After listening to a lengthy, sometimes loud, conversation between his half-brother Christopher Whetstone and Rachel Taylor in Aurora, Timothy Williams admitted being relieved when things quieted down the night of Jan. 13, 2014.
Williams, testifying during the second day of Whetstone’s murder trial, said he exited his second-floor bedroom at the home they shared with their mother on Charles Street and went downstairs to open the front door to see whether Whetstone and Taylor had left.
“I heard a neighbor across the street state someone got shot. I couldn’t actually see what they were talking about,” Williams explained, adding that he began to walk down the block in only a T-shirt and shorts. “As I got closer, I was able to recognize clothing. It was the clothing that was on Rachel. I initially kneeled down and tapped her to see if she was OK.
“She really couldn’t do anything,” Williams said, adding he got no response after calling out her name.
Williams took the witness stand Wednesday as one of a handful of Charles Street residents who testified about what they saw and heard before Williams found Taylor face down on a neighboring driveway with two gunshot wounds to her abdomen. Prosecutors allege Whetstone, known by many as Maurice, shot Taylor following an argument relating to their two-year relationship that involved two young children and was described by Williams as being “rocky.”
“Lovey dovey one minute, fighting the next minute,” Williams said, adding Taylor lived with his family for a period of time, but had moved out at least a month before the shooting occurred.
Whetstone, 48, has pleaded not guilty to killing 22-year-old Taylor.
In addition to Williams, a woman who lived next door to Whetstone recalled looking out the window after hearing a commotion involving Whetstone and Taylor. When the neighbor went back to look outside a second time, to see if the situation had calmed down, she noticed the woman on the ground. A father-son duo from across the street each described Whetstone as holding onto Taylor while reaching to grab something from her hand during an apparent struggle and argument.
Manuel Saenz, a Charles Street resident for 18 years at the time of the shooting, testified Whetstone had Taylor in a “bear hug” as she yelled angrily. Saenz and his son left the area to pick up the son’s car. When Saenz returned to his block less than 30 minutes later, police squad cars filled Charles Street. He was later taken by police to a nearby location where he identified longtime-neighbor Whetstone as wearing the same clothes he had on during the earlier altercation, Saenz testified.
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Whetstone’s attorneys challenged the three neighbors, none of whom reported hearing gunfire that night, over inconsistencies in their respective testimony compared to their 2014 statements to Aurora police investigators. Saenz and his son acknowledged they didn’t report the physical altercation between Whetstone and Taylor to police as part of questioning by Assistant Public Defender Nicole Salonen, who also drew attention to the fact the Saenzs are related to an Aurora police officer. Salonen’s questions about who he discussed the shooting with over the years struck a nerve with Manuel Saenz at one point, prompting him to say “this is not a game” before being cut off by Kane County Judge John Barsanti.
“This hurt every family in the neighborhood,” Saenz said at the end of his testimony.
The trial continues Thursday and is expected to extend into next week.
Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News