Coroner's jury finds Liley shooting was justified

A coroner's jury on Monday found Lonnie Lee Liley acted in self-defense in his brother's Jan. 23, 2014, shooting death.

Liley is accused of killing 50-year-old Jessie Liley.

The jury took 15 minutes to reach its decision after meeting part of the morning and afternoon.

Liley will remain in the Bollinger County Jail up to 10 days while prosecutor Heath Robins decides whether to proceed with prosecution or dismiss Liley's murder charge. A trial is set for November.

Bollinger County Coroner Charles Hutchings assembled the jury to help find whether the incident was justifiable under Missouri's 2007 Castle Doctrine.

Hutchings and Robins brought in former Cape Girardeau County prosecutor Morley Swingle, who helped the state draft the doctrine.

Swingle testified the Castle Doctrine increases protection for homeowners and occupants who believe an intruder intends to harm them, regardless of whether the intruder is armed visibly. In that scenario, using deadly force is not considered a crime, Swingle said.

"You are not here to decide beyond reasonable doubt," Swingle told the jury, "but more likely than not. Sometimes homicide is justified."

Swingle added a coroner's inquest brings the facts of the case to the public, unlike a grand-jury hearing that is kept sealed.

Jacqueline Liley, Lonnie Liley's mother and Jessie Liley's stepmother, described the events that led to Jessie's death during her testimony.

The jury also heard from Jessie Liley's son and from the son of Jessie Liley's girlfriend, who lived with him in a mobile home on the same property where Liley lived with and took care of his stepmother. The two homes were a few feet apart.

Lonnie Liley sat in the front row of the courtroom during testimony. He showed no emotion and did not move from his seat during the entire inquest.

Dr. Russell Deidiker, the pathologist who performed Jesse Liley's autopsy, testified toxicology tests revealed his blood showed the presence of alcohol, methamphetamine and other drugs, including drugs used to treat psychotic conditions -- a combination that could have altered his behavior at the time.

Jacqueline Liley testified that minutes before the shooting, she had evicted Jessie Liley and his girlfriend because, she said, "I'm not going to put up with the drugs anymore."

Her testimony included references to the two brothers arguing over Jessie Liley's poaching deer, and how his girlfriend had wrecked three cars in a matter of weeks.

The jury heard the 911 call Lonnie Liley made just after he shot his brother, saw videotapes of police interviewing witnesses and heard testimony from several law-enforcement officers who worked the scene that day.

Family members described how Jessie Liley was awakened after learning of the eviction, and thinking there had been a confrontation between his son and Lonnie Liley, strode out of the house barefoot and without a coat on a cold day and pounded on Lonnie Liley's door, then forced his way past Jacqueline Liley while yelling at his brother, "I'm going to teach you!"

Jurors were allowed to question witnesses as well.