SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Testimony continued Thursday in the trial of a Seminole County man accused of killing three members of his family after a dispute involving a Bulgarian call girl.
Grant Amato is accused of killing his parents, Chad and Margaret Amato, and his brother Cody Amato in their Chuluota home in January.
Prosecutors said Grant Amato fatally shot his parents and his brother after a fight over $200,000 he sent to a Bulgarian call girl.
The jury spent hours Thursday listening to an interview with Grant Amato and investigators before he was arrested.
During that interview, investigators tried to get Grant Amato to confess to the crimes.
“Do you regret doing this to each of your family members?” an investigator asks during the interview.
“I didn't do that to anyone,” Grant Amato said.
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Jurors also heard from FBI agent George Bienerth, who testified about Cody Amato and Chad Amato’s cellphone usage the hours leading up to their deaths.
"Based on that arc, you can see the crime scene in the map," he said.
Bienerth said that based on records, Cody Amato's cellphone was last turned on at 2:05 a.m. Jan. 25.
He said that between 9:12 a.m. and 9:16 a.m. Jan. 24, there were several phone calls made by Cody Amato to his father and the home's landline.
One call was 23 minutes long, but it is unknown to whom Cody Amato was talking, Bienerth said.
"Past 2:05:57, there were no more network events or interactions with the network that were on this phone," he said.
The judge was deciding whether jurors will be able to hear testimony from two of Grant Amato’s friends. Both friends testified Thursday morning without the jury in the room.
One friend testified that his credit card information was stolen and used for payments on a webcam site. The other said he discovered his gun was stolen after Grant Amato had access to his room.
The judge allowed that evidence to be admissible.
Earlier this week, a crime scene analyst testified that marijuana, guns and ammunition were found within the Amato home. And a Seminole County Sheriff's Office's crime scene manager said they believe blood evidence shows the bodies of Cody Amato and Chad Amato were moved after they were killed.
#RightNow: Investigator Anderson testifying that he interviewed #GrantAmato before his arrest. Prosecutors are about to play that interview for the jury. #WFTV pic.twitter.com/22tkPlSHmv
— Jeff Levkulich (@jlevkulichWFTV) July 25, 2019
#RightNow: FBI Agent told jury that Cody’s cellphone was last on around 2:05am on January 25th. In the area of the crime scene. One of the last calls was a23 minute call made to the home’s landline on Sultan Circle at 9:16pm on Jan 24th. #GrantAmatoTrial #WFTV pic.twitter.com/D9Dv0FNm1n
— Jeff Levkulich (@jlevkulichWFTV) July 25, 2019
#RightNow: Fine testified that he noticed unauthorized charges on his credit card. He says the charges were for tokens for Myfreecams. #GrantAmatoTrial #WFTV pic.twitter.com/Yc1WIvhwcd
— Jeff Levkulich (@jlevkulichWFTV) July 25, 2019
#RightNow: Jericho Fine a friend of Cody and #GrantAmato is testifying. Fine went to Japan with Cody and Grant a month before the murders. #WFTV pic.twitter.com/lQRlsNcWAA
— Jeff Levkulich (@jlevkulichWFTV) July 25, 2019
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