It's no longer entirely circumstantial.
Many cases are entirely circumstantial. This one has a bit of lift-off from the presence of DM in that doorway.
I believe as you do about the nature of the evidence. DNA is circumstantial evidence, as I understand it. I believe cameras are also considered non-circumstantial, maybe a lawyer will weigh in. So there is also camera evidence at this point (of his car in Clarkton, for example).
I agree that the evidence must be taken in its totality, but presented to the jury as strands, or it will be overwhelming. I see at least 10 different complex strands already in this case (more than in most cases, quite the net that BK is caught in).
DM definitely brings something to the case - as do the various cameras.
I find the differences between circumstantial and direct evidence interesting. I'm trying to learn more about it.
I think DM's testimony is only circumstantial evidence because she did not witness the crime. It seems like to me that camera evidence or recordings on people's phones could be direct evidence but I am not sure. I thought blood and fingerprint and DNA evidence are direct evidence but not according to this article:
Direct evidence directly proves a key fact at issue. Indirect evidence is a fact or set of facts that, if true, allow jurors to infer the fact at issue.
www.shouselaw.com
An example of direct evidence (in a murder case) is a witness testifying that she saw the defendant actually stab and kill the victim.
An example of indirect evidence (in the same case) is a witness testifying that she saw the defendant running from the crime scene. Here, a juror could use this fact to infer that the accused committed the crime.
Direct evidence is a piece of evidence often in the form of the testimony of witnesses or eyewitness accounts. Examples of direct evidence are when a person testifies that he/she:
Saw an accused commit a crime,
heard another person say a certain word or words, or
observed a certain act take place.
Consider, also, a case where a defendant is suspected of burglary. A conspirator to the crime signs a statement confessing that he helped the accused with the offense. This is direct proof of the defendant’s guilt.
What is indirect evidence?
Unlike direct evidence, circumstantial evidence does not directly prove a key fact. Rather, this type of evidence:
Proves another fact, and a person can then make a reasonable inference that a key fact happened.
Consider, for example, a shoplifting case in which a prosecutor believes the defendant, Joe, took a leather coat from a department store. At trial, the D.A. provides a witness that says she saw the accused at a party wearing a similar coat to the one Joe allegedly took. This is indirect evidence that Joe shoplifted the jacket.
Note that, in the above example, if the witness said she was in the store with Joe and saw him take the clothing, then this would be direct evidence and not circumstantial evidence.
Indirect evidence often includes:
physical evidence (such as bloodstains),
forensic evidence and scientific evidence, and
fingerprint evidence.
(I assume this includes DNA evidence)