CLEVELAND — After five days of testimony and combing through the evidence, the state of Ohio rested its case Friday against Terrell Silver, the man accused of murdering four people in Cleveland in September 2019.
Among the final witnesses presented to the jury was James Chambers, a man with an extensive criminal record who knows the defendant Terrell Silver and at least one of the victims, Christopher Monroe, whom he claimed sold drugs.
Chambers testified the Monroe and Silver knew and interacted with each other, but at some point, he said animosity was building between them. He recalled an incident when Monroe came into his home and, when he saw Silver, Monroe was upset and pulled out a gun. During another incident, Chambers said Silver came to his home and told him Monroe was trying to "ambush" him. Chambers testified Monroe shot at him.
Still, Chambers told the jury "many people could have killed" Monroe because of the way he treated them. He agreed that someone shooting at you would cause a person to get angry, but he added that he didn't think Silver had the mindset to kill four people. The prosecution argues getting back at Monroe was Silver's motive and "he didn't want any witnesses."
Agent Andrew Harasimchuk from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation also took the stand. He testified that he took over the quadruple homicide investigation in 2022 and requested DNA testing on the disassembled firearm that was linked to the crime scene. A DNA analyst testified earlier this week that the testing linked the gun to five individuals, including Silver.
The defense team questioned why Harasimchuk had not ordered DNA testing on more people, including a man that goes by the name of "Sharky."
"The investigation led me in the direction of Terrell Silver," Harasimchuk answered. "I followed where the leads went and that’s the direction it went. I had set aside Sharkey temporarily always knowing I could come back to it if this lead didn't pan out, but this lead just kept moving forward."
Minutes after the prosecution rested its case, Silver's defense team argued the state failed to provide enough evidence linking their client to the murders and other crimes. They asked the judge to drop the charges.
Silver's attorneys claimed Cuyahoga County prosecutors' strongest evidence is weak — the DNA testing from the alleged murder weapon.
"Fifteen to 20% that relates to Mr. Silver," one of Silver's lawyers argued. "That's dismissing the fact that there were five other contributors, including Devon Knott, who was in possession of the firearm, and he was using it to shoot people on July 2020. They (the prosecution) did not present any evidence to put Mr. Silver in that house on the day of the crime."
Prosecutors did not agree.
"What do we have that shows the defendant did it? He told someone he did it," assistant prosecutor Kevin Filiatraut told Judge Ashley Kilbane. He told him (his cellmate) he did it, he described the room, he mentioned he killed a pregnant person."
Filiatraut pointed to previous expert testimony that little DNA testing was possible in the room where the bodies were found because of "decomposition fluid," but he also noted a 40-caliber casing found in the room that was connected to a gun involved in a shooting days later that Silver is accused of using.
"Everyone else in that room is dead," Filiatraut said. "There's only one way that 40-caliber that was used left that room, and it was in the hands of someone alive who was there: the defendant."
Kilbane agreed the state presented enough evidence to sustain a conviction on the aggravated murder charges, but she sided with the defense that prosecutors had not provided enough evidence for the robbery charges, and she dropped them.
Closing arguments are scheduled for Monday morning, after which the case will be in the hands of the jury.