Both sides agree on one thing; Tracey Richter shot and killed Dustin Wehde in her home in Early.
Richter, 45, who was initially believed to be the victim of a home invasion in December 2001, has been charged with first-degree murder in Wehde's shooting death. She is on trial in Fort Dodge after defense attorneys argued she couldn't get a fair trial in Sac County.
During opening statements Wednesday, prosecutor Doug Hammerand said a pink notebook found in Wehde's car will prove he was murdered. Hammerand said Richter told Wehde, 20, what to write so it would appear her ex-husband, Dr. John Pittman, with whom she had child custody issues, had hired Wehde to kill her. Prosecutors said they'll also argue Richter killed Wehde so he wouldn't come forward to police and tell them what happened.
Defense attorney Scott Bandstra, of Des Moines, said Wehde and an accomplice had broken into Richter's home, and she shot and killed Wehde in self-defense. Bandstra, in his opening statement, said Wehde had problems acting out, and at one point caused his younger sister to end up in the hospital because of injuries he allegedly caused.
Following opening statements, the prosecution began calling witnesses, including Marie and Ray Friedman. He worked for Richter's second husband, Michael Roberts, with whom she lived at the time.
Ray Friedman, who received a large bonus and raise, testified he was not being paid off by Michael Roberts for any knowledge he might have about the shooting, but that he had earned the money as a "glorifed salesman" who closed big deals.
Marie Friedman testified she was supposed to stay overnight at the Roberts' home on Dec. 13, 2001 while their husbands were on a business trip, but that Richter changed the plan, saying she had to take her son by Pittman to and from a basketball game in Storm Lake. When asked by defense attorneys if she had determined on her own that she couldn't stay at the house after packing her bags for the trip, Marie Friedman said she was "surprised" by the change in plans.
Sac County Sheriff's Deputy Dan Bruscher, the first law enforcement official to respond to the scene, took the stand. He testified that he arrived at the crime scene, in uniform, driving a marked patrol car with its emergency lights on and because of a dispatch call indicating there were at least two intruders on the scene, identified himself as a Sac County Sheriff's Deputy and asked Tracey Richter to come outside with her children.
"She refused," Bruscher said and he repeated the request.
According to Bruscher, Richter told him two suspects had fled the scene, and she said a third suspect had been shot upstairs. At the time, Bruscher said, Richter said didn't know it was Wehde, although he said, her 11-year-old son, Bert Pittman, tried telling Richter it was Wehde she had shot.
"She said she didn't know for sure, and she tried to quiet him down," Bruscher said. "It was like a parent would scold a kid for interrupting them."
He said at one point, she asked if she had shot her husband.
He also testified that, at the scene, an emergency medical technician had stepped in blood. Bruscher then reminded them they were at a crime scene, and to not touch Wehde's body.
Bruscher testimony will continue when court resumes at 1 p.m.
Contact Peter Kaspari at (515) 573-2141 or pkaspari@messengernews.net
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