A third day of trial testimony about a 2018 shooting death in front of an Elizabethtown home centered on a social media account prosecutors believe belongs to defendant Bradley Anderson and about his electronic devices.

Anderson, 34, is charged in the death of Stanley McFalda Jr., 26, in the front yard of Anderson’s Greenway Drive residence. Investigators have testified in the April 5, 2018, shooting that Anderson said he was the person who shot and killed McFalda, and a witness said she saw McFalda being shot with Anderson the only other person in the yard during the nighttime shooting.

Three consecutive witnesses Monday afternoon testified regarding a Facebook account for a “Joe Smith” who had reached out to Cris Ingerson in the days prior to the shooting. Ingerson is Anderson’s ex-girlfriend and at the time was in a relationship with McFalda.

Two witnesses, Elizabethtown Police Detective Madison Kuklinski and Tom Bell, who manages the Kentucky Attorney General’s cybercrimes unit, testified the IP address used to create a Facebook page in November for “Joe Smith” came back to Anderson’s 929 Greenway Drive residence. Also, they said an email to create the account was linked to Anderson’s cellphone and iPad.

Information was obtained by downloads from both devices and from an Internet provider.

On Friday, Ingerson said she didn’t know a “Joe Smith” and Heather McFalda, who was in divorce proceedings with Stanley McFalda. said the same thing Monday. She received a message and friend request from Smith two days prior to the shooting.

She said she accepted the request April 4 to see the initial message. What followed was a message exchange between her and Smith with much of the discussion around Ingerson allegedly remaining in a relationship with Anderson, with whom she shared a residence, while she was dating McFalda.

Heather McFalda said it was her belief from the exchange of messages that “Joe Smith” possibly was a friend of Anderson’s and Smith wanted her to make Stanley McFalda aware of an alleged relationship. Ingerson testified Friday that while she did live in the same house as Anderson and had three biological children with him, she was not in a relationship with him.

One message Heather McFalda received said, “Brad will go to war and avenge her (Ingerson).”

Following more than a dozen messages April 4, McFalda said she called Stanley McFalda about the messages and testified she initially thought it was him messaging her. He denied it and she believed him.

Bell said 102 references to “Joe Smith” were found on the iPad, including an exchange regarding a video between Anderson and Smith.

John Schmidt, one of Anderson’s two attorneys, asked Bell if he could tell the jury who actually contacted “Joe Smith.”

He said, “No, I can’t.”

Schmidt also had an exchange with Kuklinski about why more photographs inside the house weren’t taken by investigators.

She said, “The murder didn’t take place in the house.”

He quickly replied, “I’m not so sure it was a murder, that’s what we’re here to decide.”

The defense inferred anyone who had been in the Anderson home and had the WiFi password could have created a Facebook page that would be traced to the house’s IP address. Bell agreed.

Under cross examination, Commonwealth’s Attorney Shane Young said while that may be true, any history of communication would be on an individual’s phone and not the IP address. Bell also agreed with that.

McFalda was pronounced dead after being shot once in the head.

Anderson was arrested April 6, 2018, and has been in custody since. If convicted of murder, he faces 20 to 50 years, or life, in prison.

The trial resumes Wednesday morning in Judge Kelly Mark Easton’s courtroom.

 

Source: Jeff D’Alessio, The News-Enterprise