Whitaker trial: Victim’s mother testifies daughter’s death was ‘unimaginable evil’

Prosecutors in Ben Whitaker’s murder trial say by the defendant’s own admission it was his wife’s “nagging” about his drinking that led him to shoot and kill her four years ago, while Whitaker’s attorneys say their client was on “a toxic combination of medication” that led to the tragedy. 

Julie Scarborough, Tiffani Whitaker’s mother, was a first-day witness and was asked if her daughter’s death by her husband was unimaginable. She agreed, adding, “It was unimaginable evil.”

The trial against Whitaker, who has been charged in the shooting death and aggravated assault on Tiffani in June 2021, began Wednesday at the Laurens County Courthouse. Chief Superior Court Judge Jon Helton is presiding.

Scarborough testified about receiving a phone call about Tiffani and Ben not showing up for work. She found out Ben’s mother had gone into panic mode about the situation, which Scarborough said led her to know something was wrong. When she arrived at the Whitakers’ house on Penn Avenue, she saw yellow law enforcement tape and her work family out front. She asked if her daughter was OK and was informed Tiffani was dead.

“I lost it,” Scarborough said. “It’s truly was the most tragic day of my life.” 

Since the Dublin Police Department was looking for Whitaker, she believed he had killed her daughter.

“I never had a good feeling about him,” said Scarborough, who constantly referred to Whitaker as a “narcissist.”

Scarborough talked about the last time she saw her daughter. She had gone over to Penn Avenue to pick up Tiffani’s son – Eli. She testified that Whitaker’s behavior was, “nothing out of the ordinary” and watched him eat several pieces of pizza. Scarborough said her daughter told her about Whitaker’s drinking and said both of them were on the couch and there was nothing that would cause her concern about her daughter’s safety when she left with Eli. 

A co-worker of Tiffani’s was the first witness to take the stand, testifying that she and another co-worker went to the Whitakers’ house after neither showed up for work. The co-worker called Laurens County 911 after finding what turned out to be bullet holes through a back glass door at the back of the house. The first officer on the scene testified that he also saw the bullet holes in that door and asked for more officers to respond to the scene.

An officer’s body camera footage was played in court showing the conditions around the house and the scene inside. Dublin police Sgt. Lee Washburn talked about the pictures he took of the scene and of the truck that was recovered from Wilkinson County where Whitaker was found and arrested. Washburn described the various guns, knives, socks and other items discovered in the truck, including the handgun the was used in the shooting.

On Thursday, court continued with Laurens County sheriff’s deputies taking the stand to talk about searching for Whitaker and how he was found in the woods on his parents’ property in Wilkinson County. Dublin police officer Tinesha Burns testified about taking photos of the truck, and pointed out items including the handgun used in the shooting.

During initial interview, defendant admits “nagging” caused him to snap

Former DPD Detective John Knight testified that he and DPD officer Dawn Rhodes did the initial interview of Whitaker in a law enforcement office in Wilkinson County. A video of the interview was played in court. After some small talk, Knight started asking questions about what happened.

“A very bad thing,” was Whitaker’s reply. 

“She was chastising me about having a couple of drinks. That nagging set me off. … I didn’t plan it. It was impulsive.” 

After being asked what set him off, Whitaker calmly said he went into the bedroom, retrieved his handgun from a night stand, walked into the kitchen and shot Tiffani. He talked about packing and going to his parents’ land in Wilkinson County. At the time of the shooting, he told the officers he was wearing a tank top and blue jeans, which is what Scarborough said he was wearing when she last saw him.

Whitaker admitted to the officers that he had consumed a couple of gin-and-tonic drinks.

On cross-examination, Knight confirmed that Whitaker was cooperative during the interrogation. When defense attorney Mitch Warnock asked if Whitaker’s answers and demeanor were childlike, the detective said, “I wouldn’t say childlike. He was very meek and had a mild manner.”

Rhodes followed by testifying about her involvement in the case. Her body cam footage showed law enforcement officers finding Whitaker’s tank top and jeans. 

A Fulton County examiner told jurors that an autopsy she conducted found five gunshot wounds on Tiffani’s body.

Opening statements paint different reasons for actions

Dublin DA Harold McLendon began his opening statement Wednesday by saying the Whitakers had been husband and wife for only “59 days” before he shot her in the back.

“This case will have a lot of twists and turns,” McLendon told the jury. 

The DA said Whitaker told police that “she kept nagging me about my drinking.”

Warnock began his opening statement by saying things did not seem real and more like a bad dream for his client.

“That’s how Ben Whitaker felt after he shot his wife,” Warnock said. “What happened didn’t make sense. Ben and Tiffani adored and loved each other. … What happened was out of character for him. He’s never done anything like this. Family, friends and co-workers described him as kind and gentle.”

Warnock said Tiffani and Whitaker were married on May 1, 2021, after they dated for about a year. The attorney said there were many text messages showing their devotion and love to each other. Tiffani worked at Dublin OB/GYN while Whitaker worked as a registered nurse at Fairview Park Hospital. 

Warnock went through a timeline showing how Whitaker became depressed after losing many patients during the COVID pandemic. Warnock went over medicine that Whitaker took for depression that had not worked. The day before the incident, Whitaker went to an appointment at an urgent care facility with a nurse practitioner who doubled his prescription for Lexapro and added Buspar.

“This was something the warning on Lexapro says is dangerous,” Warnock said. “One of the most significant pieces of this case is the warning for Lexapro. … Buspar is on the label to not use together (with Lexapro).”

Warnock claimed his client had taken a toxic combination and could not control his actions and did not know right from wrong. 

“Ben cannot explain to you why he grabbed his gun and shot Tiffani,” Warnock said. “He can’t account for the time afterwards.”

Which included going to land owned by his parents near the Laurens/Wilkinson county line.

“Doing an interview with police, he was childlike,” Warnock said. “We submit to you that the man sitting at that table was not the man who pulled the trigger that night.” 

He said the man who shot Tiffani “had a severe reaction to medicine.”

“On June 29, Whitaker was taking several substances that interfered with each other,” Warnock said. “It altered him. His brain became dysfunctional and he did a very bad thing. He was involuntarily intoxicated. … This was medicine gone wrong.”

The process of picking a jury began Monday and was completed Tuesday. The trial resumed Friday morning and was scheduled to continue on Sept. 2.