Prosecutor: Bay man ‘stabbed him again and again and again’

Describing how she watched her stepfather stab her uncle to death at a child’s birthday party last year, a 14-year-old nearly broke down on the witness stand Tuesday as defense attorney Donald Rafferty questioned her.

Aside from the occasional sniffle, the teenager fought back her tears and kept her composure as the state’s first witness in the murder trial of Clinten Michael Dryer, 33, of Bay St. Louis.

Dryer, the teen's stepfather, is accused of fatally stabbing the girl’s uncle, Kenneth Fanning, in the front yard of a Hancock County residence on U.S. 90 on April 12, 2015. The teen and other witnesses were gathered at the home to celebrate the birthday of Dryer’s 7-year-old daughter.

“He gave his 7-year-old daughter a birthday party she will never forget,” Assistant District Attorney Ian Baker said in his opening statement. “Her father killed her uncle in her front yard.”

‘Call an ambulance. I’ve been stabbed’

Both Dryer and Fanning, who was 29 at the time, had been drinking that day and got into an argument that eventually turned physical.

The motive for the killing was “pride,” Baker told the jury, explaining that Dryer was embarrassed because he had lost the fist fight.

“He stabbed him again and again and again,” Baker said. “It was a painful way to die.”

The two exchanged punches, but Fanning managed to subdue him with a chokehold. After the fight, Dryer retrieved a hunting knife from inside the house, then came back outside and stabbed Fanning multiple times, according to the teen’s testimony.

“(Fanning) fell to the ground and said, ‘Call an ambulance. I’ve been stabbed,’ ” the teen said.

Family members refused to give Fanning’s girlfriend the address of the residence while she was on the phone with a 911 operator, Baker said in his opening statement.

At the time of the stabbing, a Hancock County sheriff’s deputy had pulled over a driver on U.S. 90 about 100 yards from the residence and heard the faint screams of a woman crying for help.

Officer Mark Barraclough, who had assisted the deputy during that traffic stop, also testified Tuesday.

Both officers heard a female voice calling out from a distance, “Help me. Please, somebody help me,” Barraclough said.

Attorney claims self-defense

Rafferty, Dryer’s attorney, argued that the stabbing was committed in self-defense under the state’s castle doctrine law.

“The killing of Kenneth Fanning was justified,” Rafferty said in his opening statement.

Under cross-examination, the teenager said it was Fanning who started the fight and admitted she did not see a knife in Dryer’s hand when he came outside the home.

“I didn’t see him come out with it, but I saw him stab him with it,” she said.

The trial will continue at the Bay St. Louis Courthouse on Wednesday. Circuit Judge Chris Schmidt is presiding.

This story was originally published June 21, 2016 at 7:40 PM with the headline "Prosecutor: Bay man ‘stabbed him again and again and again’."