A defense witness in the murder trial of Army Spc. Kip Lynch said Thursday morning that she heard another man arguing with whom she believes was Lynch and his wife, followed by gunshots, one night last year around the time when the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson soldier allegedly shot his wife and baby.
The witness, a woman who lived near Lynch's South Anchorage apartment complex, also told the jury that she heard a car driving away, but she did not see the vehicle. She said she later called Anchorage police to report what she had heard, but was never called back.
Details of her testimony were hazy, and she told the jury she did not see the people who were arguing. The witness told the court she did not know exactly what time or what night she heard the gunshots following the argument, and she does not remember what day she called 911 to report what she had heard that night.
She told the court it was after she saw police cars in the area and heard from the news what had allegedly happened, that she made the call. When the prosecution had asked whether or not she heard a baby that night, she replied no.
Two other defense witnesses were called earlier Thursday, including a retail gun-store owner who talked about selling a firearm to Lynch last year. Bradley Heffele said Lynch came to pick up the .45-caliber gun on April 22, the day before Raquell Lynch, 19, and 8-month-old Kyirsta Lynch were shot and killed, and Kip Lynch was shot in the head.
Heffele testified that Lynch didn't raise any red flags as a gun buyer.
The defense also called an Anchorage Fire Department paramedic who was the first AFD responder to the family's apartment on April 26, the Monday after the shooting, when soldiers visited the apartment after Lynch failed to report for duty.
The defense was expected to wrap up its case later Thursday, with closing arguments scheduled for Tuesday.
Contact Christine Kim at ckim@ktuu.com
