CLAYTON, Mo. – The high-profile trial of a man accused of killing St. Louis County police officer Blake Snyder is underway.
Trenton Forster is charged with first-degree murder in the 2016 death of officer Snyder.
Testimony began at 9 a.m. on Monday. If convicted, he could face life in prison without the possibility of probation or parole.
Prosecution in the trial of Forster claims Forster said “I have a gun f*** it shoot me.”
After shooting Snyder on Oct. 6, 2016, Forster was shot by the second officer on scene and taken to the hospital.
The defense attorney for Trenton Forster said he started using alcohol in the sixth-grade and has had a problem with drugs and bipolar disorder. He claimed this played a role in the shooting of officer Snyder.
“You’re going to find him guilty of murder, but I ask that you don’t find him guilty of murder in the first degree,” Forster’s Defense Attorney Stephen Reynolds said.
Prosecutors asked Elizabeth Snyder if she remembered Oct. 6, 2016, she emotionally replied, "Yes, it is the day Blake was killed."
Following that exchange, she got up from the witness stand glanced at Forster and took her seat.
5 On Your Side's Brandon Merano will be following the trial all week.