The jury in the trial of Pat Tinsley recessed for lunch shortly after noon today. Testimony and presentation of evidence was scheduled to resume at 1:05 p.m.
Tinsley, 50, is accused of conspiring along with his wife to burn their home on Aug. 1, 2010 in order to collect the insurance money. Tinsley's wife, 47-year-old Glenda Tinsley, died in that fire at their two-story Wilson Farm Road home.
Testimony was heard from various witnesses for four hours this morning. An audio recording of Glenda Tinsley's phone call to Marion Police Department to report an intruder and fire at her home was played for the jury. Tinsley talked to a police dispatcher and police officer for more than seven minutes before the line went dead. Testimony indicated that she later called a friend, Rayford Burklow. He and his wife had two different phone conversations with Tinsley before the line went dead and attempts to call her back failed. Burklow and his wife, Carla, both testified this morning.
During opening arguments, Commonwealth Attorney Zac Greenwell told the jury that it would also watch a three-hour taped interview between a state police investigator and the defendant.
Others who testified today were Marion Police Lt. Marty Hodge; Deputy Sheriff Don Perry, who was the first person the scene of the fire; Crittenden County Fire Chief Gary Armstrong; Assistant Chief Billy Arflack; Kentucky State Police officer Matt Foster; and state police Detective Lloyd Ray, who interviewed the defendant a few hours after the fire. A 20-minute audio recording of that interview was played for jurors.
The trial is scheduled to go well into Friday afternoon, if not longer.
