Slain child's family asks for justice as jurors hear horrific 911 call

For Katrina Singleton and her family, it never got any easier to listen to the harrowing 911 calls made in the aftermath of her 8-year-old son's shooting on Sept. 1, 2012.

On Tuesday, for the third time in less than a year, Singleton and the other family members in court for the trial of the final man charged with Khalil Singleton's murder again sat through the devastating calls and testimony while they quietly hoped for justice.

"It's hard reliving it," she said. "It's like it just happened again. We want justice. We just want this to be done."

Khalil's father, Kareem Singleton, said while he, too, hopes for justice, he only wanted his son back.

"I just want my baby back," he said. "All of this is secondary."

The first day of Aaron Young Sr.'s trial Tuesday followed a similar path as the trial for his son, Aaron Young Jr., six months earlier, with much of the same evidence and witnesses presented by prosecutors.

Young Sr., 39, is the last of three men to be tried for murder in Singleton's death, who was shot nearly three years ago while playing in his grandmother's yard.

Both Tyrone Robinson and Aaron Young Jr. were tried and convicted in the past year.

Jurors again heard the chaotic 911 call made by Singleton's cousin, Britney Brinson, a few moments after he was shot outside his grandmother's home on Allen Road. Brinson, a nurse, told the 911 dispatcher urgently trying to guide them through performing CPR that Singleton was not breathing and was dead.

She and other family members of the dying Khalil Singleton screamed and cried in anguish as they tried to help the fatally wounded boy during the call, one of several played for the jurors Tuesday morning.

Members of Singleton's family were emotionless as they listened to the devastating call Tuesday, but Katrina Singleton was emotional after Tuesday morning's session as she recalled the recording.

"That is the hardest part, hearing everyone crying and trying to revive him," she said through tears.

Opening statements

Opening statements in the trial began around 9:45 a.m. Tuesday.

14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone asked the jury to convict Young based on the theory of mutual combat: all three men were responsible for Singleton's death by arming themselves and fighting, not just Robinson for firing the shot that killed Singleton.

"Everyone involved in mutual combat where guns are used is responsible, not just the person who fired the fatal bullet," Stone said. "Tyrone Robinson is not the only person responsible...The whole truth includes the Youngs as well."

Defense attorney Robert Ferguson said there was never any mutual combat during the incident, from its start at the Youngs home on Wild Horse Road until Robinson shot Singleton on Allen Road.

"There was no shootout, no crossfire, no mutual combat," he said. "It was just Tyrone Robinson and his .38. The same .38 Robinson used to try and kill Aaron Young Sr. earlier that day."

Ferguson said Young Jr. did shoot at Robinson's parked car on Allen Road, but only to send a message to Robinson. Shooting at an empty car or wanting to kill someone "did not constitute murder or attempted murder," Ferguson said.

Prior to opening statements, Circuit Court Judge Thomas Cooper ruled against a motion by the defense to suppress Young Sr.'s interviews with investigators, allowing the portions prosecutors intend to use to be submitted into evidence.

Young and Ferguson contended that Young was coerced into cooperating with authorities, who promised exoneration for him and his son if they provided investigators with a gun used to shoot at a parked car that day. They also said his interview with investigators was involuntary.

Cooper said Tuesday morning that while characterizing the gunfire on Allen Road as a shootout may have been inaccurate, it was not so erroneous that Young's statement to police was involuntary.

During the opening statement, Ferguson said Young initially denied shooting at Robinson's car because investigators had only told the Youngs that someone had been shot. That led to the mistaken belief that a stray bullet from when Aaron Young Jr. shot at Robinson's car may have hit someone in the home where the car was parked, he said.

The state rested its case around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, and Cooper sent the jury home, asking them to return by 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

Ferguson said the defense plans to call about four witnesses Wednesday before resting its case.

Follow reporter Matt McNab at twitter.com/IPBG_Matt.

Related content:

Judge to decide coercion claim in trial for final Khalil Singleton murder defendant, Aug. 10, 2015

This story was originally published August 11, 2015 at 8:41 AM with the headline "Slain child's family asks for justice as jurors hear horrific 911 call."