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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- David Carl Kinney's murder trial in the death of Brad McGarry will go forward with jury selection Monday after the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation determined a gun found along Ohio 7 was not used in the fatal shooting.
Belmont County Prosecutor Dan Fry said the results of tests on the gun would have no impact on the prosecution's case.
"The gun that was found in the vicinity of Shadyside was determined not to be the gun that was used in the murder," Fry said. "The forensic testing indicated the shells in that gun were not the same type of shell used in the murder."
The weapon had been found about 6 miles south of the spot where Kinney told investigators he had disposed of the gun.
The gun BCI examined was a .22-caliber Derringer that holds two rounds.
When it was found, it had one live round still in the chamber, but McGarry had been shot twice.
"The only reason we were looking adjacent to Route 7 in the first place for a gun is because the defendant told us he threw a gun there. We don't know for sure whether he did or not. He gave us three or four different versions of how the shooting took place, and then he's the one that told us he threw a gun adjacent to the road. The fact that that gun doesn't match the gun that was used in the shooting has no impact whatsoever on our case," Fry said.
Kinney's defense attorney, Christopher Gagin, had expressed confidence that the gun was not the weapon used in McGarry's shooting. He has maintained that Kinney acted in self-defense after McGarry produced a weapon during an exchange between the two of them.
Kinney, 30, of Brilliant is charged with murder with a firearm specification. Kinney reported finding McGarry's body to police on May 7, saying he found the remains while visiting McGarry's Bellaire home with his wife and daughter.
Days later, law enforcement interviewed Kinney. He was arrested after he allegedly gave several conflicting stories under questioning and eventually claimed to have shot McGarry in self-defense.
Investigators believe that a romantic relationship existed between Kinney and McGarry.
Kinney remains in custody, with bond set at $1 million.