Read Monday morning’s coverage, detailing preliminary matters, opening statements, and the removal of one juror.
Prosecutors spent much of Day 1 of the Keller trial outlining the timeline pieced together by evidence collection, witness accounts, and investigator testimony. Jurors heard from a total of nine witnesses as the state made its case against Robert Brandon Keller in the death of Bruce William Dupree.
Acting District Attorney Jillian Gibson walked jurors through what the state says is an evidence-driven detail-oriented investigation linking Keller to Dupree's murder
Jurors learned Monday that motorists reported a vehicle parked off Interstate 16 around 8:25 p.m. on October 14, 2024. Minutes later, additional 911 callers reported a blood-covered man lying in the interstate median. Georgia State Patrol troopers initially believed they were responding to a traffic crash but after assessing Dupree’s injuries and failing to locate a vehicle, they determined an automobile accident was not the likely cause.
Responding law enforcement soon learned that another man covered in blood had appeared at PoJo's Truck Stop near Interstate 16 and U.S. Highway 301, purchased a drink using blood-covered cash, and later rode away on a bicycle before deputies located and arrested Keller.
Prosecutors harped on evidence recovered on the scene, including:
- a blood trail stretching across the interstate,
- Dupree's cellular phone,
- a blood-covered hoodie Keller allegedly discarded,
- a knife found in the median,
- DNA evidence linking Dupree's blood to Keller's clothing, and
- Keller's DNA from inside Dupree's vehicle.
While Gibson conceded jurors would not hear the ‘why’ of the crime, she told jurors to remember that the evidence otherwise points directly to Keller.
Victim's partner recounts final day
Gene Hall, Dupree's partner of more than a decade, testified that the couple lived together in Metter.
Hall told jurors Dupree drove him to Hilton Head Island on October 14 before returning home alone. He recalled speaking with Dupree around 6:30 p.m., when GPS estimated he would arrive home shortly before 8 p.m.
Hall testified Dupree planned to check on the pair’s dogs, but also needed to pick up dog food.
During cross examination, Renatta Newbill-Jallow of the Public Defender's Office questioned Hall about whether Dupree had downloaded social networking applications including Grindr or Hornet days before his death, apparently attempting to establish possible alternative contacts or explanations for Dupree's activities. Hall testified he was unfamiliar with those applications and did not know whether Dupree had downloaded them.
Motorists describe discovery
Two witnesses testified Monday about their observations of Dupree's vehicle and Dupree himself on Interstate 16.
Raymond Bishop testified he and his wife observed a vehicle parked unusually off the roadway but did not stop. Jurors heard the 911 call he placed after seeing the vehicle, which he said appeared to be pulled over in a manner that would indicate something was not right. .
Another witness passed on I-16 the opposite direction not long after Bishop’s 911 call. She testified she saw a severely injured man sitting near the roadway waving for help. As a young woman traveling alone after dark, she did not stop, but immediately called 911 after observing blood from his chin to his waist. Jurors also heard her emergency call, which described in detail what she saw as she passed.
