CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — Within hours of the shooting death of 18-year-old Charney Watt, her ex-boyfriend, Gary Daniels, gave a recorded statement to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
On Tuesday, the jury in his murder trial spent most of the day watching that police interview. In it, Daniels admits shooting Watt but claims that God told him to do it.
"The voice said to do it, do it," Daniels said in the police interview room.
Investigators said Daniels went behind his house on March 1, 2009, and retrieved a shotgun that he had placed there. Police said he brought it upstairs to the room in his mother's home where Watt was changing clothes and pointed it at her.
She was a senior, track star and cheerleader at Olympic High School. The two had gotten into a minor car accident earlier in the day and Daniels had received a ticket.
When Watt saw the shotgun in his hand, Daniels told police, she started talking to him.
"She was just, like, she kept saying, ‘I'm not scared. I'm not scared of you,'" he told police.
Later in the interview, Daniels said that Watt was saying, "You're the man with the gun. If you're going to do it, do it. Shoot me.'"
Daniels said, "All right," and fired the gun, he said, striking Watt in the head.
After the shooting, police said they found Daniels on the floor of the home. A detective testified that he told them he'd buried the gun out by a tree in the back yard, which is where they later found it.
On Tuesday morning, the judge in the trial called for a break after a juror became overwhelmed with emotion. The woman broke down when police pulled Watt's bloody clothes and shoes out of an evidence bag. They continued the trial after she'd had a chance to calm down.
The taped interview with Charlotte-Mecklenburg homicide detectives lasted more than three hours. During the interview, police asked Daniels if he knew what he did was wrong.
"Yeah, I knew it was wrong," he answered. "If I had another chance, I wouldn't do it again."
Later, Daniels said he didn't feel like killing Watt was his decision. He said he was told to do it.
Domestic Violence Resources:
Domestic Violence Resource Guide (PDF) North Coalition Against Domestic Violence Red Flags That A Child May Be In An Abusive Relationship United Family Services
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