ALGER COUNTY -- Closing arguments took place Friday in the Thomas Murdock involuntary manslaughter trial.
Murdock is charged with the involuntary manslaughter of his girlfriend, Lisa Hardwick, in June of 2011.
The defense called its expert witness to the stand in Alger County on Friday. Unlike the prosecution's reconstructionist, the defense's expert says he is 100 percent certain Hardwick was not standing up when she was hit by Murdock's truck.
That uncertainty, combined with low visibility at dusk, is part of how the defense formed their case, saying it was impossible for Murdock to see the victim when he was backing up.
"The only physical evidence that we have tells us when the vehicle was over her, she was face down in the dirt," said the defense's reconstructionist, Daniel Billington. "Short of that, how she got there, there is no certainty to what happened. There's no method that can be used to say she was definitely standing or she was definitely crouching or diving out of the way, there's just nothing there to support that at all."
Billington says he can't prove what position Hardwick was in, but said markings on her body prove she wasn't standing up.
Murdock faces a number of charges, including involuntary manslaughter and driving while intoxicated, causing death.
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