Husband murdered his 'camgirl' wife by 'hitting her in the head with an Absinthe bottle' - but he says she 'was drunk and fell'
The murder trial of an Alabama man accused of killing his 'camgirl' wife by hitting her in the head with a bottle of Absinthe liquor began on Tuesday.
On January 13, 2018, Kathleen Dawn 'Kat' West, 42, was found partially nude by a passing motorist around 5am outside the couple's Calera home.
Her husband Jeffrey West was charged with her murder, accused of using a bottle of Lucid Absinthe to hit her in the head several times.
Prosecutors said Tuesday during opening statements in Shelby County Court that he and his wife had argued several times before her death.
Meanwhile, his attorney John Charles Robbins argued Kat was drunk and fell and hit her head the night she died.
Kat was a 'camgirl' who had a subscription-only website where she went by the name of Kitty Kat West and posted risqué-photos of herself. Her Twitter and Instagram accounts also featured revealing photos of herself and directed viewers to her paid adult content website.
On Tuesday the murder trial of Alabama man Jeffrey West, who is accused of murdering his 'camgirl' wife Kat West in 2018, began in Shelby County
Jeffrey was charged with her death and accused of using a bottle of liquor to kill her by hitting her in the head. His defense attorney argued Tuesday that Kat was drunk and fell and hit her head that night. Jeffrey pictured above in orange jumpsuit
WATCH: Recap of Day 1 of testimony in Kat West trial @abc3340 pic.twitter.com/RCCFP7YAp5
— Stephen Quinn (@StephenQ3340) November 17, 2020
WATCH: Recap of Day 1 of testimony in Kat West trial @abc3340 pic.twitter.com/RCCFP7YAp5
Robbins argued that the cause of Kat’s death was blunt force trauma based on an autopsy report, as the report didn’t say how it happened and did not rule out falling.
He also argued that Kat had a blood alcohol content of at least .23, three times the legal limit, at the time of her death.
'We are very confident when you hear all the evidence in the case, you will come to the conclusion there’s no murder here,' he said. 'There’s no killing. Jeff is not guilty.'
Prosecutor Daniel McBrayer argued that Jeff murdered his wife and hit her on the head with the glass bottle.
On Tuesday the jury, consisting of nine women, three men and one alternate, heard the first day of testimony in the case.
A young woman who called 911 to report discovering the lifeless body of Kat told the dispatcher she could see a man inside the victim’s house repeatedly pacing back and forth in the front of the window, the jury heard.
Kat was a 'camgirl' who had a subscription-only website where she went by the name of Kitty Kat West and posted risqué photos of herself. Jeffrey's attorney argued Tuesday there was no tension between the couple about her adult photos and he helped take her pictures
Prosecutor Daniel McBrayer said in opening statements that evidence shows that Jeff and Kat West had prior arguments before her death. He said that evidence in the case will show how many times West hit her and that Jeff West’s fingerprints were found on the liquor bottle believed to be used in her death. Kat’s blood was also found on that bottle.
West pictured in his mugshot in 2018. He's been held in Shelby County Jail since his arrest
'She saw the man pacing inside of his home,' McBrayer said, according to AL.com.
'Why hasn’t he called this in?' the prosecutor quoted the witness as saying to the 911 dispatcher.
'He would later say that he was sleeping,' he said.
McBrayer said in opening statements that evidence shows that Jeff and Kat West had prior arguments before her death.
He said that evidence in the case will show how many times West hit her and that Jeff West’s fingerprints were found on the liquor bottle believed to be used in her death. Kat’s blood was also found on that said bottle.
He further said that a medical examiner will testify that there was nothing else in the area where Kat’s body was found that could’ve been used to kill her.
‘It did not result from a fall,’ the prosecutor said. ‘When this person got hit, they were going down fast.’
On January 13, 2018 Kathleen Dawn 'Kat' West, 42, was found partially nude by a passing motorist around 5am outside the couple's Calera home
Kat was seen on surveillance footage visiting R&R Wine and Liquor the night before she died with a man, believed to be West
Police believe West used the bottle of Lucid absinthe to kill his wife that very same night or early the next morning
Robbins said that on Friday night, the evening before Kat’s body was found the following morning, the couple had a date night and he took pictures of her for her website.
For that shoot around 9.30pm she wore a pink bra, multi-colored panties and pink stiletto heels, Robbins said.
Robbins argued that there was no tension between the couple about her adult photos.
‘Yes, she had a website. She posed nude. She did that for her own self-esteem,’ Robbins said.
‘Jeff was fully aware of what his wife did, and he assisted her,’ he added.
On Tuesday Jeff West’s father was in attendance as well as Kat West’s family, who support Jeff in the case. The two families attended the trial together in a united front.
The trial is expected to last the week with a verdict possible by the end of the week or early next week.