Lesbian chainsaw murder trial excites press interest
A small rural community in the United States is at the centre of media attention as more details of a gruesome murder emerge.
A deaf, black lesbian woman is on trail for the murder of an alleged rival.
Commentators are already discussing the possibility that Daphne Wright might become the first woman ever sentenced to death in the state of South Dakota.
Wright, 43, is accused of murdering in Darlene VanderGeisen and cutting up her body with a chainsaw.
The court was told last week that Wright was jealous of the amount of time her partner was spending with Ms VanderGiesen, who was heterosexual and also deaf.
Wright denies murder and her lawyer accused the police of failing to investigate other leads and told the jury that there is no evidence that Wright murdered Ms VanderGiesen and dismembered her body.
The jury was selected from an all-white shortlist, and the defence has questioned if that is fair.
The prosecution say that evidence shows that on 1st February last year, Wright met with the murdered woman and either suffocated her or killed her with a blow to the head.
Wright is accused of buying a chainsaw two days after Ms VanderGiesen’s disappearance. Witnesses have linked bed sheets and bags in which the murdered woman’s remains were discovered to Wright.
The trial continues.
