DADE CITY, Fla. — Tuesday brought eight witnesses who gave their testimonies as to what happened in that Wesley Chapel movie theater in 2014.
Four of those witnesses who testified were movie patrons who had been sitting in close vicinity to Curtis Reeves and Chad Oulson. While there were some minor discrepancies between testimonies, all four witnesses told almost the exact same story about the altercation between Chad Oulson and Curtis Reeves.
Jane Roy, who was sitting one seat away from Reeves and his wife, described the event as petrifying. All witnesses testified separately that they never saw Oulson climb over his chair or throw any objects at Reeves.
Corporal Eric Jones and Deputy Steven Bunner with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office along with Amy Parish and Amy Kubin, both former forensic investigators with PCSO, were the other four witnesses that provided brief testimonies about their roles in the aftermath of the shooting.
Below, you’ll find details about the testimonies provided Tuesday. While these witnesses were released, they could be called back in the future for additional testimony.
4 p.m. update:
Corporal Eric Jones with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and Amy Parish, a former forensic investigator with PCSO were both called to the stand individually. At the time of the shooting, Parish was working with PCSO.
Jones responded to a call of an active shooter shortly after 1:30 p.m., and Parish arrived about an hour later to document evidence.
During testimony, Jones says he escorted Curtis Reeves’ firearm to his police cruiser where it would later be turned over to forensic investigators.
When Parish arrived on the scene, she was tasked with handling evidence in the movie theater, along with taking photographs. She says forensic investigators follow strict protocols to ensure evidence is properly documented and handled.
During Parish’s time on the stand, various pieces of evidence were presented to her. She identified each item and confirmed that she recognized the items.
2:30 p.m. update:
After a lunch recess, Alan Hamilton, Angela Hamilton's husband, was called to the stand. At the time of the shooting, he was a deputy with the Sumter County Sheriff's Office.
Alan says he and his wife were sitting seven to nine seats away from Curtis Reeves. Angela pointed out to Alan that he should pay attention to the commotion that was starting to happen.
Alan, along with all the other witnesses that testified Tuesday, said that no objects were thrown at Curtis Reeves and Chad Oulson did not climb over his seat. Alan adds that Reeves offered no indication he had been injured in the altercation.
After the shooting, Alan says he went up to Reeves, identified himself as law enforcement, and took Reeves' firearm. He says Reeves did not object and cooperated. Alan says he then waited 20 minutes for law enforcement to arrive and detain Reeves.
In questioning from the defense, lawyers suggested Alan could have lied on his initial statement to police about Oulson's body language. In an original statement, Alan stated that Oulson was leaning over his chair toward Reeves. Tuesday, Alan said Oulson was in a more "propped up" position while facing Reeves.
12:00 p.m. update:
The prosecution is continuing to call witnesses that were at the theater. Angela Hamilton says she attended the theater with her husband and sat in the same row as Curtis Reeves and his wife.
Hamilton says she first noticed the situation when Reeves got up to leave the theater. Once he returned, she saw Chad Oulson stand up to face Reeves. She says Oulson leaned slightly toward Reeves but never came over the chair.
Hamilton says she heard swearing during the altercation, which is different from what we have heard in previous testimonies.
After the shooting, her husband, who is a police officer, went over to Reeves and took his gun away. Her husband later gave it to law enforcement.
Hamilton says she never saw any objects thrown at Reeves and never saw a physical struggle between Reeves and Oulson. However, she did say she saw popcorn fly. She adds she never saw Reeves motion that he was injured.
"He was leaned back in the chair, rubbing his face and his eyes," Hamilton described in observing Reeves after the shooting.
11:15 a.m. update:
Next up to the stand is Jane Roy. She and her husband were in the theater and sat one seat away from Curtis Reeves and his wife. Roy says they prefer to sit in the back row, in the middle, but those seats had already been taken by the Reeves.
During the movie previews, Roy says she saw Reeves lean toward Chad Oulson in the first confrontation. She confirms she could see a light coming from Oulson's phone.
When Reeves was leaving the theater, Roy says she noticed he seemed upset. She says she also noticed Reeves did not have any physical ailments when walking up and down the stairs in the theater.
After Reeves returned to the theater, Roy confirms Oulson stood up and faced Reeves. She adds she never saw Oulson yell, threaten, throw punches or objects, or come over his seat toward Reeves. Roy says she felt Reeves was angry and would be the one to start a physical altercation between the two.
Once the shooting happened, Roy describes being scared. She says she had never seen a person shot before, and watched Oulson fall in his row directly in front of her.
"It was petrifying," Roy described. She notes that Reeves appeared calm after the shooting. She says she never saw him hurt or motion that he had been injured.
After leaving the theater with her husband, law enforcement later gave them forms to write down what they saw.
"If you look at my statement, you can see how shaky my hand was," Roy said.
When asked by the defense about answers she gave in a deposition in 2015, she says she doesn't remember much about the deposition. She did agree with the defense that her recollection would have been better in 2015 as opposed to now.
10 a.m. update:
First to be called to the stand is Charles Cummings, a man who was in the theater with his son, Alex. The two were sitting in the same row as the Oulsons, down a few seats on the aisle.
Cummings says he never saw Chad Oulson yell at Curtis Reeves during confrontations before and after Reeves had left the theater. He adds he never saw Chad come over the seat, throw any punches or objects at Reeves.
Once the shooting happened, Cummings described watching Chad stumble toward him, falling at his feet. Cummings said he immediately started doing chest compressions on Chad and sent his son out of the theater to call 911.
After law enforcement had arrived, Cummings says he was given a form and told to write down what he saw. He later met with a detective from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office to give more information.
The defense questioned some of his testimony from Tuesday and said it didn't align exactly with what Cummings said in a deposition back in 2015. The prosecution objected several times and said the defense was taking words out of context.
Questioning Cummings is done, but Judge Susan Barthle said he could be called back in the future for additional testimony.
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After Monday's emotional testimony from Chad Oulson's wife, Nicole Oulson, who was present at the time her husband was shot and killed in a movie theater, Tuesday is expected to bring more witnesses to the stand.
Prior to opening arguments, a witness list was read, with dozens of people listed, from those in the movie theater to Pasco County Sheriff's Office deputies. The state has said not all of them will be called, but the court has invoked witness sequestration to keep testimonies fair.
During Nicole's testimony, she described the moments leading up to the shooting and shortly after.
"I see his eyes are just glazed over, and I knew in that moment," Nicole said after seeing her husband shot by Curtis Reeves.
She also was injured during the event, nearly losing her left ring finger.
Curtis Reeves faces charges of second-degree murder for killing Chad, and aggravated battery for injuring Nicole. If convicted, he faces a minimum of 25 years in prison for second-degree murder with a firearm.