Man suspected of killing FOX executive testifies in his own defense

(FOX 11) - Dramatic testimony in the case of murdered FOX executive Gavin Smith. The man at the center of the case the defendant John Creech took the stand.

It's not unheard of but it is uncommon for a defendant accused of murder to take the stand in his (or her) defense.

Usually it means they're extremely confident or extremely desperate, or have bad attorneys. We're not sure what the reason was in the murder case of former FOX film distribution executive Gavin Smith, but defendant John Creech took the stand today and claimed self defense .

He said he was upset that Smith and Creech's now ex-wife were having an affair, and had been for years, on and off. He admits using a cell phone app GPS locator to track her during a rendezvous with Smith in Smith's car.

From there, he claims Smith attacked him when he confronted the couple, and that it was only after a prolonged vicious fight featuring Smith attacking him with a makeshift weapon, that Creech overcame Smith, who later died.

Being an ex con on parole, Creech said ''no way'' was he going to call the cops. It was an ''error in judgement'' to hide Smith's blood stained Mercedes in a friends garage, and to bind the body in duct tape and bury it in a makeshift desert grave outside Palmdale, where it was discovered accidentally by hikers a full two and a half years after Smith disappeared.

Smith leaves behind three boys and a wife he was obviously having issues with. It will be interesting to see if jurors are willing to talk about this case if and when they reach a verdict, to talk about what they thought of Mr Creech's self defense claim.