FRANKLIN — The defense in Daniel Moss’ trial for murder and tampering with physical evidence begins presentation of its case today, a day after challenging the lead investigator’s theory on the circumstances surrounding the homicide.

Moss, 33, is charged with the shooting death of Shawn Thompson, 40, of Bowling Green, on Jan. 25, 2013, outside Moss’ home at 3110 Harvey Robertson Road in Simpson County near Woodburn.

Moss’ attorneys, Currie and Wesley Milliken of Bowling Green, maintain that Moss acted in self-defense.

Simpson County Sheriff’s Detective Eddie Lawson, who led the investigation, was the final witness called by Simpson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Clint Willis.

Lawson got a brief statement from Moss at 1:55 a.m. the morning of the shooting. Moss told Lawson that Moss and his then-girlfriend, Christina Moss, were involved in an argument when Thompson intervened. Moss asked Thompson, who knew Christina Moss and was a friend of Sarah Higgs, who was also at the house, to leave and Thompson refused, Lawson said.

Moss told the detective he went to his utility room to retrieve his AR-15 assault rifle and returned to confront Thompson, staying “chest to chest” with him as Moss took one step forward and Thompson stepped backward toward the front door until he was on the porch.

“While (Moss) was doing that, he was carrying the rifle in an upright position, with the barrel pointed in the air,” Lawson said.

Lawson testified Moss told him Thompson then retrieved a samurai sword.

“(Moss) felt threatened because Mr. Thompson had a sword,” Lawson said Moss told him. “He went to kick Thompson and his finger must have been on the trigger because the rifle went off … he told me his version of events, and as I talked to Mr. Moss, I suspected alcohol was involved and I thought it was pertinent to ask Mr. Moss for a blood sample.”

Thompson was shot once in the back and died at the scene.

Moss had a blood alcohol content of 0.176 percent, more than twice the legal limit for drivers, according to testimony from David Barton, a forensic specialist with the Kentucky State Police. No traces of drugs were found in blood or urine samples Moss provided.

Willis asked about the sword, which authorities claimed was placed by Thompson’s body by Moss after the shooting.

Lawson said the presence of an unsheathed sword on the front porch and his discovery of the sword’s scabbard in the master bedroom on top of the covers of an unmade bed made him suspicious, which prompted him to take extensive pictures of the house to help determine whether Thompson could have retrieved the sword from the bedroom and returned to the porch without passing through the main hallway.

“I found it very unusual that the sword would be on the front porch without a scabbard, especially with children present,” Lawson said.

When he was booked into the Simpson County Detention Center hours later, Moss did not have any visible injuries, according to Lawson, but the detective later learned of another allegation of a fight, leading him to take pictures of Moss’ torso three days after the shooting.

Those pictures revealed bruises on Moss’ arms, Lawson said.

Lawson became suspicious of Moss’ account when no sign of gunshot residue or burns were found on Thompson’s body or clothing around the wound. Pictures of the porch failed to turn up any evidence of a bullet ricochet or gouging caused by a swinging sword.

Moss gave a statement at the sheriff’s office in which he first made the case for self-defense.

“The statement he gave to me was, ‘I was protecting my family and myself,’ ” Lawson said. The detective asked Moss how he had been protecting himself, and Moss replied with a question in which he asked whether police had found his gun, a possible reference to a handgun that had gone missing from the residence.

The interrogation ended soon afterward when Moss asserted his right to an attorney.

Defense team questions official story

Wesley Milliken cross-examined Lawson, homing in on details of the shooting that appear to support an argument for self-defense.

After getting Lawson to agree that bruises on Moss’ arms could be seen as physical evidence supporting a claim that he had been attacked by Thompson, Milliken focused on other aspects of the gunshot that prior witnesses testified about during the week, building up to ask the detective if it were possible Thompson was spinning from a kick by Moss when he was shot.

Milliken brought up the fact that the bullet traveled upward through Thompson’s body, raising the possibility that Thompson was leaning forward when he was shot. He then added Moss’ statement of going in to kick Thompson and Thompson’s body later being found lying face-up with his feet pointing up the stairs toward the front door.

“Based on the path of the bullet through the body, the angle of the bullet, Daniel’s statement that he kicked (Thompson) and (Thompson) lying face-up, could you reasonably conclude that (Thompson) was spinning around when he was shot?” Milliken asked.

“You could, but I don’t believe it,” Lawson said.

Milliken also mentioned Christina Moss was photographed as part of the investigation and no bruises were found, leading Lawson to affirm Milliken’s question that there was no physical evidence to prove Higgs’ claim that Daniel Moss grabbed his then-girlfriend by the neck just prior to the shooting.

Milliken raised the possibility of inconsistencies between witness accounts of when certain phone calls were made and phone records showing the times that Thompson, Higgs and other witnesses were in contact with one another before and around the time of the shooting.

Lawson said the times listed on the phone records were from the Mountain Time Zone, one hour behind the Central Time Zone.

Eyewitness delivers account

Higgs, who went by Sarah Sanders at the time of the shooting, described being picked up by Christina Moss the day before the shooting and going out for coffee before ending up at Moss’ house.

After Daniel and Christina Moss put their children to bed, the couple and Higgs began drinking.

Higgs said she was not sure how much she drank, estimating that she drank two beers and a shot of liquor before falling asleep on a couch. Christina Moss woke her up to tell her that Thompson was on his way for a visit, Higgs said.

Higgs testified she noticed “a lot of animosity” between Daniel and Christina Moss while she was with them, and the situation was not helped when a handgun had gone missing.

“There was a pistol in the home … I had helped them look for it,” Higgs said. “Christina was pretty upset because the pistol was missing and there were four children in the house.”

When Thompson arrived, he spent some time talking with Higgs and Christina Moss and said he would help them find the pistol in the morning, according to Higgs.

Tensions continued between the Moss couple, leading to an encounter that Higgs said became physical.

“Out of one corner of my eye, I saw Daniel had his hands around Christina’s throat,” Higgs said. “I was scared for her.”

Higgs said Daniel Moss pushed her back soon afterward, and when Thompson tried to intervene, he and Daniel Moss locked up in a struggle with each other. Daniel yelled at everyone to leave the house, Higgs said.

“I was tying my shoe, and as I looked up, I saw Daniel walk back through the kitchen with his gun and out the front door,” Higgs said. 

Under questioning from Willis, Higgs said she heard the gun go off, but did not see what direction the shot was fired, only looking up to find Moss standing inside the front door with his back to her.

After going outside to check on Thompson, Higgs called 911, testifying she lost track of time and the rest of the night “still seems blurry” to her.

Higgs remembered saying something to Moss about the shooting in the immediate aftermath.

“I asked (Moss) myself if he realized what he had done, and he kind of smiled at me and said, ‘Yes, I know exactly what I’d done,’ ” Higgs said.

Currie Milliken focused his cross-examination of Higgs on her statements under direct examination and during a prior deposition, intending to raise doubts about her ability to remember details.

Higgs said she could not tell that Thompson was under the influence of methamphetamine based on how she saw him act that night and that she had not seen him be aggressive with anyone.

Higgs didn’t recall if Thompson had thrown Moss against a cabinet and did not remember yelling or cursing during any confrontation.

When asked by Milliken, Higgs denied using drugs that night, but also said she did not remember whether she ate that night. She claimed to have gone to sleep on the couch at Moss’ house because she had a headache.

“You don’t remember anything exactly, do you?” Milliken asked.

“There are certain things that are clear to me and certain things that are not,” Higgs replied.

Several other witnesses testify

Willis called a number of other witnesses who provided additional details.

Simpson County Sheriff’s Deputy Cory Jones was the first officer to arrive at the scene, at 1:28 a.m. Jan. 25, 2013. 

Jones recalled first seeing Daniel Moss sitting on the front porch with his head in his hand while Higgs kneeled over Thompson’s body. The deputy gave an account of Daniel Moss’ statement similar to one offered by Lawson, and also testified that there did not appear to be any evidence of a struggle inside the house.

Marvin Meadors, a longtime friend of Thompson, said he received a call from him at 1:21 a.m., three minutes before the first 911 call about the shooting.

“He just seemed like he really needed me to come get him,” Meadors said. “That’s all I got out of him before the phone went dead.”

Logan County Sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Toombs testified about pulling over a car carrying Thompson as a passenger at 11:29 p.m. Jan. 24, 2013.

The driver was cited for speeding while traveling east on U.S. 68-Ky. 80 between Auburn and Bowling Green. A drug-sniffing dog did not detect any drugs in the vehicle, Toombs said.

Toombs said he smelled alcohol from inside the vehicle and determined Thompson had been drinking, but added that he was not argumentative and was not aware there was methamphetamine in his system.

The car was stopped for 25 minutes, according to Toombs.

— Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter at twitter.com/jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.