PICKENS COUNTY

Jury selected in Clemson murder case

David Dykes
ddykes@greenvillenews.com


Steven Grich poses in a picture with his mother, Lynn.

PICKENS - The murder trial of the man accused of fatally shooting a Clemson University student began Monday with attorneys' opening statements, a replay of the frantic 911 call and testimony from one of the first sheriff's deputies to reach the scene.

A six-man, six-woman jury listened intently as 13th Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins said the shooting Dec. 8, 2012, involved masked men who entered an off-campus residence with a gun to rob students of money and marijuana.

It was "a day that changed many lives," Wilkins said in a Pickens County courtroom.

Steven Grich, 23, who lived at the residence, was shot and killed.

An attorney for the defendant, Lester Devaria Mosley Jr., told jurors that while they might think the state "got the guy" responsible, "there are no assumptions in this case."

Lester Devaria Mosley Jr. sits in the Pickens County Courthouse on Monday, September 15, 2014. Mosley is on trial for the murder of Clemson University student Steven Grich.

The attorney, Scott Robinson, urged jurors to listen to the evidence and "don't be fooled" by the state's case against Mosley.

The state's first witness, Brian Jaynes, testified he received the frantic 911 call to dispatchers.

In that call, a panicked male voice is heard saying, "my friend's been shot."

The caller also says his friend is on the floor, with "blood everywhere."

In court, Grich's father bowed his head and clasped his hands as the 911 taped was played.

Michael Torres, a Pickens County uniform patrol sheriff's deputy and the state's second witness, testified that when he got to the scene he found two men on the floor.

One was cradling the head and shoulder of the shooting victim, who was in the living room area, Torres testified.

He cleared the residence of witnesses, who said the masked men had fled, Torres testified.

Using security surveillance tape, a description of the suspects' escape vehicle was broadcast to other law enforcement officers, Torres testified.

Mosley eventually was arrested in Georgia. He is facing murder and other charges and has pleaded not guilty.

Testimony in the case before Circuit Judge Ned Miller is expected to resume Tuesday morning.

Murder trial opens in Clemson student slaying