NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – The brother-in-law of a Nassau County man on trial for murder took the witness stand Tuesday.
Prosecutors continued to present their case against Michael Ratley, who is charged with killing his wife with a hammer.
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Day two of the Ratley trial began with a witness who lived close by the morning prosecutors said Effie Ratley was killed, beaten to death with a hammer while lying in bed.
Lamar Rosier, Ratley's brother-in-law, said Michael Ratley came to his front door that morning looking for help.
He told the Rosiers someone had attacked his wife.
"Who was at your front door?" a prosecutor asked Rosier.
"Michael," Rosier said.
"Michael Ratney?" the prosecutor asked.
"Yes," Rosier said.
"And what was his demeanor?" the prosecutor asked.
"Very upset," Rosier said.
"Did you see any tears coming from him?" the prosecutor asked.
"No," Rosier said.
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Prosecutors said Ratley wasn't upset because he's the man who did it.
The defense countered by claiming Ratley had no reason to murder his wife, that the couple was happy, with a newborn child, and because only weeks before her death, Ratley pulled his wife out of the family's burning mobile home.
He was hailed a hero then, but eight months later, he was charged with murder.
Another issue debated Tuesday in court -- a blood smear on a doorbell at the Rosier home. Prosecutors said Ratley rang that bell when he alerted his in-laws about his wife's situation.
But the defense said that doesn't prove anything.
"Why is it you believe that to be fresh?" the defense asked.
"Just the color of it, it looked wet, the first thing out of my mind was somebody touched it," the deputy said.
Also on the stand Tuesday were several FDLE analysts who talked about evidence taken from the scene, including a utility knife found in Ratley's truck and the screen and frame from a window found open at Ratley's parents home where the couple was staying.
Prosecutors said it points to Ratley's guilt.
But so far, the defense said the evidence is inconclusive.