ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. β The defense has rested its case after two days of testimony in the sentencing hearing for the former University of Virginia student who shot and killed three football players in 2022.
Among those who testified Thursday were more survivors of the shooting and an expert witness who gave his opinion on why Christopher Darnell Jones, Jr. did what he did.
>> Read a recap of day one by clicking here, day two by clicking here and day three by clicking here. <<
Jones pled guilty last year to the murders of D'Sean Perry, Lavel Davis Jr. and Devin Chandler and shooting and injuring two others. Two other people were shot but survived.
He faces a minimum of 23 years in prison for firearms charges, but could get life sentences for the murders and shooting β something the prosecution is seeking.
Witness Testimony: "It was beautiful day up until tragedy"
The first to testify was Prof. Theresa Davis, who taught a class Jones was enrolled in and organized the trip up to Washington, D.C.
Davis said Jones was in a class of only four students so she was able to build a rapport with the students. She said Jones was engaged and opened up more as the class progressed.
But she recalled he did not show up to class for a time and when she spoke with him, Jones said he felt he did not know if he belonged at UVA.
Davis said Jones never seemed anxious or fearful before the trip and was excited to go on it. She said Jones sat alone on the bus and seemed "heavy" after the play (but added as it was a play about Emmett Till, so it was the same for everyone). She added that he seemed quiet during dinner and when she saw him on the bus on the trip back, he had his headphones on and eyes closed.
She clarified on cross examination she never saw Jones get bullied by anyone.
Davis said as the bus was about to stop she was gathering supplies when she "heard the sounds" and "I could see Lavel standing" and then heard a series of gunshots.
She said the driver ran off the bus and shut the doors. And as she was trying to open the doors, she said she heard a voice behind her that said "get out of my way." The next thing she remembered was being on the concrete outside the bus.
She said she saw red shoes run past her and she recognized them as Jones' and that was when she realized he was the shooter.
"It was a beautiful day up until tragedy," Davis said. "It was unrecognizable to me, the level of evil at that moment."
Witness Testimony: "Could have never imagined"
The second witness was Alexis Stokes, a friend and fellow student in Jones' class. She said she was introduced to Jones through a mutual friend, Luna, in August 2022.
Stokes said Luna and Jones has a sexual relationship at one point and thought Luna was now trying to play matchmaker with the two of them.
Stokes said Jones was interested in her, but she did not reciprocate those feelings. However, she said the two became best friends. She said Jones and Luna's relationship was good, until it was not.
Stokes said Jones shared about his rough upbringing, an experience she had as well. She said Jones shared it impacted his ability to have relationships with his peers.
She described Jones as sad and angry at times and encouraged him to seek mental health treatment as the issues were going beyond what she felt she could manage as a friend.
Stokes said Jones' demeanor changed as the semester progressed and was "mentally all over the place" and was paranoid that people were out to get him. She said it was different people at times, but Luna was one of the people he thought was trying to "set him up."
She recalled one fight Luna and Jones had in the car which caused him to start driving aggressively fast. Another memory she shared was Jones telling her if she was ever with another man, Jones would blow his own head off.
She said Jones became more isolated and she stepped away from their friendship over concerns about his mental health.
As for the trip, Stokes said she was not planning on going but Jones convinced her and seemed very excited about it.
She said Jones sat alone on the trip up and at the play and while he seemed OK at the restaurant, he eventually reverted to an isolationist state.
Stokes did not go into great detail about how the shooting unfolded, but said she dove under Devin Chandler's seat with Marlee Morgan while it unfolded.
On cross examination from prosecutors, she said she did not recall someone telling police that Jones spoke to Luna during the shooting and said, "You're lucky I don't shoot women."
When asked to compare the Jones of August 2022 to the Jones of Nov. 13, 2022 she said it "seems incomparable," adding "how we're here today, I could have never imagined."
Expert Testimony
Thursday's longest testimony was from Dr. Jeffrey Aaron, a forensic psychologist.
He offered his analysis of Jones' case based off of a review of medical records, police records, interviews with a dozen people that knew him, and around 16 hours of interviews with Jones himself.
Aaron said that Jones' traumatic childhood formed the roots for his "exceedingly distorted perception" of reality that developed later in his life.
He said this stemmed from the violence he experienced from his mother and father, a sense of betrayal from his family, and a sense of being gaslit (family denying or downplaying what happened to him).
Aaron said while Jones seemed to be excelling in high school, he began using marijuana and contemplated suicide. Aaron said Jones was "masking" how he truly felt from the broader public.
Aaron went on to describe what Jones faced at UVA in his second year, included hazing when he joined a fraternity and getting caught up in a large brawl between the football and track teams at a restaurant and receiving a significant cut above his eye.
Jones was no longer a part of the football team at that point, but Aaron said this caused Jones to become more suspicious and saw it as a setup.
Aaron said when school shutdown because of COVID, Jones returned to Petersburg and said "everything fell apart." Aaron said Jones started using marijuana, drinking heavily, and used pills (mentioning Xanax and Percocet). Aaron added that Jones was in a bad crash and his sister was seriously injured in a separate incident.
Aaron said this was when Jones started to exhibit "thinking problems" and began to quit a series of jobs for "illogical reasons."
He added that Jones seemed to realize he was not thinking or perceiving things correctly at times, but did not realize it at other times.
Aaron also relayed what Jones told him about the night of the shooting.
Aaron said Jones told him he was not expecting Luna to be on the trip and got anxious when she was. Aaron added that Jones said when he saw five large men, the UVA football players, get on the bus, Jones thought he was being set up and they were there to cause him harm.
Aaron said Jones interpreted several things throughout the trip as signals that they were going to hurt him β including stepping on his shoe, play fighting between the players, and conversations they had on the phone.
Aaron said Jones described a back-and-forth that happened in his mind of whether he should let it go and do nothing, kill himself, or shoot the players.
Aaron said Jones described, right before the shooting, his brain was saying "Do it. Don't do it. Do it. Don't do it." and "I was still trying to determine what was real up until that moment."
Aaron said in his expert opinion while Jones did not suffer from schizophrenia, he suffered a serious mental illness that distorted his reasoning and ability to determine what was real β including threats from people.
Aaron said the men Jones killed were wonderful people and posed no threat to Jones, but Jones did not think that.
During cross examination, prosecutors questioned the conclusions reached by Aaron and mentioned several times that there are many other people who suffer from similar issues as Jones or come from a similar background, but those people do not go out and commit and a triple murder.
What to Expect Friday
The prosecution said they will present their own expert witness on Friday morning to rebut Dr. Aaron's testimony.
That will be followed by closing arguments and then a sentencing decision from the judge.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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