Alvin W. Gross was home sleeping the night police say he kidnapped, raped and fatally shot an Annapolis woman, his family testified yesterday in Anne Arundel Circuit Court.
"He never left the house," said Termayme Gross, the defendant's zTC 17-year-old brother. "Alvin was asleep before me. My bed is so close to the door and his bed is so squeaky that whenever he gets up I can hear it. The next morning, Dad woke us up and Alvin was right next to me in his bed."
The defense witnesses countered the prosecution's claim that on the night of Dec. 19, 1993, Mr. Gross, 21, picked up Margaret Courson at the Annapolis City Dock around 3:30 a.m., drove her to a deserted area in Tracy's Landing, raped her and shot her.
Last week, Mr. Gross' best friend testified that Mr. Gross told him that he and another man shot Ms. Courson, 26, after she was raped.
According to the prosecution, Mr. Gross left Ms. Courson's body along the side of Leech Road, where a passer-by found her at 6:45 a.m. She was naked from the waist up, and had been shot four times.
Since the trial started Nov. 29, Mr. Gross' family and friends have rallied around him and filled the benches in Judge Bruce C. Williams' courtroom. His mother, Shirleen Gross, and father, Beville Gross, bolstered his alibi.
Mrs. Gross said she remembered the weekend of Dec. 18 and 19 last year because her birthday is Dec. 18. She said walked into her sons' bedroom shortly after 1 a.m. Dec. 19 and found both of them watching television.
The next morning, she said, his Amigo truck, in which police said they found strands of Ms. Courson's hair, was parked in its usual spot next to the garage.
"We never sleep with our bedroom door closed and I always hear that car start up because it is rather loud," she testified. "We ate breakfast the next morning and everything was as always, normal. I spoke with him."
Under cross examination by Cynthia Ferris, assistant state's attorney, Termayme Gross admitted that although he had an alibi that could clear his brother, he did not tell the police.
"My parents told me just to keep my mouth shut," he testified.
Mrs. Gross testified that Annapolis attorney Gill Cochran advised the family not to speak to anyone about the case.
The case is expected to go to the jury today.