Mother's a devoted witness

Convicted killer takes stand
February 11, 2004   Eight years after he was arrested for the murder of Allen Ray Jenkins, Alan Gell told his story under oath for the first time Tuesday. Gell flatly denied killing, knowing or ever seeing Jenkins. Did you kill Jenkins or have anything to do with the murder? his lawyer asked.

Slaying date explored
February 10, 2004   The state's former chief medical examiner testified Monday that Allen Ray Jenkins could have been killed a week or two before a neighbor found the retired truck driver's body on the afternoon of April 14, 1995. Jenkins' time of death is essential to the state's murder case against Alan Gell. Prosecutors contend that Jenkins was killed April 3; Gell was out of state or in jail from April 4 until after Jenkins' body was found.

Town's trials plentiful
February 8, 2004   In tiny Windsor, economy and Isabel outweigh talk of the major murder trial unfolding in their historic Bertie County courthouse.

2nd key witness heard in Gell trial
February 6, 2004   The state's second eyewitness in the murder retrial of Alan Gell testified Thursday that Gell shot Allen Ray Jenkins with a shotgun April 3, 1995. But on key points surrounding the killing, Shanna Hall contradicted her testimony from Gell's first trial. She also contradicted some of Wednesday's testimony by Crystal Morris, the state's other star witness who was her best friend at the time.

Defense tests timeline in Gell case
February 5, 2004   The murder retrial of Alan Gell hinged Wednesday on a crucial half-hour on the night of April 3, 1995. Both sides agree that Gell was dropped off at 9 p.m. at the Red Apple convenience store in the Bertie County town of Aulander. There he met two friends, Crystal Morris and Shanna Hall. By 9:30, a state witness said Wednesday, all three of them had arrived at Morris' grandmother's house.

State reiterates case; defense raises doubts
February 4, 2004   The second trial of Alan Gell started Tuesday with a familiar argument from state prosecutors: Gell killed Allen Ray Jenkins on April 3, 1995, a time of death that the defense says is impossible. Special Deputy Attorney General Pat Murphy, speaking in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, told jurors that Gell shot and robbed Jenkins to feed his drug habit.
 How the trial is progressing

How the trial is progressing
February 4, 2004   ON TUESDAY: The trial started after lawyers picked a jury of seven men and five women. They are: two workers at the Perdue chicken factory in Lewiston; three home health aides; two Weyerhaeuser workers, one retired; a former correctional officer; a homemaker; a coordinator for the state's Emergency Management Services; a chemical lab technician; and a community college administrator. COMING TODAY: Crystal Morris, who has pleaded guilty in Jenkins' death, is expected to testify.

New trial brings new hope
February 3, 2004   By all accounts, Alan Gell has grown up a lot in nearly nine years behind bars. He's a well-behaved inmate, soft-spoken while he proclaims that he didn't kill Allen Ray Jenkins. But Gell's behavior in prison isn't the issue for the Bertie County jury that will hear his case. The jurors, nine of whom were selected Monday, will decide whether Gell is guilty of the April 1995 murder of Jenkins, a retired truck driver.

Who killed Allen Ray Jenkins?
February 1, 2004   On Monday, Alan Gell will go on trial a second time for the 1995 murder of retired truck driver Allen Ray Jenkins. As in his first trial, Gell will be prosecuted by the state Attorney General's Office. The trial will take place in the same courtroom in Bertie County, and on the same date -- Feb. 2, six years after his first trial started.

Ruth Sheehan: New trial may shed new light
January 30, 2004   Maybe the Attorney General's Office is going to surprise us with startling new information or new witnesses. If not, this is a sham.