On the night Pima County sheriff's detectives believe Kenneth Alliman and Rebecca Lou Lofton were killed and tossed into a trash pit, a Marana resident says she saw a text from the suspect saying he had "taken out the trash."
Mae Menden testified that can't remember if she saw the text on her phone or those belonging to her husband or father-in-law, but the incoming text definitely came from Michael "Tex" Carlson's phone number, she said.
Carlson, 56, is on trial in Pima County Superior Court for the deaths of Alliman, 49, and Lofton, 52, in May 2009. If he is convicted of first-degree murder, prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.
In May 2009, Carlson, Alliman and Lofton were all living rent-free on five acres owned by Menden's father-in-law, Larry Menden, in Marana.
Prosecutors told jurors the evidence will show Carlson killed the couple on May 25, 2009, while the Menden family was in Tucson. They also believe Carlson burned the couple in three fire pits while most of the family was camping near the town of Cochise between May 26 and May 30.
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The couple was reported missing by their respective family members on June 2 and Carlson was arrested on an outstanding Texas warrant June 16.
After his arrest, Carlson told a Tucson TV station reporter he killed the couple and burned their remains because he believed they were stealing from the Mendens.
His attorneys accused members of the Menden family of killing Alliman and Lofton and told jurors Carlson falsely confessed to protect them.
They also said he didn't want to return to the Texas prison system where he has been repeatedly beaten, stabbed and raped.
Mae Menden testified that the Menden family went to Tucson on May 25, 2009, to visit her mother's boyfriend.
The men spent the entire day getting drunk and eventually passing out. Some time after that, she said she saw a text from Carlson saying he had taken out the trash.
The family returned to their property the next day, but she didn't see Carlson, Alliman or Lofton, Menden said.
Menden recalled smelling a fire that day, but didn't see it. Since the family always burned their trash, she didn't think anything of it.
The next day, Menden said she, her husband and three daughters left for Cochise, southeast of Benson, where they stayed for about four days.
Menden spoke disparagingly of Alliman and Lofton, accusing them of being methamphetamine addicts, illegal immigrant smugglers and "pains in the butt" who were asked to leave the property several times.
Judge Richard Nichols is presiding over the trial. The state is expected to rest by the end of the week.
Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or kimsmith@azstarnet.com. On Twitter: KimSmithStar
