ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A trial began Tuesday for an Albuquerque man accused of killing a church security guard. Both sides delivered opening statements in the trial of Marc Ward.

Ward is accused of running over a security guard in the parking lot of Calvary Church in 2022, and then dragging his body into an arroyo. Prosecutors are trying to convince the jury that Daniel Bourne’s death was murder.

During their statements Tuesday, they played audio captured by Bourne in his last moments and showed photos of the scene and the truck Ward was reportedly driving. They said all evidence points to just one thing.

“The only conclusion is to find Marc Ward guilty of this deliberate murdering of Daniel Bourne,” the prosecutor said.

After the prosecution, it was the defense’s turn.

“This case is actually about Marc Ward,” the defense attorney said.

The big push from the defense is the many unknowns in this case.

“The state’s evidence is going to leave many doubts, many reasonable doubts,” the defense attorney said.

There is no video showing what happened when Bourne died, and there’s no video or photographic evidence showing who was behind the wheel.

“The evidence is full of holes, it’s missing – there are many things that we just don’t have,” the defense said. “Anything the state tells you is going to be speculation and you’ll have to decide, does it show that, does this prove that it wasn’t self-defense or a complete accident? The evidence is not going to prove that.”

After opening statements, the prosecution called their first witness. It was the security director for Calvary Church, Vince Harrison, who discovered Bourne’s body in the arroyo.

“I started yelling at him, Dan! I started shaking him. Dan, get up. Dan, Dan, Dan, Dan!” Harrison said. “He was already gone. Dead.”

The trial is expected to last one week.