Dews doesn't deny stabbing Lopez or taking some of his things last summer. But his attorney is fighting first degree murder charges from a few directions, including one that's rarely used. He's arguing Dews may have done it, but he was unconscious of his actions.
The bright colors of this remodeled red house are in stark contrast with the dark incident that drew tears from one of the people who lived in the home.
"Is that the house where you lived in July 2009?" prosecutor Steve Wright asked Lopez's niece, Rozanna Gibbs.
"Yes it was," she answered through her tears.
Gibbs didn't want her face shown on TV, but she lived with her uncle when their house became a murder scene. Now, nearly a year later, Lopez's family was overwhelmed with emotions when they saw pictures from the home during the trial against Dews.
Dews' attorney admits his client killed Lopez. Police found this bloody knife in the house with Dews' fingerprint on it.
The coroner says Lopez was stabbed about 20 times. Dews' attorney says that could indicate a crime of passion, not a premeditated, first degree murder.
In court, he's tried to establish a possible connection between Dews and Lopez, hinting that Lopez may have let Dews into the house to make a drug purchase.
"Do you know where Mr. Lopez was buying marijuana?" Jim Lambe asked Gibbs after she testified that her uncle sometimes used marijuana.
"No I do not," she said.
"Do you know from whom he was buying?" Lambe asked her.
"No I do not," she said.
When police arrested Dews, they found him carrying some items from Lopez's home, including a cooler and some jeans. But his attorney says he doesn't think Dews knew what he was doing in the house.
If a jury agrees he was unconscious, they could find Dews not guilty.
One more thing to note: Dews doesn't even want the lawyer assigned to his case, but he can't afford a private attorney. He verbally abused his first public defender, and then got assigned Lambe. Since then, he's requested a new lawyer more than once and he never seems to be helpful in court.
He also refused to plead not guilty by reason of insanity.
