Daughter Of Victim Testifies In Murder Sentencing; Prosecution Rests

Updated 4:01
The state has rested its case in the penalty phase of the Tony Torres trial. The defense is now presenting.

Updated 3:29pm
Ann Emery's daughter took the stand and delivered testimony to the jury.

The prosecutor asked the daughter about why they could not have an open-casket funeral.

Crystal explained that when she talked to the funeral director on the phone, she told him to try to fix her mother's hair to look like it did in a photo of her. But the funeral director was silent, and when Crystal went to see the bodies for herself, she understood why:

"To this day I cannot believe that was my mother's body lying there......she had no hair to fix. It was all gone. They had to brush some that was in the back up to cover her head...they did the best they could."

"None of it looked real. Her face did not look like a face. It looked like a kid had taken play-doh and tried to mold a face out of it. But they did the best they could with what they had to work with."

Updated 1:24pm
Jurors in the death penalty trial of Tony Torres just watched video of an altercation between Torres and jail officers on the night of his conviction.

The state is arguing that the video shows Torres's disrespect for law enforcement and that he is not fit to serve life in prison.

The video was shot at the Spartanburg County Detention Center on Sunday, just over an hour after the jury convicted Torres of beating Ray and Ann Emery to death with a hammer. It shows a detention officer explaining to Torres that he needed to "pat him down" before moving him into another cell. Torres argued with the officer for approximately eight minutes, telling him at least three times "don't touch me!"

After Torres refused to comply several times, the officer blasted him in the face with pepper spray. Officers then grabbed Torres by the arms, forcing him to the floor where they cuffed him and patted him down.

Updated at 11:18am, Monday
A witness told the jury that Tony Torres called her after murdering two people and left a voicemail stating that he would "kill me in my sleep".

The jury is hearing testimony in the penalty phase of Torres's double-murder trial.

Ashley Harley testified that on the morning of May 11, 2007, Torres called her cell phone and left a message stating, "You better not go to sleep or I'll kill you in your sleep."

Detectives describe Harley as "an associate" of Torres and his friends.

The call came at 7:23am, just a few hours after Torres violently murdered Ray and Ann Emery in their bedroom. And the call came from Ann Emery's cell phone which had been stolen during the murders. Prosecutors say Torres made the call from the lobby of Spartanburg Regional Medical Center. Surveillance video shows Torres walking through the lobby talking on a cell phone.

The state is seeking the death penalty.

Posted at 10:24am, Tuesday
Life or death?

That's the question before a Spartanburg County jury today in the double-murder trial of Tony Torres.

On Sunday, the jury convicted Torres, 28, of killing Ray and Ann Emery with a hammer inside their home in 2007.

Tuesday begins the penalty phase of the trial.

Judge Roger Couch told jurors they will have to decide if Torres should be put to death or serve life in prison without parole.

During opening statements, prosecutors warned jurors that they will see graphic crime scene photos of the victims, telling them: "You're gonna see what (Torres) did to them that night" to understand why he must pay the ultimate penalty.

The defense attorney told the jury he does not excusing the conduct of Torres, but the jury needs to understand that Torres "has been unable to control himself" from a very young age, and that he was misdiagnosed by doctors.

Prosecutors are now showing the jury Torres's extensive criminal record which includes 46 convictions dating back to 2000.