Peterson Jurors Face Wrenching Choice
tinydancer
By PAUL ELIAS
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - If the experience of those involved in past death
penalty cases is any guide, the jurors in Scott Peterson's murder trial will
have to grapple with raw and deep religious, moral and legal issues as they
decide whether he lives or dies.
Arguments in the penalty phase are scheduled to begin Tuesday, but experts
say many of the jurors may already have made up their minds about what
punishment the 32-year-old former fertilizer salesman deserves.
In 2001, a California jury faced a case that holds some similarities to the
Peterson trial. Todd Garton was a philandering husband convicted of the
shocking murder of his young and very pregnant wife. Jurors said he deserved
to die.
``I signed the document that the jury found for death and I think about that
a lot,'' said Fred Castagna, who served as jury foreman. ``It was emotional
during deliberations, but I don't lose sleep over it.''
Jurors who have sent people to death row say even though they were
overwhelmingly convinced of their guilt, settling on the death penalty was
one of the toughest decisions of their lives.
``I have strong religious beliefs and this wasn't like I had to decide what
kind of ice cream to buy,'' said Brian Bianco, who served as foreman of the
jury that convicted Richard Allen Davis of kidnapping and killing
12-year-old Polly Klaas.
Nevertheless, like Castagna, Bianco said he has never doubted that he made
the right decision in sending Davis to death row after four agonizing days
of deliberations.
It took a jury just 70 minutes to condemn Garton, who was convicted of
hiring a hit man to kill his 29-year-old pregnant wife.
``There wasn't any real reason to mull it over,'' Castagna said. ``It was
pretty clear that this guy was evil, that he had concocted this scheme to
get his wife killed. ``
Garton, convicted of two first-degree murder charges, is one of three men in
California sentenced to die because a fetus perished during a slaying.
Peterson could be the fourth.
Castagna said the five months of sometimes graphic testimony during the
guilt phase of the trial ``pretty much drove'' the death verdict.
``You can't help but consider the fact that you'll have to decide punishment
if you find him guilty,'' Castagna said. ``That's always in the back of your
mind, but you try not to let it influence you.''
Determining punishment before deliberations in the penalty phase is a common
experience for many death penalty jurors, according to an ongoing study by
the Capital Jury Project at Northeastern University. About half the 1,300
capital case jurors questioned for the study said they had made their
sentencing decisions during the guilt phase of the trial, according to chief
investigator William Bowers.
``That's perhaps the most profound thing we found,'' said Bowers, who
sometimes serves as an expert witness for those facing the death penalty.
``That's a major departure of how it's supposed to work. You're supposed to
wait for instructions.''
What's more, Bowers said that many jurors vote for death because they fear
the killer will someday be set free, even if a sentence of life without
parole is an option, as it is in the Peterson case.
``There's a pervasive anxiety that the defendant will be back on the
streets,'' Bowers said.
That anxiety played a major role in the 1988 death sentence of William
Dennis, who was convicted of the Halloween night machete slashing of his
ex-wife and her eight-month-old fetus as the victim's 4-year-old daughter
cowered behind a couch.
``What it came down to for us was that we were not convinced that life
without the possibility of parole meant that,'' said jury foreman Forrester
Sinclair. ``We decided we had to have him removed from society forever.''
Peterson faces death or life in prison without parole for the murders of his
wife Laci and the fetus she carried. His lawyer has asked the California
Supreme Court for a new jury and a change of venue for the trial's penalty
phase. An appeals court turned down the request last week.
tinydancer
article.
Woven threads
True crime book explores the intricacies of Carole Garton's 1998 murder
Christy Lochrie
Record Searchlight
October 01, 2004 - 5:26 p.m.
James Holman won't forget. It's been six years since his pregnant daughter
was shot to death as she slept in her Cottonwood home.
Time hasn't eased the pain.
"No one's been able to explain to me what closure is yet . . . There is no
closure," Holman said in a telephone interview from his Vancouver, Wash.,
home.
Robert Scott, a true crime author, has opened the case again with his new
book "Kill or Be Killed," which details the twisted events that led to
28-year-old Carole Garton's 1998 murder.
The true crime book, which retails for $6.50, hit bookstore shelves two
weeks ago. Michaela Hamilton, editor-in-chief of Kensington Books, said
sales are brisk. But it's too early for sales figures. Barnes and Noble
Bookstore in Redding sold out of the first shipment. Brothers' Bookshop has
copies on order.
True crime is a niche genre, like romance or mystery, said Ron Hammond,
owner of Brothers' Bookshop.
"It's got a small following," Hammond said of the genre, comparing it to
rubbernecking a car wreck. "It's kind of creepy."
Scott didn't set out to write about the Carole Garton murder. Following the
2000 execution of Darrell Rich, a Shasta County man sentenced to death in
1981 for the rape and murder of four women, Scott was in Redding researching
that case.
"I was trying to decide whether to do a book on (Darrell Rich)," Scott said
in an e-mail interview. The author of seven true crime books was in Colorado
researching an upcoming book.
"Eventually I passed on that project and I was about to leave Redding. As I
sat down to breakfast I began reading a copy of the Record Searchlight."
That's when the Garton trial captured his attention. Only a Trinity County
mountain road could have more twists and turns. Scott's curiosity was
piqued. The more he unraveled, the more he wanted to know. He sat in on the
trial, plowed through court transcripts and interviewed people involved.
"You need multiple elements to sustain a story for over 300 pages," said
Scott, author of seven true crime books. "The Garton case had such memorable
individuals in it."
Todd Garton, Carole's husband, awaits execution on San Quentin State
Prison's Death Row. Norman Daniels III, the man hired and manipulated into
killing her, was sentenced to a prison term of 50 years to life. Lynn Noyes,
Todd Garton's one-time girlfriend, was sentenced to a 25-year prison term
for her part in the murder and unsuccessful conspiracy to kill her husband,
Dean Noyes. Dale Gordon was sentenced to a 10-year prison term in the Noyes
conspiracy.
With an initial lure of cash for assassination, Garton snared Daniels into a
fabricated world and convinced him that if he didn't murder Carole Garton,
Daniels and his family would be killed. But the tale spins further into
adultery and cash for murder.
Scott made eight trips to Shasta County and spent a year wading through
research material.
Greg Gaul, senior deputy district attorney for Shasta County and the
prosecuting attorney on the Garton case, read the book. He also spent more
than a year researching the case and preparing for trial. He was one of the
first to arrive at the crime scene.
"This is what I saw when I went in there that night," Gaul said, spinning
his computer monitor and pulling up crime scene snapshots, which he used
during his closing arguments.
Carole Garton's body lay outstretched on the floor. She was bare-chested,
clad in blue sweatpants. Puncture holes dotted her body and speckled her
face. Gaul traced his fingers across an image of Carole Garton's face.
He hopes the book's readers will take away two major lessons:
"Don't believe everything you hear," Gaul said, adding that many people are
far too trusting - even of outlandish tales.
Gaul is most passionate about the second point. He wants people to know
"there are evil people out there."
"Todd Garton was an evil person," Gaul said.
Overall, the book is accurate, say the people closest to the case. Holman,
Carole Garton's father, said there were some inaccuracies, but couldn't
recall what, exactly, when pressed.
Holman points out that he still has no grandchildren. He keeps his
daughter's memory alive with roses and flowers.
"We have a garden plot out in the yard, Carole's garden," Holman said. "We
have her portrait . . . it's in our living room."
nicki
<tinyd...@nowhere.com> wrote:
>Todd Garton, wife killer on death row, referred to in previous peterson
>article.
>
>Woven threads
>
>True crime book explores the intricacies of Carole Garton's 1998 murder
>
>
>
>
>
>Christy Lochrie
>Record Searchlight
>
>
>
>October 01, 2004 - 5:26 p.m.
>James Holman won't forget. It's been six years since his pregnant daughter
>was shot to death as she slept in her Cottonwood home.
>
>Time hasn't eased the pain.
>
>"No one's been able to explain to me what closure is yet . . . There is no
>closure," Holman said in a telephone interview from his Vancouver, Wash.,
>home.
>
>Robert Scott, a true crime author, has opened the case again with his new
>book "Kill or Be Killed," which details the twisted events that led to
>28-year-old Carole Garton's 1998 murder.
>
>The true crime book, which retails for $6.50, hit bookstore shelves two
>weeks ago. Michaela Hamilton, editor-in-chief of Kensington Books, said
>sales are brisk. But it's too early for sales figures. Barnes and Noble
>Bookstore in Redding sold out of the first shipment. Brothers' Bookshop has
>copies on order.
snip
I read the book..and it is hard to believe that this guy could make up
all these outrageous lies and the people believed them
nicki
Madelin McKinnon
Bret81C
Madelin McKinnon
Isn't it obvious, Nancy Grace, Gloria Allred, Dan Abrams and the like,
think they are judge jury and executioner: That's the only reason why
the Scott Peterson fiasco got so much publicity. And what did they all
prove? That they are as reliable as the National Enquirer is - that's
all.
proudmari
The Todd Garton case was fairly local for me. This took place in
Cottonwood, the same stomping grounds of Darryl Rich, who was recently
put to death for killing 3 women and an 11 year old girl. (Threw her off
a high bridge still alive after raping her) Below is _another_ breaking
story that ALSO begins in Cottonwood, not for the squeamish. Catherine
Tushen is the ex-wife of a retired Anderson police officer.
Pictures and story can be found at redding.com.
proudmari
Victim beaten, poisoned
Four suspects enter pleas of not guilty in murder case
By Maline Hazle, Record Searchlight
November 30, 2004
New details emerged in the slaying last week of Christopher Robert
Hoff-McAuliffe as four suspects were arraigned before an overflow crowd
Monday on murder and other charges.
Police seek a fifth man, Timothy Thomas Stayer, 26, of Anderson, in
connection with the 23-year-old Hoff-McAuliffe's death. The longtime
Cottonwood resident's badly beaten body was found Nov. 21 at the
Anderson River Park boat ramp.
Stayer's brother, Robert Lee Stayer, 25, of Anderson; Daniel Patrick
Coyne, 19, of Redding; and Kevin Charles Skelton, 25, of Redding,
pleaded not guilty to murder at Monday's arraignment.
The Stayers' mother, Catherine Elaine Tuschen, 45, pleaded not guilty to
having been an accessory after the fact and to destroying evidence.
Anderson police filed a five-page summary of the case in Shasta County
Superior Court in conjunction with the formal charges. The report
reveals details of what investigators believe happened the night
Hoff-McAuliffe died.
Hoff-McAuliffe was beaten, stomped and had poison poured into his eyes
after Timothy Stayer found the victim in bed with Tuschen, his mother,
the report says.
In his summary, Anderson police officer Casey Day describes evidence and
information collected over several days after police first went to the
boat ramp Nov. 21.
Officers found Hoff-McAuliffe's body bloodied and torn. His eyes were
bruised and swollen shut. He was missing a shoe and giving off a strong
odor of the pesticide diazinon, Day said.
Footprints appeared in an unidentified liquid that surrounded the body.
A transient in the park said he had seen a gray car drive through three
hours earlier. The car stopped at the boat ramp for a few minutes before
turning around and driving away.
Timothy Stayer -- the suspect still at large -- drove that silver
Nissan, police believe. They confiscated the car Friday.
Catherine Tuschen, the estranged wife of retired Anderson police Sgt.
Glenn Tuschen, lives with her sons on Driftstone Drive, about
three-quarters of a mile from the boat ramp. Tuschen drove past the boat
ramp twice the morning of Nov. 21, honking and waving at officers
investigating the slaying, the officers said.
Hoff-McAuliffe had gone to the OK Corral, a Cottonwood bar, the night
before his murder, the report says. He was accompanied by two friends,
Jack Barker and Everett Duncan. Shanda Schies, Duncan's girlfriend, had
dropped them off about 5:30 that Saturday evening, Barker told police.
Hoff-McAuliffe started talking to a woman who later was identified as
Catherine Tuschen, Barker told police.
Tuschen told them "I would like to take you two boys home with me,"
Barker told police. Barker said he decided to talk to some other people
at the bar.
Another witness told police she saw Hoff-McAuliffe and Tuschen kissing
and petting at the bar.
About 1:30 a.m., Barker said, he went outside and saw Tuschen straddling
Hoff-McAuliffe in the front seat of a red Pontiac Grand-Am.
Schies, Duncan's girlfriend, told police she picked Duncan up about 9:30
p.m. and took him home.
About 1:45 a.m., she said, she received a telephone callfrom
Hoff-McAuliffe asking what they were doing. In the background, a car
door chime was sounding. Schies said she thought he was calling from a
car with an open door.
Police later fished Hoff-McAuliffe's cellular telephone out of the
Sacramento River. Records show that he placed his last call on the phone
at 1:23 a.m., the report said.
Police interviewed Robert Stayer as their investigation led them toward
Tuschen's house.
Stayer told investigators that he was at a party when his brother, Tim,
called him and told him to get home right away, the report says.
At the house he found Hoff-McAuliffe "beat to hell" on the front porch,
but still alive, the report says.
There was blood in his mother's bedroom, Robert Stayer told police. He
described his brother Tim as "a wild man." Tim had told him that he had
returned home to find the door locked.
When no one answered the doorbell after several rings, Tim Stayer
reportedly went to the back of the house. He looked through the bedroom
window and saw his mother having sex with Hoff-McAuliffe, the report
says.
"Robert Stayer said he was told by Tim Stayer that he thought his mother
was being raped," but that "he did not know if Tim Stayer was making
that up just to justify it," the report says.
Coyne, also accused in the murder, said the young men took Hoff-McAuliff
into the Tuschen garage where Robert Stayer poured insect poison into
his eyes. They hauled Hoff-McAuliffe to the boat ramp in Coyne's truck,
he said.
Robert Stayer had told police he did not hit Hoff-McAuliffe. But Coyne
told police he saw Robert Stayer hit the victim several times at the
house. Later, Coyne saw Robert Stayer "jumping up and down/stomping on
the victim's head" at the boat ramp, the report says.
Coyne also alleged that Skelton kicked the victim at the boat ramp.
Though Hoff-McAuliffe was "gasping for air" when he was dumped at the
boat ramp, Robert Stayer reportedly told investigators he never thought
the victim would die.
Robert Stayer's wife, Kimberly, told police that she was with the
brothers when they shopped at Wal-Mart for cleaning supplies. She also
was there when her husband's and Skelton's clothing was burned in a fire
behind Epperson's Flea Market, adjacent to Redding Municipal Airport.
Also burned at the flea market were sheets and a comforter from
Tuschen's bed, the report says. One of Tuschen's former husbands is
Lawrence Allen Epperson, according to divorce court records.
The four male suspects allegedly washed Coyne's pickup at a car wash, a
scene investigators said they recovered on surveillance tape from the
car wash.
Shasta County Medical Examiner Susan Comfort found that Hoff-McAuliffe's
head injuries were consistent with stomping, police said.
The autopsy also found that the victim's stomach was "full of blood and
irritated, consistent with some form of poisoning or ingestion of a
chemical," the police report says.
The final cause of death is pending return of toxicology reports.
In court Monday, Tuschen's appointed attorney, Michael Sharpe, noted
that she is a longtime Shasta County resident with no criminal history.
He asked Superior Court Judge Steven Jahr to reduce her $100,000 bail.
But Deputy District Attorney Stew Jankowitz countered that one of the
defendants apparently threatened two witnesses in the case, who have
been moved to safe houses.
"One of the statements made was something to the effect of 'you know
what our family can do if you don't help us,'" Jankowitz said.
Jahr raised Tuschen's bail to $250,000.
The judge set Dec. 16 bail hearings for Coyne and Skelton. Jahr said he
also will set a date for a preliminary hearing in the case on that date.
Outside the courtroom, a minor argument broke out between one of the
suspect's girlfriends and a representative of Hoff-McAuliffe's family.
Meanwhile, across the parking lot, members of Coyne's family and their
supporters conducted a prayer circle. Members of the group declined to
comment other than to say they were praying for everyone involved.
Reporter Maline Hazle can be reached at 225-8266 or at
mha...@redding.com.
