Ruling excludes cops' theory of how Marcia Trimble died

For one third of a century, people all over Nashville have wondered who killed Marcia Trimble in 1975 and how the crime happened. The trial next week of Jerome Barrett may legally answer the "who" question, but a judge's ruling this morning makes it much less clear whether the trial will resolve the "how" question once and for all.

Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Steve Dozier ruled that prosecutors cannot show the jury evidence supporting a new theory of how the crime transpired. On Wednesday, the prosecution had called to the stand a woman who was 24 years old when, on the night of Feb. 23, 1975, a man she identified as Barrett attacked her on the front porch of her Fairfax Ave. apartment.