A Howard Circuit jury will not hear a 911 call in which hospital nurse Rachel Yeagy said she saw state prison inmate Brandon Morris shoot a correctional officer in the head.
Retired Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Joseph Manck made this decision Wednesday in Howard Circuit Court even though prosecutors said Yeagy, their key witness, was discredited by another nurse?s testimony.
Yeagy testified earlier this week that she went into Morris? hospital room Jan. 26, 2006, because she heard banging and thought he was fighting with Correctional Officer Jeffery Wroten, 44, who was guarding Morris at Washington County Hospital.
Yeagy said she saw Wroten on the floor begging for his life as Morris held a gun to his head and said, “I?m going to kill you.”
But nurse Kristi Miller testified Wednesday that she was next to Yeagy when she pushed open the door about two to three feet.
Miller said she saw the bottom of Wroten?s shoes and could not see or hear Morris.
Supervising nurse Marsha Thompson also testified that Miller “expressed concerns” that Yeagy had not witnessed the shooting as she told police.
But prosecutors said the 911 tape proves Yeagy saw the shooting because she tells police an inmate shot a guard in the head.
“She could not have said that and predicted where he was shot if she hadn?t seen it,” said Washington County Deputy State?s Attorney Joseph Michael.
Morris faces the death penalty if convicted of premeditated or felony murder.
