'It was like it was no more than a dead animal. It was, like I said, shocking'

Oct. 15—SANDERSVILLE, Ga. — Nearly 20 witnesses have now testified for the prosecution over the last two days in the murder trial of three former deputies with the Washington County Sheriff's Office in connection with the July 2017 death of Eurie Lee Martin.

Friday marked the second day of testimony in the trial of Henry Lee Copeland, Michael Howell, and Rhett Scott — all of whom are on trial for the murder of the 58-year-old Martin, who lived in Milledgeville.

Testimony began Thursday morning in Washington County Superior Court in Sandersville. The co-defendants are each charged with two counts of felony murder along with other criminal charges.

The trio is being prosecuted jointly by Middle Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney Kelly Weathers and Special Assistant District Attorney Hayward Altman, the former middle circuit district attorney.

The victim, who had schizophrenia, had set out on a journey that took him from his home in Baldwin County to Washington County. He had wanted to see some of his relatives who lived in the neighboring county. Since he didn't have transportation, he walked most places he went.

Martin's quest to see relatives on foot wasn't unusual. He had made the journey in the past and he never encountered problems, except the hardship of the journey itself.

The day in question, however, changed Martin's life, as well as the lives of the three defendants, forever.

Martin's sister, Helen Gilbert, who lives in Sandersville, testified Friday afternoon that she called 911 when she had not heard from her brother on the night of July 7, 2017. She said she was concerned for his safety because she had heard he was walking along Deepstep Road and there was a bad thunderstorm.

Gilbert talked about her younger brother, saying he was a graduate of Washington County High School and that he had not always had a mental illness. His issues with mental illness came about in his 20s.

Martin had driven a car up until four or five years prior to his death, Gilbert said.

Martin's sister said her brother walked from his home in Milledgeville to Sandersville two or three times a month when he was unable to catch a ride with someone.

Gilbert is the first person in the Martin family to be called as a witness in the murder trial.

Defense attorneys representing Howell, Copeland and Scott did not ask Gilbert any questions.

Martin's quest to see relatives wasn't something new. He had made the long journey in the past. And he never encountered any problems, except the hardship of the journey, itself.

That particular day changed the life of Martin, as well as the defendants, forever.

The fate of Copeland, Howell and Scott, who had once worn the badge of the Washington County Sheriff's Office so proudly and honorably, will soon rest in the hands of a 12-person jury of their peers as they eventually weigh the testimony and weigh the evidence in the case.

The trial resumes Monday morning at 9 a.m. before Dublin Senior Superior Court Judge H. Gibbs Flanders Jr.

Howell, who worked part-time as a deputy sheriff, had a full-time job for many years with the Georgia Department of Corrections. He is represented by lead defense attorney Shawn M. Merzlak.

The other two defendants. Copeland. And Scott, meanwhile, are being represented by Pierce G. Blitch IV, and Mark M. Shaefer.

On Thursday afternoon, one of the state's witnesses, Susan Elaine Steel, a nursing professor, who along with her husband, Lee Curtis Bentley, live directly across from where Martin died, said she and her husband saw Martin walking earlier that afternoon on Kings Road.

"I believe that my husband and I passed Mr. Martin walking on the road on our way home,"

Steel told Altman as the state's 10th witness and last person to testify Thursday.

Steel said she and her husband, who testified just before she did, were returning home that afternoon from Athens.

"I'm fairly certain that we passed him because I just remembered thinking that it was strange that someone would be walking on such a hot, muggy day," Steel said. "I wished a thousand times that we had stoped and offered him water and a ride."

Water was what Martin had sought earlier when he approached the home of Cyrus Harris Jr. Martin didn't need a cup. He had a soda can in one had and wanted to fill it with water from an outside spigot.

But because Harris didn't know him and described him as "filthy," he refused Martin's request for some water.

During testimony earlier in the day, Harris said he told the man to exit his property. Martin did as Harris had requested.

The exchange led Harris, who was cutting his grass at the time, to call 911 to report a suspicious person to the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

It subsequently led to a confrontation between Howell — the first deputy to arrive on the scene — and Martin. A second deputy, Copeland, later arrived.

Steel's husband, Bentley, under questioning by Weathers, testified before his wife that the couple watched the struggle that ensued between the deputies and Martin.

"We watched them struggling with this guy," Bentley said. "They had two of the officers get on top of him to hold him down. And the third guy was in the middle, and as I say, he was yelling at him to pull his arm out."

Bentley said after a while, that the deputies stopped and stood up.

"And the middle guy went back to the car," Bentley said. "The other two just stood there."

The man, who later became known to Bentley and Steele as Eurie Lee Martin, stayed there on the ground.

"My wife says to me, 'They didn't kill him,' and I said, no they wouldn't kill him," Bentley said. "But he was dead. He just lay there. One guy kinda kicked at his hood that the guy, my guess was wearing, and kinda flipped it over his head. It was like it was no more than a dead animal. It was, like I said, shocking."