Sheena Averill, wife of David D. Averill Jr., testifies during her husband's June 17, 2014, preliminary hearing in front of Saginaw County District Judge A.T. Frank.

SAGINAW, MI — David D. Averill Jr. had a rifle pointed to his chin seconds before his best friend grabbed for the gun and was fatally shot, Averill's wife testified Tuesday, June 17.

Taking the witness stand for nearly an hour, Sheena Averill told Saginaw County District Judge A.T. Frank that John Wood died about 9:30 p.m. Dec. 14 after he moved the barrel of the gun and, as he held it near his body, was shot in the abdomen.

Wood, still standing near his friend as David Averill sat on his bed, looked at his friend's wife and said, "Sheena, I'm dying," Averill testified.

The 38-year-old then pulled his hand away from his abdomen, revealing "his insides" and blood, and fell to the floor, Averill testified.

David Averill then "snapped out of whatever (mental state) he was in," stood up, and checked on his best friend since high school, Averill testified. He quickly realized Wood was on the verge of death and said, "OK, I just killed my best friend," Sheena Averill testified.

As Averill had her back to the men as she tried to call 911, she heard another gunshot and saw her husband's body "spin around" enough to cause him to lay face first on the bed, she testified.

"I thought he shot himself through the chest," Averill told Frank. "I thought he was dead instantly."

David Averill survived, but Wood did not, and prosecutors have charged Averill with involuntary manslaughter and possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with the incident at the Averills' home, 205 E. Saginaw near Melze in the village of Merrill.

Sheena Averill testified during her husband's preliminary hearing, intended for the judge to determine whether probable cause exists for trial. Based on the testimony, Frank bound Averill over for trial in Circuit Court.

David D. Averill Jr., 33, listens to testimony during his June 17, 2014, preliminary hearing.

David Averill, 33, has had the preliminary hearing postponed multiple times since prosecutors charged him in January.

Tuesday's hearing was scheduled for 9:45 a.m. but did not begin until about 10:30 a.m. as Averill's attorney, Michael Sovansky, and Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Richard King discussed a possible plea agreement.

Averill rejected the agreement, which was not placed on the record, and chose to proceed with his hearing.

The hearing almost immediately took a rare turn, as King called Sheena Averill to the stand, but after he confirmed with her testimony that she was the defendant's wife, Sovansky asked her if she wanted to invoke her spousal privilege against testifying.

Sovansky asked Averill if it was her desire to testify against her husband, and she said, "Not today." Frank then excused her from the witness stand, and she left the courtroom.

King then said he needed a couple extra minutes to secure the testimony of county 911 Deputy Director Barry Nelson, whom King would use to introduce into evidence Sheena Averill's 911 call in which she tells the operator her husband shot his friend and then shot himself.

King and county Sheriff's Detective Sgt. David Kerns then left the courtroom but returned minutes later with Sheena Averill, who after re-taking the witness stand said she misunderstood Sovansky's question and wanted to testify against her husband.

'Shots'

Averill testified that earlier in the day, she and her husband were involved in a traffic crash on their way to Saginaw to visit a friend. They got home about 4:30 p.m., and Wood came over after that, Averill testified.

The two men hung out in the master bedroom of the home while Sheena Averill watched television in the living room, she said. She could hear them laughing and talking, she said.

At one point, Averill testified, her husband came into the living room and grabbed the cellphone she was using to talk to her dad. He then ripped the battery out and threw the phone and battery, breaking the phone, Averill testified.

She then went into the bedroom to ask her husband why he broke the phone, and he had no recollection of doing so, Averill testified. She believed her husband, she said, and began worrying and wondering if he needed to be taken to the Veterans Affairs hospital or another hospital, she testified.

While there was a half-empty bottle of Black Velvet whisky and a cup with some Black Velvet in it, Averill did not believe her husband was drunk, she testified.

David Averill at one point said they were going to do "shots" and left the bedroom, but he returned with a rifle, which was in its case, Averill testified. He tried to load it, but she tried to stop him from doing so, Averill testified.

Sheena Averill, wife of David D. Averill Jr., covers her face while listening to a recording of a 911 recording during her husband's preliminary hearing.

He was able to overpower her and successfully loaded the gun, put the barrel to his chin, and said he was going to kill himself, Sheena Averill testified. He had his finger on the trigger, she said.

"I was convinced he was going to kill himself," Averill testified.

She then grabbed the barrel twice, but her husband both times told her not to touch his weapon, Averill testified. She then yelled for Wood, who was in the bathroom down the hallway and, upon entering the room, "knew exactly what was going on," Averill testified.

Wood pulled the barrel away and had it near his abdomen and then "the gun went off," Averill testified. David Averill had his hand on the rifle, but Averill testified she "can't be sure" whether his finger still was on the trigger. Wood had one hand on the barrel and one "down by his side" and not on the trigger, Averill testified.

Averill then sat back down on the bed and shot himself, his wife testified. There was no testimony regarding where he was shot, but when he made his first court appearance after he was released from an Ann Arbor hospital, he was wearing a sling.

Dr. Kanu Virani, the county's forensic pathologist and then-medical examiner, testified Wood was shot in the right wrist and that the bullet then went through to his right abdomen below his rib cage. The bullet then perforated Wood's liver and right lung before stopping in his left back, Virani testified.

The bullet traveled in a "slightly upward angle" through Wood's body, Virani said.

Wood had 121 milligrams of Xanax in his system as well as over 1,000 milligrams of methadone, Virani testified. The drugs would have reduced Wood's ability to react and think properly but would not have hindered his body's ability to handle the gunshot wounds, the doctor said.

To prove involuntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, prosecutors must show the defendant acted in a "grossly negligent manner" and "without lawful excuse or justification."

Sovansky, David Averill's attorney, argued against Frank binding the case over to Circuit Court.

"I believe the testimony has indicated, if anything, that if my client was involved, it was purely and simply an accident," Sovansky.

From right, John Wood's mother Esther Wood, his sister Martha Wood, and Martha's long-time boyfriend Brian Vance listen to a recording of a 911 call during David D. Averill Jr.'s preliminary hearing in connection with Wood's death.

As Averill remained jailed waiting for his hearing, Wood's mother Esther Wood filed a wrongful death lawsuit against him. Esther Wood's attorney William White, who was present for Tuesday's hearing, has written John Wood's estate "has suffered damages in excess of $1 million," an "amount sufficient to fully compensate his estate and his heirs for their loss."

Based on Sheena Averill touching the gun during the incident, White also added her to the lawsuit. County Circuit Judge Robert L. Kaczmarek in May granted a 60-day "stay," or delay, in the case to allow the criminal case to proceed further.

Court officials had yet to set a next court date for Averill, who remains jailed on a $100,000 bond.

— Andy Hoag covers courts for MLive/The Saginaw News. Email him at ahoag@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter @awhoag