JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After a jury acquitted the suspect in a murder case in June, the victim's mother says lack of cooperation from an eyewitness cost her justice for her son.
David Bouthillier was shot and killed in 2013 in front of his then girlfriend. A Duval County jury acquitted the suspect, Troy Sirmons, of all the charges.
Now, David's mother, Lisa Bouthillier, says someone needs to be held accountable, because she believes she will never get justice for her son.
“I'm upset how the trial went,” Lisa said. “I don’t think that my son had a fair trial. Not because of anything that the state attorney did, because they did everything to the best of their ability.”
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, David, 26, and his then girlfriend, Shantrell Jarrell, were home on Nov. 18, 2013, when Sirmons came to their house and shot David. Jarrell witnessed the shooting, police said.
Sirmons was arrested and went to trial but was acquitted of murder in June after an hour of jury deliberations. A charge of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon was later dropped.
Lisa said she believes Jarrell's failure to appear in court hurt the case.
“I was most disappointed about the eyewitness -- that she failed to cooperate with anything going on with it,” Lisa said.
The State Attorney’s Office said Jarrell was arrested for failing to appear in court, saying that there is currently a contempt of court proceeding pending in the case. A contempt of court charge carries up to six months in jail.
Legal analyst Randy Reep said that if someone didn’t comply during a trial, they can be charged with contempt of court even after the trial is over.
“If you get served a subpoena to come to court, you have to come to court,” Reep said.
Jarrell said she did testify, but that was after she was arrested on the contempt charges and hauled into court.
“I did what I was supposed to have done, and I told the truth, and now I am being punished for it,” Shantrell Jarrell said. “I don’t want to be taken from my kids.”
Lisa said her son will never get justice.
“I feel robbed, like no justice was done for my son,” Lisa said. “I feel like he was just another case number, like he was thrown away like garbage.”
Jarrell’s next court date is Aug. 22.