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: What the Judge Ate for Breakfast

GQ article stirs discussion at Roeder trial

By Ron Sylvester

Talk today in the Scott Roeder trial stemmed from weekend reading, particularly an article from GQ, detailing George Tiller’s final day.

At the end of today’s testimony, Sedgwick County District Judge Warren Wilbert even admonished the jury not to read GQ, if they have a subscription to the magazine, look at it online or buy it on the news stand, to prevent beinginfluenced by the story.

In “Savior vs. Savior,” Devin Friedman, writes:

Scott had thought about killing Dr. Tiller for a long time, probably since 1993, if he had to put a date on it. The woman who?d shot George Tiller in both arms that year was in the prison up in Topeka for a while, and Scott had been to visit her at least twenty-five times. Sometimes the idea of killing him would be more powerful and motivating than others.

…He?d also considered murdering him at his house. He?d driven by the Tillers?, but they lived in a gated community, with a high wall. Probably the most involved plan was this scenario where Scott would buy a high-powered sniper?s rifle, climb onto the roof of the office at the abandoned car lot across the street from the clinic, and shoot George Tiller as he drove into his parking lot.2 In the end, though, he decided the simplest thing was to do it at Dr. Tiller?s church.

Tiller, the article said, was “the only famous person in Wichita,” apparently since the departure of Barry Sanders, and church his “last public refuge.”

District Attorney Nola Foulston said she was disappointed with one detail that apparently Roeder didn’t provide:

“What did he do with the gun?” she asked.

Full post as published by What the Judge Ate for Breakfast on January 25, 2010 (boomark / email).