Ward County prosecutors wrapped up their case with testimony from Minot Police investigators, analysis of tire tread impressions left near the burned out vehicle Kelly’s body was found in, and statements from an individual regarding Kennedy’s alleged involvement in a fentanyl dealing operation in Minot.

Susan Gross, a Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms agent, testified regarding the tire tread analysis collected from the scene, comparing it to the tires of a GMC Yukon XL investigators believe Kennedy drove on the gravel road outside of Minot when he allegedly burned Kelly’s body inside her Chevy Impala. Gross testified three of the four samples showed similar characteristics and noise treatments based on the comparison between the molds and the samples.

Detective Jeff Schwab with the St. Paul Police Department testified regarding the discovery of a burned Chrysler 300 found under the Seventh Street Bridge in St. Paul. Minot Police Sgt. Robbie Sumlin provided multiple maps to the jury, charting Kennedy’s alleged path from Minot to the Twin Cities based on cell tower pings from his cell phone.

The Chrysler 300 belonged to Ashley Gibson, an associate of Kennedy’s, who is currently serving six and a half years in federal prison after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Gibson was brought to Minot to testify because she had been leasing the mobile home, which was set ablaze in the 24 hours after Kelly was killed.

Charles Crane/MDN Minot Police Sgt. Robbie Sumlin was the final witness for the prosecution to testify at the murder trial of Kamauri Kennedy on Monday.

Gibson testified she and Kennedy were close enough for them to call each other “brother” and “sister,” and she met him through a Michigan man, Eric Williams, with whom she was in a relationship at the time. Williams also is in federal prison for narcotics distribution.

Gibson contradicted several prior statements she had made to law enforcement and Deputy State’s Attorney Tiffany Sorgen regarding Kennedy’s alleged involvement in a narcotics distribution operation in Minot, allegedly led by Williams, during her testimony, claiming she had lied during those interviews.

“I told you all of that, and I told you other things too,” Gibson said. “I told you what you wanted to hear.”

When pressed by Sorgen regarding prior statements she had made, allegedly admitting to picking up members of the drug ring from the Minot airport, Gibson invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to answer the question. Kennedy’s attorney, William Harvey Skees, objected to Sorgen’s demand that Gibson answer, saying that despite being convicted federally, Gibson could still be charged at the state level for crimes admitted to during her testimony. District Court Judge Gary Lee sustained Skees’s motion, and Gibson would go on to plead the Fifth several other times during her testimony.

Gibson testified she often traveled between Minot and her home in Kentucky, and was in Kentucky when she was notified that her vehicle and the mobile home she was renting had both been destroyed by arson. Gibson said the vehicle never left North Dakota and contradicted prior statements saying she didn’t know that Kennedy was in North Dakota, she kept the keys for the vehicle with her and wasn’t aware of another set existing.

Sumlin testified regarding a number of search warrants executed at Kelly’s residence and evidence that communications investigators recovered from her smart watch. Text messages from the device had previously been deemed inadmissible, as they were accessed directly off the device after an investigator guessed the password rather than obtained from a full record of her communications from her service provider.

Sumlin also shared evidence recovered from the burned mobile home residence, which was one of three rentals leased to Gibson in Minot. A variety of evidence was found in the mobile home, including a .22 long rifle ammunition, a variety of receipts, gloves, a cotton N-95 style facemask and cigarette butts. Sumlin said Gibson’s statements were inconsistent and didn’t make sense. Sumlin said Williams and Kennedy were both from the Detroit area and the mobile home Gibson rented was operating as a “trap house” for narcotics distribution.

Sumlin also testified regarding data collected from Kennedy’s cell phone, which included communications between Kennedy and Kelly that occurred the night of June 2-3, 2021, before Kelly’s burning car was discovered. Sumlin said Kelly was identified through a DNA comparison between the body and her mother.

Sumlin testified that data collected from the Yukon XL owned by Marissa Mason, of Mandaree, showed Kennedy’s cell phone had connected to the vehicle’s Bluetooth the night of Kelly’s murder. Mason testified on Friday that Kennedy would borrow her vehicle on occasion and had told her to burn the vehicle, but she had just stashed it out of sight instead.

Sumlin further testified to connections between Kennedy and both vehicles, including video surveillance footage at Walmart and a local oil change establishment, as well as a traffic stop, during which Kennedy was pulled over while driving the Chrysler 300 and provided a false identity to law enforcement. Sumlin said video footage provided by BNSF railroad showed Kelly’s Impala being followed by the Yukon toward the area where it was discovered on fire at around 12:35 a.m. on June 3, 2021.

Sumlin said he strongly suspected Kennedy had help from another individual or individuals in moving vehicles and starting the multiple fires after Kelly was killed, saying there was “too much going on for one person to do it all themselves.”

This assertion was raised on redirect by Skees, who called Sumlin’s attention to DNA evidence collected from gloves recovered from the mobile home linked to Jason Arnold, another associate of Williams and Kennedy. Skees also pressed Sumlin about why Kelly’s ex-boyfriend wasn’t considered as a suspect despite their relationship being “volatile.”

“If I had the name of the other person who was involved, I can guarantee they would be charged,” Sumlin said.

The state rested after Sumlin completed his testimony. Lee excused the jury but said he expected the defense’s case to be finish today.