Man on trial for murdering store clerk, mother of 2

Last year’s cold-blooded murder of a mother and store clerk in The Colony shook the community. jurors are deciding the fate of the suspect.

Deon Kingston was 19 at the time of the killing. He’s now 20 and on trial for the brutal robbery and shooting death of Samira Siwakoti. Prosecutors Kingston shot her even after she complied with all his demands.

Detectives and crime scene experts testified about physical evidence from the scene and comparisons to DNA collected from the defendant. Some of it was inconclusive. At times, the defense attorney aggressively questioned a detective about evidence suggested was never processed.

Jurors watched surveillance video of the robbery on June 10, 2015, including a view of the suspect running away from the store.

Prosecutors brought in a retired FBI special agent who works at will on high-profile cases. He testified about being able to greatly enhance the surveillance video that captured the murder.

The video and fingerprints helped police track down Kingston. He was arrested 10 days later and charged with capital murder. That charge was later downgraded to murder, so his maximum sentence if convicted is now life in prison.

Siwakoti was the mother of two small children. Her daughters were 18 months and 3 years old when she died. Her husband was in the courtroom Thursday at times, but could not stay in the room when the surveillance video was played.

The victim's husband was among the observers in court on Friday. He sat and listened intently to the testimony.

Siwakoti's husband is expected testify on Monday.