Jury returns a verdict in attempted murder trial

Derrick Higdon walked out of the courtroom in handcuffs as his wife cried quietly a few feet away.

The moment marked the climax of a jury trial that has lasted more than a week.

Higdon, 49, was accused of breaking into a home belonging to his ex-girlfriend, Misty Oakes, on July 23, 2017, and setting it on fire while Oakes hid on the floor of her car. Two of Oakes' cats, Spike and Barney, died in the fire.

Higdon, who has been living in Rock Hill, South Carolina, was charged with attempted first-degree murder, breaking and entering with intent to terrorize and injure, cruelty to animals and first-degree arson.

Higdon represented himself in court during his trial, which started in late April. Attorney Charles Lifford provided him legal advice.

Judge Sally Kirby-Turner granted him a small victory when she reduced the first-degree arson charge to attempted first-degree arson. On Monday, although the day ended with him in handcuffs, Higdon scored a much bigger win. Although he was convicted of felony breaking and entering with intent to terrorize and injure, he was acquitted of all other charges.

Higdon's trial was marked by testimony that depicted him as a cheating husband whose fixation on his ex-girlfriend culminated in acts of violence that left her living in fear for years. Oakes testified that she and Higdon had been having sex even after they broke up, but when he married his wife, Melissa, she told him she no longer wanted to continue that aspect of their relationship. He became angry, she said, beating her up on July 10, about two weeks before the fire. Higdon testified that, despite his marriage, he was still in love with Oakes at the time of the incident. He said he went to her house the evening of July 23, knocked on the door and left when there was no answer.

The jury began deliberations on Friday morning and asked to see multiple pieces of evidence again, including video of Oakes' burning house, text messages between Higdon and Oakes, police body camera footage showing Higdon's traffic stop, and surveillance footage that showed Higdon pulling up and approaching Oakes' home.

The jury also listened to Oakes' 911 call — in which she reported that Higdon was breaking into her home — a second time.

At one point Monday afternoon, the jury sent a note to Kirby-Turner saying that they were struggling to agree on a verdict. They returned with a verdict at around 4 p.m.

Prosecutor Debbie Gulledge asked that Higdon be sent to prison. Higdon asked Kirby-Turner to give him probation "at most."

Kirby-Turner wasn't feeling merciful.

She first addressed Oakes, who was sitting in the courtroom on a bench behind Gulledge with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I want you to know that this court heard everything that you said. And I want you to know that this court sees what you've been through, not just on July 23, but on the days before July 23," Kirby-Turner said. "I've seen it. I've heard it. I've heard how this man talked to you on recordings. I've heard how this man has referred to you in this courtroom. I've seen how this man referred to you in text messages. I want you to know that this court has seen it, and this court understands."

Then she spoke to Higdon.

"I've watched you for two weeks. I heard you for two weeks. What you did to this woman is inexcusable, and again, I'm not just talking about July 23," Kirby-Turner said. "You mentally abused her. You manipulated her, and you tried to do the same to the courtroom.

"We heard how you talked to her, how you broke her down, called her cruel, cruel things, told that woman, the mother of your child, she had no conscience because she didn't want to stroke your ego and have sex with you... It was mental abuse to control her, and then when she said, 'I'm not doing it anymore,' it was physical abuse to control her… And then you violated the sanctity of her home to inflict terror upon her to try to regain that control... She's done. She's done with you controlling her, with you abusing her, with you manipulating her, with you gaslighting her. She's done."

Kirby-Turner sentenced Higdon to six to 17 months in prison.

Lifford told the Gazette that the sentences Higdon could have received, had he been convicted on all charges, would have had him spending as many as 20 years in prison. He said that the defense that helped Higdon mostly prevail was that the surveillance footage time stamps didn't match Oakes' 911 call.

"The security surveillance video was very limited, but it clearly shows him arriving at 17:33 and leaving at 17:36. He was stopped and detained by police at 17:46," Lifford said. "The police dispatch times documents Misty describing events happening in real time. She said he broke her window at 17:40 and described seeing the door open and close after 17:46. Though she was a compelling witness, I believe the jury had reasonable doubt based upon the impossibility of him doing the crimes while in police custody."

Lifford added that he didn't know how the fire started, but that the fire investigators did not find an ignition source, so whatever started it likely burned up in the blaze.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Jury returns a verdict in attempted murder trial