The Trial of Scott Roeder: Days One and Two

Carolyn Marie Fugit is covering the trial of Scott Roeder on assignment for RH Reality Check.

DAY TWO (DAY ONE FOLLOWS BELOW)

Walking into the Sedgwick County Courthouse Monday morning, I saw a van covered in anti-abortion messages. Missionaries to the Pre-Born Iowa, formed by Army of God member Dan Holman, was parked in front, displaying grotesque images, pretty images, and messages saying abortion causes breast cancer and against vaccination. Inside, David Leach waited for day two of the trial to start. He and two companions talked to some members of the media. I chatted with representatives from the Feminist Majority Foundation and the National Abortion Federation. Outside the courtroom, the conversation was all about abortion. Inside, it was suppose to be about a murder.

First in the morning are two ushers Scott Roeder threatened after he shot Dr. George Tiller. Gary Hoepner stood at the refreshments table with Dr. Tiller, chatting about donuts. He saw Roeder come out of the sanctuary but thought nothing of it as he had seen Roeder the week before. He looked down then saw someone else out of the corner of his eye and looked up to see Roeder shoot.  Hoepner followed, trying to keep him from escaping. As they ran across some grass, Roeder told Hoepner to stop following him, that he had a gun. Public Defender Mark Rudy tried to say Hoepner could not be certain Roeder was shouting at him, but Hoepner said Roeder turned his head and shouted it back at him. Rudy tried again, as he had on Friday, to make a witness say protestors often disrupted services because Dr. Tiller provided abortions. Hoepner did not bite. In an attempt to play towards the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, Rudy asked if Hoepner thought "what [Roeder] did was reasonable?" Hoepner stated simply, "No." Later, he recalls letting his guard down, choking up because he felt bad he couldn't stop Roeder.

Keith Martin was not near Roeder when he shot Dr. Tiller, but after he heard a loud pop, he turned around to see Dr. Tiller on the ground and Roeder running across a courtyard. He tried a shortcut through Fellowship Hall, not quite catching up with Roeder. Martin stared him down briefly as he got into his car before Roeder stated he had a gun. As he drove off, Martin threw his cup of coffee into the open driver's side window, not knowing entirely why. District Attorney Nola Foulston asks Martin about various disruptions at the church over the years. He remembered five such times inside the church and many protests outside. Rudy wanted to know if these protests were against Dr. Tiller or against the church for having Dr. Tiller. Martin said they were not just about Dr. Tiller: he had received mail stating he should not be a Sunday school teacher because of the church he attended. He described the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America's social statement on abortion, one that individuals have no obligation to abide by. It was adopted in 1991 and has not been changed since. After a series of objections, the defense decides they may recall Martin at a later date, presumably to talk more about Dr. Tiller, Reformation Lutheran Church, and anti-abortion protestors.

On Sunday, May 31, 2009, Pastor Kristin Neitzel lead the service. The night before, at a special Pentecostal service, she noticed Roeder arrive late and sit away from the rest of the congregation. He left within 10 minutes of the service starting. She followed him out, concerned for security reasons: ushers had told her late summer, early fall 2008, that they were concerned about him. She would sit where he had been sitting and notice an envelope on the pew. A question was written on the outside, asking if the church was a 501(c)3 under the IRS tax code – a tax-exempt charitable organization. On the witness stand, she identified a series of bulletins from the church: August 2008; May 24th, 2009; May 30th, 2009. Sunday morning as she lead service, she heard a sound she thought was the dropping of a hymnal. After an usher pulled Senior Pastor Lowell Michelson out of the sanctuary, she was asked if she wanted to continue with the service. She felt she should. After the sermon, in accordance with the police, she informed the congregation of the shooting, and lead them in prayer before they left the church for the day.

Day two ended with Judge Warren Wilbert reminding the jury to not discuss the case or pay attention to any media coverage, paying special heed to an issue of GQ published over the weekend that discussed the case in detail. Outside, Leach and three others had their picture taken in front of their van by convicted domestic terrorist Michael Bray. As the sun set in Wichita, Kansas, everyone left, readying for Tuesday.

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DAY ONE:

The first day of Scott Roeder's murder trial introduced us to courtroom decorum and evidence that had not yet been discussed in the media, a preview of what to expect. Friends and supporters of Scott Roeder sat only a few feet from the family of Dr. George Tiller.

Before the trial began, Judge Warren Wilbert reminded everyone in the gallery to behave. We could not make audible noises – no grunts or moans or cheers – and non-verbal cues – facial expressions or body movements – that could influence the jury. If anyone disobeyed, they would be made to leave. He could even hold them in contempt of court. Not everyone was pleased by this. They had been waving to Roeder as he entered the room, and he had been smiling back at them. Some of Roeder's supporters would struggle with this order for proper decorum throughout the day.

Judge Wilbert heard two motions, already brought before the court. The prosecution requested, once again, that a defense for voluntary manslaughter not be allowed. District Attorney Nola Foulston described it as "a wolf in sheep's clothing," a backdoor for the necessity defense. Judge Wilbert reminds the court and the public that the defense does not need to provide any evidence and is presumed innocent. He cannot rule out evidence before he hears it. He denied their motion "at this time," allowing them to bring objections on specific evidence later in the trial. The defense once again asks for a change of venue after recognizing they accepted the jury that has yet to be sworn in. The judge once again denies their request. The trial will be held in Wichita.

After the jury is sworn in, Foulston gives her opening statement. She reminds the jury that she is not presenting evidence, only what she believes the evidence will show. On the morning of May 31, 2009, Scott Roeder put a gun to George Tiller's head and shot him. 911 received the first call shortly after 10:02 am. A couple minutes later, another call gave dispatch a description of the car and a plate number. And at 10:13 am, Dr. Tiller was pronounced dead.

Roeder had stayed overnight at a hotel in Wichita, more than three hours from where he lived. He stayed at a different one the week before. When he was pulled over, officers found shoes in his car that had Dr. Tiller's blood splattered on them. At his home in Missouri, the FBI found a box for a gun, a calendar with May 30 and 31 highlighted, a church bulletin from Reformation Lutheran Church from August of 2008, and an ammunition receipt. The day before, he went to his brother's in Topeka, about an hour west of Kansas City, and had some shooting practice. The FBI found several shell casings, one of which was the same brand as the one found near Dr. Tiller's body in Wichita. The gun has still not been found.

The defense did not offer an opening statement at this time, and the first witness was called. Diane Gage is Director of Emergency Communications. We hear the first 911 call. The woman on the line, Kathy Wegner, was distraught, telling 911 that Dr. Tiller had been shot in church and the shooter had left. Gage walked through the times of the calls to 911 and to emergency services. The first officer arrived at 10:07 Sunday morning and the last one left after 7 Monday morning.

Wegner takes the stand and describes that morning. She is quite matter-of-fact until she talks about the shooting and seeing Dr. Tiller on the ground. She made the first call to 911. From the business office, she could see others gathering around Dr. Tiller. She heard his wife, Jeanne, scream. We are shown a picture taken that morning, Dr. Tiller laying many feet away. A Roeder supporter from Texas begins to sway, beaming with joy at the image of Dr. Tiller's body. Security warned her to sit back and not smile or she would have to leave. She begrudgingly complied. Meanwhile, Mrs. Tiller and their family look away.

Two Wichita police officers describe the call and their arrival at the church, showing more gruesome pictures. The last witness for the day is Dr. Paul Ryding, a veterinarian specializing in equine medicine. He tried to resuscitate Dr. Tiller. He remembered seeing Roeder towards the end of 2008. He remembered Roeder did not participate in the worship service, and when he tried to engage Roeder later, Roeder was defensive, his conversation fragmented. Public Defender Mark Rudy tried to make Ryding say he was on the lookout for strangers because of Dr. Tiller's field of medicine, a line of questioning he used during the preliminary hearing. Ryding worked hard not to go there. Rudy misunderstood part of Ryding's testimony and started to say the reason Ryding was suspicious of Roeder was because of abortion. Judge Wilbert asked the jury to leave while the record was read back. Judge Wilbert offered Rudy the benefit of the doubt that he simply mis-heard the testimony. He said the line of questioning would not be allowed unless the witness opened the door. "But the door is not open," he stated. After the jury came back, Rudy once again tried to get Ryding to say Dr. Tiller was killed because of his practice. Judge Wilbert did not allow it. As he had said before, this trial will not be about abortion.

With less than an hour left in the day, Judge Wilbert called the day to an end reminding the jury to keep an open mind through the weekend. We leave the courtroom one day down, several more to go.