The trial of Dexter Lewis, entered its fourth day Thursday with a potentially major blow to the prosecution.
Joseph Hill, who was allegedly and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the case, refused to testify Thursday. He previously had agreed to testify as part of his plea agreement, which gave him five life sentences without the possibility of parole. He was promised immunity for any testimony.
“Any statement you made today could not be used against you in a future prosecution,” Denver District Court Judge John Madden told Hill, who was shackled and wore a red prison jumpsuit.
“I’m still refusing to testify,” Hill said. He looked down as the judge told him his plea deal could be rescinded and the death penalty could be sought against him. Christopher Baumann, a defense attorney for Lewis, said prosecutor Joe Morales previously had told Hill the plea agreement would not be withdrawn even if Hill did not testify.
Madden granted Morales’ request that Hill be brought back to court Monday in case he changes his mind.
Hill has no legal or constitutional rights to decline to testify because, with immunity, no testimony would be self-incriminating.
“For many months he had intended to testify,” Patrick Ridley, his current lawyer, said in court Thursday. Hill told him at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday that he would not, Ridley said.
Prosecutors say Lewis and Hill were joined at the Denver bar by Demarea Harris and Lynell Hill, who is Hill’s younger brother.
Like Joseph, Lynell Hill, 27, pleaded guilty. Harris was never arrested and never charged — at the time and reported the attack to his handlers.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Lewis, who they say stabbed the five people to death before helping to set the bar ablaze.
Jurors on Thursday heard harrowing testimony from Denver firefighter Kurt Buhler.
Buhler spoke haltingly, describing how he moved through the burning bar and saw a female victim facedown on the floor and moved toward her.
“I slipped on fluids,” he said. “It was blood, sir. I slipped on blood.” He fell and landed on two more bodies. He said he kept moving toward the woman, hoping she was still alive. When he reached her, he rolled the body over.
“Her eyes were open and her mouth was open,” he said, “It looked like she died crawling to the front door.”
Buhler paused, the hulking man visibly distraught on the witness stand.
“Do I have to tell everything I saw?” he asked, his voice stilted and shaking. “Are there family members here?”
Prosecutor Matt Wenig said their presence couldn’t affect his testimony.
“She had been stabbed,” Buhler said after the pause. “She had been partially eviscerated and her intestines were coming out.”
In a row reserved for victims’ families, a young woman wept.
