Defense rests without calling witnesses in Brett Pleasant murder trial

Closing arguments begin on Thursday in the murder case of a 77-year-old devout churchgoer, but Wednesday was another emotional day of testimony.

Brett pleasant is accused of beating Jo Ann Leasure to death in her North Fort Myers condo in 2017.

The defense hinted that someone else may have committed the crime. The defense doesn’t dispute the findings of Pleasant’s fingerprints and DNA, but they disagree that that evidence proves he’s the killer.

An investigator told the jury on Wednesday that she found a bottle of bleach in Pleasant’s home with blood on it, but she couldn’t say who the blood belonged to.

The tape wrapped around Leasure’s wrists and neck was black. Investigators described the blood on her clothes as red, and the tissue paper in a white bag an unforgettable shade of bright green.

“Once the tissue paper is pulled out, there’s something else attached to it,” said Crime Scene Technician Kim Van Waus.

She told the jury she found bright green tissue paper in a gift bag on top of a dresser inside Pleasant’s home. When she opened the crumpled tissue paper, “it has black electrical tape stuck to it.”

That tape is the same color and size as the tape that killed Leasure.

Moments later, during cross-examination, Van Waus seemed to take the courtroom by surprise when defense attorney Mike Mummert asked her, “did you find any of Jo Ann Leasure’s personal possessions in the home of Mr. Pleasant?”

Van Waus told him, “I would say this green tissue paper was from her home.”

Mummert asked, “how do you, how do you know that?”

Van Waus said, “cuz the green tissue paper was found in her residence as well.”

Pleasant, who told the court he would not testify in his defense, watched quietly as his ex-girlfriend, former neighbor, and co-workers took the stand for the state.

The jury did hear from Pleasant briefly when the prosecution played his interrogation video.

In the video, Pleasant told investigators, “I didn’t kill that lady if that’s what you’re implying. I don’t even know that lady.”

Another piece of evidence to note, an investigator testified Pleasant’s phone pinged near the scene of the murder on the day of the murder.

The defense maintained that evidence and much of the rest is circumstantial and asked the judge to dismiss Pleasant’s murder and robbery charges.

The judge denied that request.

Closing arguments will begin on Wednesday morning. Then it is up to the jury to decide if Pleasant is guilty or not.