CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte man is on trial, accused of killing his boyfriend in May 2021.
The first witness testified on the stand Wednesday, which included disturbing details.
The witness said she got into her friend’s car only to discover a body in the passenger seat.
The bizarre incident started in Gastonia and ended in the Steele Creek community.
Tahj Wall’s attorney claims the shooting was self-defense saying his boyfriend attacked him the day of the shooting.
Prosecutors said the victim was walking away from an argument when Wall shot him in the head twice.
Skye Spence-Parker was the first witness on the stand and described finding herself in the back seat of the car with a body.
“I really just want to get out of the car,” Spence-Parker said. “Say whatever I need to say to get out.”
She was walking in her Steele Creek community in May of 2021.
Her high school friend, Wall, saw her and asked if she wanted a ride.
She said Wall told her he just got out of a bad relationship.
“I remember him saying, ‘Yes, I killed him,’ and he lifts the purple blanket up,” she said.
She saw the head of stranger, Melvin Hopper, of Gastonia.
Prosecutor: Did he appear upset?
Spence-Parker: No.
Prosecutor: Crying?
Spence Parker: No.
Prosecutor: Scared?
Spence-Parker: No.
Prosecutor: Panicked?
Spense-Parker: No.
In fact, prosecutors said before that encounter, Wall drove around in Melvin Hopper’s car for six hours with Hopper’s body in the passenger seat.
This started when the two men had an argument in Hopper’s house on Weldon Street in Gastonia.
Prosecutors said Hopper went to his car to avoid the argument, but Wall stopped him in the driver’s seat and shot Hopper in the head.
“Two shots is first-degree murder,” said prosecutor Carissa Herring.
Wall’s attorney said Hopper often abused Wall.
“Festered in domestic violence,” said James Exum, his defense attorney.
He said Hopper was known to keep a gun and it was in the car.
“And when he reached for the gun, Tahj shot him,” Exum said.
Prosecutors said the evidence in the case does not support the claim of self-defense.
A second witness, Tydarius Crank, testified that Wall showed him Hopper’s body shortly after the shooting, stating that Wall did not appear scared.
“I felt fear. I felt scared. I didn’t believe that my friend had really done something like this,” Crank testified.
The trial continues as both sides present their arguments, with the testimonies painting a complex picture of the events leading to Hopper’s death.
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