Murder or self defense? Jury could decide fate of two Whitley men today

A Whitley County Circuit Court jury could decide as early as today whether two Williamsburg men are guilty of murder in the 2008 death of a local man or whether they acted in self-defense.

Opening statements began Tuesday morning in the trial of George "Anthony" Damron, 38, of 2135 Highway 1481, and Dwayne A. Cox, 24, of 13 Davenport Lane, who are both charged with murder in connection with the March 28, 2008, assault of Charles Frazier, who had his throat slashed. They were initially indicted for first-degree assault, but after Frazier died on June 6, 2008, the charge was upgraded to murder.

The two sides don’t dispute the when, where or how Frazier died, but rather if the killing was murder or self-defense.

The incident began in the late evening hours of March 27, 2008, or early morning hours of March 28, 2008.

By all accounts, the incident started as a dispute over the telephone between Frazier’s son, Joe Frazier, and his estranged wife, Angie Canada.

Court testimony was unclear whether they were divorced at the time or in the process of getting a divorce, but they clearly didn’t get along by any account.

Angie Canada called Joe Frazier and an argument ensued after Damron, who she described as an "acquaintance," apparently made a comment about buying diapers that Frazier took offense too. Canada and Frazier have a child together and the two fought over custody issues among other things.

Canada claims that the next thing she knew, Frazier was driving by her home off Ky. 204 yelling and making threats.
Joe Frazier testified that he went to his father’s home after Angie Canada called his cell phone and that his father drove him around during the early morning hours on March 28, 2008, so he could cool off.

Frazier claims that she called him repeatedly, including calling his father’s residence, and he drove by to "scare her."
Charles Frazier drove his son by his Angie Canada’s Ky. 204 residence three times with at least yelling and cussing exchanges occurring between Joe Frazier and Angie Canada.

Canada and another witness, who was at her residence along with Cox and Damron doing drugs according to at least one account, testified that the vehicle stopped on the third pass with Joe Frazier hanging out the window yelling and threatening to kill everyone there and burn down the place with people "chained" inside.

Angie Canada testified that she told Joe Frazier to go ahead and kill her right there because she was tired of being afraid of him.

Joe Frazier denies making threats to kill people or burn the trailer down.

At some point following the third trip by the home, Cox got into a Jeep Cherokee that Damron was driving and headed towards Williamsburg on Whitetown Road. How long afterwards is unclear.

Candace Canada, who was at the residence, testified that Damron was taking Cox to the store to buy diapers for her child, who Cox fathered. They were dating at the time.

Angie Canada gave a statement to Whitley County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dennis Foley shortly after the incident when she claimed that "Anthony and Dwayne took off – went out chasing them."

She testified that she doesn’t remember giving that statement to Foley, but remembers another statement she gave to a different deputy.

Soon after Cox and Damron left her residence, the vehicles collided with Frazier’s vehicle striking the rear of the Damron’s vehicle. The two vehicles stopped in the road about 10 feet apart.

Joe Frazier claims that Damron passed his father, then cut him off slamming on the brakes forcing the collision.
Cox and Damron claim that Charles Frazier caught up to their vehicle and rammed it.

The occupants of both vehicles got out soon after the crash and a fight ensued.

Joe Frazier picked up an aluminum broom handle that was used to hold open the trunk of his father’s vehicle, and struck Cox breaking the handle nearly in two. Cox got back into the vehicle and Joe Frazier went to help his father, who was busy fighting with Damron.

Cox soon got out of the vehicle and he and Joe Frazier began their fistfight and wrestled to the ground.

Charles Frazier soon yelled that he had been stabbed in the chest, Joe Frazier testified.

Joe Frazier claims that his Damron then passed Cox the knife. He said that Damron told Cox to kill him too, and Cox said he would in a day or two.

Joe Frazier testified that Cox and Damron started kicking him and that he lost consciousness. When he woke up his father had his throat slashed.

Frazier said he got his father into the vehicle, tried to stop the bleeding, and started driving toward town while calling 911 to get an ambulance.

The ambulance eventually met them at Brashear’s Market. An emergency landing zone was set up near the waterpark, and Charles Frazier was flow to the University of Kentucky Medical Center where he later died.

Joe Frazier said that his father regained consciousness briefly the next day after surgery and that the two spoke for the last time.

He said that his father was joking around with him as usual.

"He said, ‘It’s fine son. We’ll get even on another day.’ … that’s the last conversation I ever had with dad," Joe Frazier testified.
During opening statements, Damron’s lawyer, David Hoskins, told jurors that "the physical evidence that was at that scene doesn’t support that Anthony passed the Frazier’s."

Hoskins told jurors that the Frazier’s waited for Cox and Damron to leave to "cause trouble."

Cox’s lawyer, Ron Findell, told jurors that a knife was never handed to his client as Joe Frazier claims.

"There is nothing DNA wise that connects this object to Dwayne Cox," Findell said in his opening statement.

The trial is expected to last two or possibly three days.

After jurors went home for the day Tuesday, Judge Paul Braden denied a request by Findell that the jury be taken to the see the site where the actual assault took place.

Defense attorneys are expected to introduce a video taken of the crime scene area and where Angie Canada lived at the time.

If convicted, Cox and Damron could face up to life in prison.