FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. — Seven witnesses testified Wednesday in the preliminary hearing for the man charged in the homicide of 64-year-old Richard Alan Harris at Woodland Hills Nature Center in Farmington Hills.
Gabriel Bercea, 23, is charged with Harris' murder. His body was found on March 3.
Watch 7 Actions News reporter Ruta Ulcinaite's breakdown of what happened in court in the video below:
Farmington Hills Police Officer Coley Morrison was the first officer to respond to the scene. She described what she found when she arrived.
"I observed a male, with his face into the ground and I observed deep lacerations and the head was almost sunken in," she said.
Officer Morrison also testified that she observed multiple wood logs scattered with blood, the victim's shoe and keys away from his body, and scuff marks at the scene.
Autumn Owens and a friend were hiking the trail that day. Owens testified that just before 4 p.m., she noticed what she thought was someone possibly resting on the ground.
"And I yelled out a couple times, 'Sir, sir are you okay? Sir?' There was no response," Owens said.
Owens called 911, and Harris was later declared dead.
Edward Mattox was also hiking the trail with his son that day. He testified that they spotted Bercea and Harris sitting together on a bench side by side prior to Harris' death.
"It was a younger man and an older man and the younger man had his arm around the back of the older man and I thought maybe they were father and son," Mattox testified.
What exactly transpired after that remains unclear.
Bercea sat silent during the entirety of the hearing as evidence photos were introduced and witnesses described their accounts.
Due to scheduling conflicts, the hearing will resume with the remaining witnesses on Oct. 28 at 47th District Court.
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