LILLARD MURDER TRIAL: Six different female acquaintances take the stand Wednesday afternoon (Updated 8:31 p.m. Wednesday)

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EDITOR'S NOTE: The following update was compiled and written by Gabrielle Duchateau.

Wednesday marked Day No. 2 of the Marcus Lillard trial in downtown Milledgeville.

The morning consisted of testimony from the forensic pathologist who was assigned to the case, Dr. Melissa Sims-Stanley. The jury was shown pictures from the autopsy of Marianne Shockley. The pictures shown to the jury provided images of hemorrhaging in the soft tissue of the throat and tongue areas. These are injuries “consistent with manual strangulation,” according to Sims-Stanley. She also defined manual strangulation as using limbs or “one or both hands” to compress the neck. It could not be concluded if one or two hands were used to strangle the victim.

It was also stated that the victim, Shockley, also had injuries like broken ribs and bruising on the abdomen which was consistent with CPR. Bruises on the victim's arms and legs were also said to be consistent with carrying the body.

Although Shockley had other injuries, broken ribs, bruises on the abdomen, and a disputed amount of ecstasy in her system, Sims-Stanley said on the record that “this case showed the classic signs of manual strangulation” and “those hands deliberately compressed the neck.”

A sexual assault kit was done in the autopsy on the victim's body, as well. They did not find anything.

In the second half of the day, the jury heard from multiple witnesses who remain anonymous due to the sensitive content of their testimony.

There were six in all. All the female witnesses said they were choked by Lillard during sex or had his hands on their necks, some consensually and some non-consensually. Some became unconscious while being choked. One witness said Lillard choked her “to see her reaction” and stated “he liked rough sex. That was his thing.”

Many of the witnesses also stated Lillard would drink or use drugs like cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy, and one witness said “crack-cocaine.” Some witnesses participated with Lillard in the illicit activities.

One male witness, meanwhile, testified about previously making a statement to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations that he warned Lillard that choking women could be dangerous but it was unclear if the witness made the statement with a clear mind. He stated that he was high while speaking with the GBI and his “brain was clouded” due to a tragic event. His answers were all unclear saying he “maybe” or “probably” said what was on the report.




UPDATED:2:28 p.m. // Wednesday, April 6

Day No. 2 of testimony in the Marcus Lillard trial continued Wednesday morning on the fourth floor of the Courthouse downtown.

Prior to the trial, there wassome speculation about whether or not any national media would show up. On Wednesday, a producer named Ryan Smith with CBS' "48 Hours" attended the trial and will document the proceedings. Aside from that, however, the media in attendance has been limited to local and Macon.

Several witnesses were set to testify on Wednesday afternoon, all former sexual partners of Lillard. The testimony is relevant, based on the fact that the District Attorney's Office is contending that Lillard unintentionally "manually strangulated" his girlfriend, Marianne Shockley, while engaging in sex in May 2019.

Toxicology reports also were revealed. Lillard tested positive for cocaine, while Shockley's blood alcohol content was .11. Shockley also had a relatively high amount of "ecstasy" in her system, according to the toxicology reports. The third man there that night – Clark Heindel – also had ecstasy in his system during his autopsy. Heidel committed suicide in his bedroom shortly after law enforcement arrived on the night of the incident.

WMAZ/Channel 13 did a solid job of recapping the first day of testimony, which can be reviewed below...

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Shockley was a University of Georgia professor and Lillard's girlfriend. The pair first met years ago while Shockley attended Georgia College. She grew up in Morgan County and Lillard in Johnson County.

Lillard is going on trial for one count each of felony murder, aggravated assault involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct. He is facing several hurdles. First, he already was on “first offender probation” when he was arrested in May 2019. He previously had been sentenced to 20 years on probation following a drug bust in his office at a local car dealership, where he was working at the time. First offender probation means that a judge, in theory, can “re-set” the entire 20-year sentence and order Lillard to prison, even if he’s found not guilty on the murder charge but guilty on a lesser charge.

The case is one of the strangest in recent memory, not just around here, but anywhere in Georgia. According to Lillard's first few interviews with detectives back in 2019, he said that he and Shockley then arrived at the rural home of Clark Heindel around 7 p.m., where they smoked some more marijuana, according to interviews. Lillard and Heindel then began playing the bongo drums and the accordion. Eventually, Lillard and Shockley disrobed and jumped in the pool, according to Lillard's statements, while Heindel hung out closer to the porch of his house. Lillard denied having any sexual contact with Shockley that night, and he insists that “they just kissed.” During each of Lillard’s first two interviews, he asserted that he eventually decided to walk around the woods and gather firewood for roughly 15 minutes. After returning, Lillard said that he found Shockley unconscious in the hot tub. At that point, Lillard asserts, he picked up Shockley and dropped her in the deep end of the pool in an effort to resuscitate her. In the process, Shockley sustained a head wound, asserted Lillard, adding that he then swam with Shockley to the shallow end and carried her up out of the pool.

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