Feb. 11, 2026: Defense have more witnesses to testify Thursday in Raleigh mass shooter's sentencing

The defense continues its arguments on Wednesday in the Austin Thompson case. You can watch on WRAL.com or on WRAL's YouTube page.

Here's a running log of Wednesday's proceedings. 

• 12:17 p.m.: Corey is released from the stand. The defense said they have more witnesses in the hearing, but those witnesses are not available to testify Wednesday. The court will recess until 9:30 a.m. Thursday. It's not clear how much more evidence the defense plans to present.

It's unclear if Thompson plans to take the stand or speak before a sentencing is decided. 

• 12:05 p.m.: Casey Corey is brought up to the stand. He is the director of education services for the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. He provides administrative oversight for education in regional detention centers.

Corey said he met Thompson once during his graduation from Cumberland Learning Academy. He said he attends all graduations for juveniles in their facilities, noting that it's a "great accomplishment for a juvenile in that setting."

• 11:57 a.m.: The defense brings up Gene Hallock, the director at the Cumberland Juvenile Detention Center.
• 11:49 a.m.: The prosecution cross-examines Ross.
• 11:42 a.m.: Court returns from recess with a testimony from Darcie Ross, who works at the Cumberland Juvenile Detention Center. She's been with the center for almost four years.

Ross testified the de-escalation work done inside the center for the juveniles. She said Thompson received a gold status within six weeks, which provides incentives for them inside the center. 

• 11:25 a.m.: Court will recess for 15 minutes.
• 11:19 a.m.: The prosecution begins cross-examining Mulholland.
• 11:05 a.m.: Mulholland breaks down an "all about me" survey that Thompson filled out when he was a high school sophomore.
• 10:53 a.m.: The defense calls up Chelsie Mulholland, Thompson's high school English teacher.

When asked about when she found out about the mass shooting, Mulholland said "No part of me thought or saw that comin. It was all very much, 'are we sure? Are we positive?'"

• 10:43 a.m.: The defense calls up their next witness, Neal Gallagher, who is now a realtor but was Thompson's art teacher throughout middle school. He said that he left teaching before Thompson committed the shootings.
• 10:32 a.m.: Noureddine is released from the stand. The defense calls up Erica Peterson, Thompson's kindergarten teacher, to the stand.

• 10:27 a.m.: Noureddine testified that from his results, Thompson has a genetic deficiency in processing some proteins. But for processing medications, such as minocycline, "that needs more research," he said.
• 10:10 a.m.: Noureddine testified that there are published side effects to minocycline, including psychiatric side effects that are rare. Since the medicine has been around for quite some time, Noureddine said there is ongoing research and existing research has shown some psychiatric side effects.

Noureddine said his experiment on Thompson did not go further than looking at his genetic background to see if minocycline could actually affect him. Noureddine said that how that medicine impacts him directly "goes beyond what I've done."

• 10:04 a.m.: The prosecution begins cross-examining Noureddine.
• 10 a.m.: Noureddine testified that after looking at Thompson's genetic background, he found alleles inherited by his parents that are "non-functional," stating that Thompson inherited two copies of a bad gene, which makes metabolizing components non-functional.

Related: Psychiatrist says acne meds provoked Raleigh mass shooter, dermatologist says otherwise

He said, "What this result says is that he is unable to process medicine compared to a completely normal individual. He can process some medicines fine, but others not so well. In order to get to the question, 'Can he or can't he process minocycline,' you have to do much more tests than that. You have to figure out how that one particular medicine is working in his body to predict that." 

• 9:50 a.m.: Noureddine testified that the defense team approached him to provide advice about how specific medications could potentially affect Thompson's genetic makeup.

After looking at Thompson's genetic background, Noureddine hypothesized that Thompson could have any variant in his body that would impact or alter the way he responds to medication. 

On Tuesday, Thompson's mother, Elise, testified that when Thompson was young and tried to get a cavity filled, the dentist gave him "laughing gas," which Thompson did not react too. She testified that he actually had  more of an "angry response."

• 9:40 a.m.: Noureddine discusses how enzymes are affect by genetics. In a simplified statement, he said that depending on the DNA, some people have variations that can impact how medicine is absorbed, processed through the body and then broken down. 

He says, "Some of these enzymes in people are deficient, that they're not able to break down those components efficiently. And the consequence of that is the medicine would have an abnormal accumulation in the body, and therefore, the therapeutic effect can change from one person to another."

• 9:35 a.m.: Court opens. The defense calls up their first witness of the day, Dr. Maher Noureddine, who is a forensic DNA evidence consultant. 

Before Wednesday's proceedings

On Tuesday, psychiatrist George Corvin spoke at length about his psychiatric evaluation of Thompson and revealed that the now 18-year-old is a different person from the one who opened fire in Raleigh's Hedingham neighborhood in October 2022, as a result of the traumatic brain injury he suffered when he shot himself that day.

Corvin talked for more than four hours. 

The defense argued that Thompson's medication for acne -- Minocycline -- could have led to his lashing out in attempting to give Thompson a chance at parole.

The first person to take the stand Tuesday was Elise Thompson, Austin's mom. When the defense asked her about Austin's life before the shooting, she said Austin and his brother, James, had a good relationship. 

On Tuesday, the defense showed several family photos, including pictures of the boys when they were babies and toddlers.

"It still hurts terribly but yes, I love him dearly," Elise Thompson said.