derek valcourt was in court and has more on karla porter's defense. derek? >> reporter: well, prosecutors are trying to portray karla porter as a cold and calculating killer. but defense attorneys say she is the victim of horrendous obuse. and today, they called psychologists to talk about it. >> reporter: karla porter says after years of physical and verbal abuse from her husband ray, she felt she had to hire a hitman to kill him. and in march of 2010, that's what she did, with help from some of her family members, she arranged for hitman, walter bishop, to shoot her husband in the head, at the hess gas station. she frantically called 911 and said he was shot by a robber. >> you know the person that -- >> no, i never seen him before [ crying hysterically ] he was black and he just came in the side door. i went out and i came in and -- >> but under pressure during a police interrogation, she finally confessed. >> are you understanding what we are saying to you? >> i think so. >> we know. we know. we're not stupid. >> after i told you what a wonderful man he

derek valcourt was in court as karla porter testified. >> and at times, she broke down in tears, telling jurors that she endured years of beating. she lived in constant terror and just couldn't take it anymore. >> have you ever seen him before? >> no. >> reporter: during her videotaped police interrogation, karla porter repeatedly lied about her involvement in the murder of her husband ray, at first, blaming a robber. but eventually, she confessed to planning his assassination. >> i just wanted somebody to hit him. i didn't want this to happen, i really didn't. >> what happened, karla? >> he was just being really mean. >> reporter: porter now admits she enlisted the help of several people, including members of her family, to hire hitman walter bishop to kill her husband in front of her, in 2010, at this hess gas station on joppa road. >> everybody said what a wonderful man. i didn't want you to know that he did hit me sometimes. >> reporter: karla porter took the stand thursday to detail years of physical and verbal abuse, she says she suffered at the hand of her husband. she said he kic

derek valcourt wjz eyewitness news. >> and karla porter faces the possibility of life in prison without parole. >> one person is injured following a standoff in charles county. sheriff's officials say william bell was shot as deputies tried to serve a warrant. when deputies arrived at the home in the 4600 block of gadwell place in waldorf, that's when they encountered bell who had a rifle. there was an exchange of fire and bell was shot several times. he was taken to a local hospital where he is listed in stable condition. the original warrant was for an ongoing mail fraud investigation. >>> in howard county police are look factor man who assault -- are looking for a man who assaulted a woman while she was out jogging near stone cloud and majors lane in columbia. the woman says she was running along a path when a man came up behind her and grabbed her chest. she screamed and that's when the suspect ran off. the woman was not injured and a search for the man is still under way. >>> more than a million dollars is at stake this morning after a nationwide fishing tournament wraps up in ocea

in towson, derek valcourt, wjz eyewitness news. >>> tonight the controversial plan to give $107 million to the harbor point development will go to a preliminary vote in the baltimore city council. groups against the financing say they will continue to fight the president obama poe sal and will protest outside of city hall. it has the votes to pass the 15-member council. >>> this year's first meteor shower will occur above the skies of maryland. we have skies of last year. hundreds of meteors are expected to blaze through the sky every year. they produce for fire balls than any other meteor shower. >>> hopefully we're going to see more sunshine today. outside right now it's mostly cloudy, quite sticky and it's going to get warmer than it was this past weekend. wjz is live with first warning weather. meteorologist tim williams out in the out back and chelsea ingram over in the weather center. good afternoon, chelsea. >> hello. that humidity certainly back ine picture today. temperatures are rather warm. the upper 70s to lower 80s in a lot of spots. 83 baltimore, 81 hagerstown. cooler out

derek valcourt was in the courtroom when karla porter testified. >> she broke down in tears after she said she suffered years of beating, lived in constant terror, and couldn't take it anymore. she asked three other people for help to kill her husband, before one of them finally carried out the plan. >> have you ever seen him before? >> no. >> reporter: during her videotaped police interrogation, karla porter repeatedly lied about her involvement in the murder of her husband ray, at first, blaming a robber. but eventually, she confessed to planning his asays sassination -- assassination. >> i just wanted somebody to hit him. i didn't want any of this to happen. i really didn't. >> what happened, karla? >> he was just being really mean. >> reporter: porter now admits she enlisted the help of several people, including members of her family, including hitman robert bishop to kill her husband at this joppa gas station the couple owned together. >> everybody said what a wonderful man he was. and i didn't want you to know that he did hit me sometimes. >> reporter: karla porter took the stan

we're live in towson, derek valcourt, wjz eyewitness news. >> derek, thank you. karla porter faces the possibility of life in prison without patrol. >>> -- parole. >>> police are looking for a man who assaulted a woman while jogging. it happened at the intersection of stone cloud and majors lane in columbia. a man came up behind her, grabbed her chest. she screamed and the suspect ran off. the woman was not hurt. but the search for the suspect is still under way. >>> stepping up security. several recent crimes at johns hopkins school of medicine in baltimore put police and hospital officials on alert. wjz is live. linh bui explains these new precautions. linh? >> denise, since mid-july, several hopkins employees have been attacked and robbed near the campus. but these measures should make the area much safer. >> reporter: a stronger police presence, around johns hopkins. more foot and bike patrols, between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. along north wolf and north washington street. >> i noticed that johns hopkins security guards, every time i go up that way. they're co

. >>> and derek valcourt joins us with more on the decision in the case of porter. >> reporter: her attorneys argue -- argued that she was acting in self-defense. at first carla porter blamed herself only in the death of her husband. >> have you ever seen him before? >> no, no. >> reporter: porter initially lied to investigators but then later admitted of hiring this man and four of his family members to shoot own kill her husband. >> what happened to the girl? >> she was just being really mean in the last four days. >> reporter: porter told the judge she endured verbal abuse from her husband. and her attorneys said he planned the murder in her own defense. but prosecutorred blasted back that carla porter was lying about the a abuse. they said she has hat 3-1/2 years to come up with the worse story. even if these stories are true, he said it does not provide carla porter for any defense for what she's done. the real question before the jury right now, is will this be a case of first degree murder, perhaps second degree murder or voluntary manslaughter. little doubt in anybody elseless minds e

live at the courthouse, derek valcourt, wjz news? if convicted on the first degree murder charge, porter could face life in prison without the possibility of parol. >>> three weeks after the death of a man in police custody, city officials say there is still no cause of death. kai has more on the growing controversy from the newsroom. >> reporter: according to our media partner the baltimore sun. the medical examiner still trying to determine how tyrone west t died. west was pulled over for a traffic stop. he resisted arrest and ended up fighting with officers that's when they say he went into medical distress. witnesses say he was hit several times by officers even after he stopped moving. the medical examiner says since west is young and in good health they need to explore all avenues before releases a cause of death. his family is now pushing for answers and waiting for results before taking their next step, back to you. >> thank you, kai. the officers have since been cleared of any wrong doing. >>> and a task force concludes a th

derek valcourt was in the courtroom as karla porter testified in her own defense. >> have you ever seen him before? >> no. >> during her video taped police interrogation karla porter repeatedly lied about her involvement in the murder of her husband, ray, at first blaming a robber. eventually she confessed the planning it. >> i just wanted someone to hit him for me. i didn't want any of this to happen. i didn't. >> what happened, karla? >> he was being really mean. >> porter admits she enlisted the help of several people, including her family, to hire walter bishop to kill her husband in march of 2010 at the gas station. >> everybody talked about what a wonderful man he was but he hit me. >> karla porter took the stand thursday to detail years of physical and verbal abuse. she said he punched and shoved her, threw things at her, slammed her head into walls and floors and held a gun to her head threatening to kill her. porter told jurors she lived in constant fear. it was getting so bad i knew that ray was going to kill me. i just wanted to kill him first. >> ray and karla porter's daugh

. >>> i'm derek valcourt at the baltimore county courthouse.e karla porter took the stand in her own defense to explain why she hired a hitman to murder her husband. that story coming up on ,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> coming up. in her own words. we hear from a woman on trial for hiring a hitman. >> one on one. why president obama is calling off his sit down with his russian counterpart. >>> i'm jessica kartalija. it's the grand opening of the national black reef exhibit. we'll take you behind the scenes. >>> check in for more on these stories and all the day's breaking news. >> eyewitness news at 5:00 starts now.

i'm derek valcourt at the baltimore county courthouse, where they watch the woman accused of hiring a hitman to murder her husband. i'll have the latest twists and, [ male announcer ] you know what's so awesome about the internet? it gets more and more entertaining every day. and once you've got verizon fios, that's when you get it -- how 100% fiber optics takes your entertainment to ridiculous levels. i was streaming videos, movies, music. once i realized how fast it was, that's when i got it. [ male announcer ] want to upgrade your entertainment? switch to a fios triple play online for just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years plus your choice of a $300 amazon.com gift card or a $300 visa prepaid card with a 2-year agreement. fios brings 100% fiber optic power right to your door. that's why it delivers america's fastest, most reliable internet for blazing fast movie downloads and smooth streaming video playback. plus get unbeatable tv picture quality. so switch to fios for just $89.99 a month guaranteed for 2 years, and your choice of a $300 amazon.com gift card or a $300 visa pr