Testimony Continues In Suburban Hospital Trial

Update, 5:50 p.m.: Jurors in the Suburban Hospital murder trial were taken to the hospital's basement boiler room Friday morning to visit the scene where prosecutors argue Keith D. Little of Lanham Jan. 1.

Brockington was found with more than 70 stab wounds.

After returning to the courtoom, jurors heard testimony from several more employees at Suburban. Francis Smith, a security officer, recalled the events of Jan. 5 -- the day a boiler room employee reported he had seen Little washing a mask and gloves in chemically treated water.

Smith described heading down to the boiler room to approach Little. "He said there was nothing going on in the boiler room, and I could come in," Smith said.

Police arrived shortly afterwards.

Montgomery County Police Detective Deana Mackie, an investigator on the case, took the stand and described combing through the hospital's security camera recordings.

On a security camera video played for the court, Little is seen apparently dumping the contents of a bucket into a trash bin. Upon discovering the video Jan. 5, "I went to the boiler room and relayed the information that I had -- that I had seen Mr. Little dumping something into a trash can on the side of the boiler room office," Mackie said.

The jury was also shown video of police detectives including Mackie and forensic investigators looking inside the bin. The gloves and mask were later recovered from the scene.

Also in court Friday, forensic investigator Grant Lee, unwrapping paper evidence bags, held up items for the jury including a handgun recovered at the scene and the 12-inch knife that was found lodged in Brockington's neck.

The last witness to take the stand Friday was Erin Farr, the forensic biologist whose opinion that the victim's blood was found on the gloves uncovered at the scene has become a center of controversy in the case. Judge Marielsa Bernard ruled this week that Farr could not present that opinion to the jury, a move that Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy said would

Attorneys spent much of Farr's brief testimony conferring with Bernard in private after the defense repeatedly objected to the prosecution's line of questioning.

Monday, Farr is expected to continue her testimony, and Montgomery County police detectives Dimitry Ruvin and Randy Kucsan are expected to take the stand.

Charles Jackson, the Suburban Hospital employee who said he saw Little washing the gloves and mask Jan. 5, is also expected to testify.

The defense is expected to being calling their witnesses Tuesday morning. Public defender Ronald Gottlieb has said he intends to call Wanda Little, Keith Little's wife, and Kathy Little, Keith Little's sister.

Original post, 6 a.m.: The homicide trial of Keith D. Little will continue Friday, and jurors are expected to visit where prosecutors say Little killed his supervisor Roosevelt Brockington, Jr. Jan. 1.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers agreed in court Thursday, before the jury was called into the courtroom, that jurors should make the trip to visit the scene of the crime. The group is expected to visit the hospital's basement boiler room, where the homicide took place.

Brockington was found stabbed more than 70 times there New Year's day. Prosecutors argue Little hated Brockington because he reprimanded him and forced him to resign from a second job by changing his shift hours.

Patch is reporting live from the Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville during the trial. Follow us on Twitter for real time updates.