VIDALIA — An emotional courtroom outburst by the mother of a victim led defense attorneys in the Conner Wood murder trial ask for a mistrial during the first day of court proceedings.

When the prosecution exhibited a graphic photo of the dead Matthew Whittington, lying on his back with a bullet wound to his face, Judy Whittington, Matthew’s mother, lurched toward Wood screaming curses and threats.

The jury was escorted out of the courtroom, but not before Judy Whittington had yelled that God would judge Wood.

Wood’s attorney Paul Lemke requested the mistrial because he felt the outburst might have tainted the jury.

“I understand her grief and anxiety, but my first concern is a fair trial for my client,” Lemke said.

Judge Leo Boothe decided to poll the jury to see if they believed the outburst would affect their objectivity.

“It is apparent the jury was not exposed to the majority of the outburst, but the court cannot risk that at this time,” Boothe said.

One of the jury’s two alternates was dismissed when she asked to be excused, saying she has a son near Matthew’s age, and Whittington’s cries had moved her.

Judy Whittington was barred from the courtroom Tuesday.

Wood is accused of killing his parents, John Wood, 46, and Geraldine Wood, 40, along with Whittington, 16, during the early morning hours of March 14, 2007.

Throughout the course of the day, the prosecution entered approximately 160 pieces of evidence, including graphic photos and video, the weapons used during the commission of the crime, bullet fragments collected from the victims’ bodies and bullet casings removed from the crime scene.

During testimony Tuesday various law enforcement officials from the Ferriday Police Department and the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office weaved a narrative of what they did that night.

CPSO Dispatcher David Cobb testified he answered the 911 call Conner Wood made in the wake of the murders, and that he talked with Ferriday Police while Wood was on the line with him.

In Ferriday, Officer John Hawkins testified he answered the phone initially because dispatcher Elbert White was out of the room at the time. When White returned, Hawkins and Lt. Derrick Freeman left the police station and went to the scene of the crime.

Cobb testified that during the call Wood said Whittington had still been alive but he had killed him.

During the call, Wood reportedly alleged Whittington was an intruder who he had shot after the intruder shot his parents.

CPSO Capt. Frankie Carroll later testified the 911 call was not recorded because a power outage had caused the computer running the recording equipment to lose power.

The system now operates on a backup battery, Carroll said.

When the Ferriday officers arrived on the scene, Conner Wood met them in front of the house. Both Freeman and Hawkins testified they placed Wood in a patrol car for his safety until they found out what the situation was.

Hawkins said Wood appeared “sort of disturbed,” and Freeman testified he appeared “nervous.”

The Ferriday officers did not enter the residence, and when CPSO deputies arrived on the scene, they made a tactical entry — with weapons drawn and using flashlights — into the residence through the back door.

Once in the house, they found the body of Matthew Whittington laying facedown in the hallway, and the bodies of John and Geraldine Wood dead in their bed.

Whittington was wearing gloves when the officers found him, and Carroll testified he removed them from the body at the funeral home.

The gloves were hunting gloves, and they were not later tested for gunshot residue for that reason, Carroll testified.

One of the panes in back door of the house was broken on the outside, but the glass on the door was double-paned and the interior pane was not broken, CPSO Investigator Jack Fletcher, who was a patrol sergeant at the time, testified.

The hammer that was used to break the glass was found on a bar stool upon entry into the house.

The door was brought into the courtroom and entered as a piece of evidence Tuesday.

Fletcher also testified Wood told him the weapons in the house would have his fingerprints on them because the family had recently fired them.

“I thought it was kind of odd he would tell me that,” Fletcher said.

Investigators later recovered three weapons involved in the crime, a .09 mm pistol, a .32-caliber pistol and a .22-caliber rifle that had been modified with an assault weapon style stock. Ammunition and ammunition clips were also recovered from the scene.

In the Woods’ bedroom, investigators recovered 13 .09 mm bullet casings, and in the hallway and an adjoining bathroom they recovered nine .32 caliber shell casings and two .22-caliber shell casings.

One bullet was also recovered from inside the wall in the Woods’ bedroom.

The Jefferson Parish Coroner’s office later recovered five bullet fragments from the body of Geraldine Wood, five bullet fragments from the body of John Wood and nine bullet fragments from the body of Matthew Whittington.

After assessing the scene, CPSO Chief Deputy Bobby Sheppard testified he and Ferriday Police Chief Investigator Johnny Evans went to the home of Dennis and Judy Whittington to inform them of what had happened.

“They were both very upset,” Sheppard said. “The father started calling out Matthew’s name, and tried to go into his room. When he could not, he ran outside and was able to gain entry into the room through an open window.”

Other evidence was collected from the home and John Wood’s work truck — which was not in law enforcement custody — in the following days.

Some of that evidence includes the bedding and mattress from the Woods’ bed, ammunition, video games, movies from the “Rambo” franchise and toy gun replicas.

So far, only the prosecution has called witnesses in the matter.

The trial will resume at 10 a.m. today in Seventh District Judicial Court in Vidalia.

The court has not given an indication how long the trial is expected to last.