‘People lie’: Closing arguments given in Mount Union double homicide trial

HUNTINGDON, Pa. (WTAJ) — The double homicide trial of Moricao Johnson in a Mount Union cold case continued Thursday when the defense gave closing arguments.

After a trial delay, due to motions being filed, the defense gave their closing arguments before a lunch recess.

The Defense:

The defense told the jury they heard “I don’t recall” from investigators more than actual answers during the trial. They focused on discrepancies from the crime scene and how there was no evidence that Johnson was violent, temperamental, or controlling.

Johnson’s defense attorney asked the jury if they could trust the troopers, saying the evidence was compromised and they failed to explain their process from the crime scene during testimony.

“The prosecution’s strongest information was the troopers and they were still incorrect,” the defense said in closing.

The court broke for lunch.

The Prosecution:

Back from lunch, Assistant District Attorney, and prosecution, delivered closing arguments to the court. ADA Ethan Wilt said troopers were not underprepared and every piece of evidence had been accounted for. He went on to remind the jury that the only thing the defense didn’t dispute was the blood lifts they took — three of them — belonged to Johnson.

Wilt said motive isn’t required as you can’t get into the mind of a person who shoots two women dead. He argued that Johnson created his motive by working a double shift his first days back after killing the women, reminding the jury that Johnson took off New Year’s Eve and was already scheduled to be off Jan. 1 and Jan. 2.

“People and memories can be hard to remember from over 10 years ago. People lie. But what doesn’t lie is the blood,” Wilt said.

The jury was given final instructions before being sent to deliberate.

Johnson was arrested in 2022 after DNA led police to believe he was involved in the double homicide of Christine McWhorter and Beatrice Daniels in 2009 — a homicide case that went cold for more than a decade.

Last week, McWhorter’s mother took the stand and gave emotional testimony about the days leading up to the homicides. After explaining that her daughter and Daniels were at her Philadelphia home for New Year’s Eve before heading back to Mount Union, she left the stand in tears before collapsing outside of the courtroom.

Her testimony came the same day the defense argued inconsistencies and “mistakes” made by the doctor who did the original autopsy of the two women.

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