Cameras in the courtroom is common practice in many states, but not in Nebraska, until now. A Channel 6 News camera was rolling Monday as a murder trial began at the Gage County Courthouse in Beatrice.

Richard Griswold is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Connie Eacret, last November at her Beatrice home. Griswold admits he shot her, but argues that the crime was not premeditated.

"At the close of the evidence we won't be asking you to return a verdict of not guilty,” says defense attorney Stephanie Clark. “We will be asking you to find that Rick is guilty of manslaughter."

"While we were walking and as he fell and as I was helping him back up, he made the statement of this was part of a love triangle," says Beatrice Police Officer Joe McCormick.

This was the first time in Nebraska history that cameras have been allowed in a district courtroom during a trial. It is part of an experiment to explore the possibility of putting cameras in more Nebraska courtrooms.

The effort is coordinated by the Nebraska Supreme Court.