Retrial Begins In Murder Case Involving Former Hog Josh Melton

FAYETTEVILLE -- A retrial is under way in the murder case of former Razorback football player Josh Melton.

Melton, 34, is charged with second-degree murder in the August 2013 death of his friend, Michael Gover, 30. Melton's first trial ended in mistrial in July after two jurors were dismissed.

Jurors are being asked to decide if Melton's actions during an altercation between the two men caused Gover's death. Medical examiners have said Gover had an enlarged heart and a blood alcohol level of 0.20 at the time of his death. They also said being punched contributed to Gover's death, which was ruled a homicide.

Terra Stephenson, deputy prosecuting attorney, said the state only has to prove the beating was a contributing factor to Gover's death, not that it was the primary cause. Stephenson said Melton acted with intent to injure Gover who, she said, wasn't fighting back.

Melton told Fayetteville police he and Gover, of West Fork, went to a couple of bars after a softball game and drank heavily. They ended up at Melton's home, 6316 W. Copper Ridge Lane, just south of Wedington Avenue.

Melton passed out and woke up to find Gover had thrown up on the living room floor, according to testimony from the first trial.

Melton told police Gover made lewd comments about having sex with Melton's girlfriend, Melton or both before grabbing Melton's genitalia. Melton said he punched Gover several times in the face, causing him to collapse on the floor.

Melton went to bed, and when he woke up the following morning, Gover was dead on the living room floor, he told police.

"But for the beating, he would have walked away that night," Stephenson told jurors Monday in opening statements. "Blood in the house tells the story."

Prosecutors and police also said they believe, based on blood spatter on the walls of the room and the lack of blood under Gover's body, Melton beat Gover as he lay on the floor with a bag containing about 12 pounds of computer equipment. There was blood under, inside and on top of the bag.

John Brooks, crime scene investigator for the Fayetteville Police Department, told jurors it appeared Gover went down quickly and some force, such as being hit, caused blood to spatter and fly around the room, most of which was found lower than 40 inches off the floor. Brooks also said there was no blood on Melton from the chest down.

"The void on the carpet tells me when this victim goes down he does not get off the floor. He's not in an offensive position, he's down," Brooks said. "It's a lot of volume of blood to be picked up by a hand. That bag, I believe, was used to strike him."

Drew Ledbetter, Melton's defense attorney, told jurors Gover had an enlarged heart and died of a heart attack. Ledbetter said Gover suffered a broken nose and the blood made Gover's superficial injuries appear worse than they actually were.

"What happened on Aug. 28, 2013, was a tragedy, but it was not a crime, it was not murder," Ledbetter told jurors. "The state can't prove intent, they can't prove causation, they can't prove the elements of their case."

Ledbetter also told jurors police went into the investigation with a theory of what happened, based on early comments made at the scene, then refused to change their theory in the face of other evidence.

"The assumption they made was that he was brutally beaten to death," Ledbetter said. "The injuries were insignificant. He was not brutally beaten."

Ledbetter questioned Brooks' blood spatter analysis, arguing most of the blood was the result of Gover trying to breathe after his nose was broken. Brooks conceded some of the blood had been expirated by Gover but said much of it came from spatter or was cast off an object.

Melton, a Batesville native, played for the Razorbacks from 1999 to 2002.

He was the starting center as a redshirt freshman before being benched two games into his junior year. A preseason knee injury kept Melton off the field for most of the 2002 season.

If convicted, Melton faces six to 30 years at the Arkansas Department of Correction and fines of up to $15,000. The trial is scheduled to last all week.

Circuit Judge William Storey declared a mistrial midway through Melton's first trial. Storey is presiding over this week's trial.

One juror was dismissed, after a defense challenge, because he nodded off while a video of Melton's interview with police was being shown. The alternate juror was placed on the panel. A second juror was dismissed after she told the judge during a break she could no longer reach a decision in the case.

With 11 jurors remaining, Storey was forced to declare a mistrial.