Randy McCowan said in his testimony that he was awoken at about 4 a.m. the morning of Feb. 23 by his son, who told him about the confrontation between him and MSU student Andrew Singler — a confrontation that left Singler dead of multiple alleged stab wounds.

The two then drove to Singler’s apartment, with Randy McCowan calling Andrew Singler’s phone several times beginning at 4:20 a.m., according to phone records obtained by police. They returned to find police at their home to arrest Connor McCowan, Randy McCowan said.

Randy McCowan said Singler was “like a son” to him.

Connor McCowan’s attorney Chris Bergstrom is slated to begin his case Thursday morning.
——

The autopsy and toxicology reports of MSU student Andrew Singler, as well as testimonies from Singler’s girlfriend Shay McCowan, were brought forward Monday morning in the trial of Okemos resident Connor McCowan.

McCowan is on trial in Ingham County Circuit Court for allegedly stabbing and killing Singler on the night of Feb. 23 after a disagreement between the two went awry. He was charged with open murder and could face life in prison if convicted.

Ben Mosher, a trauma surgeon for Sparrow Hospital in Lansing who treated Singler that night, testified that Singler’s probability of survival was 10 percent when he arrived at the hospital around 4 a.m.

“He had no vital signs,” Mosher said. “He was not breathing on his own, he had no pulse, no electrical activity. He was pretty much dead.”

When Mosher performed emergency surgery on Singler, he said he had lost more than one liter of blood from the stab wound in his chest. He said his heart stopped beating during the procedure. Singler was pronounced dead at 5:15 a.m.

Connor McCowan’s sister Shay McCowan, who dated Singler for more than two years, also began her testimony Monday. Prior to the altercation, Shay McCowan said Connor McCowan and Singler were close, “like brothers.”

Shay McCowan testified that she and Singler argued “fairly often,” with one physical altercation occurring in February 2012. She said an argument escalated that day, with Andrew shoving her onto a bed, covering her with a sheet and hitting her.

John Bechinski, the forensic pathologist who performed Singler’s autopsy, said both wounds, one in Singler’s chest and one in his inner right elbow, were caused by a slightly upward stabbing motion, but he could not determine what order the wounds occurred in.

Bechinski could not determine the amount of force it would have taken to inflict the wound in Singler’s chest.

Toxicology reports showed Singler had a blood-alcohol level of .124 percent. Bechinski said the report also indicated Singler showed evidence of marijuana use, with a THC level of 2.9 percent.

Photos of McCowan after he allegedly stabbed Singler showed slight bruising and swelling above his left eyebrow, which could have been caused by a punch to the face. Bechinski said the injury was not life-threatening.