MIAMI (WSVN) - Before the jury began vdeliberating in the trial of a man accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend multiple times in Miami Gardens, a state prosecutor apologized to the defendant.
The apology occurred during closing arguments in Gayle Blount's trial on Thursday.
"I'm going to do something now that I have never done in my 42 years as an attorney," said the prosecutor as she teared up. "Especially to the jury. To apologize to you -- sorry, my accent comes -- to you, to counsel, to the defendant and to the court for misrepresenting a fact."
It was a rare sight in the courtroom as emotions flowed from the state prosecutor.
The prosecutor said she had to apologize after they questioned on Wednesday whether or not a purse belonging to the victim, Bridget Knighton, was really on the sofa, a point of contention between the defense and the prosecution.
"Regardless of my mistake, let's go over the facts of this case," the prosecutor continued.
The defense said Blount acted in self-defense after he thought his life was in danger.
"He saw her reaching for her purse. He knew she kept this small firearm in her purse, and he had every reason to believe it was in there. That was the testimony, not that she picked up the gun," said the defense lawyer. "To him, in that moment, as any objective person in that situation would believe, he was reasonable to think she was reaching for the gun."
But prosecutors said Blount had choices that night and decided to fire upon Knighton.
"He chose to do this. It was his choice to pull that trigger over and over and over again. And what is even more problematic is the defendant acting like it was self-defense," said one of the prosecutors. "The truth is that the defendant shot her in cold blood and left her to die on the living room floor."
"He could have reached for her, grabbed her, he doesn't have to shoot her," said the second prosecutor.
On Thursday, the defense team played a video from the apartment that night, proving Knighton's purse was indeed there.
"I am listening to his story, making notes. I heard about the purse and I saw the picture. I apologize that I did not remember or had not seen that," the prosecutor said.
Investigators said a second gun was never found at the scene.
Blount is on trial for attempted first-degree murder after the shooting took place in the apartment in May 2021.
That night, investigators said, Blount and his ex-girlfriend Bridget Knighton had an argument that escalated into Blount shooting her at least five times.
Blount was arrested outside of the apartment later that night.
Both Blount and his ex-girlfriend have admitted to having a rocky relationship.
In court on Tuesday, the first day of the trial, police body camera video was played which showed Knighton bleeding on the floor of the apartment.
Knighton also testified on Tuesday. She told the jury that Blount was enraged because she wanted him out of the apartment and called police.
"He was like 'This [expletive] called the police on me.' Every time he pulled the trigger, he said something," she said on Tuesday.
"And what did he say to you, besides that first statement," said the prosecutor.
"That's what I remember him saying, 'Look what you made me do,'" said Knighton.
But one day later, on Wednesday, Blount told his side of the story on how things played out.
"I was in fear for my life. She made a statement about I got something for your (expletive) and she reached her purse," said Blount.
The jury was sent home for the day on Thursday. They will resume their deliberations on Friday morning.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Join our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox Email address Submit