DESOTO COUNTY, MS (abc24.com) - It's DeSoto County's biggest murder case in years. Moments before the trial of Brooks Kelton Green began, it was put off until the fall. The prosecution asked for this continuance saying a technical issue came up over the weekend.
Green is the former Memphis homicide detective charged with killing his wife in August 2010. Charlotte Green was shot to death through a window in the couple's Nesbit home. Green was arrested 8 months after his wife's murder.
He's always said he's innocent, telling investigators he was asleep when she was killed. Defense and prosecution lawyers have been building their cases for more than a year.
"Your jury service for the week is about to be concluded," Judge Robert Chamberlin said as he told potential jurors to go home.
Accused murderer Brooks Kelton Green left without ever entering the courtroom. The trial's continuance caught everyone by surprise.
"What I do know is that you never know," said his lawyer, Steve Farese. "Expect the unexpected. And the unexpected happened."
Farese says he and his client were prepared for trial this week. "He was ready to get things resolved, but when he found out all the details of it he certainly understood."
As for why the trail was delayed, District Attorney John Champion refuses to get into specifics.
"I really can't comment on whether it's new or not," he told abc24.com, saying the continuance isn't unusual. "It's just some things came up I need to take a look at. It got to a point I felt like I needed to make the defense and judge aware. Once I did, we all agreed it needed to be looked into."
"I don't have to tell anyone here how serious a murder case is for the victim's family, for the defendant," Judge Chamberlin told the pool of jurors. "We all know that. Sometimes just because of the very nature of those type of issues, matters have to get delayed."
A tentative new trial date is set for sometime in September.
