ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Significant details were laid out in the Capital Gazette shooter trial as it wrapped up for the first week.
Jarrod Ramos' sister finished her testimony in court after seeing him for the first time in years.
She shared with the court that she spent most of her life walking on egg shells when speaking with him because she feared she'd be cut off like everyone else in his life.
She spoke about his anti-social nature, telling the court he was awkward and distant, adding he would barely interact with people, saying his brain just doesn't work like others.
The defense was attempting to outline the defendants inability to interpret verbal and non verbal communication through his sister's testimony, to further establish his mental health issues.
She outlined a few troubling conversations they've had together, saying there was more wrong with Ramos than being weird and alone.
A standout moment earlier was an interview brought up by the state from three years ago when she told Anne Arundel Police about the conversation she and Ramos had about a twitter account.
Ramos, according to her interview, said he wanted the content on that account to make people think he was crazy. The court played that audio from the interview.
“That’s potentially extraordinarily damaging because that’s going to play into the prosecutors narrative that this is a manufactured defense, that, in fact, he knew precisely the quality of his actions and his ability to control it and this is a conscience effort to sort of use this defense rather that a true mental illness that’s making it happen," explained David Jaros with the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Defense counsel concluded the day with Dr. Thomas Hyde, an expert who testified saying Ramos scored 40/50 in a standardized autism spectrum disorder test.
The trial will continue next week.
