Norwich Police Detective Kyle Besse spent all day on the witness stand in a New London courtroom Monday as he answered questions from the defense during the strangulation trial of Kristopher Prudhomme.

His testimony was interrupted continually as the Senior Assistant State's Attorney Stephen M. Carney and defense attorney Damon A.R. Kirschbaum argued before Judge Barbara Bailey Jongbloed, usually outside the presence of the nine-person jury, about which evidence should be included. 

Besse was assigned as the lead detective after Michael Lovering, Prudhomme's housemate at 586 E. Main St., lost his legs under suspicious circumstances on Oct. 22, 2016. The detective interviewed key players, examined their Facebook pages and phone correspondence and prepared the warrant that led to Prudhomme's arrest.

Prudhomme, 30, of Houston, Texas, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault with intent to cause serious injury, first-degree assault with extreme indifference to human life, second-degree assault, first-degree strangulation and intentional cruelty to persons. His trial began last week before a jury of six regular members and three alternates. The state is expected to finish calling witnesses by mid-week, at which the defense will present its case.

Lovering testified last week, but the jury has yet to hear from Lauren Muskus, Prudhomme's girlfriend, who was at the center of a dispute between Prudhomme and Lovering and was the only other person in the apartment that night. Carney is expected to call Muskus to the witness stand before resting the state's case.

The state alleges that after Lovering confessed to Prudhomme that he slept with Muskus, Prudhomme used a corset string to choke Lovering. Prudhomme is accused of leaving Lovering, incoherent and moaning, in an unnatural position for 12 to 14 hours at their apartment, resulting in a loss of circulation that necessitated amputation of both legs.

Detective Besse remained calm as Kirschbaum bombarded him with questions and established the detective had erroneously claimed that the day Lovering's mother called police to report her suspicions that her son was the victim of a crime, Nov. 2, was the day her son awakened from a medically-induced coma. Earlier testimony from medical providers and evidence from Lovering's phone established that he awakened days earlier.

Kirschbaum grilled Besse about the lack of a timeline that takes into account the hundreds of pages of Facebook posts and messages gathered by police. One mysterious text, "Have fun with my death," was sent from Lovering's phone to Muskus at 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 22, which is when police say the crimes occurred. The message appears to support the defense's claim that Lovering attempted to kill himself. Lovering denies being suicidal and denies sending the message. Besse said the police's theory was that someone else sent it. 

Kirschbaum accused Besse of having tunnel vision, in which he looked only for evidence that confirmed Lovering's story. Besse said that if he found evidence that refuted the story, it would have been addressed.

k.florin@theday.com