one of the jurors had COVID-19.
Then another juror was called into court after asking to be excused. Juror No. 7 expressed concerns about anxiety issues. This led to that juror also being excused. Four more alternate jurors were found.
Absher and relatives of both the defendant and two sisters have been in court. On Monday, Absher’s attorneys filed motions with the judge, asking that the jury get an instruction on justifiable use of deadly force for both the murder and attempted murder charge.
Absher was the subject of a citywide manhunt after police said he killed Ashlee Rucker, 30, and shot her sister Lisa Rucker, who survived, on Oct. 31, 2017, at a condominium on San Juan Avenue in the Westside’s Hyde Park neighborhood.
According to the arrest report, Absher was carrying a concealed firearm that early Halloween morning. It states he started choking Ashlee Rucker, and from there, shot the two women.
But Absher’s defense team is telling a different story, saying that he was acting in self-defense and that it was the women who attacked him.
In court Tuesday, Lisa Rucker explained the layout of the condo they lived in and the night that she was shot.
“I didn’t think he was going to shoot me,” she told the court. “He pointed the gun at me. As soon as I turned my head down, everything went black. I could hear ringing. I couldn’t see anything.”
“He shot me and then he shot my sister,” she said.
“I saw her body lying against the wall,” Lisa Rucker added. “I thought she was in and out of consciousness just like me.”
The first witness called Tuesday was Ashglee Rucker’s now 14-year-old son, Joseph Granozio Jr. The state asked the teen to recall the night of his mother’s death.
Prosecutor: “Who was arguing?”
Granozio: “My mom and Chad.”
Prosecutor: “Do you remember your mom needing help?”
Granozio: “Yes.”
Prosecutor: She needed help from her boyfriend?”
Granozio: “Yes.”
The teenager was asked about what else he heard that night.
Prosecutor: “What else did you hear?
Granozio: “Gunshots.”
Prosecutor: “What did you see?”
Granozio: “Them lying there.”
Prosecutor: “Who?”
Granozio: “Lisa and my mom.”
Absher was arrested the day following the double shooting. He is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The trial has been delayed 13 times.