FULTON COUNTY, OH (WTOL) - It's a strong possibility that a verdict may finally be reached next week in the case, The People vs. James Worley.
That is because the case is moving along much quicker then originally planned. In fact, it's been moving along so fast that the judge asked jurors to not report on Monday.
The state only has a handful of witnesses left to call and is expected to only need Tuesday and Wednesday to finish presenting their case. Once they are finished, it'll be the defense's turn to take over.
The state started with nearly four dozen witnesses. They were called to help the state with the burden of proof. The state's witnesses are required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that James Worley is guilty of kidnapping and murdering 20-year-old Sierah Joughin.
After a week of seeing evidence, jurors learned on Friday that the items found at the scene where police say Sierah went missing, did contain Worley's DNA. In addition, Sierah's DNA and blood was found on items located at Worley's property.
A witness was asked what he found on an air mattress that was presumptive positive for blood.
"On the sample collected from the air mattress I obtained a mixture. Sierah Joughin was included as a major contributor and that statistic was rarer then one in one trillion and James Worley was excluded," explained the witness.
But even with the state's presentation of their evidence and witnesses, Worley's defense team worked to cast a shadow of doubt in juror's minds that Worley was not the killer. Worley's attorney pointed out that DNA from a man was found under Sierah's fingernails, but was not the defendants.
The coroner who performed Sierah's autopsy is still waiting to testify, along with James's brother, Mark Worley.
Mark lived in a trailer on his brother's property.
Friday will be the defense's turn to take over. They have a short list of witnesses to call. It's also a possibility that James Worley could take the stand in his own defense.
The Honorable Robinson told the jury to expect to begin deliberating next Monday.
It is now a possibility that within one week, there will finally be a conclusion to this case that has been in the works for nearly two years.
