Tiffany Foster murder: Closing arguments expected in trial Thursday morning

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - Both sides have now rested in the disappearance and murder trial of Tiffany Foster, setting the stage for closing arguments Thursday morning.

What they're saying:

Prosecutors wrapped their case before lunch after a dramatic day of testimony that included the arrival of a rusty, burned woodchipper in the courtroom. Investigators say the machine was found on land in Troup County belonging to the grandmother of defendant Reginald "Reggie" Robertson.

Robertson is charged with murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault and financial fraud. His co-defendant, Jeremy Walker, is charged with concealing Foster’s death.

Jurors were told that cadaver dogs detected the odor of human remains both in the chipper and in the soil surrounding it. Lead investigator Stacy Beckom testified that on the day Foster vanished, Walker called three LaGrange equipment rental companies asking about a woodchipper. Investigators also say Foster’s phone had a Google search reading "equipment rental places near me."

Jurors also heard about a handwritten affidavit allegedly written by Robertson offering his uncle one thousand dollars in exchange for an alibi in a 2020 incident. In that case, Robertson is accused of kidnapping Foster, taking her to an abandoned home and firing a gun. The note allegedly instructed the uncle to say he had seen Robertson and Foster together somewhere else.

The other side:

Defense attorneys have suggested Robertson was only clearing bushes at his grandmother’s property. Beckom testified he had no knowledge of any landscaping ever being done there.

Neither Robertson nor Walker presented evidence after the prosecution rested.

The backstory:

The murder trial of 35-year-old mother of three Tiffany Foster, who vanished from her Coweta County apartment on March 1, 2021, and is presumed dead, began last week.

On Thursday, prosecutors introduced testimony this week from a former inmate who said he and Reginald "Reggie" Robertson were jailed together in 2021 and that he allowed Robertson to use his phone privileges. According to the witness, Robertson used the call to instruct someone to "get some canned goods and put them down a pipe" located at a specific home, with the pipe leading underground. 

Investigators believe the recorded call was a deliberate false rescue attempt designed to mislead law enforcement. In support of that view, FBI expert testimony disclosed that Foster’s cell phone disconnected from the Verizon network at 4:09 a.m. on the morning of her disappearance, and soon after Robertson and co-defendant Jeremy Walker’s phones registered pings in nearby Coweta County. 

Additional evidence entered by prosecutors includes a burned woodchipper found in Meriwether County, bone fragments and pieces of clothing inside the machine, blood stains in an abandoned home and traffic-camera footage showing Foster’s vehicle driving around hours after Robertson claimed she left earlier that morning. The state is pursuing a "no-body" homicide case since Foster’s remains have not been found. 

Robertson is charged with murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault and financial fraud. Walker is charged with concealing Foster’s death. 

Foster's body has never been found.

Read FOX 5's entire coverage of the trail

• Inmate says Reggie Robertson staged fake rescue call
• Traffic footage appears to dispute fiancé's timeline
• Inmate says Reggie Robertson staged fake rescue call
• Jury hears chilling 911 call, mom testifies
• Opening statements begin in Reginald Robertson trial
• Jury selection begins for Reginald Robertson

What's next:

Closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday morning.