(As soon as the trial begins or restarts from break, the above video will be LIVE from the court. You may have to refresh your browser.)
The murder trial of Lester Jones continues on Tuesday. Jones is accused of killing Paige Birgfeld, a single mother who secretly worked as a paid escort.
Prosecutors believe that Jones was one of Birgfeld’s clients, and that he kidnapped and killed her. Birgfeld, a resident of Grand Junction, Colorado, disappeared in June 2007. Hikers found her remains in March 2012. Jones’ cell phone records reportedly showed that a week before Birgfeld vanished, he was in the area where her body was eventually found. Jones was also one of the last to call her before she disappeared, according to investigators. Jones’ defense attorney have argued that there is no physical evidence against their client, and that Birgfeld had other customers who could have been the culprit.
On Monday, Jones’ wife Elaine took the stand regarding a phone Jones purchased a few days before Birgfeld disappeared. Records showed that the phone had called Birgfeld. Other witnesses included an investigator, a paid escort who Jones had hired in the past, and other women who had provided massage services to Jones.
This is the second trial that Jones is facing after a jury could not reach a decision in the first trial, which ended in September.
Court will resume in Grand Junction, Colorado on Tuesday morning at 9am Mountain Time.
LawNewz.com will provide live streaming video of the trial through its completion.
[Image via Mesa County Sheriff’s Office]
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