La Plata, MD - As the first-degree murder trial of Raymond Daniel Posey, 24 of Nanjemoy, entered its second week Monday, Feb. 13, one thing is apparent. The physical evidence in the case is slim, mere bones found amid the stones in remote western Charles County. The crux of the states case revolves around testimony of witnesses both willing and unwilling.

Four witnesses testifying for the Charles County States Attorneys Office are current residents of the Charles County Detention Center in La Plata. Although some attorneys refer to the jail as Snitch Central, what those witnesses have to say is just what the state wants the jury to hear.

One testified that Posey confessed to him after 24-year-old Crystal Anderson disappeared July 26, 2011 and was last seen leaving a Nanjemoy party with the defendant and co-defendant Durrell Wilson, Yeah, I busted that bitch.

The states most unwilling witness appeared Monday after practically a full day of testimony from Charles County Sheriffs Office Detective John Elliott that began Feb. 10 and continued Feb. 13.

Elliott had testified that the Prince Georges County Police Department originally investigated the case as a missing person, and local officers just assisted until Andersons remains were discovered by a hunter near Purse State Park in a narrow, steep ravine in January 2012.

Then it became our case because the remains were found here, Elliott explained. The detective said while leads initially were slim, detectives were able to interview co-defendant Wilson, but were unable to interview Posey until his arrest on unrelated robbery charges in October 2012. It took three interviews with the defendant before Elliott finally admitted to Posey that all roads keep leading back to you.

Detectives even threw Posey a curve ball in that third interview, presenting the defendant with a letter supposedly written by the victim's mother, a letter that was actually written by detectives in order to elicit a response.

Elliott said Posey, became visibly upset when he read the letter.

Kearra Bannister was the states most reluctant witness who was subpoenaed to testify and tried unsuccessfully to Plead the Fifth. At first, proceedings involving Elliotts testimony were disrupted when it was discovered Bannister was in the courtroom and wasnt supposed to be.

She left before Charles County Assistant States Attorney Francis Granados pointed out to Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West that she was in the courtroom. When she did finally enter the courtroom to testify, it was soon made clear why she was so reluctant to be there. It turns out that Bannister had married Poseys co-defendant, Durrell Wilson, just last Thursday, Feb. 9.

Bannister asked for and was granted a public defender, in this case Charles County Assistant Public Defender Michele Harewood, to discuss her legal rights before she was brought to the stand.

To say that she was an uncooperative witness is an understatement, but Granados persisted with no small degree of skill in squeezing out testimony wherein she reluctantly admitted telling Charles County Sheriffs Office Detective Brion Buchanan in August 2011 that she had seen Crystal Andersons clothing laid out on the bed at Wilsons house following the womans disappearance. She also acknowledged seeing Andersons ID card in the living room. Bannister told the detective the two men sold or gave away the clothing at the Farmer's Market in Charlotte Hall the following Saturday.

Granados finally got Bannister to admit she tried to call Wilson the day after Anderson went missing and was unable to reach him and that when she did, he told her he was "somewhere near a hill," that she heard Posey's voice in the background. Wilson told her he was "looking for something and picking something up."

The state has alleged the two men returned to the scene of the muder the following day to retrieve shell casings.

Why are you asking me all of these questions about my husband? Bannister asked the prosecutor. Its not his trial. West had to admonish the witness several times that the prosecutor was asking the questions, not she, and that she was required to answer the states questions.

She intimated that Wilson and Posey robbed Anderson of money and drugs. Raymond had the water (PCP) and Durrell had the money, she can be heard telling Buchanan in a taped interview. Bannister tried to recant her 2011 interview with the detective, saying, Me and Durrell had a fight and I was mad when I said those things. The damage before the jury, however, was done, and Granados struck at her truthfulness when he asked if she was scared during her interview with the detective.

No, I wasnt scared, she insisted.

Granados played the interview in which she began crying and told the detective, Im scared, okay?

The case is expected to continue through the week.

Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com

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