GRAND RAPIDS, MI – After a heated morning argument with her husband, a woman was gunned down and suffered over a dozen gunshot wounds during the attack, a medical examiner testified.
The Kent County prosecution rested its case on Wednesday, May 21, in the murder trial against Marcus Durayalle Lofton.
He’s charged with open murder for an alleged deadly attack on his wife, Alicia Danielle Lofton. Marcus Lofton is expected to testify on his own behalf Wednesday afternoon.
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The trial is centered around a shooting on Aug. 17, 2023, at the couple’s home on Union Avenue SE. Officers found Alicia Lofton dead on the ground next to their house.
Evidence and testimony revealed the couple had a toxic relationship and argued often. One day before the shooting, Alicia Lofton served her husband with divorce papers.
The trial of Marcus Lofton, 43, reaches day three at Kent County Circuit Court in Grand Rapids, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. Lofton is charged with open murder and felony firearm in the death of his wife Alicia Lofton nearly two years ago.Isaac Ritchey | iritchey@mlive.com
The couple got into an argument that morning. At one point, Marcus Lofton grabbed his wife’s pistol from a drawer. When he tried to strike her with it, the gun went off.
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Alicia Lofton then locked herself into a bedroom. Marcus Lofton kicked the door open while his wife was trying to escape out a window. He allegedly opened fire, fatally striking her.
The trial of Marcus Lofton, 43, reaches day three at Kent County Circuit Court in Grand Rapids, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. Lofton is charged with open murder and felony firearm in the death of his wife Alicia Lofton nearly two years ago.Isaac Ritchey | iritchey@mlive.com
Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Angela Curtis relied on testimony from Grand Rapids police officers and detectives to support the criminal charges against Lofton.
A dozen investigators took the stand over three days and detailed the scene where Alicia Lofton was found dead lying in the grass.
RELATED: After wife served husband divorce papers, he allegedly shot her 15 times in deadly attack
The prosecutor’s final witness to testify on Wednesday was Dr. David Start, Kent County’s deputy chief medical examiner. Start performed an autopsy on Alicia Lofton the day she was killed.
She had 15 gunshot wounds, including seven to the head, Start testified. Emotions in the courtroom gallery were high as jurors saw autopsy photos of the woman’s bullet-riddled body. Many walked out of the courtroom, some in tears.
On top of open murder, Lofton also faces a felony firearm charge.
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