Single gunshot to the liver, heart killed man in March 2019 Elyria shooting

ELYRIA — A single gunshot that pierced the right side of Terrence Taylor's abdomen, crossed both lobes of his liver and pierced his heart before exiting the left side of his chest was what killed him in a house on West Broad Street in Elyria on March 19, 2019, Lorain County Coroner Dr. Frank Miller told a jury Friday. The jurors were selected Monday to determine whether 37-year-old Ivan Brooks of Lorain is guilty of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault and other charges in the shooting death of Taylor, 45. Brooks has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been held in Lorain County Jail for more than 2 1/2 years on multiple felony charges. The case, which was investigated by the Elyria Police Department, is being heard in Common Pleas Judge James Miraldi's courtroom. Investigators testified that Taylor, wearing only underwear and an ankle monitor, was shot at least three times when he answered the door at 841 Broad St. the morning of March 19, 2019. Miller testified that the three shots he could say for certain struck Taylor came from the dead man's right side. The fatal shot pierced Taylor's liver and heart, though that bullet was never recovered. A second broke the bones of Taylor's lower right leg and a third passed through Taylor's left bicep. A fourth shot probably grazed Taylor's leg, Miller testified. He also testified he recovered only a small piece of a bullet from Taylor's shattered right tibia — one of the bones in the lower leg. All the other bullets that hit Taylor passed through him and were not recovered. Without immediate medical attention, Taylor was dead within 10 minutes "or less" of the shooting, Miller testified. Taylor's girlfriend called 911 at 2:57 a.m., and officers responded, but Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman identified Brooks as the shooter both on the 911 call and during a preliminary hearing in Elyria Municipal Court in April 2019. Six empty cartridge casings were recovered by police, and the screen door of 841 Broad St. appeared to have been pierced by several gunshots, detectives testified. However, they could not testify as to the exact number of shots fired or in what order they were fired, nor could Miller, the coroner said. The weapon that fired the fatal shots never was recovered, detectives testified this week. Detectives also didn't recover any gunshot residue evidence and that probably means the shooter was at least 4 feet away from Taylor when the shots were fired, Miller testified. After Elyria police got an arrest warrant for Brooks, and the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force started looking for him, he turned himself in to authorities in Hamilton County in southern Ohio on March 28, 2019. Brooks had been out of prison for only about five weeks when Taylor was killed, authorities said at the time. Authorities previously said he had known Taylor for a short time before the shooting. Testimony resumes Monday. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him @daveobrienCT on Twitter.