The man accused of killing Austin Bodahl on State Street could only watch on Tuesday, as witness testimony revealed some inconsistent and emotional evidence regarding the night of the incident.

On the first day of witness testimony in the Bodahl murder trial, Assistant District Attorney and prosecutor Lana Mades built a case on Bodahl’s autopsy and eye witness and police accounts. If a panel of 12 jurors convicts Daniel Kelly, the man accused of killing 23-year-old Bodahl of first degree reckless homicide, he could face a maximum of 40 years in jail and 20 more years of extended supervision.

Kelly, who sat silent all day, watched as Public Defender Dennis Burke and Mades battled back and forth with grueling cross examinations. Burke created a case based on the claim that even though Kelly did shoot Bodahl, it was done in self defense. He argued his defendant was confronted by three individuals, Bodahl, Travis “Romeo” Verastegui and Carl Matthew Provin.

Carl Matthew Provin

In the most heated cross examination of the day, Provin reluctantly took the stand on the state’s behalf. Lawyers from both sides bombarded him with a number of questions about the events that led to the fateful shot May 22 on the 600 block of State Street.

Provin, who knew Bodahl for only a week before his death, said he purchased a six pack of beer and went down to the lake with Bodahl and “Romeo” that night. He continued, saying they finished drinking and then walked to State Street. The three continued to drink and split a bottle of rum. Provin would later be given a breathalyzer by police. Burke said reports show he blew .08, more than three times the legal limit.

Once on the street, they spotted Kelly, who was wearing a kilt at the time. Provin said “Romeo” confronted Kelly and that is when Bodahl started “talking trash.”

And when Burke asked Provin who started the physical fight, Provin said he was unsure, but noted it was a “silly fight.”

“I just thought it was drunk people fighting,” Provin said.

Burke claimed Kelly had not been drinking. He later asked Provin if they were “looking for trouble” when they saw Kelly.

“I guess so,” Provin said, adding “I don’t think [Kelly] was looking for a fight.”

The autopsy

Emotions also ran high when the prosecutor revealed the photos from Bodahl’s autopsy.

Cuts, scrapes and scratches lined Bodahl’s face. Dr. Robert Corliss conducted the autopsy on May 23 and said the victim suffered several facial injuries to the left side of his face, including a large abrasion.

When asked by Burke if a knife induced the abrasion, Corliss said it could be possible, but added a number of other possibilities could have also caused it. As for the fatal gun shot wound, Corliss said a small puncture wound was located on Bodahl’s body just right of the mid-line of the chest.

As Mades shuffled through more pictures of the autopsy, attention was called to Bodahl’s neck. He had the initials F.T.W. tattooed on his neck. Police officers speculated it meant “fuck the world.” However, when Bodahl’s father took the stand, he offered a different explanation.

“I asked [Austin] what it was and he said it was ‘NTW’,” said Lawrence Bodahl as he fought back tears. “I asked him what it stood for and he said ‘not to worry’.”

“So after he was killed I put that on my arm, put his name and ‘NTW’ on my arm.”

Still, the defense presented photos of Kelly after the melee. Photos showed a battered Kelly, who sustained several cuts and scrapes, as well as an imprint on his forehead that appeared to be consistent with one of the rings Bodahl wore May 22. After that evidence was provided, Burke posed to Corliss the question of who the winner of the fight might have been.

Corliss responded, “I don’t know if anyone wins in a fight.”

First-hand accounts

And if the jury was not provided with enough information from police and expert accounts, several eye witnesses’ testimonies about the fight and subsequently fired gun shots proved inconsistent. Isela Arellano called 9-1-1 almost as soon as she noticed the fight.

She said Kelly appeared to be pummeling Bodahl. Still, she told Burke she did not hear gun shots after Kelly pulled himself off the victim and walked toward the City Bar. Two former UW-Madison students had stories juxtaposing that of Arellano’s.

Benjamin Juech graduated from UW in 2007 and said “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fight as physical as [the one between Kelly and Bodahl].”

He said the two exchanged punches and kicks to the head. He also said he heard two or three gun shots and then saw Bodahl drop near the area by Espresso Royale and UW Credit Union.

Provin stayed out of the fight. But said after he heard the shots, he confronted Kelly and said, “you shot him over something like this.”

Still, when Provin was asked who was “winning the fight” he responded “Austin was clearly on top of Daniel Kelly.”