As testimonies were given during the Amarrion Demeir Isom trial on Thursday, there was an occasion when individuals sitting in the courtroom left as upsetting pictures were shown, and crying could be heard.

Judge Amy Moore instructed Assistant Attorney General Monty Platz to wait his turn while defense attorney Aaron Siebrecht voiced concerns regarding the testimony of Olivia Isom, Isom’s mother.

Olivia Isom was at her home in Ames on March 17, 2023 — the day Amarrion Isom is accused of murdering Isaiah Forest, 27. Isom, 21, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder on March 29.

Platz asked Olivia Isom if she recalled what she said during an interview with law enforcement. With the interview occurring almost a year ago, she said she didn’t remember exactly. Moore asked the jury to leave the courtroom so Platz could play a recording of the interview to refresh her memory.

Siebrecht objected to questioning Olivia Isom regarding the interview in front of the jury, as he said it would be considered hearsay. He said Olivia Isom has been questioned about the interview at least three times, and she could not recall the details. Siebrecht said the prosecution bringing it up in front of the jury and hoping for a “lightbulb” moment was not genuine. Moore ruled that Olivia Isom’s prior statements could not be used during the trial without an independent, established reason for admissibility.

According to Olivia Isom, numerous law enforcement officers showed up at her Ames apartment on March 18 with a search warrant. They were looking for the shotgun allegedly used in the crime. Platz asked her if she remembered her son going to the dumpster near her apartment complex. She said she did not but added that she was under extreme pressure from the detectives.

Olivia Isom said she knew something big was going on but did not know what it was.

“I wondered if this or that happened,” she said. “As a mother, I thought what every mother would think if their child was in that situation.”

Those thoughts included her son getting into a car accident, the vehicle exploding into flames.

“My mind went every direction as a mother,” Olivia Isom said.

Law enforcement eventually told her that Isom was in trouble.

“As a mom, I tell my kids don’t bring trouble to my house,” she said.

Also testifying were Department of Criminal Investigations Special Agent Ben Metzger and Marshalltown Police Department (MPD) Crime Scene Tech and Evidence Room Manager Cortney Watson, Detective Derick Garcia and Sergeant Paul Heitman. Watson broke down the evidence found at the Boone Street crime scene, Garcia spoke about relevant private messages found on a smartphone app. Heitman provided the jury with the technical background of retrieving evidence from smartphones.

“Smartphones have a lot of value,” he said. “It’s a small computer. There is a lot of data about [a person’s] comings and goings.”

Heitman said the MPD uses Cellebrite — a computer program which is used to plug into devices, extract digital data in its original format and keep files of the data for future review.

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.