GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Closing arguments are expected to unfold in court Thursday in the case of a 19-year-old Ada man charged with murder in the beating death of a 64-year-old driver.
Christian Hillman is charged with second-degree murder after police say he severely beat William McFarlan on Sept. 29 on Whitneyville Avenue in Caledonia Township.
Wednesday, prosecutors played detectives’ recorded interview with Hillman in court.
In the interview, Hillman told officers McFarlan put his hands around Hillman’s neck like he was trying to strangle him. Hillman said he felt like his actions were in self-defense, but told the officer he “kind of lost control for a second.”
The camera was still rolling when an officer came into the interrogation room to photograph Hillman after the deadly beating.
“Make sure you get my good side,” Hillman told the officer.
Jurors Wednesday also heard texts and Facebook messages sent from Hillman’s account after the beating, as well as detailed descriptions and photos of McFarlan’s injuries.
The medical examiner testified McFarlan died from a head injury as the result of a homicide. McFarlan spent about a month in a coma before his death.
Hillman is being represented by a powerful defense team that includes a lawyer who previously worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which he foreshadowed in a recorded interrogation room phone call to his mother.
“I’m going to get a really good lawyer and she’s going to shut (police) the f**k up,” he said.
Hillman’s defense team didn’t call any witnesses after the prosecution rested its case Wednesday. However, his lawyers have raised questions about why the beating happened, pointing to the possibility that Hillman’s life may have been in danger.
Prosecutors seemed to be working to dismantle that defense with photos of Hillman taken by sheriff’s investigators hours after the incident. They showed that Hillman had no obvious injuries.
Jurors will have the option to find Hillman guilty of second-degree murder or manslaughter, or they could find him not guilty.