By Nina Harrelson nharrelson@nebraska.tv
Facebook / Twitter @NTVsNinaH
A 24-year-old Kansas man charged with first-degree murder made his first court appearance in Decatur County Friday.
Dylan Coryell is accused of killing 22-year-old Corey Cook last October in Oberlin, Kansas.
The family of Cook sat quietly in the courtroom Friday listening to witnesses piece together the details of what happened on the night of Oct. 15, 2011.
The prosecution alleges that Coryell showed up at Cook's home in the middle of the night, and murdered him in cold blood while he slept, but the defense says this was all just a tragic accident, and that Coryell just wanted to fight Cook -- not kill him.
Cook's best friend and roommate, 20-year-old Ryan McEvoy, was the first to testify, telling the courtroom he and Cook threw a party at their house that night. After everyone was asleep, the prosecution says Coryell broke into the house with some friends, found Cook asleep next to his girlfriend, and shot him in the face.
Cook's brother, Dakota, was also in the house, and struggled to describe what happened that night. He says he was asleep in the living room when he was awakened by a gunshot, went into his brother's room, and saw him lying in bed with blood on his face.
Cook's girlfriend, Sarah Campbell, described a "complicated relationship" with Coryell, saying she had been dating Cook for about a month, but also had a sexual relationship with Coryell.
On the night Cook was shot, Campbell says she woke up to him "making a gurgling sound," and that at first she just thought he had a bloody nose. It wasn't until her attempts to wake him failed that she realized what had happened.
She told the courtroom she found Coryell and several of his friends outside, and that he told her it was all his fault and that he needed to go kill himself.
The prosecution says the last homicide in Decatur County occurred over 15 years ago, and that this case has been extremely hard on the close-knit community.
"Both the defendant and the victim are members of this community, so it has been difficult for the community to deal with this crime," Kansas Attorney General Nicole Romine said, "But at this point, I think everyone's just looking forward to presenting the case to the community at large and through the justice system."
According to another witness, Coryell confessed to shooting Cook and even worried about going to jail.
Coryell is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, aggravated battery and aggravated burglary. His next court appearance is in March.
