BEAUMONT, Texas — During the second day in the trial of a Beaumont man accused of killing four people, a witness testified that he told her he was, "going to kill them."
Lively Stratton is charged with four counts of murder and is facing trial for all four counts. The deadly shooting took place on Sunday, September 29, 2019, in the 4100 block of Highland Avenue.
It claimed the lives of Bobby Wyatt, 39, Shannon Sutton, 23, Alvin Lee Bellard, 32, and Elijah Rideau, 33, according to file stories. Sutton and Bellard were pronounced dead at the scene.
Wyatt and Rideau were still alive when the officer arrived but later died. An officer asked Rideau who shot him.
In what the officer described as a "dying declaration," Rideau said "Lively," according to court documents.
Thursday notes from the trial
The first to take the stand Thursday morning in the quadruple murder trial of Lively Stratton is Forensic Pathologist Dr. Selly Rae Strauch-Rivers.
She spoke to the jury as photos of the autopsies were displayed in court. She described two gunshot wounds to the head of one of the victims, four gunshots to the head of another victim, two gunshot wounds in a third victim, and a gunshot wound to the head and other parts of the body of the fourth deceased. She testified that all of the deceased had THC, amphetamine, and methamphetamine in their system when they died.
She testified that the cause of death of all four deceased is homicide.
In cross-examination, Defense Attorney Gertz asked if the use of the word homicide implied whether the deaths were self-defense. She said it did not. He asked if the use of methamphetamine caused hallucinations and aggressive behavior. She said yes.
Gertz asked Rivers if any of the wounds indicated if any of the deceased was running away or cowing down while executed. She said no.
He asked if the wounds indicated all of the deceased were facing forward. She answered yes.
Stratton took the stand Thursday afternoon. He testified that he had a loaded gun in his pocket with a bullet in the chamber when he arrived at the apartment where the shootings happened. He said he asked the men where his stolen items were, and they reacted aggressively toward him. He said he saw his stolen TV in the room. When he walked to it, he said Alvin Bellard closed and locked the door behind him. He said he felt, “absolute fear.”
Stratton said he turned to face Bellard and he saw he was approaching him with a butterfly knife. He said he shot him out of fear. He described being “trapped” in the room by the men between him and the exit. He said he fired until the threat was neutralized.
Stratton said he did not know if any of the men had a gun.
In cross-examination, the prosecution asked when Stratton got the gun. Stratton said he only had the gun for a few months. He testified that he had never shot the gun until the day of the killings. Stratton claims self-defense.
Wednesday notes from the trial
The first person Prosecutor Ashley Molfino called to the stand on Wednesday was Sgt. Yvette Borrero. Borrero said she went to the 4100 block of Highland Avenue in September of 2019 after receiving a call about several shootings.
When she arrived, the scene was secured, but two bodies were still in the residence. Borrero described the scene as, “all hands on deck.”
Borrero said the initial officer told her all the victims lived together.
Borrero said Beaumont Police began looking at two residences in the 600 block of E Caston Street for Stratton. She said police received information that Stratton left the scene of the shooting to go to the area.
A map was shown in court to show the distance between E Caston Street and Highland Avenue. Borrero described them as being, “actually very close to each other.”
Borrero said she was able to speak with people on E Caston Street and learned the name of a woman who was reportedly with Stratton when the shooting occurred. Borrero specified that she did not just take “someone’s word for it,” but she made a “personal confirmation,” of the person’s identity.
Borrero found the woman and picked her up from McDonald’s. She said the witness was, “not truthful,” at first.
The defense had no questions for Sgt. Borrero.
The second person prosecution called to the stand was Officer Chris Davis. Davis said he took pictures of a vehicle that was found across the street from the track at Lamar University near E Caston Street.
Defense Attorney Gertz asked Davis if he helped with collecting gunshot residue. Davis said he did.
Gertz asked specifically if he helped with the gunshot residue kit that was used on the victims. Davis said he did not.
Davis said the Texas Department of Public Safety usually does not conduct gunshot residue tests on people who are dead. However, he said there are labs that a testing kit can be sent to.
An alleged witness to the shooting was the last person to be called to the stand on Wednesday. She described herself as a 24-year-old woman who lived in Beaumont.
The witness said she was living with Stratton in September of 2019 in the 4100 block of Highland Avenue. She said she had been living with him since July.
She said while they were not dating, they were good friends.
The witness said she and Stratton shared a room and the other four boys shared a room. She described the apartment as “very small” and said it was easy to hear through the walls.
According to the witness, Stratton and the four victims never got in fights or argued. She said she never knew them to be threatening towards Stratton and that for the most part, everyone got along.
The witness said on Friday, Sept 27, 2019, she and Stratton temporarily left their Highland residence to stay at a hotel due to mechanical issues at the apartment. She said they went back to Highland Avenue the next day so she could get clothes and blankets.
The witness testified that she and Stratton noticed their room door was kicked in, and Stratton’s television was missing. She said he was “very upset.”
The witness said no confrontation happened while they were there, but after they left, Stratton did get in an argument over the phone with the victims. She said she and Stratton left the hotel to go back to Highland Avenue on Sunday.
The witness said while she driving, Stratton told her not to go back to where they stayed because “he was going to kill them.” According to the witness, Stratton instructed her to not, “go to the house, go on Canton.”
When asked what Stratton’s exact words were she said, “You don’t understand what I'm about to do. I'm going to kill them." The witness said at the time, she did not take what he was saying seriously.
When they got to E Canton Street, the witness said Stratton got a gun from someone named DJ. Afterward, they left E Caston Street to go to Highland Avenue. The witness was driving, and DJ was now in the car.
Upon arriving at Highland Avenue, the witness said they noticed the air conditioners were missing from Stratton's room. Stratton asked DJ for the gun.
The witness said Stratton got the gun, cocked it, and knocked on the door the boys were staying in. Elijah Rideau answered the door.
She said they, “had words,” and then she heard about seven or eight gunshots.
The witness said she saw him with the gun. She saw him leave the room. She didn’t see the shooting. She did not hear Stratton crying for help.
The defense said the witness offered multiple stories. Gertz said first the witness said she had not seen Stratton, then she said she was with her sister.
Gertz said she waited three days to talk to the police and she had to be picked up. He said when she did talk to the police she lied, and when she got caught up in her lie, she started to say things about Stratton.
Gertz said if what she is saying is true, then she drove Stratton to get the gun and then helped Stratton get away. The witness said she was not driving the vehicle when they left after the shooting.
When the defense asked if she helped him get rid of the vehicle, the witness said yes. The witness said she did not know if Stratton knew if the victims had weapons or if he knew how many of them were in the room when he entered it.
The defense asked the witness if she know if "Alvin had an open butterfly knife, was high on meth or that was he in the room." She said no.
Tuesday trial notes
During opening statements on Tuesday, his defense attorney Gertz said that Stratton had acted in self-defense when he shot the four men.
Gertz claimed the four victims were armed and high on methamphetamine.
Molfino warned jurors during her opening statement Tuesday that body camera video of the four men lying on the floor, one struggling and crying for help, would shock jurors.
Stratton is currently being held in the Jefferson County Jail on a $1 million bond, according to jail records.
A Beaumont patrol officer said he heard shots being fired while patrolling in the 4100 block of Highland Avenue shortly after noon, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The officer asked Rideau who shot him. In what the officer described as a "dying declaration," Rideau said "Lively," according to court documents.
The families of the four men who were killed said all they have left now are memories.
Shannon Sutton was the youngest of the four victims. His family said he would have been 24 in October of 2019.
"He's not here. I'm just so hurt," Roslyn Sutton, mother of Shannon Sutton, previously told 12News.
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Family of Shannon Sutton said he had a then 3-year-old daughter and that his legacy will live on through her.
Kristopher Knighton, a childhood friend of Elijah Rideau, said he was a great friend and an even better father. Rideau had two sons.
"We learned a lot from each other, we have a lot of good memories. I really just hate to see he had to go because we had a lot to accomplish as fathers and as friends," Knighton previously told 12News
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.