ROBERT BROOKS’ KILLERS’ TRIAL LIVE BLOG
DAY 7
Robert Brooks jr. listening to attorneys for the three prison guards accused of murdering his father at the Marcy Correctional Facility on Dec. 9., 2024 make closing arguments in their trial in Oneida County Court on Oct. 15, 2025. Rev. Kevin McCall sits next to him. Photo credit: JB Nicholas.
UTICA, NEW YORK Oct. 15, 2025
10:01 AM
Day 7 of the murder trial of three of the state prison guards accused of murdering Robert Brooks is set to begin with closing arguments. By court rules, the defendants lawyers will argue first followed by the Special Prosecutor, William J. Fitzpatrick, who has the burden of proof
10:34AM
Nebush is doing what a good defense will do with a hopeless cause. He's blaming every thing and every one else for Brooks' killing—including Brooks himself.
Brooks, he argued, "didn't comply." Christopher Walrath, the guard who assaulted Brooks first, put Brooks "in to what could be described as a UFC-style chokehold." Brooks wasn't subjected to multiple assaults by guards with depraved indifference to his life, "each even was its own, separated by time, motive and purpose."
Kingsley, his client, "followed standard procedure." Nebush even went so far as to defend the conduct of guard Anthony Farina, who pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter with a 22-year sentence for stuffing a rag down Brooks' throat.
But Nebush told the jury Farina only wiped blood and pepper spray off of Brooks' face. The "officers followed standard procedure." What they did to Brooks was "standard, lawful and necessary." Kingsley didn't choke Brooks contributing to his death, he was only "trying to so his job in an impossible place."
10:47AM
Kevin Luibrand, attorney for Mathew Galliher, is up next. He's thanking the jury for their time and sacrifice, in an attempt to ingratiate him and his client to them.
10:47AM
Kevin Luibrand, attorney for Mathew Galliher, is up next. He's thanking the jury for their time and sacrifice, in an attempt to ingratiate him and his client to them.
Luibrand is arguing that the prosecution failed to prove the level of depravity required for a murder conviction. He's arguing Galliher was simply doing his job. "They're owned by DOCCS," Luibrand says, referring to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Service."
He's also arguing DOCCS' training was insufficient. “They sent him into hell and didn’t train him what to do.”
The attacks on Brooks were only "circumstances he came upon," Luibrand said. These were "circumstances he did not create."
11:17AM
Luibrand is arguing that all Galliher did was pull Brooks "onto the gurney and putting the shackles on." He's arguing the difference between the murder and manslaughter charges: one requires the prosecution prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he acted with deliberate indifference to human life, the other requires proof of intent to cause serious physical injury that results in death.
"He had no intent to harm Robert Brooks," He was just doing his job."
Anzalone, Kessler, Farina and Walrath were the "bad actors" that "knew what Mr. Brooks went through," Galliher did not.
The video capturing them killing Brooks was a "highlight reel" comparable to a movie trailer designed to "sell" the movie.
comparable to a movie trailer designed to "sell" the movie.
11:39 AM
Luibrand is on a roll. He's blaming everyone else for Brooks' killing.
"Farina was one several people who acted like an animal that night," Luibrand tells the jury. "Walrath by all accounts is also an animal." Sgt. Michael Mashaw was "a disinterest clown." How, Luibrand asks rhetorically, "does DOCCS put him in charge of anything."
In contrast, Galliher, his client, was "not one of the boys." Further, "He's invisible to them."
12:09PM
No Luibrand is blaming the nurses who stood outside the room while Brooks was beaten--without telling the jury that guards ordered the nurses to stay out of the room.
"They don't do anything," Luibrand says.
12:14PM
"They dumped Mathew Galliher with the animals," Luibrand says, referring to the other officers. "The death of Robert BRooks is on the hands of those officers."
"He tried to do, what he believed, under the circumstances was the right thing to do," Luibrand concludes.
1:37PM
Nicholas Kieffer's lawyer David Longeretta is now making his closing statement to the jury after the lunch break.
Longeretta is the first defense lawyer to explicitly state Brooks' killing was a horrible crime deserving of punishment.
"Now the death of robert brooks was tragic, it was brutal, it was ugly and it was unforgivable. We are all deeply troubled by that. But ladies and gentlemen you are called upon today to determine if Nicholas Kieffer can be held responsible for that tragic death."
1:44PM
Now Longeretta is asking the jury "do not lose sight of the fact that Mr. Brooks was in prison for stabbing his girlfriend repeatedly while in a drug induced frenzy."
He quoted closely if not word-for-word what Special Prosecutor William F. Fitzpatrick told the jury in his opening statement—even though Fitzpatrick was not required to because it was legally irrelevant given that the defendants did not know that at the time they killed Brooks.
1:49PM
Longeretta begins walking the jury through the alleged events. These are events solely based on guards' testimony because Brooks is dead and not here to tell his side of the story.
Longeretta is stressing the allegations that Brooks did not comply with orders to get out of the van he was transported from Mid-State to Marcy in, orders to carry the two bags containing his property, orders to place his hands "deep" inside his pants' pockets and orders to walk faster.
Now he ties it all together. He says his client only used pepperspray on Brooks "To gain compliance with Mr. Brooks. He's been uncooperative since he arrived at Marcy."
2:05PM
Kieffer is accused of pepperspraying Brooks on a walkway inside the prison after the first but before the second and third beatings Marcy guards gave him—and thereby assisting the others guards in killing Brooks.
But Longeretta is asking the jury not to consider what the other defendants did to Brooks after Kieffer peppersprayed him.
"Nick Kieffer was not part of that. He wasn't there.”
Its up to the jury to decide whether they believe Kieffer was acting-in-concert with the other guards.
2:20PM
Fitzpatrick is on fire. He openly mocks all the summations given by the defendants' lawyers.
“After two and a half hours of listening to how this was a tragedy, lets get back to reality… forgive my purpose for indicting them for what they did.. Shackling the guy who is getting his testicles pushed ito his larynx and he has the temerity to stand before you for 90 minutes and say he did nothing wrong, he's such a good guy, lay down a reward for him.”
2:27PM
Fitzpatrick: “They were not correction officers. They were a gang and they were a gang of murderers.”
2:33PM
Fitzpatrick is playing the body-camera video. He’s letting it play without sound. Once he spoke to once again mock the defenses’ arguments: “I had no idea anything was wrong with Mr. Brooks. Just a ‘typical in-draft at Marcy.’”
2:35PM
Fitzpatrick is hitting it out of the park. Plain spoken with righteous indigantion. Its crushing the defense. Here’s a taste of his commentary on the video capturing Galiher’s actions:
“Just wiping Mr. Brooks’s face. Just trying to remove the pepperspary.”
“What could he possibly have done? Maybe join the human race and tell these animals to stop. Nope. I’ll hold him down and help Farina. If that doesn’t look like ‘aid’ I don’t know what does.”
2:55PM
Fitzpatrick concludes by telling the jury to look at their watches when they begin deliberating and to mark 31 minutes—which is how long it took for the guards at Marcy to kill Brooks.
"Justice demands that they be held accountable for the brutality of their actions and their inactions," Fitzpatrick concluded. "Right now today in a Utica court room I am looking at justice that is about to pass into your hands. Justice most certainly for these three men and justice for Robert Brooks… let justice ring from this courtroom, let justice ring in the canyons of manhattan and let justice ring from the snow capped peaks of the Adirondacks.”
3:57PM
Judge Robert Bauer has charged with the jury with the law. The jury has retired to begin deliberating.
For tips or corrections, The Free Lance can be reached at jasonbnicholas@gmail.com or, if you prefer, thefreelancenews@proton.me.