Firearms expert testifies in Molly Conley murder trial

EVERETT — A jury likely will begin deliberations later this week in the trial of a Marysville man accused of killing 15-year-old Molly Conley.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutors on Tuesday called their last witness, a firearms expert with the Washington State Patrol crime lab. Brian Smelser testified that bullets recovered at several homes and cars in Lake Stevens and Marysville were a match for the two Ruger Blackhawk revolvers seized from Erick Walker.

Smelser also told the jury that without a bullet he cannot say what kind of gun was used to kill Molly, a freshman at Seattle’s Bishop Blanchet High School.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Molly was walking with friends along S. Lake Stevens Road on June 1, 2013 when she was struck in the neck by a single bullet. Detectives spent several days over several months searching the road, underbrush, lawns and trees for the bullet but were unable to locate it.

Walker’s defense team on Tuesday again asked Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wynne to throw out the first-degree murder charge. Everett defense attorney Mark Mestel renewed his argument that there is no evidence that directly connects Walker to Molly’s death.

The judge denied the motion, saying there was nothing presented at trial to change his previous ruling that a jury should decide the case.

Wynne pointed to the ballistic reports, Walker’s statement to detectives that he had been driving around Lake Stevens the night Molly was killed and a home surveillance video showing a car similar to Walker’s Pontiac about five blocks from the shooting scene.

The defense team later on Tuesday called two witnesses who offered testimony about bullet trajectory and forensic cellphone analysis.

Verne Hoyer, a former police officer, told jurors that there is no way to determine where the shot originated. There are too many unknowns, including the direction Molly was facing when she was struck, he said.

“You can’t pinpoint one location,” Hoyer said.

Hoyer was called to cast doubt on the reenactment that investigators created a few months after the killing. Jurors had seen photographs of a detective pointing a gun out a window at someone portraying Molly.

In cross examination, Hoyer conceded that it is possible that the shot came from a car in the roadway.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

City of Everett Engineer Tom Hood, left, and City of Everett Engineer and Project Manager Dan Enrico, right, talks about the current Edgewater Bridge demolition on Friday, May 9, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How do you get rid of a bridge? Everett engineers can explain.

Workers began dismantling the old Edgewater Bridge on May 2. The process could take one to two months, city engineers said.

Smoke from the Bolt Creek fire silhouettes a mountain ridge and trees just outside of Index on Sept. 12, 2022. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County will host two wildfire-preparedness meetings in May

Meetings will allow community members to learn wildfire mitigation strategies and connect with a variety of local and state agencies.

Helion's 6th fusion prototype, Trenta, on display on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Helion celebrates smoother path to fusion energy site approval

Helion CEO applauds legislation signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson expected to streamline site selection process.

Vehicles travel along Mukilteo Speedway on Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mukilteo cameras go live to curb speeding on Speedway

Starting Friday, an automated traffic camera system will cover four blocks of Mukilteo Speedway. A 30-day warning period is in place.

Carli Brockman lets her daughter Carli, 2, help push her ballot into the ballot drop box on the Snohomish County Campus on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Here’s who filed for the primary election in Snohomish County

Positions with three or more candidates will go to voters Aug. 5 to determine final contenders for the Nov. 4 general election.

Students from Explorer Middle School gather Wednesday around a makeshift memorial for Emiliano “Emi” Munoz, who died Monday, May 5, after an electric bicycle accident in south Everett. (Aspen Anderson / The Herald)
Community and classmates mourn death of 13-year-old in bicycle accident

Emiliano “Emi” Munoz died from his injuries three days after colliding with a braided cable.

Danny Burgess, left, and Sandy Weakland, right, carefully pull out benthic organisms from sediment samples on Thursday, May 1, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Got Mud?’ Researchers monitor the health of the Puget Sound

For the next few weeks, the state’s marine monitoring team will collect sediment and organism samples across Puget Sound

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Robert Grant gestures during closing arguments in the retrial of Encarnacion Salas on Sept. 16, 2019, in Everett.
Lynnwood appoints first municipal court commissioner

The City Council approved the new position last year to address the court’s rising caseload.

A heavily damaged Washington State Patrol vehicle is hauled away after a crash killed a trooper on southbound I-5 early Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Trial to begin in case of driver charged in trooper’s death

Defense motion over sanctuary law violation rejected ahead of jury selection.

Dick’s Drive-In announces opening date for new Everett location

The new drive-in will be the first-ever for Everett and the second in Snohomish County.

The peaks of Mount Pilchuck, left, and Liberty Mountain, right, are covered in snow on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Take Snohomish County’s climate resiliency survey before May 23

The survey will help the county develop a plan to help communities prepare and recover from climate change impacts.

x
Edmonds to host public budget workshops

City staff will present property tax levy scenarios for the November ballot at the two events Thursday.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.