Curtis Reeves' video expert unable to determine whether 'glint' in surveillance video is victim throwing phone
DADE CITY, Fla. - While the prosecution in the Curtis Reeves trial rested its case last week, the defense continued calling witnesses Tuesday.
A video forensic expert, Bruce Koenig, took the stand Tuesday morning. The jury was shown hours of an enhanced version of the surveillance video from inside the Cobb movie theater.
The grainy surveillance video shows Chad Oulson throwing popcorn at Curtis Reeves and Reeves pulling out a gun and firing a deadly shot. But prior to that there is a white flash on the screen.
The defense was trying to prove a light source, or "glint," in the video is where Chad Oulson – the man Reeves shot and killed during a dispute over texting – throws his cellphone at Reeves, but prosecutors say it was a reflection from the defendant's shoe.
Koenig went to the Cobb Theater to get to the bottom of it but wasn't able to. He said he couldn't say with any certainty what exactly the light source was.
"The cameras hadn't been changed," he explained. "We realized we couldn't do in the way of trying to identify where that light source would be, or what it was."
Later, Joanna Turner, another eyewitness inside the theater that day, said she remembers a quick movement or motion by Oulson before the shooting. She described it as a thermos-type object being thrown.
But under cross-examination, the prosecutor challenged her memory and ruled out the object being a cellphone. Turner confirmed she did not see a cellphone.
It's unclear whether Curtis Reeves will take the stand in his own defense this week.
Monday, the defense surprised the courtroom by calling the defendant's wife, who was there when her husband fired one shot, killing moviegoer Chad Oulson. Vivian Reeves told the jury she was sitting next to her husband when the confrontation between him and Oulson unfolded. She said Oulson became angry when her husband asked him to put away his cell phone.
Prosecutor: Did you hear Mr. Oulson say something at that point?
Reeves: Yes.
Prosecutor: What did he say?
Reeves: Something to the effect of, "You told on me. Who the f," only he said the word, "do you think you are?"
She said Oulson was yelling and cursing, and she wanted to move seats, but didn't. Vivian went on to say her husband left the theater to alert a manager and when he returned, things escalated.
RECAP: Trial of Curtis Reeves underway 8 years after deadly shooting inside Florida movie theater
Vivian also said she did not know, at the time, if her husband had his gun with him that day.
"Based on my life experience with him, I assumed he carried a pistol, but I never saw it, I never asked we never talked about it," but she wasn’t thinking about whether he had a gun with him when they went to the theater or as the interaction between her husband and Oulson played out.
Defense attorney Dino Michaels questioned Mrs. Reeves about what she noticed Oulson do after Reeves returned to the theater.
Reeves: He leans towards Curtis it seemed like his whole upper body was leaning towards Curtis.
Attorney Michaels: How did it make you feel in terms of what it looked like to you?
Reeves: I thought he was coming over and it just freaked me out. I was terrified.
Children of accused theater shooter testify
Curtis Reeves' two grown children took the stand in their father’s murder trial Friday. Hoping to spare her 79-year-old father from prison, Jennifer Shaw told the jury Reeves had lost a step or two after he retired as a Tampa police captain. She said when he hit his 70s, his health issues slowed him down.
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Mrs. Reeves said she does not remember seeing her husband shoot Oulson, but she did hear the gunshot.
Later Monday morning, the prosecution questioned Mrs. Reeves and appeared to have caught her backtracking previous testimony she gave in her husband’s Stand Your Ground hearings, back in 2017. The prosecution then read from her testimony during those hearings, where Mrs. Reeves was asked if she saw anything after, "Mr. Oulson was lunging over the seat coming after Curtis?"
Reeves: I don’t remember that specifically, but when Curtis moved, I took a brief glance, but after he came over, I don’t know anything until after the gunshot.
Prosecutor: So, you would agree with me that during this previous hearing you never said anything about him leaning to his left and extending his right leg, did you?
Reeves: I don’t know. I don’t remember.
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The line of questioning may be the prosecution’s attempt to cast doubt on Mrs. Reeves’ recollection of the events. Did she see her husband reach for the gun in his pocket, and if so, when?
Last week, prosecutors called Nicole Oulson to the stand following opening statements.
"I see his eyes were just glazed over and I knew at that moment," Chad's widow explained. "I told him, ‘Chad, we need you, please hang in there, we need you.’"
She said Chad was quietly scrolling on his phone before the movie started when Reeves leaned forward and told him to put the phone away. Nicole said her husband may have been waiting for a message from their daughter's preschool.
MORE: Trial of Curtis Reeves: Theater shooting victim's wife recalls watching husband die
When Chad Oulson did not put the phone away, Reeves left.
Nicole testified that when Reeves came back, he said to Chad, "'I see you put your phone away now that I went to get management.'"
She said her husband responded with the sentiment of, "what's your problem?" but did not become aggressive.
"What were you thinking?" the prosecutor asked.
"Why is this still going on? The phone was away. This should be over," Nicole testified.
FROM 2016: Widow sues movie theater over shooting
She said the next few seconds went by quickly.
Nicole said she didn't see the moment popcorn flew through the air. She said her husband began to stand and, as he did, she began to stand with him, putting her hand out across his body in an effort to deescalate the situation.
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That's when she says she felt the sensation of "fire" on her hand and heard a loud noise. She quickly realized the sound was a gunshot and the fire was a bullet through her hand.
Curtis Reeves is facing second-degree murder and aggravated battery charges. The trial resumes Tuesday morning.