SPOKANE, Wash. – The trial of Gary Ault, the man accused of killing 83-year-old Richard Purdy in December 2022, is set for closing arguments on Friday morning.
Family and friends of Purdy have packed the courtroom all week, a man they say was private and didn’t invite strangers into his home.
Ault is charged with first degree murder and burglary in connection with Purdy’s death, who was found dead inside his Deer Park home by his girlfriend on December 26, 2022.
DNA profiles found on a knife, pistol and binoculars that were recovered outside of the north Spokane hotel Ault was staying at at the time matched Purdy’s and Ault’s, as detailed in court testimony by forensic scientists from the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab on Thursday.
Ault was already in the Spokane County Jail at the time he was charged for Purdy’s murder, after being arrested on December 27, 2022, in connection with random assaults in Downtown Spokane that were caught on surveillance video.
After several days of witness testimony, prosecutors rested their case Thursday afternoon.
Ault’s attorney’s then almost immediately rested their case, without calling witnesses–or Ault himself–to the stand to testify in his defense on Thursday.
Closing arguments are set to start Friday at 9 a.m. at the Spokane County Courthouse, followed by jury deliberations and, potentially, a verdict.
