Christian “Kit” Martin testified on his own behalf Tuesday morning as he stands trial for the November, 2015 murders of three neighbors in Pembroke.

The testimony began with Martin denying any involvement in the killings of Calvin and Pam Phillips and Ed Dansereau.
Martin continued to testify into the early afternoon.

A ballistics expert for the defense who formerly worked for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Dr. Eric Warren, agreed with the Commonwealth that a shell casing discovered five months after the murders on the back porch of the Phillips’ home was fired from Martin’s gun, but noted he couldn’t speculate on who fired it or when or how the casing got to where it was recovered.
Regarding three bullets recovered during the autopsy of Calvin Phillips, Warren said his testing turned up inconclusive results on whether they were fired from Martin’s Ruger, but he leans toward believing they were not.
Assisstant Attorney General Barbara Whaley questioned his methodology and noted that two experts at the Kentucky Crime Lab said the testing of those bullets was inconclusive, but that Martin’s gun could have fired them.

There continued to be a focus on Martin’s ex-wife, Joan Harmon, with Christian County Sheriff’s Deputy Eddie Frye testifying about a night he responded to a domestic dispute between the pair. Both parties called for police and while Harmon accused Martin of abusing her at the time, Deputy Frye said there was no evidence to support making an arrest.
Kentucky Department for Public Advocacy Investigator Ross Littlepage testified that he attempted to serve a subpoena on William Stokes, who was Harmon’s boyfriend at the time of the murders, but attempts to locate him were unsuccessful.


Martin continued to testify into the early afternoon.

A ballistics expert for the defense who formerly worked for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Dr. Eric Warren, agreed with the Commonwealth that a shell casing discovered five months after the murders on the back porch of the Phillips’ home was fired from Martin’s gun, but noted he couldn’t speculate on who fired it or when or how the casing got to where it was recovered.

Regarding three bullets recovered during the autopsy of Calvin Phillips, Warren said his testing turned up inconclusive results on whether they were fired from Martin’s Ruger, but he leans toward believing they were not.

Assistant Attorney General Barbara Whaley questioned his methodology and noted that two experts at the Kentucky Crime Lab said the testing of those bullets was inconclusive, but that Martin’s gun could have fired them.

There continued to be a focus on Martin’s ex-wife, Joan Harmon, with Christian County Sheriff’s Deputy Eddie Frye testifying about a night he responded to a domestic dispute between the pair. Both parties called for police and while Harmon accused Martin of abusing her at the time, Deputy Frye said there was no evidence to support making an arrest.
Kentucky Department for Public Advocacy Investigator Ross Littlepage testified that he attempted to serve a subpoena on William Stokes, who was Harmon’s boyfriend at the time of the murders, but attempts to locate him were unsuccessful.

Both the defense and Commonwealth subpoenaed Harmon and her son to testify in the case. Both invoked their Fifth Amendment right against potential self-incrimination and have not taken the stand.

The defense also called a cell phone expert that analyzed data from both Martin's and Pamela Phillips' phones on the day of the murders. He testified that Martin’s phone showed him in the area of his step-daughter’s school on the south side of Hopkinsville that afternoon and then headed south toward the Fort Campbell/Clarksville area where she had horse riding lessons.



The expert said Pamela Phillips’ phone began to move east and transmitted from the Elkton cell phone tower during the day.





In their opening argument, the prosecution said Pamela Phillips was heard screaming while on the phone with a friend around 5:30pm.

The expert said Phillips phone did not appear to be near Martin’s phone between 10am and 6pm



During testimony last week, a state forensic pathologist said Pam Phillips and Ed Dansereau died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. However, a state firearms expert said they couldn’t match the bullet fragments recovered from the victims to guns owned by Martin