A drone video was played in the Rittenhouse murder trial as the prosecution’s case appeared to be winding down after a week of testimony in which some of its own witnesses often bolstered Rittenhouse’s claim of self-defence
The jury at Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial Tuesday watched drone video that showed Rittenhouse wheeling around and shooting Joseph Rosenbaum at close range during a night of turbulent protests on the streets of Kenosha.
Dr. Doug Kelley, a forensic pathologist with the Milwaukee County medical examiner’s office, said Rosenbaum was shot by someone who was within 4 feet of him. Kenosha Detective Ben Antaramian testified that at some point in their investigation, authorities learned someone had recorded drone video. The video had played on a Fox News segment.
Prosecutors have portrayed Rittenhouse as the instigator of the bloodshed that night. His lawyers have argued that he acted in self-defence, suggesting that he feared his rifle would be taken away and used against him.Last week, witnesses testified that the first man to be shot, Rosenbaum, 36, was “hyperaggressive” and “acting belligerently” that night and threatened to kill Rittenhouse at one point.
On Monday, Grosskreutz testified that he pointed his own gun at Rittenhouse before he was shot. But he said he didn’t mean to and had no intention of firing it. Wisconsin’s self-defence law allows someone to use deadly force only if “necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.” The jury must decide whether Rittenhouse believed he was in such peril and whether that belief was reasonable under the circumstances.