LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — A Limestone County judge has partially denied a motion by the prosecution in the case against Mason Sisk to ban any mention of “drugs” in the trial set to begin Monday.
Sisk is charged with capital murder in connection with the fatal shooting of five of his family members in Elkmont in September 2019. He was 14 at the time of the killings. His first trial ended in a mistrial after prosecutors informed the court that a crime lab had cracked open the password to Sisk’s mother’s cell phone during the trial, prompting Limestone County Circuit Judge Chad Wise to declare a mistrial.
The prosecution in the case recently filed a motion asking the court “to prevent Mason Sisk (“the Defendant”) from discussing the issue of “drugs” at or being removed from the Sisk house. Said prohibition relates to [jury panel questioning], opening statements, questions to witnesses, arguments to the Court on objections, and closing arguments.”
On Sunday, Limestone County Judge Chad Wise issued an order both denying and approving parts of the motion.
The original motion said that during the previous trial, the defense obtained testimony from a witness saying Mary Sisk, Mason Sisk’s mother and one of the victims in the case, told them that she had called the police and had drugs removed from the home prior to the killings. The prosecution’s motion also sought to block testimony from another witness who said that Mason’s father, John Sisk, who was also killed, had a number of drugs in his possession at one point.
While the motion did not name the two witnesses who gave that testimony in the first trial, the testimony discussed matches testimony from a Sisk family friend named John “Gator” Paddie and his wife Angela Paddie. The two hosted the Sisks at their Florida home on the weekend before the killings and gave testimony during the trial.
Gator testified that John may have been in trouble regarding drugs. While the jury was out of the courtroom, Gator told the court that “John told me he had a large amount of drugs in the house, Mary had them removed, so he owed a lot of money to someone.”
Angela Paddie testified Mary had told her she “called the cops” who came and took the drugs.
The defense had raised questions during the original trial that the killings could have been connected to the drugs that John had.
According to Judge Wise, the motion was denied, in the part referring to John having drugs in his possession at some point prior to his death, meaning the defense will be allowed to present evidence and argument on the subject.
However, the judge also chose to grant the part of the motion referring to the statement by Mary that she had drugs removed from the home.
Wise’s order also said it overruled the prosecution’s argument that t
The question of whether John had drugs in his possession was ruled as “hearsay,” and “overly prejudicial to a victim” or simply inappropriate. The judge did however rule that any statements regarding Mary referring to the drugs cannot be used.
