911 call played at Staunton's Springhill Village murder trial: 'He's bleeding out'
STAUNTON — Moments after 28-year-old Bradley A. Maurice was stabbed the afternoon of June 24, 2020, Ciara Jones called 911 from the Springhill Village Apartments in Staunton.
“He’s bleeding out,” Jones said to a dispatcher on a recording played for the jury Tuesday in Staunton Circuit Court.
Later, she added, “He’s breathing, but barely.”
Maurice, stabbed in the heart, would later die. His friend, Daniel D. Mead, 35, was eventually charged with first-degree murder in his death.
Jones was one of several witnesses called to the stand during the second day of Mead’s murder trial.
During a confrontation outside the apartment complex, Jones testified she saw the two men “very, very close” to one another. After being stabbed, she said Maurice held out his arms “like, oh my god, what’s going on?”
Jones said Maurice took off his T-shirt and “paced in a circle for maybe a minute, if that” before collapsing to his knees. When officers from the Staunton Police Department arrived on the scene, Maurice was on the ground and not moving. He was pronounced dead a short time later.
Previous evidence showed Mead had invited Maurice, his partner and their three young children to temporarily stay at his apartment after Maurice was kicked out of the Valley Mission, a local homeless shelter, for failing a breathalyzer test. The two had been friends for several years, Mead's attorney said.
However, the two men became embroiled in an argument that same day and Mead asked Maurice to leave. Minutes later, as the two men were outside of the apartment complex, Maurice was stabbed with a butterfly knife.
During opening arguments on Monday, Mead's attorney, William Little II, said he acted in self-defense.
On Tuesday, as Jones was still testifying, fireworks erupted when Little brought up a statement she’d reportedly made to police about Maurice appearing to be on drugs. His comment incensed Staunton Commonwealth’s Attorney Jeff Gaines, who immediately objected to Little’s question.
“He made that statement just to prejudice these fine people,” an agitated Gaines said as Judge Anne Reed immediately sent the jury back to the jury room.
“He knows there were no drugs in the man’s blood,” Gaines added, still seething.
“That’s what she said, your honor,” Little responded.
Reed upheld the objection and informed the jury, once it returned, to disregard Little’s last question to Jones. An autopsy showed Maurice did not have drugs in his system but he did have a blood-alcohol content of .197, more than twice Virginia’s legal limit to drive.
When her testimony resumed, Jones was asked by Little to describe Maurice’s behavior. “He was definitely mad that he’d gotten stabbed,” she said.
Mead, she said, remained calm as a small group of people gathered near the stabbing. Mead, who took the bloody knife back to his apartment, told police where to find the weapon, according to testimony.
During opening arguments Monday, Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Joseph Perry said Mead stabbed Maurice with such force the blade of the knife went through a rib, into the right ventricle and to the back wall of his heart. On Tuesday, the doctor who performed the autopsy said the depth of the fatal wound was slightly deeper than the length of the 3 ½-inch blade of the knife used in the slaying.
The prosecution rested its case late Tuesday afternoon. The jury is expected to get the case on Wednesday.
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Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Staunton jury could begin deliberations Wednesday in murder case
