WICHITA, Kan. – As the murder trial continues for the man charged with gunning down abortion provider George Tiller, the drama isn’t limited to the courtroom.
Supporters of Scott Roeder continued to arrive in town Tuesday and abortion-rights advocates called for federal authorities to step up their investigation into a possible conspiracy of anti-abortion violence.
The supporters themselves, and their statements this week, are evidence enough that there’s an extremist network said, said Kathy Spillar, executive vice president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, who is attending the trial.
“Many of this extremist network with whom Scott Roeder clearly has been involved are here in the courtroom,” Spillar said. “We can only hope that the network will be dismantled, and until it’s dismantled, we’re waiting for the next murder.”
Those attending Roeder’s trial say they pose no threat to anyone.
“This is another waste of taxpayer dollars,” said Michael Bray, of Ohio, who spent four years in prison in the 1980s for a series of abortion clinic arsons and bombings.
Roeder, 51, of Kansas City, Mo., is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Tiller, who was shot May 31 while ushering in his church.
Roeder has admitted to reporters and in a court filing that he killed Tiller, saying it was necessary to save unborn babies, but he has pleaded not guilty.
On Tuesday, the third day of testimony in the trial, the prosecution traced Roeder’s actions, showing video of him purchasing a gun and being arrested after the shooting.
Among Roeder’s supporters attending besides Bray are Dave Leach, of Des Moines, who once published the “Army of God” manual, a how-to book on abortion clinic violence; Jennifer McCoy of Wichita, Kan., who spent time in prison for two abortion clinic arsons in Virginia; Regina Dinwiddie of Kansas City, who calls Roeder a hero; and Joshua Graff, who spent three years in prison for a 1993 clinic arson in the Houston area.
After Tiller was killed, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had begun an investigation into whether others were involved in the shooting. Justice Department officials say the investigation is continuing.
“Our investigation remains open and ongoing,” said Justice Department spokesman Alejandro Miyar on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Leach told The Kansas City Star on Tuesday that he had spoken to Roeder on Monday night. He said Roeder was upset that a witness on Monday had testified that he heard Roeder say “Lord, forgive me,” as he ran out of the church after shooting Tiller.
“Scott said he did not say that,” Leach said.
That’s significant, Leach said, because Roeder doesn’t believe he did anything to be forgiven for.
Other theatrics Tuesday involved Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry, who showed up at the courthouse Tuesday afternoon, saying he was “a voice for the babies who perished at George Tiller’s hand” and demanding that the jury be allowed to hear why Roeder killed Tiller.
“We are not coming to condone or condemn Scott Roeder’s actions,” said Terry, whose group staged the 46-day “Summer of Mercy” protests in Wichita in 1991 that resulted in more than 2,600 arrests.
“That decision will soon rest with the jury. However, there are those who want to pretend this trial has nothing to do with child-killing by abortion; that is a farce. It’s like saying that the trials of Nat Turner and John Brown had nothing to do with slavery,” Terry said.
But Operation Rescue’s advisory board condemned Terry’s actions, saying the group had no affiliation with Terry and hadn’t for 17 years. It cited “Mr. Terry’s relentless thirst for media attention.”
Sedgwick County, Kan., District Judge Warren Wilbert has said that he would not let the trial turn into an abortion debate. But the judge also said he may allow Roeder to present evidence that he sincerely believed his actions were justified to save unborn children, a defense that could lead to a conviction on the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter.
Abortion-rights advocates say Tiller’s killing is a clear-cut case of premeditated murder.
Prosecutors stepped up the pace on Tuesday, calling 13 witnesses whose testimony focused on forensic evidence and surveillance films, including videotapes of Roeder purchasing a gun and ammunition at a Lawrence, Kan., pawn shop and his arrest in southern Johnson County three-and-a-half hours after Tiller’s death.
Johnson County, Kan., Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Lento testified that after hearing an alert that gave a description of the suspect and of his car, he waited in the median on Interstate 35 just south of the Sunflower Road exit in case Roeder tried to return to the Kansas City area.
Lento said he spotted the car coming toward him around 1:30 p.m., then followed it for a few miles while he waited for backup to arrive.
When other officers arrived, they pulled the car over near the Gardner, Kan., exit.
The video showed officers yelling at Roeder to take the keys out of the ignition and drop them, then get out of the car, facing away from them.
Roeder surrendered peacefully without a struggle.
As officers gathered evidence, he said, “there was what appeared to be blood on one of his shoes and also on his pants.”
Jurors were shown a close-up picture of a black shoe with red splotches on it. They also saw pictures of the inside of Roeder’s car. On the cluttered back seat was a white shirt with brown stains on it. A witness testified Monday that he threw coffee on Roeder as he pulled out of the church after shooting Tiller.
Prosecutors expect to end the case on Wednesday.
