NORFOLK, Va. – Tuesday was day two of Michael Ebong’s murder trial in Norfolk Circuit Court.
The Norfolk man is accused of killing two women over an eight-month period and raping a third woman.
Inside the courthouse, the alleged rape victim was emotional as she took the stand.
She claims she met Ebong while out at a bar with her friends at the Oceanfront last May in 2021. The next thing the witness said she remembers is waking up in an unfamiliar place, not knowing how she got there.
During her testimony Tuesday, the woman said of the suspect, “I woke up in a dark, little apartment and he was on the bed beside me.”
The victim said she was dizzy; had difficulty standing; was in and out of consciousness and felt like she was drugged.
“I was very sick,” the accuser said. “My eyes were fluttering. My hands were pulsing. I was very nauseous, shaky, and uneasy. The woman went on to say at one point, she was very sweaty then extremely cold.
The woman broke down in tears on the stand as she described the moments she says Ebong began touching her all over as she fought to breathe and then raped her.
“Eventually he’s on top of me…all his weight on top of me and having sex,” she said.
The witness went on to say she saw a gun and believed she was in a lot of danger.
Later that evening, she said she somehow convinced Ebong to take her home.
Two months passed before she reported the alleged rape to police, right after the death of 30-year-old Kelsey Paton.
Ebong is accused of killing Paton and 36-year-old Sheena West several months beforehand in November of 2020.
Detectives said the stories are similar. They claim Ebong met the two women in a bar in Virginia Beach on separate occasions. The next day, they said both were found dead in his apartment from a drug overdose.
The defense argued there’s no proof on how the drugs were ingested.
Ebong’s lawyer added that Tuesday’s witness previously said she doesn’t remember meeting Ebong in the bar and that she was only told that by the suspect the next day after she woke up.
A forensic scientist and toxicologist also took the stand Tuesday.
They said Ebong’s DNA was found in all three women.
In both Paton and West’s systems, the toxicologist said they found alcohol, heroin, and lethal doses of fentanyl.
Family members of the two women were in the courtroom but did not want to speak with News 3 at this time.
Ebong’s trial is expected to wrap up as early as Thursday.
