Prosecution lays out case in Irby murder trial
Jun. 8—MOUNT VERNON — Terrance Jon Irby went on trial Monday for a fourth time for allegedly killing James Rock of Hamilton in 2005.
Irby has been convicted of murdering Rock in three previous trials, but each of those convictions was overturned by the state Court of Appeals.
In her opening statement, prosecutor Mary Ryan called the killing of Rock a "brutal, premeditated murder."
Irby is being tried on charges of first-degree murder and first-degree burglary after guns belonging to Rock and boots splattered with his blood were found in Irby's truck soon after Rock's death, according to law enforcement.
Because Irby has chosen to represent himself in court and has declined to present a defense, the jury will hear only the prosecution's case against him.
Rock's body was found in 2005 by a Skagit County Sheriff's Office deputy who was sent to Rock's home after Rock missed a ride to a medical appointment, Ryan said.
She told the jury Rock was found in a pool of blood in his garage with multiple injuries. No weapon was found near the body, so there was no indication the wounds were self-inflicted.
Rock's daughter, Candy Lee Rock, was the first witness called to testify Monday. She said she knew her father kept guns in a closet in his locked bedroom.
When she returned to the home soon after her father's death, Candy Lee Rock said the guns were no longer there, and there was damage to James Rock's bedroom door.
Candy Lee Rock said two of her father's guns — a 12-gauge shotgun and a .357 magnum revolver — were the same ones police later found in Irby's truck.
— Reporter Brandon Stone: bstone@skagitpublishing.com, 360-416-2112, Twitter: @Brandon_SVH
