NATCHEZ &045; Jurors in the murder trial of Greg D. Moffett had to handle a lot in the first day of the trial Tuesday as the state began its case to prove Moffett killed his girlfriend Tatanisha LeKeytha Thomas with a claw hammer.

District Attorney Ronnie Harper presented the jury with vivid testimonies, physical evidence and a number of gruesome photos in the first two hours of what is expected to be a two-day trial.

Moffett, 30 at the time, was arrested on a murder charge on Dec. 10, 2003, after eluding authorities for four days and leading them on a car chase from Natchez to Ferriday, La.

Thomas, 26, died Dec. 7, 2003 from a blunt trauma to the head. Moffett was immediately named as a suspect. The two had been living together at 42 Brenham Ave. for some time with their two children.

In opening statements Assistant District Attorney David Hall told the jury about Moffett’s two previous domestic violence convictions involving Thomas in the months before her death and one additional charge.

&uot;On Nov. 29, he was arrested for domestic violence,&uot; Hall said. &uot;But before it was able to come to trial, it couldn’t come to trial because Ms. Thomas was dead.&uot;

Hall told jurors they would see Thomas &uot;dead and face down on a couch, beaten to a pulp.&uot; Thomas was found in an entry room of the couple’s house only several feet from the front door.

Harper and Moffett’s defense attorney Eileen Maher entered 17 items into evidence, most of which were photos of the crime scene and Thomas’ body.

Coroner James Lee testified the body showed obvious signs of blunt trauma to the head.

&uot;There was a tremendous amount of blood, blood everywhere,&uot; Lee said. &uot;She had a very large hole in her head, a very large injury to the left side of her forehead that indicated a very severe blunt trauma.&uot;

Lee said he and detectives on the scene made the determination that the death was a homicide, and autopsy reports later confirmed the cause of death as several blows to the head.

Maher questioned Lee about the time of death based on his observations at the scene.

&uot;The girl hadn’t been dead a long period of time,&uot; he said. &uot;There was still fresh blood.&uot;

Lee calculated on the stand that he arrived at the scene around 10:30 or 11 a.m. and said Thomas had been dead for no more than five hours, putting the time of death between 3 and 5:30 a.m.

Lee also said a claw hammer covered in blood was found near Thomas’ face.

During testimony from former Natchez Police Department Crime Scene Investigator Tonja Butler, Harper showed the jury the bloody claw hammer allegedly used in the crime.

During the investigation, Butler transported the hammer to the state crime lab in Jackson for fingerprints, none of which were found.

Harper also questioned Butler about a telephone found in a bedroom adjoining the room where the body was found. Investigators found the phone in three pieces and pulled away from the wall. She said there was a small amount of smeared blood on the receiver. The pieces of the phone were also shown to the jury.

Butler testified that blood was splattered on the backside of the front door, on the wall above the couch and on the ceiling where Thomas was found, but said there was little to no blood on the walls to the side of the room.

In response to a question from Maher, Butler said she did not find any physical evidence in the house to link Moffett to the murder.

Harper also questioned NPD Lt. Scott Fry Tuesday about what he saw on the scene and called two more witnesses, neighbors who live on Brenham Avenue, but both had left to pick up children from school.

The absence of the witnesses led Judge Forrest Johnson to recess early, telling the jurors to be back in court at 9 a.m. today.

Johnson said several times he expected the trial to conclude today.

The 12 jurors and two alternates were chosen from a pool of 53 Tuesday morning.