College Station, TX: Thuesen to 9-1-1: "I Got Mad at My Girlfriend and Shot Her"

Monday, the jury in the capital murder trial of John Thuesen heard the 9-1-1 call made by the accused the afternoon he shot his girlfriend and her brother.
Posted: 12:08 PM May 17, 2010
Reporter: Steve Fullhart
Email Address: fullhart@kbtx.com
Thuesen to 9-1-1: "I Got Mad at My Girlfriend and Shot Her"

Monday, the jury in the capital murder trial of John Thuesen heard the 9-1-1 call made by the accused the afternoon he shot his girlfriend and her brother.

Steve Fullhart's personal account on the first week of the Thuesen trial can be read by clicking here

After he fired three shots each at Rachel and Travis Joiner in their College Station home, Thuesen, 26, called for help.

"120 Walcourt Loop...gunshot victims..." were the first words he spoke.

"What happened," asked the 9-1-1 operator.

"I got mad at my girlfriend and I shot her," Thuesen responded.

The operator asks, "How old is she?"

"21," Thuesen says. "She has sucking chest wounds..."

Rachel would die on the operating table. She is heard moaning in pain at various portions of the call.

Later, Thuesen tells the operator, "I didn't mean to do all of this."

And shortly after that, Thuesen says, "Her brother...I shot him, too. He's in the other room."

Thuesen is heard going to check on Travis, and tells the operator he's dead.

Also Monday during the trial, the audio recording was played from a College Station police officer who encountered Thuesen at the crime scene and transported him to the police department.

"I don't know why I did it," Thuesen is heard saying at one point. "I just wanted to see her for a little bit, but she wouldn't let me do it," he later adds.

Thuesen tells authorities he first shot Rachel as a result of an argument they had been having, then saw Travis coming towards him and fired at him. After shooting Travis, Thuesen says he turned the gun back on Rachel.

Each of the Eldorado natives who were attending Texas A&M were hit three times, each in the front and the back.

The defense team spent the afternoon painting a picture of the accused capital murderer as a man changed by war.

An emotional Patty Thuesen took the stand to talk about her son, saying the young man who came back from Iraq in 2005 was more paranoid and drank a lot. She said he would walk around the house touching himself, telling her that he was used to having military gear on. He would also be easily startled, and that you couldn't walk up behind him or else he might thrust an arm at you.

Patty Thuesen also told jurors she met with her son in jail the day after the murders, and that she didn't recognize her youngest child.

"It wasn't my son," she said. "It didn't look like him. His eyes were drawn in. It wasn't John."

On cross examination, Mrs. Thuesen said her son had been taught never to hurt a woman, and that he knew that was right. But on redirect, she said she does not believe her son could knowingly or intentionally kill people.

If convicted of capital murder, the 26-year-old could face the death penalty. The defense is trying to get a lesser charge by arguing he was mentally ill and didn't know what he was doing at the time. He had been diagnosed with depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Prosecutors contend Thuesen was confused and angered about his status with his girlfriend, who had asked for space. The State argues he went to the Joiner home the evening prior, staked out the home and killed the siblings intentionally and knowing the consequences of his actions.

A fellow Marine from Thuesen's platoon also testified Monday about their combat experiences, saying the group had been in significant battles with insurgents, and they lived "outside the wire" away from their base for a month at one point, encountering the enemy often.

Two entries from Thuesen's journal were also read for the jury. A January entry read that Theusen was happy with his relationship and that he thought he was on the right track in life. A March 4 entry shows Thuesen to be confused and frustrated by his relationship with Rachel Joiner, saying he felt like she was blaming him for things.

"I've never been happier with someone, but I'm tired of being treated like s***," he wrote two days before the murders.

The proceedings will resume Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. Witnesses will likely be called throughout the day. Jurors were told by Judge Travis Bryan III that they will likely begin deliberations Wednesday.