JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Witness testimony continued Wednesday in the murder trial for Chad Absher, who was charged with shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend and severely injuring her sister.
In court Wednesday, the state called Lyle Scheideman to the stand.
He was dating Lisa Rucker, Ashlee Rucker’s sister, at the time, and was at the apartment the night of the shooting. Scheideman told the court he walked in on Absher on top of Ashlee with his hands around her neck.
We’re told Scheideman rushed Absher into a closet for putting his hands on Ashlee.
Lisa told Scheideman that Absher had a gun and that he needed to leave.
Scheideman went outside, and testified in court that he could see some of what was going on in the apartment from the parking lot.
Lisa went back upstairs after Scheideman told her to go check on her sister.
He could see the top of a woman’s body, but didn’t see her holding a rifle. When the woman moves over, Scheideman said he remembers hearing a scream then two gun shots.
He ducked behind bushes and watched Absher leave while tucking a rifle under his jacket.
“I hear the children loosing their minds,” Scheideman said. “Right when I walk in I see Ashlee at the front of Lisa’s bedroom, walk over to her, and I see her face was blown away. Then I looked to my right and I see Lisa, she’s gurgling up blood. The kids were on couch screaming, and I was trying to calm them down at the same time.”
The defense brought up to the court Scheideman’s felony convictions, the fact that he too was drinking with Absher that night, and that in a deposition in 2018 he told the court he didn’t remember if Absher was on top of Rucker, but today he said he did.
The state in redirect said Scheideman’s arrest happened after this shooting and wouldn’t impact what happened, and that Scheideman told police the night of the incident that Absher was choking Rucker.
The state called an associate medical examiner to the stand who testified that Ashlee was shot in the back of the head from a distance.
Dr. Peter Gillespie said the barrel of the gun was at least 3 feet away in this homicide.
Before the medical examiner took the stand, we heard from multiple detectives and crime lab analysts with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
A JSO sergeant said before he went inside the apartment, he met with Lyle Scheideman.
Scheideman told the sergeant it was Absher who shot the two women – and police put out a be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) for Absher.
When the sergeant went inside the apartment, he said he saw two small kids, then saw Lisa on the ground.
“I asked [Lisa] who shot you? She said ‘Chad Absher.’ I remember her saying it twice,” the sergeant said.
Then the state called a captain with Jacksonville Fire Rescue Paramedics who said Lisa told them the same thing while on the way to the hospital.
“She spoke and said I can’t believe he shot me, that (expletive) Chad Absher shot me…and he killed my sister.”
The defense cross-examined the sergeant by asking who gave Absher’s name, in that case, it was both Lisa and Schiderman.
We also heard details from the SWAT call out where JSO sent in a robot to get a visual of Absher inside a house. He was hiding behind a door.
We’re told he did have his rifle, but put it down and was arrested.
Court will resume Thursday morning.