JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The trial of Bursey Armstrong, the man accused of killing Jacksonville radio personality Tasheka Young and her unborn child entered into the testimony phase Tuesday.
The jury heard from a slew of witnesses and saw several crime scene photos with experts analyzing them.
One of those witnesses was Tasheka Young’s mother, who was the one who found the broadcaster's body two years ago.
“I said, 'Ralph, grab your shoes, something is wrong, he never calls me,'" Olivia Young said while recounting the day she found her daughter dead.
When Olivia Young received a text from Bursey Armstrong asking if she’d heard from her daughter, she felt the need to go check on her at her Mission Point Apartment.
“I screamed her name again and ran to her room," Young said.
The next thing she saw at the northside apartment is an image that has stuck with her.
“She’s on the floor, and her baby girl was holding her mom’s hand," Young said. "Bursey [Junior] was in the bed, just shaking.”
A detective testified Bursey Armstrong, the father of Young’s two children, showed up at the crime scene while detectives were investigating.
During an interrogation, detectives asked Armstrong about bloody clothes and a handgun found at his mom’s house, where he was staying.
“Some stuff I might’ve done some yard work in," Armstrong said during the July 2022 interrogation. "When it comes to the firearm, it was probably something I was just holding on to.”
In the video, Armstrong tried to explain the gun, which an expert from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement testified used bullets that matched the ones found in Young’s apartment.
“I stole it back from her before I left," Armstrong said. "When I reported it stolen, she had originally stolen it, so I took it back.”
Shortly after detectives left the interrogation, Prosecutor Sheila Loizos said Armstrong attempted to escape custody.
“Have you ever seen, in all your years of law enforcement, someone try that," Loizos asked a detective during his testimony.
It’s rare, but it does happen sometimes," the detective responded.
All 10 witnesses called Tuesday were by the prosecution. Armstrong’s defense attorney didn’t call any witnesses and only asked detail-oriented questions during brief cross examinations.
The trial will continue Wednesday.
Armstrong is facing two counts of second degree murder, one for Young and one for her unborn child.