Testimony Ends In Thompson Trial, Closing Statements To The Jury Friday

Testimony has ended in the murder trial of Edwin Thompson. Dr. Lyle Christopherson is Thompson’s treating psychologist. He told jurors Thompson suffers from chronic persistent severe schizophrenic paranoia and that individuals with this worst form of the mental illness do not like taking corrective medications because the believe they are not sick. They also tend to have a lack of awareness of what is going on. Christopherson also said Thompson showed signs of hallucinations in the days prior to the murder of Ryan Treadway. States Attorney Mike Moore questioned Christopherson that he didn’t perform a forensic psychiatric evaluation, for a criminal investigation. Moore under cross-examination also challenged Christopherson’s ethics citing rules that recommend treating psychologists not perform forensic evaluations for criminal cases on those they treat. Dr. Frank Dame also testified that Thompson showed signs of severe mental illness. He performed the competency evaluations of Thompson and told the Beadle County States Attorneys office he was not certified to conduct forensic psych exams, however did testify for the defense as an expert. Prosecution witness Dr. David Bean testified Thompson knew right from wrong at the time and was able to answer questions coherently. Dr. Ramesh Somepolli answers under direct examination were nearly similar to Dr. Beans. Under cross examination, Ron Volesky took issue with Somepolli recalling only certain portions of Huron Police Captain Kevin Van Diepen’s report. Lawyers will make closing statements Friday morning. The jury should have the case by mid morning. Tomorrow also marks the first time audio of court proceedings in the state will be allowed. Performance Radio will have live coverage of the closing statements starting at 8:55 AM on 1340 KIJV and online at Performance Radio dot com. Court begins at 9AM