The Trial of Scott Roeder: Days One and Two | RHRealityCheck.org

The Trial of Scott Roeder: Days One and Two | RHRealityCheck.org

Posted using ShareThis

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 2009, 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 2009; May 24th, 2010; May 30th, 2010. 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.

*********************

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.

Day Three

On the third day of Scott Roeder's trial for the murder of Dr. George Tiller testimony was heard from Wichita Police Department detectives and officers, Sheriff's deputies, FBI Special Agents, and clerks, all of whom talked about the days their paths crossed with Roeder.

The Sunday morning of May 31st 2009, Lt. Kenneth Landwehr, commander of the homicide squad, received a call that there had been a shooting. After being briefed and examining the crime scene, Landwehr worked with other law enforcement agencies in Kansas and other states, issuing a BOLO, "Be on the lookout." He talked with the District Attorney about possible other targets and notified Nebraska. Other officers, including Jason Bartel, were checking with every hotel in Wichita to see if Roeder had checked in. Saturday, he checked into the Garden Inn near Kellogg and Rock, about three miles south of the church. The week before, he had stayed at the Starlight Motel, about a mile and a half west of the Garden Inn on Kellogg, the major highway through Wichita.

Sandy Michael had the misfortune of checking Roeder out of the hotel on Sunday, May 31. She remembered he seemed "happy-go-lucky" and friendly as he checked out. He had paid with cash and used a coupon – readily available throughout Wichita – reducing the rate for the night to just under $40. He arrived the night before around 6:10 pm and left Sunday around 9:30 am, on his way to the church.

In Johnson County, Kansas, approximately three hours northeast of Wichita via the fastest highway route, Johnson County Deputy Andrew Lento patrolled his area of the county. It is usually "very quiet" Sunday mornings in the furthest south patrol of the county. That morning around 10:40 am, he was informed of a BOLO for a car with Johnson County plates. Lento let other officers north of him aware of his plan: at about 1 pm, he would go as far south as he was permitted on I-35 and wait in the median; if he saw the car, he would follow it north until they could back him up. They had been informed the driver was armed, making this a high-risk traffic stop needing at least 3 officers. A half hour later, he saw a light colored car headed towards him, the shiny K-State Wildcat vanity plate visible nearly a half mile away. He got behind the car and confirmed the plate number as the one they were looking for. A few miles later, they pulled him over and took him into custody.

The car was sealed for evidence, and Roeder taken to the county jail where Lento took several pictures of Roeder, dressed in a denim shirt and black slacks. He noticed some blood spots on a shoe and his slacks. On cross examination, Steve Osburn asked if the car made any attempts to leave the highway once Lento's car got behind him. Lento said he did not and agreed with Osburn that Roeder complied and did not resist his arrest.

After Roeder's car arrived in Wichita, Crime Scene Investigator Andrew Maul began his investigation. First thing he pointed out to the jury were a few light brown splashes. He had been told that an usher – Keith Martin – had thrown a cup of coffee at the car as it drove away. In the photographs, we can see some landed on the hood, on the roof, and on the partially-opened window. He informs us the splatters he saw were consistent with the throwing of a coffee cup. Inside the car, he found a white shirt with brown spots on it, two ties, live rounds under a seat, a box of ammunition, several papers from the driver's side visor – bulletin from the church for May 24; a welcome pamphlet; another handout , this time with Rev. Lowell Michelson's name and phone number; another handout from the service on May 30 with a note written on it; card from the Garden Inn; and a check copy from a checkbook made out to the Bullet Hole – car registration information in the glove box, and an insurance card in the names of David and Karen Roeder. He also found a "nasty-looking, serrated, sheath-type knife," he said, under the front passenger seat and more bullets in the back. He showed us the white shirt with coffee stains – Keith Martin's doing all the way back in Wichita.

In Kansas City, Missouri, FBI Special Agent Andrew Alvey was asked to look for evidence in the house where Roeder lived. Earlier, the address from Roeder's driver's license and car registration were searched only to find no one had lived there in a while. Alvey went in and found a bedroom in disarray. On the bed lay an open and empty suitcase, an empty gun box laying in front of it. In the living room lay a calendar underneath a remote control. He also found a receipt for ammo from the Bullet Hole and a church bulletin from Reformation Lutheran for August 24, 2008.

We hear from three employees of Jayhawk Pawn and Jewelry in Lawrence who helped Roeder purchase a small .22 caliber handgun and some ammunition. One explained to him they only carried two brands of ammo for that size gun – a low velocity and a high velocity. Since Roeder had said he wanted the gun for target practice, it was recommended that he buy the low velocity as it is not as loud. However, it had to be loaded from the top of the gun, not in the magazine, one at a time. As he checked out Roeder, buying one of each kind, Roeder chit chatted with another patron he had been talking to beforehand. Later that day, Roeder and another man went to High Plains Gun Shop in Topeka. Roeder said his gun was not working right. The gun, we hear, was dirty, dry, and the handle was held on with electrical tape. It was not working properly, he was told, because he was using the wrong ammunition. While the owner of the shop fixed the gun, Roeder asked about proper ammo. He bought two different kinds, some gun oil, and a bumper sticker. Roeder and the man he came in with spent about half an hour in the store.

Monday morning, Highway Trooper Denton Murray received a phone call from a man calling himself David Roeder. His daughter had received a phone call from the media asking about Scott. David was concerned the gun used to kill Dr. Tiller had his fingerprints on it. As it was explained to Murray, Scott went to Topeka Saturday afternoon for some target practice at his brother's. The two went to High Plains Gun Shop when the gun would not shoot properly. Murray and FBI Special Agent Michael Miller went out to David's house in a more rural part of Shawnee County. On June 1st and 2nd, Miller found several shell casings and a few bullets on David's property. They had been told David owns two guns that Scott use to own – a 9 millimeter and an assault rifle. He says while they were told the 9 millimeter gun had been used for target practice in the past, they had not found any spent casings for it those days, only for the 22. They did not identify what type of shells they found as they "let the scientists back in the lab make that determination."

Today, we learned how Roeder was apprehended, what he had in his car on May 31st, that he stayed overnight in Wichita both the night before and the week before, that he had purchased a gun two weeks earlier, and that just the day before, he had his gun fixed, bought the correct ammunition, and made sure his gun worked before he found his way into a special Pentecostal service at Reformation Lutheran Church. The day before he finally carried out his plan to assassinate Dr. George Tiller.

Day Four

For several months, we have heard stories about Scott Roeder's assassination of Dr. George Tiller. We have heard many stories through the media from people near the case but not part of it. In July, we got the first taste of what we would expect to hear in the trial: two ushers near Dr. Tiller chased Roeder who threatened them; a late-comer to church saw the license plate; and Dr. Tiller died of from a single shot, the gun pressed right against his head. During last week's opening statement, the prosecution said they would introduce evidence that Roeder stayed in Wichita overnight after going to his brother's in Topeka for target practice. When he was arrested, he was wearing shoes that contained Dr. Tiller's blood. The gun has still not been found. We've heard stories from eyewitnesses, seen photographs of important items, and heard law enforcement retracing evidence. And today, we put the final pieces together.

Friday, we heard the 911 call Kathy Wegner made after she heard a gunshot, turned around, and saw Dr. Tiller lying on the ground. Dr. Paul Ryding heard the gunshot, went into the foyer, and tried to help Dr. Tiller though he figured it was too late. Two Wichita police officers describe answering the call to help, their arrival at the church, and described the pictures of the scene and Dr. Tiller.

After the weekend, Gary Hoepner told us that as he was talking to Dr. Tiller, he saw Roeder walking out of the sanctuary. He looked at the table and, in the corner of his eye, saw Roeder shoot Dr. Tiller. He chased after, hearing Roeder shout back that he had a gun. Keith Martin, on the other side of the foyer, heard the shot, saw someone running out, and gave chase a different way. He stood in front of Roeder's car. Roeder told him to move, but he didn't. Roeder pointed his gun at him, told him again to move, and he did. As Roeder drove off, he threw the coffee he still had into the open window. Pastor Kristin Neitzel saw Roeder at the special Pentecostal service Saturday, May 31st. She thought it was odd that he left very early in the service. She sat down where he had sat and found an envelope with an odd message. On that Sunday, she led the service, telling the congregants of the shooting before leading them in prayer.

On Tuesday, we heard a great deal of evidence. Roeder stayed in a hotel near the church, chatting with the clerk before he left. Shortly after he reached Gardner in Johnson County, sheriff deputies pulled him over and arrested him. When his car arrived in Wichita, unspent ammunition was found inside along with the shirt he was wearing in the church. There were coffee spots on the car that were consistent with Martin tossing the cup at him. We learned Roeder had bought the gun in Lawrence approximately two weeks before, picked it up the week before, and ammunition for it the day before. He went to Topeka for target practice at his brother's house. The gun had some problems so they took it to a gun shop in Topeka, bought some more ammo and some gun oil.

Today began with Gary Miller, the firearm and tool mark examiner for Sedgwick County. He examined bullet fragments and shell casings from both the church and Roeder's brother's in Topeka. He said he could not positively say the bullets were fired from the same gun. He could say, however, that all the casings found in Topeka matched the one found in the church: they were fired from the same gun.

Shelly Steadman is the DNA lab manager at Sedgwick County's Forensic Science Center. She examined blood on the pants Roeder was wearing at his arrest. She said what she was able to examine was Roeder's blood. The blood on one of the shoes he was wearing, however, matched Dr. Tiller's.

Dr. Jaime Oeberst is the District Coroner and chief medical examiner for Sedgwick County. An x-ray showed fragments near an entry wound and a larger fragment at the back of Dr. Tiller's head. She said soot deposits, among other evidence, showed the gun was placed on Dr. Tiller's head, as he was looking down, when he was shot.

With this, the jury left. Before the prosecution will rest Thursday morning, there were a couple of legal matters that needed to be handled. The defense had subpoenaed Jeanne Tiller for Dr. Tiller's appointment records. The defense withdrew this subpoena: Dr. Tiller's patients will remain confidential. The judge also squashed a subpoena for Deputy Attorney General Barry Disney. The defense said they wanted him to testify that he tried Dr. Tiller last March "in good faith". Judge Wilbert ruled this was unnecessary and was irrelevant. The defense wanted to make sure the record reflected their objections and reasons for the subpoena for the Court of Appeals.

From now on, the defense will have to proffer – meaning outside the presence of the jury – what evidence any witness will testify about before they will be allowed to testify. Tomorrow will start with the defense proffer of former Kansas Attorney General Phil Kline. It is at this time that Roeder will try to say he held the "honest but unreasonable belief" required for voluntary manslaughter. But before the jury will deliberate, the defense must satisfy the judge that they have proved Dr. Tiller provided an imminent threat. Only the next couple of days will tell.

Day Five

Scott Roeder, in his testimony today, decided as far back as 1993 that Dr. George Tiller needed to die. He thought of several different ways to do it. He could not do it outside the clinic. He drove by the neighborhood where Dr. Tiller lived but could not get in. He could not do it at the Sedgwick County Courthouse while Dr. Tiller was on trial. In August 2008, he went into Reformation Lutheran Church with a Smith and Wesson 9 millimeter gun in a shoulder holster under his suit coat but did not see Dr. Tiller in order to kill him. He pawned his 9 mm and an SKS Chinese assault rifle. On May 18th, 2009, he bought a Taurus P-22 caliber handgun, one that would fit in his pocket; he picked it up on May 23rd, 2009, and then drove to Wichita to kill Dr. Tiller in church on Sunday, May 24th. He did not see Dr. Tiller so drove back home to Kansas City, Missouri. On May 29th, he spent some time with his son, going to dinner and a movie. On May 30th, he bought more ammunition then drove to Topeka. He visited his childhood neighborhood, wondering if a childhood friend's mother still lived there. He drove out to his brother's, took target practice, and when his gun stopped working right, took it in to get fixed and bought more ammunition. He then drove towards Wichita, stopping to shoot on occasion on his way. He carried the gun in with him on May 30th as he attended Saturday night service. He did not see Dr. Tiller so he left, checked into a nearby hotel, watched TV, ate dinner, prepared for the next day, and went to bed. On Sunday morning, he checked out, drove to the church, backed into a parking spot, went inside the church, and sat down, having not yet seen Dr. Tiller. After service started, he saw Dr. Tiller leave the sanctuary and followed. A few seconds later, he put the gun against Dr. Tiller's head and pulled the trigger. He ran out of the church. Realizing he was being followed, he told Gary Hoepner to stop following, he had a gun. He got to his car, and as he started to drive away, Keith Martin stepped in front of it. He told Martin to move, and when Martin did not, repeated his instruction and said he had a gun. Martin threw a cup of coffee into the car. Roeder drove out of Wichita and stopped in "Valley View" for lunch and gas. He continued until he reached Burlington where he changed out of the coffee-stained white shirt and into a denim shirt. He wrapped the loaded gun in cloth, with the intention of retrieving it someday, and buried it in a pile of dirt. He then continued back home to Kansas City, Missouri. At some point, he told his attorneys where he had hidden the gun, but when they returned, the pile of dirt – along with the loaded gun used to kill Dr. Tiller and threaten both Hoepner and Martin – was gone.

After testimony Wednesday, the prosecution refused to rest until such time as the defense proffered – offered testimony outside the presence of the jury – their witnesses. After some arguments regarding one of the witnesses, former Kansas Attorney General Phil Kline came in to deliver what the defense expected him to testify to. After wandering off-topic a couple of times, venturing into inappropriate testimony regarding legal investigations that are protected and flat out saying Dr. Tiller performed illegal abortions – charges which were dismissed and others for which Dr. Tiller was acquitted – Kline was asked to leave while the court discussed whether he would be allowed to testify. Judge Warren Wilbert ruled he had nothing to offer that would be within the scope of a murder trial and would not help Roeder's defense, saying "As I sat here and listened to Phil Kline testify, ... It's exactly what this court seeks to avoid." With no more witnesses for the defense to proffer, the state rested at 11:07 am.

Public Defender Steve Osburn delivered his opening statement. Roeder, he said, felt Dr. Tiller "broke the spirit of the law" when he performed late abortions for reasons of mental health of the woman. A preview of the rest of the day, Osburn outlined Roeder's beliefs and actions, saying Scott Roeder fired one shot into Dr. Tiller. He also threatened both Hoepner and Martin before heading out of town.

The defense called one witness: Scott P. Roeder. Before the jury came in, Roeder was asked for the record if he waived his right against self-incrimination as guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment. He was told he would have to answer all questions asked of him and could not confer with his attorneys. He agreed and took the stand. After learning he was born in Denver, Colorado, he was asked if he had sat through the whole trial and if he did not dispute the evidence with "very, very few exceptions." Roeder said this is true.

Roeder was not really religious as a child and did not consider himself Christian. In 1992, while watching The 700 Club, Roeder decided to give himself over to Jesus Christ. He describes himself as "born-again." While he had always thought abortion was wrong, he did not become interested in it until around that time. In 1993, Rachelle "Shelley" Shannon shot Dr. Tiller. Around this time, Roeder determined the only way to stop abortion--"the killing of children" as he put it--was to kill Dr. Tiller. He never focused on any other abortion provider. He visited Shannon in prison and began to protest at a clinic in the Kansas City area, offering "sidewalk counseling". He did not see himself as protesting but that some people held signs and did protest alongside the counseling. During this time, he met like-minded people who also believed in murdering providers, though he did not discuss it with just anyone outside the clinic. He said no one tried to talk him out of killing, though he did not tell anyone he planned on killing Dr. Tiller.

Over the years, he thought of many different ways to kill Dr. Tiller including chopping his hands off with a sword. He decided this would not put an end to abortion as Dr. Tiller could still teach others. He also thought about assassinating Dr. Tiller with a sniper rifle, but this plan had problems. He thought about killing Dr. Tiller at his home, but his home was inside a gated community and he could not get in. He felt the only place Dr. Tiller was vulnerable, his only "window of opportunity," was to kill Dr. Tiller at church where he would not be in his armored car, be without a bulletproof vest, and without a bodyguard.

In 2000, he began traveling to Wichita to protest outside Women's Health Care Services. He also protested outside Reformation Lutheran Church a couple of times. In 2002, he parked his car by St. George's Orthodox Cathedral, right next to Reformation Lutheran, and walked over to the church. A law enforcement officer stopped him and asked what he was doing there. Roeder said he was moving to Wichita and was looking for a new church. When asked if he knew Dr. Tiller went there, he said he did not know whom Dr. Tiller was. Roeder did not return to Reformation Lutheran for a few years. In August of 2008, he began visiting the church again. He caused no ruckus and no disruptions. He wanted the people in the church to trust him, to feel comfortable with him, so he could kill Dr. Tiller there. As Gary Hoepner testified, Roeder succeeded in this mission. He carried a gun in with him on August 24, 2008; May 24, 2009; May 30, 2009; and May 31, 2009. He feels no regret for killing Dr. Tiller. And after he did, he simply tried to go home, at one point even thinking he would go to work the next day.

As Roeder explained his position on abortion, he said his religious beliefs and opinions on abortion "go hand-in-hand." From conception forward, he explained, "It is not man's job to take life," only God's, except for self-defense or the defense of others. He stated uncertainty that abortion is acceptable to save a woman's life. Other medical exceptions are not acceptable, he said, only life, and certainly not mental illness. Abortion is not acceptable to him in the case of incest and rape because, "two wrongs don't make a right."

At about 4:05 pm, Roeder finished testifying about his murder of Dr. George Tiller and aggravated assaults of Gary Hoepner and Keith Martin, and the defense rested. The jury is excused. We wait as the court, the state, and the defense prepare for motions regarding jury instructions. During this time, around 5:00, Mark Rudy informs the press that, shortly before Roeder testified, they informed police the location of the gun. At that time, authorities began a search in Burlington, KS.

As Wilbert introduced his draft proposal of the jury instructions and voluntary manslaughter was not among them, the few pro-choice activists left in the courtroom breathed a sigh of relief, one expressing even more joy. The defense asked for the instruction, and arguments commenced. After some arguments, Wilbert explained in detail – largely repeating previous statements and case law – why he was denying the request. Most of the argument revolved around imminence – that Roeder believed Dr. Tiller was an imminent threat – though Wilbert stated he failed to prove this, even by his own admission by stating he killed Dr. Tiller 22 hours before he would perform another abortion. Wilbert quoted from the case that rather defines voluntary manslaughter in Kansas, and in that ruling, 2 hours was not considered "imminent." Wilbert then continued: justified use of deadly force requires that the imminent threat be unlawful. And no matter what people believe, abortion is legal and Roeder provided no information that Dr. Tiller was breaking the law. He re-emphasized another case – one that dealt with protesting Dr. Tiller many years before – that stated allowing any form of the necessity defense would "not only lead to chaos but would be tantamount to sanctioning anarchy."

The jury will return Friday morning to receive their instructions – to convict or not on one count of first-degree premeditated murder and two counts of aggravated assault – and hear closing arguments. We may know as soon as Friday evening their verdict.

As we left the courthouse Thursday night, it began to snow. It seemed as if the sky felt the cold inside the courtroom coming from Scott Roeder and opened up on Wichita.