Prosecution Rests Its Case in Rittenhouse Trial

The first man killed by Kyle Rittenhouse on the streets of Kenosha was shot at a range of just a few feet and had soot injuries that could indicate he had his hand over the barrel of Rittenhouse’s rifle, a pathologist testified Tuesday. But it was unclear from video footage whether Joseph Rosenbaum was grabbing for Rittenhouse's gun or trying to swat it away, said the witness, Dr. Doug Kelley, a forensic pathologist with the Milwaukee County medical examiner’s office. Kelley said Rosenbaum was shot four times by someone who was within 4 feet of him. He testified that Rosenbaum was first wounded in the groin and then in the hand and thigh as he faced Rittenhouse, and then was shot in the head and in the back.

Those final two shots were at a downward angle, the pathologist said. Prosecutors have said this indicates Rosenbaum was falling forward, while defense attorney Mark Richards said Rosenbaum was lunging. Kelley said both were possible. He also said Rosenbaum's hand was "in close proximity or in contact with the end of that rifle.” Kelley was one of the last witnesses for the state before prosecutors rested their murder case after 5 1/2 days of testimony that were aimed at portraying Rittenhouse as the aggressor but often bolstered the young man's claim of self-defense, the AP reports. His lawyers have suggested he was afraid his gun was going to be taken away and used against him.

The defense then began presenting its side, calling as its first witness Nicholas Smith, of Kenosha, who said he went to the protests that night at the request of the owners of a car dealership to protect the building. Smith testified that he saw Rittenhouse shortly after the shootings and described him as "sweating" and “pale." "He repeats, 'I just shot someone’ over and over, and I believe at some point he said he had to shoot someone," Smith said. On cross-examination, prosecutor Thomas Binger asked: "Was there ever a time on the night of Aug. 25. … where you felt it was necessary to use a gun?" Smith replied no. Rittenhouse, now, 18, killed two men and wounded a third during a night of turbulent demonstrations against racial injustice in Kenosha in the summer of 2020. (The injured man testified Monday that he was wearing a hat that said "paramedic.")