Hannah Payne murder trial: 911 calls played for jurors
911 calls played in Hannah Payne murder trial
The murder trial of a woman accused of shooting and killing a man who drove away from a crash has just wrapped up its second day in Clayton County. Prosecutors say Hannah Payne followed 62-year-old Kenneth Herring before getting to an argument with him and firing the shot that killed him. But on the other side the defense says Payne acted in self-defense.
CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. - Thursday was the second day of testimony in the murder trial of a woman accused of shooting and killing a man who drove away from a crash.
Clayton County prosecutors say Hannah Payne followed 62-year-old Kenneth Herring in 2019 before getting into an argument with him and firing the shot that killed him.
On the other side, the defense says Payne acted in self-defense.
Thursday, jurors got to hear the two 911 calls. that Payne made during the incident.
In one recording, the dispatcher asked, "OK, so you couldn’t get a tag number?" Payne responded, "No, but I’m catching up to him right now." The dispatcher responded, "OK, ma’am we actually do not want you to chase him, we just want you to be safe."
That is a portion of one of the 911 calls that prosecutors say shows Payne crossing the line when she tried to stop Herring after he left the scene of the crash in 2019.
"He is drunk, I’m not, I'm not, but I'm here to tell you I'm not, not going to follow him," Payne said to the dispatcher. "He is going to cause another accident, so I will stay behind him until an officer can get to us, but until then I'm not moving."
Prosecutors say Herring was not drunk, but instead was having a medical issue. According to the call, Payne eventually gets a tag number, but she continues to follow Herring anyway despite the dispatcher repeatedly telling her to stop. Prosecutors say Payne did not just follow Herring, she cut him off, got into an argument and shot him.
"It was really aggressive," said Teauna McCranny, a witness who testified Thursday. "I thought it was just road rage at the time and then a woman got out of the car, and she said get the F out of the truck."
"I kept saying to myself, I hope you don't shoot him, and when I heard the gunshot, he looked at me and I looked, you know, you just see the look on his face," said Shakonda Rosser, another witness.
Kenneth Herring (Supplied)
Payne’s attorney says she was told to get the tag number by the Georgia Correctional Officer who took the stand Wednesday. The defense says Herring attacked her and the shooting was in self-defense. Her attorney Matt Tucker says there is a possibility she will tell the jury that herself.
"She's always wanted to get up there and tell her side of the story, so it wouldn't be surprising if she does, but at this time, we're going to hold our cards until it’s necessary," he said.
Payne is charged with two counts of felony murder, malice murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and three charges of weapons possession during a crime.