Christopher Head is charged with second-degree murder in the death of his 9-year-old son, who was found shot to death near a shotgun that his father allegedly left unsecured in a Detroit home Monday.

When testimony concluded in the first day of trial Tuesday, a father stood with tears in his eyes and watched the jury exit the courtroom in a single-file line.

Christopher D. Head, 45, of Detroit, faces a second-degree murder charge stemming from the Nov. 9 shotgun death of his son, 9-year-old Daylen Head.

Head, a convicted felon not allowed to possess guns, isn't accused of pulling the trigger, but Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's office argues his negligence -- Head allowed his children to play in a bedroom with a loaded shotgun in the closet -- is to blame.

The trial continues Wednesday morning.

"This is really an example of the most egregious set of allegations ... that we've seen in recent memory," Worthy said at a May press conference. " ... The defendant knowingly kept a loaded, unsecured, sawed-off shotgun in his bedroom closet on the floor, in plain sight ...

"His room is also where the video game console was located. His daughter -- allegedly -- age 10 years old, pulled the shotgun out of the closet ... and mimicked the activity in the video game she had just seen her brother playing with."

Daylen's mother, Abigail Benyard, 37, of Detroit, was the only spectator besides media in the courtroom when testimony ended Tuesday.

She declined comment.

Benyard testified earlier in the day before prosecutors called Detective Robert Holmes, one of two Detroit police who questioned Head following his son's death.

The jury -- seven men and seven women, including alternates -- ended the day watching the recorded police interview with Head. They're expected to see the remainder of the interview Wednesday.

On the day of the shooting, Head told investigators he knew there was a shotgun in the closet of his bedroom where his son was playing video games for between 20 and 30 minutes before he heard "a boom."

The gun was owned by the owner and landlord of the house, Head told police.

"Of course they know not to go into the closet," Head said. "The closet is off limits.

" ... We discussed that over and over and over again, like a broken record."

After hearing the shotgun blast, Head's daughter ran past him, "hysterical," repeating, "Daddy, I didn't do nothing," he told police.

"That's where the truth lies," Head told Holmes and his partner that day in November. "With her."

Head told police the gun was always loaded, but he didn't know there was a shell in the chamber.

Christopher Head 12 Gallery: Christopher Head

Holmes shared custody of his son with Daylen's mother.

Head, wearing a white shirt, pants and shoes, could be seen dabbing his eyes while watching the interview in court Tuesday.

The father of four told police he enjoyed playing playing video games -- Tekken 6, he said -- with his youngest son, whom Head's mother called his "spitting image."

We had a "great rapport," Head told police.

Worthy's office offered Head a plea deal, which he initially accepted, but Wayne Circuit Judge Dana Hathaway threw out the plea deal at the sentencing and determined the case should go to trial.

Head pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to request a maximum sentence of 6 years in prison. With the plea deal discarded, Head now faces up to life in prison, and his daughter, who appears on the prosecution's witness list, may be forced to take the stand.

"He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and he was willing (to forgo) trial to save his daughter from testifying about her role," Byron H. Pitts Jr., Head's Detroit-based attorney, told MLive in May.

Head is charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, second-degree child abuse, possession of a firearm by a felon, felony use of a firearm and possession of a short-barreled shotgun.

"I'm going to be the most hated person in history," Head told police after the shooting. "I guess I'll have to deal with it."

The shotgun was in court Tuesday. Alterations weren't immediately detectable, but Michigan law considers any shotgun with a barrel shorter than 18 inches an illegal short-barreled shotgun.

Head pleaded no contest to extortion and aggravated stalking and had an arson charge dismissed in 2006, according to Wayne County online records. He was found guilty of illegally carrying a concealed pistol in 1989 and cocaine possession in 1994.