Murder Trial Begins for Former Parks & Rec Employee Suspected of Killing Supervisor

The murder trial of Dupree Pierre Barber, the former Cordova Parks and Recreation employee charged will killing his former supervisor, began today.

Steven Ebert was found shot dead in his car, parked in Rancho Cordova on January 23, 2012; Barber was arrested two days later, after an interview with the police, along with other evidence, lead them to believe the former employee had motive to kill him after being laid-off.

The Sacramento Bee reports the prosecution and defense attorneys gave their opening statements in court today, stating Deputy District Attorney Rod Norgaard laid out the prosecution's case, telling jurors to expect to hear a steady stream of evidence against the 49-year-old defendant, a laid-off employee of the Cordova Recreation and Park District who had a "very hostile" relationship with Elbert, his 59-year-old boss, with added links to the suspect’s vehicle and the incident.

The Bee additionally noted, the Assistant Public Defender John Perkins did not outline Barber's defense in his opening statement, but that Perkins asked the jury to listen to the evidence and to keep an open mind during the trial.

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/crime/archives/2013/07/murder-trial-begins-in-killing-of-rancho-cordova-park...

Read the original Patch coverage here.