Filed Thu, Feb 4, 2010 by Jamie Nash, Montgomery County Police Reporter

CONROE – Closing arguments are expected Thursday morning in the 9th District Court of Judge Fred Edwards in the trial of a Magnolia man charged with causing the deaths of five people and the serious injury of another. The court heard from the defendant himself on Wednesday, as the defense took the unusual strategy of placing the accused on the stand.

Brandon Lee Ferguson, 23, of Magnolia, is charged with five counts of manslaughter and one count of aggravated assault in connection with the Jan. 10, 2009 automobile crash that killed family members Donald Lee Sexton, 60, of College Station; Curtis Charles Edwards, 70, of Pinehurst; 83-year-olds Lloyd and Catherine Edwards, of Salina, Oklahoma; in addition to Ferguson’s girlfriend and only passenger, 18-year-old Kayla Ann Pratorius of Magnolia. Karla Sexton, 59, of College Station was ejected from the van and seriously injured, but she survived.

Read the entire article HERE.