JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The second week of the penalty phase of the death penalty trial for the man who murdered a Nassau County Sheriff’s deputy began Monday.
Patrick McDowell confessed to shooting and killing Deputy Joshua Moyers in 2021 then leading law enforcement on a nearly five-day manhunt in which he shot a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office K-9.
McDowell’s defense attorneys are now in their third day of testimony. Many of the witnesses they've called have been former Marines and the lines of questioning have been similar. Defense attorneys have asked them about traumatic experiences in Iraq, followed by questions about those witnesses' problems later with issues like addiction and PTSD.
Witnesses who worked with McDowell overseas praised his character then. One former service member said McDowell was, “Everything that the Marine Corps would want a Marine to be,” and another person testified, “He was the perfect Marine.”
McDowell’s aunt and cousin testified his behavior changed after his deployments to Iraq, first as a Marine and then later with the company Triple Canopy. McDowell's aunt and cousin recounted a 4th of July when he appeared to have a panic attack during fireworks. Family members testified they believed he later got involved with drugs.
In the prosecution’s line of questioning, McDowell’s aunt revealed McDowell told her he had to shoot and kill a child because the child was armed. She recounted a time he broke down at her home.
"He started saying, 'Aunt Sue I just saw so much and I just saw so much,'" testified Susan Cagle, McDowell's aunt. "I think he was having sort of a mini breakdown because he just said he was running from his demons."
Several family members say they have been doing Bible study with McDowell and believe he's a changed person since the murder.
McDowell’s mentor from the veteran’s treatment court testified McDowell appeared to be doing well before the pandemic. Prosecutors argued after the pandemic, McDowell’s veteran’s treatment court mentor tried to help McDowell, but McDowell “stood him up.” Now, that mentor says he partially blames himself for what happened.
"I got physically sick," testified McDowell's mentor David Abramowitz. "I threw up because it wasn't the man I knew. I blame myself. Most veterans, if you know veterans, know something like this happens, usually the chain of command's responsible and I'm part of that chain of command. And I just feel so bad for the police officer and obviously the family, the sheriff, Nassau County."
Key testimony has come from McDowell himself.
On Thursday, he took the stand in his own defense and apologized to the family of the man he murdered, among others. He also revealed he checked his gun was loaded before shooting Moyers in the face during a traffic stop in Callahan.
“I knew that if it failed then I was willing to do whatever I needed to do to get away,” McDowell told the court Thursday. “And that included shooting the deputy. And I did that without a single, single thought of taking a man's life. I was 100 percent focused solely on myself.”
McDowell’s family members, including his parents, grandparents, ex-wife and teenage son also testified last week. The most recent testimony has come from a number of men McDowell served with in the Marines.
“The Patrick I knew was professional, he was dependable,” said Jacob Woodard, who served with McDowell, on Monday. “But he was my brother and if I had to take a bullet for somebody it would’ve been him and I know without a shadow of a doubt he would’ve done the same for me. When I heard about this… That’s not the Patrick that I know, that I knew.”
Testimony from defense witnesses has praised McDowell for his work in the Marines and described traumatic events. Fellow Marines have testified about the violence they witnessed in Iraq and the mental toll it took on them. One Marine became emotional during his testimony speaking about two fellow Marines who took their own lives. There have also been descriptions of Iraqi children burnt on purpose in order to get medications from U.S. military members, witnesses said.
Multiple former Marines testified about mental health and addiction struggles following their service. On Monday, Woodard testified Marines did not talk about their personal struggles growing up.
“I needed help,” Woodard testified. “Most of us needed help, but mental health wasn’t a real injury to us.”
Last week, the court heard victim impact statements from Moyers’s family. Several jurors were seen crying as well as Moyers’s family, who were comforting each other in the audience. Defense attorneys described this in their reason for filing a motion for a mistrial due to the victim impact statements and the fact the jury, under law, is not supposed to consider them when determining whether McDowell should live or die.
“The victim impact statements made in the presence of the jurors in this case was intensely emotional and calculated to inflame the passions of the jury,” the documents for the motion for mistrial state.
The judge denied this motion.
In those victim impact statements, the court heard from a fellow Nassau County Sheriff’s deputy and friend of Moyers’, a victim advocate speaking for Moyers’ fiancé, Moyers’ parents and Moyers’ brother.
“I didn’t even know it was possible to feel so much grief as in that moment,” Moyers' brother, Jordan Moyers, testified Tuesday. “As my legs literally gave out underneath me, as I screamed and cried on the floor, sobbing until I had to pick myself up off the ground and frantically call every friend I had until someone picked up and could help me get a flight back home. I tried to do it myself, but I couldn't even see straight."
Moyers’ brother said he has been unable to keep a job because he becomes so overcome with grief he has to leave. Moyers’s fiancé described in her victim impact statement the best day of her life, when Moyers surprised her by reserving a beach on an island to propose to her on his birthday trip.
Moyers’ mother testified she has had to go to physical therapy due to the stress the grief has caused her body. She read entries from her journal and described times she saw men with red hair who reminded her of her son.
“At the two-year mark of his death, I drove to put a plaque by the railroad tracks where he was killed,” Moyers’ mother, Brenda Moyers, testified. “Before I could attach it and leave, a train blowing its whistle pushed by. So upset and disturbed by the train’s sudden appearance, I grabbed hold of the pole, shaking uncontrollably for about 10 minutes. I made my way back to the car. It's been terrible for me.”
The trial began with the prosecution showing jurors police dash camera video of Moyers’ murder. The officer Moyers called for assistance is seen on the video arriving less than 40 seconds after Moyers’ murder.
Deputy David Barnes testified he drove up to 136 miles per hour at one point while responding to Moyers’ call. He said Moyers was the person who introduced him to policing and was the first police ride-along he ever went on.
“I just found my friend and mentor shot in the face so I was a little…Trying to calm myself down and do my job at the same time,” Barnes said.
Jurors were also shown video of police body camera footage from the night the JSO K-9 named Chaos was shot. Later prosecutors showed video of McDowell crawling out of the concession stand area of a Callahan baseball complex, where he was eventually captured following his surrender. A police K-9 named Huk attacked him as he crawled out before McDowell was surrounded by law enforcement officers and taken into custody.