‘He was scared to death’: Friend describes call with suspect during Horry County killing
As James Rosenbaum beat a man to death with a baseball bat, his girlfriend was on one phone and Rosenbaum was on another line with his friend Paul Allen Ridgely.
“He called me pretty much in a panic, saying something happened over at the house,” Ridgely said.
Rosenbaum’s girlfriend, Diane Durkin, was in the background talking to 911 dispatchers, Ridgely recalled. Though, Ridgely admitted, he couldn’t hear well because of background noise on his end.
“It seemed to me he was scared to death,” Ridgely said of Rosenbaum.
Ridgely briefly testified Thursday about the July 11, 2016, phone call during Rosenbaum’s and Durkin’s murder trial in Horry County.
Prosecutors say Durkin and Rosenbaum lured Roy Davis to their Conway area trailer. There they beat him to death with a baseball bat. Authorities say Rosenbaum was jealous over an affair between Durkin and Davis.
The defendants say Davis was trying to sexually assault Durkin before the attack.
Much of the beating is captured on a 911 call between Rosenbaum, Durkin and dispatchers. The duo takes turns talking with dispatchers and asking for police help. They also tell dispatchers that Davis was trying to rape Durkin.
Davis can be heard on the tape, pleading for the attack with a metal bat to stop. There also are repeated thumps heard when the bat hits Davis.
The 911 call was played for the jury earlier this week.
Ridgely was one of several witnesses to take the stand on the third day of testimony in the trial. Cell phone experts, Davis’ boss and others also testified.
On Tuesday, police testified about the blood they found in the kitchen, living room and other areas of the trailer when they arrived after the attack.
