AUSTIN — The trial for the man accused of killing a beloved Austin choir teacher in 2014 continued Thursday.
Shawn Gant-Benalcazar allegedly confessed to breaking into Kathy Blair's home on Tamarack Trail in December 2014. Investigators said he admitted to stealing her jewelry before he stabbed her several times. Gant-Benalcazar has pleaded not guilty to capital murder and a burglary charge.
Blair's body was found by her son, Joseph Hargis. Hargis testified about his experience on the first day of the trial. On Tuesday, a crime scene technician testified that blood was found in several places in Gant-Benalcazar's vehicle.
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On Thursday, a retired Austin police detective took the stand. Derek Israel's initial phone conversation with Gant-Benalcazar was played. At the time, Israel said he believed the defendant's friend, Timothy Parlin, was the suspect. During the call, Gant-Benalcazar confirmed to detectives he had traveled from Galveston to Austin the night Blair was murdered. He said he had planned to stay in Parlin's motel room. However, when he got there Parlin told him not to come in because his wife was there. The defendant said he then drove around, only making one stop at an H-E-B before coming back around 4 a.m.
Israel said after the phone call, he asked Gant-Benalcazar if they could meet in Galveston where Gant-Benalcazar was living. Gant-Benalcazar agreed. The in-person interview with detectives was recorded. The jury watched that video Thursday. Right away, detectives told Gant-Benalcazar he could leave at any time.
"I want to help you guys out because this guy, you know, is a wolf in sheep's clothing basically," Gant-Benalcazar said. "He didn't tell me anything about his past and, you know, I'm starting to feel like he set me up or something because, you know, he sent me out that night."
About two hours into the recorded video interview, Gant-Benalcazar said he was with Parlin the night of the murder. Initially, he said Parlin went into a home while he stayed in the car. He then said Parlin came out with a bloody sack of jewelry about seven to 10 minutes later. Gant-Benalcazar said he asked Parlin what happened and Parlin responded that "things got messy."
Close to three hours into the interview, Gant-Benalcazar said he got out of the car to take a walk while Parlin was in the home.
Defense attorneys believe the reason for this interview was to get Gant-Benalcazar to confess to committing the crime, which he allegedly does later in the video. The prosecution said the jury is expected to hear that Friday morning.
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