Description
A Tampa father accused of fatally shooting his 5-year-old daughter and injuring his 8-year-old son faced critical forensic testimony on the second day of his trial.
Jermaine Bass, charged with first-degree murder and other offenses, allegedly shot his children in August 2022 after their mother had tucked them into bed.
HCSO Detective Cley Hobelmann, the scene investigator, testified about bullet trajectories and evidence suggesting the shooter’s height.
“If we are looking back in the direction of where the bullet came from, we get some idea of where the gun would’ve had to be positioned or aimed,” Hobelmann explained.
Hobelmann’s analysis challenges the defense’s claim that someone other than Bass fired the gun.
Danielle Weinstein, a crime lab analyst, presented DNA evidence linking Bass and his son to the firearm. She stated there was “an extremely high likelihood” they had touched the weapon, while evidence for Bass’s wife and daughter was inconclusive.
A private forensic analyst hired by prosecutors, Anna Cox, testified both children were in the bed where the shooting took place, although she could not say who pulled the trigger or which child was shot first.
Defense attorneys questioned the thoroughness of the investigation, highlighting untested evidence and the absence of gunshot residue testing on Bass or other family members.
MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/crime/jermaine-bass-trial-day-2-recap/67-28ae4c98-facf-497c-bd1a-0d1ee83a03b9