Cop Killer’s Murder Trial Begins in Tuscaloosa After Long Jury Selection

The capital murder trial of Luther Bernard Watkins, Jr. is fully underway Monday morning after all of last week was spent empaneling a jury.

As the Thread has extensively reported, Watkins shot and killed Tuscaloosa Police Investigator Dornell Cosuette in September 2019 and is finally going to trial more than six years after his arrest.

Circuit Judge Brad Almond, who retired late last year, is overseeing the trial with the state's permission to see it to a conclusion and prevent further delays.

Proceedings began last week, but because of the high-profile nature of the case, jury selection took five full days - the longest such process in recent memory.

On Monday morning, with a jury finally assembled, attorneys on both sides of the case made their opening statements and questioned the first witnesses.

The jury is composed of 12 jurors and three alternates, including one black man, two black women, six white men, and six white women.

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District Attorney Hayes Webb gave the opening statement for the prosecution. He said that Cousette was on duty and in uniform when he attempted to apprehend then 20-year-old Luther Bernard Watkins, who was wanted on four felony warrants at the time.

Webb said Cousette, working with a local bailbondsman, had tracked Watkins to a home on 33rd Avenue in West Tuscaloosa and was acting in the course of his duty when he tried to make the arrest.

Re-enacting a scene that unfolded in mere seconds, Webb said Cousette shouted, 'Don't you run!' and that Watkins saw him, heard the command, and disobeyed, running inside the residence with Cousette close behind.

Webb told jurors that Watkins's back was to Cousette, but the State believes the 20-year-old fugitive had crouched and was turning to aim a handgun at the officer when Cousette fired a shot to "neutralize the threat," hitting Watkins in the center of his back.

Watkins fell to the floor, and both sides agree that the two men then fired at each other almost simultaneously. Watkins was hit in his shoulder, and Cousette was struck in his upper lip, with the bullet traveling to his brain.

Webb said Watkins got up, stepped over Cousette as the critically wounded and incapacitated officer began choking on his own blood, and fled the scene before getting friends to take him to DCH's Northport Medical Center.

Cousette was rushed to DCH Regional Medical Center, where he died less than three hours later.

Watkins got treatment at DCH Northport, then UAB in Birmingham, before he was charged with capital murder of a law enforcement officer and jailed without bond in Tuscaloosa.

The DA said he is confident the jurors will find Luther Watkins guilty of the capital murder of a law enforcement officer, who was a 13-year veteran of the police department and a father of two young daughters when he was killed.

The team defending Watkins includes Christopher Daniel, Justin Forrester, and Scott Brower.

Brower gave their opening statement and told the jurors that Watkins was acting in self-defense when he shot Investigator Cousette.

He said on the night of the killing in September 2019, bail bondsman Ed Giles called Investigator Cousette after spotting Luther Watkins, and the two arranged to meet up and make a plan for arrest.

Cousette called a TPD dispatcher, who told him there were no units available to back him up and a long list of calls waiting for police officers. Cousette then called Sergeant Bobby Windham, a longtime friend and one of that night's shift supervisors. Windham also told Cousette that no backup was available and advised him not to attempt the arrest without help.

Brower said Cousette told Giles, who was armed with only a Taser, "Fuck it, let's go." and decided to pursue Watkins without help from other officers. The defense attorney said Cousette then arrived on the scene, got out of the car with his gun drawn, and ran after Watkins when he fled into the house.

The defense maintains that Watkins did not yet have a gun in his hand when Cousette shot him in the back, and it was only after the 20-year-old fell to the ground that he drew his own weapon from his waistband and aimed at Cousette.

Brower said when Watkins did so, Cousette was standing over shoot him a second time, and Watkins was in fear for his life when he fired off the only bullet he shot that evening, hitting Cousette in the head.

He said the only conclusion the jury can reach is that while Cousette's death was tragic, it was a non-criminal act of self-defense for Watkins to shoot him, and they should find him not guilty.

After opening statements, the state called their first three witnesses to the stand - a retired TPD secretary, the 911 dispatcher Cousette called first, and now-Lieutenant Bobby Windham.

They were each questioned and cross-examined by the defense before the trial went into recess for lunch on Monday, and the court will resume at 12:45 p.m.

We'll break out the day's witness testimonies in a follow-up piece after the trial adjourns Monday afternoon.

For more exclusive coverage of crime and courts in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.

Editor's note: Because Luther Watkins and his attorneys do not deny that he killed Cousette in 2019, but instead argue that it was in self-defense, this reporting will forego using usual crime coverage terms like "allegedly" and "reportedly."