Testimony wraps up in murder trial of man stabbed, stuffed in barrel

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) -- Testimony wrapped up Wednesday in the murder trial of two men accused in the stabbing death of a Chula Vista music producer whose body was found in a drum floating in San Diego Bay.

Timothy John Cook, 54, is charged with the Sept. 30, 2017, murder of his housemate Omar Medina, 28. Co-defendant Derrick Spurgeon, 40, is charged with being an accessory for allegedly driving the boat used to dump the victim's body, which was found 12 days later inside the 55-gallon barrel, which had been weighed down by a makeshift anchor made of wire and cinderblocks.

Medical examiners said Medina had been stabbed more than 60 times in the chest, back, neck and head.

Attorneys will make closing arguments Monday morning at the downtown San Diego courthouse.

In a text exchange with his brother, Cook expressed annoyance with Medina over his drinking and sloppy household behavior, leading Cook to eventually kick him out of the house, according to the prosecutor.

Sommerville also noted in her opening statement that Medina had recently come into a substantial amount of money via an $84,000 settlement he received in a lawsuit.

Medina's family never heard from him after Sept. 30, and filed a missing-persons report soon afterward with Chula Vista police. Medina's unlocked car was found about a week later on Oaklawn Avenue, not far from the home he shared with Cook on McIntosh Street. Numerous belongings, including his computer and guitar were inside the vehicle.

According to the prosecution, Cook enlisted Spurgeon's assistance on Oct. 11 to haul the barrel and dispose of it.

Surveillance footage allegedly captured the men in a green Ford F-150 owned by Cook's half-brother, which is seen towing Spurgeon's boat from El Cajon to the bay. Somerville alleged that a barrel matching the one containing Medina's body can be seen in the bed of the pickup in the footage.