Trial begins in fatal stabbing of woman buried under footbridge near Johansen High

A prosecutor on Monday told a jury that Anthony Coxum made some incriminating statements to a friend before authorities discovered the body of Coxum’s girlfriend buried in a shallow grave in Modesto.

“That girl is in the ground. That b---- is dead,” Coxum told his friend, according to Deputy District Attorney Beth O’Hara De Jong. “I buried that b----. You should do the same with your girl.”

Coxum, 40, is charged with murder in the death of 28-year-old Eldoris Graham, along with an enhancement of using a knife in the killing.

Deputy Public Defender Donnell Snipes, Coxum’s attorney, told the jurors that the murder case is about reasonable doubt, because there’s no direct evidence linking his client to the slaying. The attorney said investigators didn’t find any hair, blood or other traces of Coxum’s DNA on Graham’s body or at the burial site.

Snipes said Modesto police investigators still don’t know where Graham was stabbed to death. He told the jury that investigators searched homes involved in the case but found no evidence of a crime scene. He also said police never found the weapon used to kill her.

Coxum’s trial began Monday morning with opening statements from the attorneys. The defendant was the last person to have seen Graham on Dec. 13, 2012, and the prosecution says he told different stories about what they did together before she went missing.

About a month later, Graham’s body was unearthed from the shallow grave under a pedestrian bridge at Creekwood Drive and Claus Road, near Johansen High School in east Modesto.

The prosecutor told the jurors that Graham died from blood loss. De Jong said Graham suffered stab wounds in her jugular vein, a lung and face. Investigators found duct tape wrapped around Graham’s head, neck and hands.

On Dec. 15, 2012, Graham was reported missing. That day, Coxum called Graham’s friend, who was with police. De Jong said Coxum gave the friend inconsistent statements about his girlfriend.

A few days later, a police community service officer called Coxum to question him about his girlfriend’s disappearance. He told the officer he wasn’t available but would go to the Police Department the next day. The prosecutor said Coxum didn’t show up for questioning, but Coxum arrived at a friend’s North Carolina home driving the victim’s car a few days afterward.

Coxum’s longtime friend Frederick Elliott and his wife were uneasy about Coxum’s visit. Along with the incriminating statements, Elliott and his wife were concerned after hearing Coxum lie to his father during a phone call about being in Nevada, according to De Jong. Coxum’s father was calling to tell his son that police were asking about Graham’s disappearance.

The prosecutor told the jury that Coxum also called his mother from North Carolina, telling her to tell anyone who asked that he was in Nevada. De Jong said Elliott later called 911 to report Coxum’s suspicious behavior, which led to the defendant’s arrest.

The defense attorney told the jury that Elliott has been convicted of a violent felony, and he lied to a detective about calling a man in Michigan. Snipes said Elliott and his wife have no credibility. He said Elliott’s wife hated Coxum because she believed the defendant was trying to end her marriage.

Snipes said the prosecution’s circumstantial evidence is not enough to convict his client. Coxum remains in custody pending the completion of his trial.

Testimony is expected to begin Wednesday in Stanislaus Superior Court.

This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 2:26 PM with the headline "Trial begins in fatal stabbing of woman buried under footbridge near Johansen High."