SAN ANTONIO – Although the purpose of Thursday's hearing was to address bond in the case of accused cop killer Otis McKane, the court proceeding also produced testimony from a key state's witness in the case.
McKane, 33, is charged with capital murder in the Nov. 20, 2016, slaying of San Antonio Police Department Detective Benjamin Marconi.
The detective was shot to death as he sat in his patrol car outside Public Safety Headquarters in what prosecutors described as "a cold blooded, unprovoked execution."
During the hearing, McKane's mother testified that the family could not afford his $2 million bond, citing myriad financial and personal troubles.
"I forget a lot of things, my short memories," Sandra McKane said. "I been through a lot. Through chemo and radiation, and I just had another surgery a few months ago, and I forget a lot of things."
SAPD Detective Mark Duke, the lead detective on the case, testified how camera footage shows a person drive up behind Marconi's patrol car, after which a man runs up to the driver's side of the patrol car and then returns to his car seconds later and speeds away.
Duke described another video, taken from inside Marconi's patrol car, that he said was disturbing.
"We see an arm reach in, and a firearm is put to the back of his head and he's shot in the back of his head, and then he ... he just stays there," Duke testified.
VIDEO: Paul Venema discusses McKane case on GMSA @ 9
Duke said he recorded McKane's video confession when he was arrested two days after the slaying.
"He just wanted the police department to feel the burn he had in his heart," Duke testified.
The videos are expected to be included in the state's evidence when the case goes to trial early next year.
Judge Ron Rangel, who had reviewed the videos prior to the hearing, denied the defense bond reduction and personal recognizance bond requests.
Rangel ordered McKane remained jailed without bond.