Investigators Testify In Trial Of Man Accused Of Killing Girlfriend

COLUMBIA, S.C.,None — The trial of 30-year-old Theodore Manning entered its second day in Columbia on Thursday.

Manning is charged with killing his girlfriend, 30-year-old Nikki McPhatter, of Charlotte. She disappeared in May 2009 after driving to Columbia to see Manning. They had met on the Internet and had dated for several months.

Statements from friends led police to think McPhatter had planned to break up with Manning the night she was killed.

McPhatter's body was discovered two weeks later in rural Fairfield County. Her remains were found in the trunk of her 2003 Honda Accord, which had been set on fire. McPhatter had to be identified through her dental records.

Thursday in court, prosecutors brought in police detectives who had interviewed Manning and searched his Columbia home. Detectives said they also visited McPhatter's home in north Charlotte. A Charlotte-Mecklenburg homicide detective testified that she inspected McPhatter's home and took pictures there. She told the jury that there was nothing unusual and that didn't look as if McPhatter had packed for an extended time away from home.

Prosecutors also played a recording of an interview they did with Manning shortly after McPhatter's body was found. In the interview, Manning doesn't deny shooting his girlfriend, but claims it was self-defense.

When police asked him about his encounter with McPhatter on that night in May, he denied that it was ever violent.

"We never had a physical confrontation the whole time we talked," Manning said.

Prosecutors also showed the jury surveillance video from an ATM at a Columbia-area Wal-Mart store. Police said the tape shows Manning using McPhatter's bank card the day after she disappeared. Police said he withdrew hundreds of dollars, cleaning out her bank accounts.

Prosecutors will continue presenting their case on Friday. They are seeking life in prison without parole for Manning.

Defense lawyers have said that Manning will testify in his own defense.

WSOC