BELL COUNTY, Texas — A big day in the murder trial of Caysen Allison, as the state finished presenting its case on day 7 of the trial. Now, the defense is on the clock questioning the investigation using video from inside the interrogation room.
The video showed lead detective Det. Gene Cole read Caysen his Miranda Rights, then asked him if he wants to continue talking to police. At that point, Caysen said, “I’ve got nothing to hide.”
He is also seen describing the events, claiming he told the victim, Joe Ramirez, several things like, “Don’t touch me or I’m going to stab you” and “I just want to graduate and get out, I’m not going to jail for this.”
He also admitted that he had the knife out before Joe punched him.
On Tuesday, Cole testified Caysen's demeanor changed after the bloody knife was shown to him, going from calm to getting sick. But Wednesday, the defense showed the jury video of their interaction. In it, Caysen is being shown a picture of a knife, but he tells them that wasn’t the one he used.
“That’s definitely not it,” he said in the video.
Caysen did lay on the ground and vomit in a trash can, but he was never shown the black folding knife used in the stabbing nor was he shown a photo of it inside the interrogation room. Cole then told the jury he was mistaken in his previous testimony.
The video also showed Caysen in distress and saying, “Oh my head hurts,” while still being questioned by police. Defense attorneys told the court Caysen signed his statement before receiving medical help and did not have time to read it before he initialed it.
During questioning, police asked Caysen how far the knife went into the victim. Caysen answered, “I barely put it in, but it was sharp. I just tried to push it in.”
When Cole asked in the video why Caysen didn’t tell the school about a potential fight between the two, he answered, “I didn’t think they could do anything.”
After two hours in the interrogation room, Caysen was taken to Baylor Scott and White Temple, where he was diagnosed with a closed head injury.
Cole was asked about the investigation of the other witnesses in the bathroom where Ramirez was stabbed. He said he personally did not interview them and didn't confiscate any of the their cell phones. He said he did not look at the surveillance video to track what the witnesses were doing the morning before the fight.
After the state rested, the defense called up its first witnesses, including one of Caysen’s friends. He testified Caysen and Joe were supposed to fight off school grounds later that day at 5 p.m. and that it was Joe and his friends who came up with the fight location. He also told the court he was scared to testify because Joe had jumped him before.
The trial is scheduled to resume Thursday morning.
