Derrick Thompson trial: Brother testifies he was not driving the Escalade
Prosecution, defense rest cases in Derrick Thompson trial
The defense team for Derrick Thompson rested its case without calling any witnesses on Wednesday. FOX 9's Rob Olson has the full report.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Damarco Thompson took the stand on Wednesday, testifying that his brother, Derrick Thompson, was the person who was driving at the time of the fatal crash that killed five women in Minneapolis in 2023.
Brother testifies
Derrick Thompson's brother testifies against him
Derrick Thompson's brother, Damarco Thompson, was called by the prosecution to testify against Derrick. Damarco said he was not in the rented Escalade during the fatal crash. FOX 9's Rob Olson has the full story.
What happened:
Derrick Thompson's defense strategy is to cast doubt that he was driving the SUV during the fatal crash. The defense suggested his brother, Damarco Thompson, was the one behind the wheel that night, pointing to evidence that Damarco's hat and car keys were found inside the crashed vehicle.
Damarco explained that Derrick grabbed some items out of the Dodge Challenger, including his blue hat, which was found in the Escalade. The set of keys discovered was also a set of spare keys that Derrick kept, he testified.
During his testimony, Damarco said after they left the airport rental facility, Derrick Thompson was the one driving the Escalade, and he drove the challenger to Woodbury.
When asked under direct questioning, Damarco said he did not drive the Escalade that night. When asked whether anyone else was in the vehicle with his brother, he responded "no."
While cameras are allowed in the courtroom for this trial, Damarco opted not to have his testimony on camera.
No defense witnesses
Derrick Thompson trial: Prosecutors aim to prove he was driving SUV
A Minneapolis Police investigator spent hours on the stand Tuesday, presenting various videos to prove Derrick Thompson was the one driving the Cadillac Escalade that slammed into a Honda Accord and killed all five women inside. FOX 9's Rob Olson was in court on Tuesday.
The other side:
After Damarco’s testimony, the prosecution rested their case. The defense, calling not a single witness of their own, then rested as well.
They did, however, try to make their defense case one last time when they cross-examined Damarco Thompson. They got nowhere.
"And you were in the car when the accident happened," defense attorney Joshua London, who came in to assist just for this witness, asked point-blank. "That’s why your hat and keys were in the vehicle?"
"No," Damarco answered. And with that, testimony in this trial concluded.
Derrick Thomson declined to testify in his own defense.
To the jury
What's next:
Closing arguments begin at 9 a.m. Thursday morning, with the jury beginning deliberations likely before lunchtime.
Opening statements came one week ago, and jurors heard from a number of eyewitnesses, investigators and forensic scientists. They also heard from several family members of the young women who died, including one final sibling on the stand on Wednesday.
Sundus Ali said her sister Sabiriin Ali was her best friend, had just graduated from high school and had a lot of hopes and dreams.
"She was taken from us, so she doesn’t get to live that life. She doesn’t get to live out her future plans, her dreams," Sundus Ali said.
Video surveillance
Derrick Thompson trial: Cameras show fatal crash
In Day 3 of the Derrick Thompson trial, cameras showed different angles of the crash that killed 5 young women.
Dig deeper:
A Minneapolis police investigator spent hours on the stand Tuesday presenting various videos to prove that Derrick Thompson was the one driving.
Sgt. David Ligneel showed videos from the rental car ramp at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, showing Thompson and his brother arriving in a car and both walking inside.
When they leave, cameras show Derrick driving the Escalade, no one in the passenger seat, then his brother exiting right behind him driving the car.
Another video, zooming in on the aftermath of the crash scene, shows no one exiting the passenger side of the Escalade. An eyewitness testified she saw Derrick emerge from the driver’s door.
A nurse who treated Thompson for a broken pelvis in the days after the crash testified that Derrick never mentioned anything about being a passenger in the SUV or that anyone else was even in the vehicle. Her impression of things he said was that he was driving.