Lacking an alibi or evidence of an alternative suspect, Glenwood Springs murder suspect Trevor Torreyson hinged his defense Thursday on what he says are inconsistencies in the evidence presented by prosecutors.

Six days into Torreyson’s first-degree murder trial, in which he is representing himself pro se with only limited advisory counsel, he gave his opening remarks in the case.

At the start of the trial Feb. 24 when 9th District Attorney Jeff Cheney gave his opening statement, Torreyson reserved his comments until after the prosecution rested its case. That came Thursday.

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“In some aspects, I regret that decision,” Torreyson said of his choice in September 2020 after clashes with multiple defense attorneys to represent himself against charges that he beat 56-year-old Keith Wayne to death after a night of heavy drinking outside a West Glenwood car dealership on June 20, 2018.

Torreyson’s claims were met with multiple objections from Cheney over his straying from explaining to the jury what evidence he intended to present in his defense.

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Garfield County District Judge James Boyd advised Torreyson to stay on track with his statements, leading him to move on to his defense witnesses after referring to what he said were inconsistencies in the collection, labeling and entering of evidence, including what he said was incomplete and fragmented video surveillance from nearby businesses.

Over the past several days, Cheney and Assistant District Attorney Ben Sollars presented police, coroner’s office and Colorado Bureau of Investigation witnesses. Multiple pieces of forensics evidence put Torreyson and Wayne together the night of the murder, they testified.

DNA sampling of blood at the scene and on blood-stained clothes found in Torreyson’s possession the next morning when he was located at his makeshift camp along the nearby Colorado River also linked him to the crime.

A key piece of evidence in the case was a bandanna known to belong to Torreyson, and carrying his DNA, witnesses said. That bandanna was found next to Wayne’s body.

Both Wayne and Torreyson were experiencing homelessness at the time of the incident, and much of the evidence was collected at their respective camps.

Torreyson, 46, has been in the Garfield County Jail on $1 million bond since his arrest later in the day when Wayne’s badly beaten body was found by employees at the Subaru dealership on Storm King Road. Bloody footprints leading away from the scene were later traced to a pair of boots in Torreyson’s possession when he was arrested.

Police investigators believe a large, blood-stained rock found near the scene was used to kill Wayne.

Torreyson also tried to say the evidence in the case was inconsistent and inadequate in making a pre-trial motion for acquittal. Judge Boyd denied the motion, and Torreyson began re-calling several of the prosecution’s witnesses to the stand.

The trial is slated to skip Friday and resume Monday and continue next week for as long as Torreyson keeps calling witnesses. He also has the right to take the stand himself and be questioned by prosecutors, but has not indicated if he will do that.

Following closing arguments, Torreyson’s fate will be in the jury’s hands to decide.

Senior Reporter/Managing Editor John Stroud can be reached at 970-384-9160 or jstroud@postindependent.com.