AUSTIN — The day after Shawn Gant-Benalcazar gave his side of the story in a murder case involving an Austin choir teacher, closing arguments have finished in the capital murder trial April 11.
On April 10, Gant-Benalcazar, 33, took the stand, blaming a family friend for the 2014 death of Kathy Blair. Gant-Benalcazar said he and Timothy Parlin were together the night he said they burglarized Blair's house. Blair's son later found her dead body.
Prosecutors started off closing arguments, reminding the jury Gant-Benalcazar had burglarized before.
They said Gant-Benalcazar's story changed throughout the case.
He confessed to the crime years ago on video, but April 10, he testified that a family friend named Timothy Parlin killed Kathy Blair.
"This defendant is the murderer!" prosecutor Andrea Austin said. "There's no evidence that Tim Parlin went in that house -- that Tim Parlin went in that closet."
However, the defense said Gant-Benalcazar had no motive to kill Blair. But Parlin, mad about unpaid landscaping work, did.
"The man walked in there to kill her," said defense attorney Ariel Payen, referencing Tim Parlin. "To kill her slow and ugly. That's not random."
RELATED:
'I was still obviously in shock' | Son of choir teacher takes the stand in first day of murder trial
He has pleaded not guilty to capital murder and a burglary charge.
Reporter Rebeca Trejo is tweeting from the courtroom. Follow her for live updates: