Who killed Tena Broadus? Not the man on trial for her brutal murder, 2 witnesses say

Simon City Royal gang member Joshua Peterman of Gulfport is on trial for first-degree murder, but two witnesses have so far testified that Peterman's love interest, Kari Parker, said she killed 29-year-old Tena Broadus.

Former gang member Aaron Bobinger told a Circuit Court jury Wednesday afternoon that he was at Peterman's house on Sept. 18, 2015, without realizing for hours that Broadus lay dead in the garage.

Everyone was either snorting, swallowing or injecting meth supplied by Peterman, Parker testified.

Bobinger had dropped Broadus off at the house earlier, but she and Peterman had gotten into a fight. Peterman dragged her to the garage and bound her in a chair, beating her in the head the whole time with a machete handle, witnesses said.

Bobinger showed back up in the late afternoon, still wondering where Broadus went.

Bobinger said Peterman told him Broadus was tied up in back, but he thought he was joking.

That evening, Bobinger said, Parker told him: "I had to do it, I had to kill Tena." They thought she was a snitch.

'She's dead'

Parker testified Wednesday morning that Peterman killed Broadus. Peterman was in the garage with the body when she came back after using meth inside with Devin Gregory, who lived nearby.

Gregory had testified Tuesday that Parker claimed she had slit Broadus' throat. Gregory said he threw up in the kitchen sink after hearing the news.

Peterman directed the meth-fueled bunch in the disposal of Broadus' skeleton in the Biloxi River after he had burned the body overnight in a trash barrel, Gregory, Parker and Bobinger testified.

Parker said she was high when she first saw the body in the garage, lying in a box with a rope around the neck and bound feet.

"She's dead," Parker testified in a flat voice. "She's not moving. She's dead, I was extremely high, so I kind of just really didn't care at that point."

Parker testified that Gregory had also beaten Broadus in the head and helped Peterman drag her to the garage, while Gregory said Parker did those things.

All three witnesses said 31-year-old Peterman was running the show. Peterman is a documented member of the Simon City Royals, with tattoos creeping up his neck to his hairline and indecipherable letters arched over his right brow.

'Shut up, sir'

He has been impatient with his attorney throughout the trial, trying to insist that more questions be asked of the witnesses, particularly Parker. He was clearly angered when the attorney didn't cooperate.

Judge Roger Clark has twice threatened to eject Peterman from the courtroom and told him the second time that he would not get another warning.

"Shut up, sir," the judge told Peterman.

Bobinger indicated Peterman was remorseful after dumping Broadus' body head-first into a trash barrel and setting it on fire. They dropped by Island View Casino to pick up their driver's boyfriend, then headed to Ocean Springs for more marathon meth use.

"I remember Peterman, he kept saying, 'Even killers have feelings,'" Bobinger said. Tears streamed down Peterman's face, and he said he might never see his son again, Bobinger said.

Gulfport police arrested Peterman, Parker, Bobinger, Gregory and one other suspect, Natasha Sellers, after recovering Broadus' bones from the Biloxi River. Gregory led them to her remains.

Bobinger got away from the group as soon as he had the chance, hiking for miles to a Dollar General, where a friend picked him up.

"I say to myself all the time," he told the jury, "I don't know why I was allowed to live that night."

This story was originally published June 28, 2018 at 5:00 AM.