Murder suspect Jon Goldberg (left) and victim Tim Smith.

The only just verdict for murder suspect Jon David Goldberg is an acquittal based on self-defense, Goldberg’s attorney told the jury during his closing argument this morning.

Deputy Public Defender Casey Russo, wrapping up an impassioned three-hour argument, said the district attorney can’t prove Goldberg knew shooting victim Timothy Smith was home, can’t prove there wasn’t a gun in Smith’s truck, can’t prove Goldberg didn’t go to Smith’s home to talk with Smith’s wife, can’t prove Goldberg went to Smith’s house with an intention to harm him.

Russo said the only reasonable verdict in this case is “not guilty,” and a murder verdict “should not even be on the table.”

“If you get past self-defense,” Russo told the jury, “you should not get past involuntary manslaughter.”

Russo, speaking in a packed courtroom, said the evidence is “overwhelming” that Smith had guns in his pickup truck on Sept. 26, 2016. That was the day Goldberg, a few hours after learning Smith was having an affair with his wife, drove to Smith’s Rohnerville Road home and shot him five times.

After the shooting, Russo said, Smith’s wife Jessica Springer told Fortuna police her husband had guns in his truck from a recent hunting trip. The night before the killing, Smith showed Goldberg the guns he planned to take on his next hunting expedition. And Goldberg had seen guns stored in the very spot where Smith reached into his truck before Goldberg shot him.

“They have not proven he didn’t fire in self-defense,” Russo said. “There was a gun in that truck and (law enforcement) didn’t search that truck. If they had they would have found a firearm.”

Russo said that despite having no witnesses who said Goldberg was an angry or violent person, the prosecution “continues to cast him as some evil, nefarious guy who’s capable of murder. That’s just not Jon Goldberg.”

Smith was shot once in the chest and then four more times. The prosecutor keeps saying he was shot in the back, Russo said, but it was actually in his left side. Without a ballistics expert, Russo said, it’s impossible to say how the shooter and victim were placed when the bullets were fired.

Russo asked the jury repeatedly to consider what had happened to Goldberg that day. He saw explicit photos his wife Rachel and Smith had exchanged. She admitted, gradually, to having an affair with a man he admired and considered a good friend.

Goldberg’s cellphone wasn’t charging, so he had no way of reaching friends or family. When he came back to Bridgeville from an unsuccessful trip to Fortuna to buy a new phone, he saw his wife and their young son in a car headed to town. He assumed Rachel was leaving him and taking his beloved child away.

Russo asked jurors to remember what Rachel said about her husband’s reaction to the affair: “He was sobbing, sometimes uncontrollably.”

After seeing his wife and son leaving, Goldberg went to a neighbor’s house to use the neighbor’s phone and call Rachel. While there, neighbor Chad Holub testified, Goldberg told him about the affair and said “I’m going to go kill that motherfucker.”

Russo noted it’s not unusual for people to say rash things like that, or worse, when they’ve experienced a severe emotional shock.

If Goldberg did premeditate Smith’s killing, Russo said, he had a very poor plan. He had no exit strategy, it was a busy street in broad daylight and there were construction workers all over the area. He said it doesn’t make sense to think Goldberg would do something so violent and reckless, then go home and cuddle with his son’s pillow and blanket before peacefully surrendering to a SWAT team.

“That makes no sense,” Russo said. “And it didn’t happen.”

Russo said it was unfortunate Goldberg brought his holstered revolver with him to Fortuna, as he’s not a “gun guy” and normally doesn’t carry one.

“We’d all like to scream into the past `Jon! Don’t put the gun in the van!’ “ Russo said.

As to allegations that on the day of the shooting Goldberg assaulted his wife with a firearm, Russo called that “garbage.”

Rachel herself denies it happened. The prosecution’s only witness was Rachel’s friend Frieda Smith, who gave her a ride to town. Frieda Smith testified that after being questioned by Fortuna police, Rachel confided in her that Jon had fired shots all around her. Smith also said she would often see Rachel with bruises, and she would explain that she and Jon had been fighting.

Today Russo pointed out it would have been very simple for law enforcement to talk to other people who knew Rachel, such as people she worked with, to learn whether they had observed signs of abuse. No investigation was done, Russo said, because the prosecution just tacked on those charges “to make my client more convictable.”

Deputy District Attorney Luke Bernthal is expected to present his rebuttal argument to the jury this afternoon.

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