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Calvin M. Calvert, 29, faces one count of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting of Mattox in the living room of her Baywood Drive home on May 29, 2006.
If convicted, the Iraq war veteran and former Moss Creek security guard faces up to 5 years in prison.
Calvert and his niece, who were said by family members to be close, apparently argued over a remote control sitting on an end table next to a loaded .45 caliber pistol. The gun discharged into her left ear, sending a bullet into her brain. Mattox died the following morning in a Charleston hospital.
Initially, Calvert told detectives he thought Mattox accidentally pulled the trigger as the two playfully tussled over the remote control.
Two days later, Calvert revised his statement after an hour-long interrogation by the lead detective, Capt. Bob Bromage of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, to say he most likely pulled the trigger as a reflex when he grabbed the grip in an attempt to move the weapon out of the way.
On the opening day of the trial Wednesday at the Beaufort County Courthouse, prosecutors portrayed Calvert as a gun enthusiast who had become reckless about how and where he stored his firearms.
"Sometimes when someone has experience and they become comfortable with what they're doing, they become careless," said assistant solicitor Meredith Bannon in her opening statement. "... . His carelessness became disastrous."
Police seized four other guns and roughly 30 knives from Calvert's bedroom, including a loaded 12-gauge shotgun and an AK-47, but Judge Perry M. Buckner III ruled the jury couldn't hear that evidence because it is too prejudicial.
In a recorded interview with Capt. Bromage, Calvert referred to his loaded weapons, which often were placed on tables, as part of his "home defense plan." Calvert had become increasingly concerned about armed robberies at nearby Bluffton House Apartments, according to his family. Those fears may have been stoked by serving nine months in Iraq, his family said.
As Calvert told the story, he was very matter-of-fact until it got to the point of who pulled the trigger, Bromage said.
"You would damn well know if she hit the trigger. You would damn well know if you pulled the trigger," interjected Capt. Bromage. "That's the biggest gray area."
In other parts of the tape, Bromage played to Calvert's emotions and military background, calling him a "decent man" who made a mistake and instructing him to "come to Jesus" by telling exactly what happened.
Bromage said those comments were designed to build a rapport with the suspect, who ended the interview by writing a statement admitting that most likely he -- not Mattox -- had pulled the trigger.
Public defender Trasi Campbell argued Calvert was pressured into that admission.
Campbell and the girl's mother, Robin Mattox, say the shooting was an accident, and argue Calvert shouldn't be punished anymore than he already is by the guilt that consumes him everytime he looks into his sister's eyes.
"What the state is trying to do is take an accident, a horrible accident, and turn it into an act of negligence," Campbell said in her opening statement.
A forensic pathologist testified that materials and bruising near the wound indicate Mattox was shot at point-blank range. The defense disputed that finding by pointing out that no blood was found on the gun. Calvert told detectives the gun was at least two feet away when it fired.
Gunshot residue was found on both of Calvert's hands, but not on the victim's hands, according to police reports and testimony.
At the time of the shooting, Mattox and a friend were eating a breakfast of Ramen noodles and Pop Tarts in the living room while watching the movie "Jumanji." It was Memorial Day 2006. The two teens were poised to become rising high school seniors.
The friend, Kimberly Hannibal, now 20, testified she did not see the shooting nor did she hear any arguing before the gunshot.
"I saw Cary's head tilt and the blood come out, so I ran out the door," she said. "... I couldn't see her like that."
Cary Mattox' death has ripped her family further apart, family members have said. Her parents already were divorced when it happened.
Robin Mattox has stood by her brother. The two still live together.
Cary's father, Mike Mattox, has pushed for the case to go to trial. He has custody of the couple's 12-year-old son.
The prosecution is expected to rest its case this morning.
The defense will then begin, and might call both Calvert and Robin Mattox to the stand before the jury of seven men and five women.
