The court set a $2 million bond for the 19-year-old suspect connected to Burleson’s killing.
The hearing kicked off with testimony from a Carter County Sheriff’s Office investigator. He recounted responding to an early morning report of a shooting at a residence in Hampton’s Valley Forge area.
Tasked with documenting the scene, the investigator testified that Burleson’s body was discovered in the living room near the couch, clearly visible from the front door.
Trivett told the court that he, Jaylen Burleson and Jaylen’s older brother, Dominique Burleson, had gone out that night and later returned to Dominique Burleson’s home.
Dominique Burleson said that he had messaged and called his friend Shannon Taylor to join them and told her to bring a friend along.
Taylor later showed up with her friend, Isabella Schneider. Schneider brought along Whitely, according to Dominique.
“Did you know Mr. Whitely, the defendant?” the prosecution asked Trivett.
“No,” said Trivett.
“Did it seem like Jaylen or Dominique knew him?”
“No.”
Trivett said the six hung out for around four hours.
According to Trivett, the group had been drinking beer and later started drinking whiskey.
Trivett testified that everyone in the group but Schneider had been drinking; however, no one was apparently drunk.
Trivett said the guests decided it was time to leave. Trivett said they hadn’t even left the property before Whitely began knocking on the door.
“That’s when we hear a banging on the door, and we came back to open it, and that’s when everything happened,” Trivett said. “We just got so aggravated that he was beating that loud on the door.”
Testimony revealed Jaylen Burleson answered the door, exchanged some words with Whitely before the two began to physically fight.
Taylor testified she could see them fighting from Schneider’s car. She then said Schneider ran into the residence to try to pull Jaylen Burleson off of Whitely.
“{Schneider] had jumped on Jaylen’s back while Jaylen was on top of Morland,” she said.
“Was she trying to pull him off or something?” the defense asked.
“Yeah, she had his shoulders pulling,” Taylor replied.
During the altercation, a gunshot was fired, and the group ran away.
Taylor testified that Whitely got into the car with her and Schneider. Schneider then took Taylor home.
Dominique Burleson said he ran out of the house to a neighbor’s house to tell them what had happened.
Taylor also testified that Jaylen and Dominique Burleson, as well as Trivett, had been drunk that night, saying the three were already “heated up” by the time she arrived at the residence.
“Just boys,” she told the court. “When they drink alcohol, it gets them all fired up.”
She added everyone but Schneider had been intoxicated that night.
Taylor previously testified she believed Jaylena and Dominique Burleson and Trivett were planning on beating up Whitely when he returned to the residence, saying the three had been teasing Whitely that night.
“They were just making comments about him,” she said. “Like, ‘Oh, what did you do in high school?’ And, I mean, Morland ran track, and they said, ‘Oh, did you do the hurdles?’ like trying to make fun of him, but not really.”
The three also testified Dominque Burleson had brought out his new .22 revolver to show Trivett.
Trivett and Dominique Burleson testified that he had fired it twice that night before Jaylen Burleson was allegedly shot. Taylor said Dominique Burleson had been firing shots outside the home while Whitely was knocking on the door.
Trivett and Dominique Burleson’s testimony conflicted with this when they said they were at the corner of the living room when Whitely had knocked on the door.
Other investigators were brought to the stand, one of whom interviewed Whitely when he was taken into custody.
The investigator testified that Whitely told him he had taken a firearm from Schneider’s car when he went back up to the residence, saying he forgot his phone.
“[Whitely] said that the firearm had actually been in the vehicle that he had arrived in, in Isabella’s vehicle, the car that they were traveling in that did belong to Isabella,” he said. “[Whitely] said it was her firearm and that he had gotten it.”
Those present on the night of May 21 said they were unaware Whitely was armed as he approached the door to knock.
After testimony, the prosecution argued Whitely had committed first-degree murder because he had grabbed the firearm out of Schneider’s vehicle, saying he intended to use the gun when he entered the residence.
The defense, however, said Whitely brought the gun in self-defense due to the fact that he had been teased by the three and had a fear of getting into an altercation with them.
His team further emphasized Whitely’s physical stature in comparison to Jaylen Burleson’s.
“[The prosecution] wants you to ignore the fact that 6’4″, 180-pound Jaylen Burleson was on top of my 5’11” 110-pound client,” Whitely’s defense told the judge. “Shannon Taylor sat there and told you [Jaylen and Dominique Burleson and Trivett] were picking on him all night, a lot because of his size, so she says. She was even so struck by it that she testified, ‘Well, I’m not sure if they were planning on [fighting him].’ What does the witness see that even puts that in their head?”
The defense requested a lesser charge; however, the judge upheld Whitely’s first-degree murder charge.
Whitely’s next appearance is on Oct. 2.
