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Jury deliberating second-degree murder case By Terri Harber Updated: Dec 17, 2021 08:42 PM A A Jurors have option and directions about what also constitutes second-degree manslaughter Jurors in the second-degree murder case of Brenden Rex Stansell were moved into a deliberating room in the Jackson County Circuit Court building late Friday afternoon after hearing closing arguments and testimony from the defendant. Stansell, 21, fatally stabbed Matthew James Joseph Stephens, 23, with a 26-inch-long Steampunk Gun Blade Sword during Sept. 18, 2020, trip to Elderberry Flats. Stansell opted to testify — which allowed both the defense and prosecuting attorneys as well as Presiding Judge Lorenzo Mejia opportunities to question him in front of the jury. Up to that point, jurors had only seen him in videos when he spoke to Jackson County Sheriff’s Office investigators soon after the stabbing. Stansell testified that he was asked to drive Natasha Carson, 25, and Stephens to an abandoned trailer, but ended up being pulled from his vehicle and choked by Carson while Stephens ordered his dog to attack. Photographs taken by the Jackson County sheriff’s deputies showed that Stansell had numerous bite marks on his torso and leg along with what appeared to be marks left after Carson grabbed him by a bandanna tied around his neck and pulled him out of the vehicle. After multiple demands to give up his truck keys, Stansell said he ultimately did. According to his testimony, Stansell jumped in the bed of the truck and ended up taking a fast ride on a rough road. He told investigators he believed the driver, Carson, was trying to make him fall out of the truck bed. Stansell testified that he was scared for his life as well as his property. Carson had accused Stansell of stealing a gold pendant, which he has consistently denied, though he said in court that he went into her bag days earlier to find his marijuana grinder, which Carson had taken. He testified that took the bag out of his truck and went into an outbuilding to look through it. This apparently prompted the accusations made by Carson the next day, then by Stephens on the day of his death. Both Stephens and Carson were shooting up methamphetamine during the ride to Elderberry Flats, Stansell said Friday. Stansell had previously told investigators that he didn’t use meth the day of the stabbing, but now said that he smoked some in the morning – early enough for it to no longer have an effect on him, he said. Carson was irritated with Stansell and accused him again of stealing the pendant while parked in the truck and fought for at least 30 minutes, according to his testimony. Carson began demanding the keys from Stansell. He refused. At one point Carson took his mobile phone. Stansell said he considered walking away but decided against it. Stephens threatened to bust into the truck’s ignition if Stansell didn’t hand over the key, and Stansell opted to comply he told the court Friday. According to Stansell, Carson turned the key but the truck wouldn’t start. Stansell said Carson ordered him to fix it or, “I’ll mess you up.” The battery cable had become loose so Stansell placed it back on right, he said Friday. “I started to get afraid of what was going to happen,” he testified. “I suspected I was getting set up.” He said this happened at the same location where Carson yanked him out of the truck by his bandana and T-shirt. It’s also where the dog attacked him, he said. “I was freaking out,” he remembered. When Carson and Stephens were preparing to leave without him, he said he jumped into the bed of the truck. Carson was driving and Stephens was in the passenger seat. She was moving fast on a small road that looked as if it hadn’t been used for quite awhile. Defense attorney Peter Carini asked him whether he felt “terrorized.” “Very terrorized,” Stansell replied. “Very scared.” During cross examination, Stansell said he wasn’t jealous that Carson was siding with Stephens. Stansell also told Deputy District Attorney Lucy Durst that he saw Carson with a chainsaw chain wrapped around her hand but that he didn’t think she would hurt him with it. He said it wasn’t a good idea to walk away because he feared the dog would be sent to attack him again. Stansell also said he was concerned they would try to run him down with his truck along the road. Stansell told the jury he stabbed Stephens but not Carson because of the way he commaned his dog. “Is it possible you chose [Stephens] because you had intimate relations with [Carson]?” Durst asked. He denied it, adding that he still cared for her and that she had children as reasons why he didn’t stab Carson. In closing arguments, Durst brought up the sexual relationship between Stansell and Carson and that Stansell changed his story repeatedly about what happened. That he acted “with intent” is the major component of second-degree murder, as is the use of deadly force to defend property, not one’s self, Durst stressed. “None of the crimes were happening at the time of the incident,” she said She rested the state’s case by holding up the sword and quoting Stansell’s interview with investigators. It went through Stephens “like butter.” Carini said Stansell was justified in stabbing Stephens because the felony was ongoing, even though Carson and Stephens had stopped driving and were preparing to shoot up methanphetamine. “You have a right not to just sit there,” Carini said. “You have a right to fight off your attackers.” The jury of 10 men and two women have the option of choosing a second-degree manslaughter if they find Stansell was in extreme emotional disturbance, which is when “the disturbance is not the result of the person’s own intentional, knowing, reckless or criminally negligent act and if there is a reasonable explanation for the disturbance,” according to Oregon Revised Statutes. Deliberations will continue Monday.