Detective testifies against man in Des Moines murder trial

Detective testifies against man in Des Moines murder trial

DES MOINES (AP) — A young man on trial for murder used a metal grilling spatula to attack and kill an elderly man in east Des Moines last year, a police detective told jurors this week.

Prosecutors allege that Ngor Makuey, 20, intended to rob the home of 97-year-old Rupert Anderson and Anderson's 94-year-old wife, Harriet, when he broke in and attacked the couple on July 2, 2014. Harriet Anderson survived.

Des Moines police detective Lorna Garcia testified Friday that a bloody spatula was found atop a refrigerator in the home Makuey shared with his mother and stepfather, the Des Moines Register reported. Garcia said video from a patrol car that arrived shortly after the attack appeared to show Makuey leaving the Andersons' house with the spatula tucked into his waistband.

Makuey's attorneys are using an insanity defense in an attempt to show he could not appreciate the consequences of his actions and didn't know right from wrong at the time of the attack.

In a police interview, Makuey denied being at the Andersons' house on the night of the attack, Garcia testified.

She said he stuck to that denial even after she showed him a photo from a police car dash camera that appeared to show him outside the door of the Anderson's home as officers arrived on the scene.

'He denied that it was him,' Garcia said.

Makuey is charged with first-degree murder. The trial began earlier this week and is set to resume Tuesday.