BASS LAKE — Day four of the murder trial of George Taylor-Windsor included testimony from an ex-girlfriend, his ex-wife, and the woman whose home was reportedly entered by the defendant when he ran from the scene after allegedly stabbing two people.
Taylor-Windsor is on trial for murder in the stabbing death of Jessica Nelson, 23, of Foresthill, Calif., and with attempted murder in the stabbing of Reid Kallenberg. The incident took place on Nov. 15, 2016, on Highway 41 just north of Oakhurst, in Kallenberg’s Ford F250 pickup.
During an abbreviated court session last Thursday, Apr. 27, the jury heard from Cassandra Margrey, a friend of Taylor-Windsor. She testified that she met the defendant in August 2016, and that they were romantically involved for a time, and remain friends.
Margrey said that Taylor-Windsor had talked to her about his ex-wife, and had described her as “crazy, she just wanted his money.”
Also on the stand last Thursday was the defendant’s ex-wife, Maranda Windsor, who testified that she and the defendant were married in July 2013, and she filed for divorce in the spring of 2015. They have a son together, and she has sole physical and legal custody. She lives in Casper, Wyoming.
Windsor told the jury that the divorce was “pretty contentious,” and that afterwards, she had set up parameters as to when her ex-husband could call, based on her schedule as a nursing student. The agreement was that he would call on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, when she was not studying or attending class.
Windsor said the defendant was having a hard time finding reliable work in the fall of 2016, and didn’t have a place to live.
On the night of the stabbing, which was a Tuesday, Windsor said the defendant called at about 10 p.m. She was doing homework and told him she couldn’t talk, and that she would call back later. She said that he was “annoyed” by that, and when he continued to call, she didn’t answer.
When she did return the call at about 11 p.m., someone other than her ex-husband answered the phone.
“A man answered,” she told the court. “He said he was hurt, and that George had stabbed some people, and told me to call the police.”
Oakhurst resident Jordan Wright was next to testify, telling the jury that neither she nor her husband were home on the night of the incident.
Wright said she returned to her home on River Falls Road at about 8:30 a.m. and found that her house “was a mess.” She found wax from a heated scent candle spilled on her kitchen counter tops, the door to the water heater room wide open, and the baby lock on the liquor cabinet broken.
She immediately called her father, who told her to call the Sheriff’s Office. Upon further inspection, Wright said she noticed blood on the door connecting the bedroom to the bathroom, blood on the french doors, and blood on the edge of the mattress.
Wright testified that the door to the house was not locked when she left, and that it didn’t appear that anything was missing from the home when she returned.
The prosecution is expected to wrap up their case by Tuesday, May 2, at which time the defense will call their witnesses.
Taylor-Windsor faces 30 years to life if convicted on the charges, and remains behind bars on a $3.1 million bond.
