Closing arguments in Shepherd trial scheduled Friday

OGDEN Utah (ABC 4 News) Closing arguments in the trial of Skyler Shepherd will begin Friday.

Shepherd is on trial for his role in the death of a University of Utah scientist.

Ester Fujimoto was swimming at Pineview Resevoir in August of 2011 when prosecutors say Shepherd's boat hit Fujimoto and killing her.

But in court, Shepherd’s taped interview with a Weber County sheriff detective was played for a jury.

Shepherd said: “We really didn't know. I mean we knew we were close to her but we didn't know if we had actually hit her or struck her or bumped or whatever. I mean we were close to her.”

Shepherd was not driving the boat when Fujimoto was hit but was sitting towards the back.

He told the detective that he even shouted to the swimmer asking her if she was okay telling the detective: “She was swimming there and she was in fact, talking to us obviously.”

Shepherd told the detective that he took over the boat because his friend was badly shaken. And Shepherd says he asked the swimmer two times if she was okay.

“She said ‘yeah’. When she was out in the water there were no signs of like when you see in the movies where water is bloody or anything like that. It wasn't like that at all.”

And they left. But shepherd says the next day when he turned on the news, he knew there was trouble.

Shepherd: “The next day to hear on the news that she had died ... oh no, not like we're going to get in trouble. It was scary because she had actually died and in my mind no one would have thought it was a hit and run but that's not the truth. But that's the entire story.”

Fujimoto’s family has been in attendance throughout the week and Ester’s brother found Shepherd’s alibi hard to believe.

“I didn't buy one shred of what he said,” says Bryan Fujimoto.