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Jury sent home in Titusville double killing trial

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — Closing arguments were expected Monday afternoon in the trial of a Brevard County man accused of killing two of his neighbors and severely injuring a third. Instead, the jurors were sent home after the defense and prosecution attorneys got into an argument over the jury instruction for justifiable use of force, also known as stand your ground and self-defense.

William Woodward, 49, is charged in the 2012 Labor Day shooting deaths of Gary Lee Hembree and Roger Picior, and the attempted murder of Bruce "Timothy" Blake outside his home on Smith Drive in Titusville, police said.

Woodward said he was defending his family after weeks of threats.

On Monday, the jury saw surveillance video from the night of the shooting. The video shows yelling leading up to the shooting. It later shows Woodward, in camouflage, crawling up behind his truck and crouching behind it, and then shooting at his neighbors.

Barbara Woodward cried several times on the stand Friday. She said the neighbors threatened to rape her daughter and that her husband fired the gun in response to the ongoing threats.

“I can still hear their voices screaming at me,” Barbara Woodward said. “It escalated to yelling at us every time we walked outside. We tried to walk the dog and you're taking your child to the bus stop -- it just never stopped. It was constant.”

The state will seek the death penalty if William Woodward is found guilty.

Channel 9's Field Sutton is following this trial. Follow him on Twitter and Eyewitness News for updates.

The trial will resume Tuesday around 8:30 a.m.