Prosecutors build case in murder trial

By Stacey Cameron, NEWS 9

Moments after walking into court, Curtis Bolin became the first witness to take the stand in his daughter's murder trial.

Smiling as he testified about Jamie Rose's love of animals and riding bikes, Curtis's emotions turned to tears recalling how police broke the news of his daughter's death.

According to News 9 Legal Analyst Irven Box, emotion is what jurors should expect whenever friends and family take the stand.

 "They're emotional roller coasters," Box said. "This roller coaster is going to stay at its full peak the whole time I think."

A prosecutor having established that Jamie Rose was your typical fifth grade girl, the afternoon testimony moved to that of investigators.

The Purcell Police Department and FBI agents took the stand to establish how they began their investigation into Jamie Rose's disappearance.

Based on that testimony, prosecutors are building a case showing Underwood killed Jamie Rose late in the afternoon of April 12th.

By the next day, four police agencies, including the FBI, were canvassing Purcell.

"In this case, it's going to go fast," Box said. "We've already seen only a couple of questions asked of the first witnesses."

While testimony is going fast, Underwood didn't become a suspect in the case until late.

FBI agent Craig Overby testified Underwood was initially questioned at a traffic road block two days after Jamie Rose went missing.

Then, within a couple hours her body was discovered and Underwood admitted to the murder.

More of Underwood's admission, either by transcript or video tape, is expected later in the week.

On Wednesday, forensic testimony about Jamie Rose's exact cause of death is expected.