Surprise witness shakes up trial of woman accused of point-blank shooting
The emotional testimony came with new evidence: photos of the witness and Banton together on the night of the killing.
A surprise witness took the stand Tuesday in the murder trial of Claudia Banton, the woman accused of executing Delia Johnson in broad daylight on a Crown Heights sidewalk in 2021.
The witness, a longtime friend of both Banton and Johnson, testified that Banton is the woman seen in graphic surveillance footage, walking up to Johnson and shooting her at close range.
The emotional testimony came with new evidence: photos of the witness and Banton together on the night of the killing.
In a shocking twist, the witness also admitted she initially gave police the wrong description of the shooter - a man in a white shirt and blue pants - because that’s what Banton’s brother told her at the scene.
“They set my daughter up,” Berry said outside the courtroom.
That description led officers to stop, then release, the real shooter.
The defense fought to block her testimony, calling for a mistrial, but the judge denied the request.
Johnson’s mother, Delia Berry, who once considered both Banton and the witness like daughters, said the testimony only deepened her pain.
Closing arguments are expected later this week before the case goes to the jury.
