PITTSBURGH — The death penalty trial of a man accused of killing his wife in 2014 continued on Tuesday.
James Karr is accused of knocking his wife Maureen Karr unconscious during an argument at their Friendship Street home in Duquesne, tying her up and setting the house on fire.
Investigators said Maureen Karr took out a protection from abuse order two weeks before the fire, claiming her estranged husband was “threatening to set the house on fire.”
In day two of the case, brand new video was revealed to the courtroom. During an Allegheny County detective's testimony, prosecutors showed surveillance video from a BP gas station that Karr visited a short time after his wife's house was set on fire.
TRENDING NOW:
- 19-month-old daughter of skier Bode Miller drowns in pool
- 4 children, suspect in police shooting dead after standoff
- Woman dead, 3 firefighters injured after house fire
- VIDEO: Flight delayed by alligator on runway
In the video, Karr is seen arriving in a Jeep Liberty and getting out of the passenger's seat to go inside the convenience store. Minutes later, he returns to the car and gets inside.
He is then seen getting out of the car, smoking a cigarette and on his cellphone. He walks away from the SUV and the driver takes off in another direction.
Video of detectives questioning Karr after the fire was also shown in court.
Detectives asked Karr what he did the night of the fire and he told them he spent much of his night smoking crack and drinking.
For at least 20 minutes, detectives tried to get James to tell them what else he did that night, but he would only say he could not remember.
Court will pick up again Wednesday morning and there is expected to be at least two more hours worth of video of detectives questioning Karr after the fire.
The district attorney’s office said this is the first time during the administration of District Attorney Stephen Zappala that a capital case has been decided by a judge instead of a jury.