Webster County murder trial: Mother’s victim speaks out about loss
"Justice is here, you know, and that's all I ever wanted."
WEBSTER COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The murder trial of Joshua Oats continues in Webster County.
Oats was arrested and charged with second-degree murder for allegedly shooting and killing Jordan Alexzander Gaston.
WCBI was at that trial and talked with the mother of the victim, Angel Gaston.
“Justice is here you know and that’s all I ever wanted. You know this last year and a half has been hard for all of us,” Angel Gaston said.
Family and friends packed the Webster County Courtroom as testimony continued in the Joshua Oats Murder trial.
One-by-one witnesses took the stand. To recall the events of the night Jordan Alexzander Gaston was shot three times and killed.
His mother, Angel Gaston was just one person in the gallery. She said losing her son has been one of the hardest things she has ever faced, and she is relying on her faith to keep going.
“I want to be able to move on and heal and do what God has told me to do. To tell about his goodness and his glory because somebody needs to hear this story. He was with me since he was 13 years old. We didn’t have the best of relationships but he was my child. He loved his momma and his momma loved him. Now I am his voice. I’ll speak when nobody else will. I’ll go when God tells me to go and I am going to do what God tells me to do,” Angel Gaston said.
Gaston was a scholar, a National Guard veteran, and a counselor in the Winona School district.
His mother said he was the type of person who cared for others.
“He lived the way Alex lived. He didn’t meet a stranger. People loved him. He had that aura about him. Would help you – would give you the shoes off his big bare feet and he had some big ones- they were big… That’s the type of person he was. He loved family. He loved to get together. He loved the kids. He wanted to do so many great things for our community,” Angel Gaston said.
When asked how she felt seeing the suspect in court, Angel Gaston said all she could see was a broken man.
“I don’t even laugh at this man’s demise. Matter of fact I told God to have mercy on him, his family, and his children’s children. I am still going to pray for him I am still going to forgive him. I want my father to have mercy on him,” Angel Gaston said.
At last report, the jury was going into deliberation.
