WOODLAND -The jury heard graphic testimony Thursday during the trial of Daniel Marsh, who is charged with the stabbing deaths of a Davis couple.
Marsh's best friend and girlfriend took the stand. The girlfriend testified that Marsh told her one of the victims begged him to stop as he stabbed her to death. She also told the jury Marsh was proud of the murders.
Some family of murder victims Oliver "Chip" Northrup, 87, and his wife Claudia Maupin, 76, were in the courtroom during the testimonies; other family members chose not to be in the room during the trail to avoid hearing testimony like today's. However, Maupin's daughter Victoria Hurd said she needed to there in order to represent her mother.
"It was always one of my desires to be with her when she passed, so that was a huge grief for me that I didn't get to be with her when she transitioned from this life to the next," Hurd explained. "But, I feel like being a part of this process helps me be one with her."
Northrup and Maupin were found dead inside their Davis home in April 2013. In a video played for the jury, Marsh, now 17, confessed to the murders during a police interrogation.
"The defense that I'm hearing is a mental illness defense, and I'm not willing to put anybody's mental health, make it more important than the life of my mother and Chip," Hurd said.
Marsh faces two counts of first degree murder with use of a knife and special circumstances of lying in wait, torture and commission of multiple murders. The criminal complaint filed in June 2013 said Marsh "inflicted torture" on his victims, in what are described as "heinous and depraved" murders. The complaint does not elaborate beyond the description that the "murders were committed in a way that manifested exceptional depravity."
Hurd said what is important to her and the family is that the victims are not forgotten as the trial focuses on Marsh.
"We can't say enough about how wonderful they are. They cared for us. They cared for us in every way," Hurd said.
And as difficult as it may be, there is some comfort in knowing that Maupin and Northrup died as they lived -- with strength.
"They fought. They fought for life," Hurd said. "I think that's what I took from today's testimony is that my mother fought. She fought her attacker. She screamed. She bit him, and that Chip fought for my mother. And you know, in their last moments together, they were fighting for each other."
Hurd plans to be in court as the trial continues. She said she hopes Marsh will be found guilty and spend the rest of his life in prison.
The trial resumes Friday.
