UPDATE: The judge announced in court today that he will render a verdict on July 23 when he has finished reading court transcripts.
MONROE, La. — A Louisiana judge is expected to issue a verdict Thursday in the murder trial of Panola County native Quinton Tellis, who is charged in the 2015 stabbing death of Ming Chen “Mandy” Hsiao.
Judge Larry Jefferson is scheduled to rule at 9 a.m. in Ouachita Parish court, nearly a month after prosecutors and defense attorneys presented sharply contrasting closing arguments in the bench trial.
Prosecutors argued that phone records, financial evidence and Tellis’ own statements establish that he was with Hsiao on July 29, 2015, shortly before all activity from her phone, bank accounts and social media ceased. Assistant District Attorney Holly Jones told the court there is no reasonable explanation for the evidence other than that Tellis killed Hsiao after obtaining access to her debit card and PIN number.
Jones acknowledged that no DNA linked Tellis to the crime scene but argued that the condition of Hsiao’s body and the 10-day delay before it was discovered limited the available forensic evidence.
Defense attorney Bob Noel countered that the state’s case relies on assumptions and circumstantial evidence. He emphasized the lack of physical evidence tying Tellis to Hsiao’s apartment and attacked the credibility of jailhouse witness Eric Hill, arguing that without Hill’s testimony, the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Tellis is accused of killing Hsiao, whose body was discovered in her Monroe apartment on Aug. 8, 2015. Prosecutors contend the killing was motivated by robbery, while the defense has maintained the state has not excluded other possible explanations. He is also the main suspect in the 2014 fatal burning death of Jessica Chambers in Courtland, Mississippi.
Jefferson’s ruling is expected Thursday morning.
