Earnest takes stand in his defense [The News and Advance, Lynchburg, Va.]

Apr. 1--Updated 2 p.m.

Wesley Earnest, accused of killing his estranged wife and trying to make her death look like a suicide, has taken the stand in his defense.

Earnest testified that he met his estranged wife in college outside calculus class at West Virginia University.

"Incredible, fun to be around," he said of his estranged wife. "Admired her a lot. She had a full scholarship for basketball and she tried out for the Olympics."

He said the two enjoyed many activities including using metal detectors. That's how he proposed, buy burying a box of coins for her to big up.

Earnest talked about when his marriage began to drift apart. He said his wife, Jocelyn, began working extremely long hours and at one point missed a romantic anniversary.

"My desire was to try to have a romantic anniversary," he said. "My plans didn't work out. She had an extensive workday and got home before midnight. It was frustrating."

Intimacy became an issue, he said. She wasn't capable of the affection he wanted in the relationship.

"She was a great person a great friend," he said. "We had a great friendship and I didn't want it to drift away."

Wesley Earnest said he met Shamika Wright at Big Lots and the two began to date. He said Wright showed him a level of intimacy he was looking for that he did not receive from his wife and the two fell in love."

"For years, I had the OK to see other people and come home to her," he said.

Moving to Chesapeake was a fresh start, Earnest said.

He said his job with the Chesapeake Public School System was his way of starting over after he realized his marriage was over.

"I didn't share much about my personal life at all," he said.

Wesley Earnest told the court that he didn't want people to know about his failed marriage because he was trying to move on with his life.

Updated 12:36 p.m.

A co-worker of Wesley Earnest testified that he went to replace the man's work computer after he was placed on administrative leave but did not know why he was told to do so.

Wesley Earnest was an assistant principal at Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake, Va. when he was placed on administrative leave during the investigation into his estranged wife's death. The 39-year-old is charged with murdering his wife, Jocelyn, on Dec. 19, 2007 and staging the scene to look like a suicide.

Al Ragas, an information technology worker at the same school where Wesley Earnest worked, testified he had a conversation with Wesley Earnest just before 4 p.m. on Dec. 19, 2007, further shortening the window of travel from Chesapeake to Forest.

On cross-examination, Ragas was presented with a time card that showed he checked out of work at 3:26 p.m. He still said he worked until just after 4 p.m.

He also testified that he went to replace Wesley Earnest's computer when he was placed on administrative leave. The computer was less than two years old in a school system that typically keeps computers for five years or more, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Wes Nance said.

That computer is currently in the custody of the Bedford County Sheriff's Office.

Owen Casey, a forensic computer analyst, testified that he was contracted to examine Jocelyn Earnest's BlackBerry but was unable to retrieve any of the information.

An error code almost immediately came on the screen when it was powered on, indicating the information had been wiped.

"There are two ways a BlackBerry can be reset -- a remote reset, where the server administering the device can be used to send the reset, making it unusable, or someone incorrectly entering the password an appropriate amount of times," Casey said.

Whatever cause the reset happened in January 2008, essentially erasing all its data, he said.

11 a.m. update

The mystery bloodstains left in the sink of Jocelyn Earnest's bathroom are not a DNA match to some 25 people that have a connection with the case, according to testimony from an expert.

The testimony this morning is part of the defense's case in attempting to prove the innocence of Wesley Earnest. The 39-year-old is accused of killing his estranged wife Jocelyn and staging her death to look like a suicide.

Rodney Wolforth, DNA expert for Virginia's Western Lab, testified that he tested the bloodstains against samples from Wesley Earnest, Jocelyn Earnest, Jocelyn's friend Maysa Munsey, her self-reported romantic interest Marcy Shepherd, and Dora Farrar initially.

<p>None matched. He also tested the sample, which came from a man, against others involved in the case, including the women's husbands and investigators in the case. Again, no match.

Wolforth also told the court that there were no usable samples on the suicide note, the gun, the unopened condom and the condom wrapper all found in Jocelyn Earnest's house.

Jurors also heard from several Genworth employees who testified that Jocelyn Earnest's office was locked down on Dec. 20, 2007, though some said they saw another employee walking toward the office with a key.

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