Ex-Wife Says Suspect Planned To Bomb Clinic In 1996

Ex-Wife Says Suspect Planned To Bomb Clinic In 1996

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- If the public wanted answers about the shocking slaying of a Kansas abortion doctor at his church on Sunday, they didn't get it from the Sedgwick County district attorney on Monday.In a late-morning news conference in Wichita, Nola Foulston told reporters that the case against the man who is suspected of shooting Dr. George Tiller on Sunday is still in the hands of the Wichita Police Department.Foulston said the case has not been presented to her office. Because of that, she declined to comment on any specific information about the case, which is drawing headlines around the world.The district attorney confirmed there is a suspect in custody but would not say whether the suspect was 51-year-old Scott Roeder.The focus of the story on Monday turned to Roeder, who was taken into custody on Sunday afternoon near Gardner, Kan. He was returned to Wichita and was being held without bail on one count of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault.The ex-wife of Scott Roeder said on Monday that he allegedly planned to blow up an abortion clinic in 1996 but police stopped him before he could carry out the plan.Lindsey Roeder said that in 1996 Scott Roeder was charged in Topeka with having bomb materials in his car and sentenced to 24 months probation. The sentence was later overturned because police illegally seized the evidence. But she said he later admitted a plan to destroy an abortion clinic to their son.Lindsey said she left Scott because his views on abortion were too radical for her taste, and while she never feared for her safety when they were married, she did question his mental state.He once chose to buy a gun instead of getting me my heart medication, Lindsey Roeder said.Lindsey Roeder says Scott went out with their 22-year-old son Friday night, which was strange since Scott Roeder regarded that night as his Sabbath. But she thinks it was a final goodbye.In hindsight, she wishes there was some way they could've stopped him.Flags outside of Tiller's clinic in Wichita were at half staff on Monday as mourners brought flowers to honor the doctor. The clinic is expected to be closed for at least one week.One of four doctors who performed abortions at Tiller's Wichita women's clinic said Monday that its operations will resume next week. Dr. LeRoy Carhart, of Bellevue, Neb., has been working at Tiller's clinic for 10 years. He said that five years ago, Tiller set up a rotation system with three other doctors so that the clinic could continue "whether he is there in person or in spirit."Tiller attorney Dan Monnat said it is too soon to know the long-term plans of the clinic. He noted that federal marshals are protecting the clinic.In Kansas City, there will be a candle-light vigil on Monday night at 8 at the J.C. Nichols Fountain on the Country Club Plaza.Also, a law enforcement official said investigators have searched two homes as part of the inquiry into Tiller's killing. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation, said the homes are in Merriam, Kan., and the other is in Kansas City, Mo.Foulston said that charges will not be filed Monday, noting that the state had 48 hours to charge anyone who is in custody. She planned to take the full two days to decide. She said any charges would be filed in state court.A brother of the man suspected of fatally shooting abortion doctor George Tiller told a Kansas newspaper that the family never thought him capable of killing.Scott Roeder was in jail Monday while investigators sought to learn more about his background. He has not been charged in Tiller's slaying.His brother David Roeder said in a statement to The Topeka Capital-Journal that the family is "shocked, horrified and filled with sadness at the death of Dr. Tiller" and the possible involvement of Roeder.David Roeder said Scott is "kind and loving," but suffered from mental illness at various times in his life.David Roeder said, "None of us ever saw Scott as a person capable of or willing to take another person's life."

Previous Stories:

• June 1, 2009: Merriam Man Held In Connection With Tiller Shooting
• June 1, 2009: AG Orders Protection After Tiller Slaying

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