cartridge, which was
consistent with the same brand of Russian-manufactured ammunition recovered at the scene.
He said that in his opinion, the same weapon fired the shell casing from the crime scene and
the shell casings recovered in Lawrence County.

        TBI Special Agent Russell Davis, an expert in gunshot residue testing, testified that
the blue towel recovered from Mr. Cotham’s SUV contained gunshot residue containing tin
and zirconium, which indicated it might have come from ammunition that was not American
made. He said this was the only time he had found zirconium in thirty years of testing. He
tested the interior of a fired cartridge recovered from the scene and determined that it also
contained zirconium.

        TBI Special Agent Joel Wade, antext
messages between himself and Ms. Pittman, including one on August 29, 2010, at 8:57 p.m.
in which she said that she was happy for him and that it was great when a plan came together.

       Detective Injaychock testified that Mr. Cotham’s Facebook postings included a
statement on August 19, 2010, that he was trying to close some business deals in order to
vacation in September and October in Barbados. On August 29 at 11:15 p.m., he stated in
a posting that he had just closed a big deal involving renovation of condominiums, which
meant “a sweet payday for the big man.”

        After he was arrested, the Defendant gave three recorded interviews. His attorney was
present for the interviews. In the first