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Rick Chow murder trial enters Day 3.LIVE: Rick Chow murder trial enters Day 3 Columbia, S.C.(WACH) — After two days of emotional testimony inside the Richland County Courthouse, the murder trial of Rick Chow resumes Friday morning — and the state is far from finished presenting its case.Chow, the former owner of a Shell gas station on Parklane Road, is charged with the May 28, 2023 shooting death of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton.Prosecutors say Chow chased the teen from his store over four bottles of water and shot him in the back.Chow's defense argues the shooting was justified — that Chow acted in a split second to protect the life of his son, Andy.READ MORE | Day 2: Emotional testimony continues in Rick Chow murder trial The state is expected to continue calling witnesses Friday morning when court resumes at the Richland County Courthouse.With twelve witnesses called over the first two days, prosecutors have methodically built their account of what happened on Parklane Road three years ago.WHAT HAPPENED IN DAY TWO Day 2 fell on the three-year anniversary of Cyrus Carmack-Belton's death — and the weight of that date was felt inside the courtroom.Before jurors entered, Judge Heath Taylor ordered that any buttons or displays marking the anniversary be removed.The jury also suffered another setback — a second consecutive juror called out sick, leaving the panel with only two alternates remaining.Taylor read a note from a juror indicating a third may be unavailable if the trial extends to June 3rd.Eyewitness Jasmine Broadwater testified she was driving with family when she looked out her passenger window and saw Cyrus running.She heard a pop, saw Cyrus hit the ground, and said Chow still had a gun pointed even after the shot.She said she never saw anything in the teenager's hands.On cross-examination, the defense challenged the consistency of her account, pointing to her initial 911 call and arguing her story had grown more detailed over time through additional statements made after meeting with law enforcement.The day's most gripping testimony came from Devontae Bryant, 33, of Hopkins.Bryant was driving alone near the gas station that night when he noticed the chase already underway.He slowed his car to watch — and told jurors he followed along the entire pursuit from his vehicle.Bryant said he never saw anything in Cyrus's hands.He said he watched Cyrus trip, fall hard — chest nearly to the ground — and desperately try to get back up before the shot was fired.Bryant stood and physically demonstrated the sequence for the jury."The first fall, when he falls, he completely falls all the way down, chest to the ground almost," Bryant testified."As he gets up, it's like he's moving so fast he's stumbling, so after the last stumble he tries to completely get up and takes a step or two after that and that was when the shot went off." The defense challenged the consistency of Bryant's account on cross-examination, pointing to body camera footage in which Bryant told officers he watched the shot through his rearview mirror — not directly as he testified in court.Columbia Fire Department responder Greg Walker also took the stand Wednesday.He testified he did not hear anyone at the scene say Cyrus had pointed a gun at anyone.The defense pushed back, suggesting someone at the scene had mentioned a gun.Investigators from the Richland County Sheriff's Department rounded out Day 2 — one testifying about the 39 camera angles used in Chow's store surveillance system, another presenting autopsy photographs showing a bullet wound to Cyrus's upper back.WHAT HAPPENED IN DAY ONE Opening statements set the tone for what has become a sharply contested case.Fifth Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson opened for the state by asking jurors a pointed question: "What is the value of a human life?" He told the jury that Chow chased Carmack-Belton 130 yards away from his store before shooting him in the back — and that the teen's life was cut short over a suspected theft of water bottles."To grieving parents who've lost a 14-year-old to senseless acts of violence, a human life is priceless," Gipson told jurors."But on May 28, 2023, Chikei Rick Chow determined Cyrus Carmack-Belton's life was worth less than four bottles of water." Defense attorney Jack Swerling, who has been trying cases in South Carolina for half a century, zeroed in on a central pillar of Chow's defense — that Carmack-Belton was carrying a pistol equipped with a laser sight, a fact not in dispute.Swerling argued that if Carmack-Belton had not had that weapon, none of this would have happened.He told jurors that Chow acted amid chaos and adrenaline and took no joy in what occurred.Testimony began Wednesday afternoon with eyewitness Lori Carson, who had just returned from a Memorial Day weekend movie with her daughter when she stopped near the gas station and watched the chase unfold."He looked frightened and scared," Carson said of Cyrus."He looked like he needed help." Carson testified she never saw anything in the teenager's hands.She was also one of the first people to reach Cyrus after he was shot — and wept on the stand as she described staying with him because, in her words, "he didn't have anybody there with him." The jury situation bears watching.The panel began with 15 members — 12 to decide the verdict plus alternates.Two jurors have already been unable to attend on consecutive days, and a note from a juror suggests a third may be lost if the trial runs into June.Circuit Court Judge Heath Taylor has not indicated how the case would proceed if the panel were to fall below 12.WACH FOX 57 will provide continuing coverage throughout the trial.