If you assume everything both sides said in closing is true, the prosecution is in the stronger position, and Brendan Banfield is more likely than not to be found guilty. The reason isn’t emotional; I’m basing it on the state’s single explanation that accounts for all of the evidence. The defense spent way too much time in my opinion pointing out why individual pieces might be questioned, and while that may slow the jury down, it won’t replace the prosecution’s theory with a workable alternative.

 Even taking the defense at its best, the jury is still left with one unavoidable question: if Brendan didn’t do this, how did the scene end up the way it did? Scene staging, blood transfers and timing gaps don’t explain themselves. Once jurors accept that someone manipulated the crime scene after the killings handled, the focus narrows. This case will be decided on whether the physical and behavioral evidence makes sense. Whether they believe the testimony of the only person in the room with Brendan Banfield that survived and if the jury trusts the forensics.

The Brendan Banfield murder trial is now officially in jury watch. Will the 90-minute argument by the defense overpower the 20-minute reminder given by the prosecutor? You can watch the entire arguments at the end of this video if you’d like.

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