WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — After four days of jury selection, testimony began Thursday in the Semmie Williams Jr. trial.
Williams is facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of 14-year-old Ryan Rogers, who was riding his bike near his home in Palm Beach Gardens in November 2021 when police said he was randomly attacked and stabbed to death by Williams, who had no ties to the community or the teen.
WATCH: State, defense present vastly different narratives as testimony begins
The state gave its opening statements first, as Assistant State Attorney Richard Clausi laid out the witnesses they will call, including the lead detective on the case and a civilian who allegedly saw Williams in the area of the attack.
"We will ask at end of trial that you check the box guilty because Ryan is dead, dead because of this defendant," he said.
The defense then laid out their approach, as Assistant Public Defender Stephanie Gagerie argued that Williams ended up in Palm Beach Gardens because he was "targeted, tracked and tormented" by law enforcement and was trying to find an area of solitude after a lifetime of being "gang stalked" — the belief that an individual is being watched or targeted by an organization.
Williams started to document this on YouTube in an attempt to escape this organization, posting more than 300 videos.
She says Williams ended up in a wooded area, which he would typically look for to escape from his tormentors, when he noticed an unconscious person. Unable to assist the person, he left the area.
"What happened to Ryan Rogers is undoubtedly a tragedy, but Williams is not responsible for that tragedy," Gagerie said.
On the first day of jury selection, Williams changed his insanity plea to not guilty. The state attorney's office argued that revoking the insanity plea will make any defense for mental illness void moving forward.
MOTHER'S EMOTIONAL TESTIMONY
The state called Cynthia Rogers, Ryan's mother, who was emotional on the stand as she gave testimony about the night her son disappeared. When he didn’t come home from a bike ride the night of Nov. 15, 2021, she started calling him and looking for him.
When she didn’t find him she called police who filed a report. Around 3 a.m. she posted on Facebook saying he was missing to see if anyone had seen him.
DISCOVERY OF EVIDENCE
The state called Todd Blair, who lived in the Paloma community in Palm Beach Gardens in November 2021, half a mile from the Alton area. He was on a morning run when he discovered a pair of sunglasses. He had no knowledge a child was missing at the time.
Paige Cohen, a Palm Beach Gardens Police Department crime scene investigator, was the next witness called. The jury was shown graphic photos of Ryan's body from the crime scene. Ryan's father, who has been in the courtroom, did not return for this portion.
Cohen was asked to identify photos of the contents of Williams' backpack, and the state pointed out one item in particular — packaging for a pair of sunglasses that had the same "R" logo on them as the ones found by Blair. The jury also saw a piece of paper that was found in Williams' wallet, with writing that says "Mr. Killer is my name." Cohen said the photos weren't taken until two weeks after the attack.
Matthew Lindahl, a realtor who lives in Jupiter, said he saw Cynthia Rogers' post about Ryan the next morning and wanted to see if he could help. He showed the path he took on his bike to get to Central Avenue, where he spotted Ryan’s bike. Lindahl got emotional remembering when he spotted Ryan's body.
Kelsey Olsowski, a crime scene investigator for Palm Beach Gardens police, specializes in digital evidence and gave testimony about using a specific agent called Blue Star on the crime scene to illuminate blood. The jury saw photos of Ryan's clothes, including a hooded sweatshirt covered in blood.
The state said earlier this week that they will be bringing in roughly 22 witnesses, including Rogers' family members.
The trial is now expected to end on Jan. 22.
