By admin TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Jurors heard closing arguments Thursday, July 23, in the trial of Jack Upchurch, who is charged with the Christmas Eve 2024 murder of Paul Clifford.
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Investigators said Upchurch kidnapped and killed Clifford after Clifford agreed to help him with supposed car trouble. Clifford’s body was found shot and burned next to a smoldering vehicle in the Redington Pass area on Dec. 24.
Upchurch and two other suspects, Elmer Smith and Wendy Scott, were arrested days later. Smith and Scott took plea deals on lesser charges in exchange for testifying against Upchurch.
What the state argued
State Attorney John Strader told jurors that Upchurch went to Clifford’s home the night of Dec. 23 with a plan to kill him, using a request for a jumpstart on a stolen car to lure Clifford outside. Strader claimed Upchurch knew the jumpstart would not start the vehicle.
Strader said physical and testimonial evidence shows Upchurch acted alone and with intent — pulling out a gun, pointing it at Clifford and saying, “don’t even think about it,” before shooting him. Investigators and forensic experts testified that Upchurch’s DNA was found on the trigger of the gun and that his shoe prints were found on the path leading to Clifford’s home.
Co-defendants Elmer Smith and Wendy Scott, who took plea deals in exchange for testifying, said it was Upchurch who set the car on fire with Clifford’s body inside. They also said Upchurch instructed them to wipe down door handles, dispose of their clothing, and hide the gun used in the shooting. Clifford’s body was found near a burning vehicle in the Redington Pass area.
Strader walked jurors through all 11 counts Upchurch faces, including kidnapping, armed robbery, and first-degree murder.
“There’s not been one shred of evidence, outside of mud-throwing by the defense, that anyone else went up to Paul Clifford’s house that night. Not one shred. No one else went there to try to trick him to come outside. There wasn’t anyone else who shot and killed him,” Strader said.
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What the defense argued
Defense attorney Michael Harwin argued that Smith and Scott lied during their testimony. Harwin played audio recordings from Smith and Scott’s initial post-arrest interviews, which he said showed a difference in their demeanor compared to their testimony on the stand. He also played jail calls in which Smith is heard saying, “We just need to stick to the same story,” which Harwin said shows the two coordinated their accounts before testifying.
Harwin also challenged the reliability of the state’s investigation, saying certain witnesses lacked the expertise or thoroughness required for the case.
“They’re gonna get up and say, well even if you don’t believe Elmer and Wendy, we got some physical evidence. But I just explained to you the problem with their physical evidence. As slick as they’d like to make it seem, it just isn’t so. It’s a sloppy investigation,” Harwin said.
What happens next
In rebuttal, Strader reminded jurors that Smith and Scott’s plea deals are contingent on telling the truth on the witness stand. He closed by telling the jury, “This defendant, and this defendant only, is the killer.”
The jury will return Friday morning to continue deliberations.
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