Fullhart murder trial will go to the jury Thursday

Both the defense and the prosecution in the Brian Fullhart first degree murder trial have wrapped up their cases.  That means closing statements from attorneys on both sides will begin at 9:00 Thursday morning, with jury deliberations beginning some time later on Thursday.

The final rounds of testimony on Wednesday afternoon came from two competing mental health professionals. 

Defense witness Dr. Thomas Gratzer, a psychologist from the University of Minnesota, told jurors Brian Fullhart was "grossly psychotic" when Gratzer interviewed him.  Gratzer testified Fullhart had lost touch with reality by the time of the shooting.  As clips of the March 1st, 2018 police investigation were played in court, Gratzer repeated his opinion that Brian was "distressed, agitated...confused, disorganized."  He said the behavior of Brian at the police station was "very consistent with my diagnosis of severe psychosis."

But prosecution witness Dr. James Dennerg from Arizona disagreed.  He said there were no indications of psychotic behavior on the police interview video.  He said Fullhart's behavior could be explained by the facts that Brian was on meth, had shot his wife, had had a standoff with police and hadn't slept in a day and a half.  Dennerg also pointed out that, despite Fullhart's statement that he had been hearing voices since 2014, he had never sought treatment for it and had no indications prior to the shooting of any psychotic episodes.  "There was no reason to believe he did anything other than what he intended," said Dennerg.

Following the testimony by both psychiatrists, the jurors were told that both sides had presented all their evidence and were dismissed for the rest of the day.  Closing arguments will be made Thursday morning and then it will be time for the jurors to deliberate and come to an agreement, if possible, on a verdict.