Rex Fowler 1st degree murder trial

[Royal Prince Xenu]

It's a capital murder case. If I remember correctly, a not guilty plea is mandatory, and if found guilty there is an automatic appeal.
If there was any doubt about the conviction, the prosecutors could perhaps have tried to get a 2nd degree murder or manslaughter plea, but this case seems quite clear cut.

Well, now I understand another reason why the u.s. legal system is so clogged up. If it is (as appears) clear cut, what prevents the Defendant from pleading 'guilty'?

Does anyone know Rex's medical prognosis? Does he require daily care and if so, will this be an ongoing requirement?

 

[Mick Wenlock]

Gerry Armstrong on live KHOW in Denver discussing the case

KHOW Radio

click on the listen live link

 

[Mick Wenlock]

Absolutely incorrect. The court gives detailed instructions to family members before they address the court. They have to abide by the judge's instructions. If they don't, he can cut them off in court and sanction them with fines.

Link please - I have tried to verify the info and have not been able to - you may well be right and if so I will stand corrected.

So far all I have seen is that victims have the right to make a statement on the impact of what has happened to them and a right to state what they think the sentence should be.

 

[Arthur Dent]

Bump....

Jury selection should take all day Tuesday, with testimony scheduled to start in the week-long trial on Wednesday morning.

21/2/2011
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_17439650

I'd be surprised if they complete voir dire in a day. Although unpopular, the death penalty is still on the books and the decision for it is the responsibility of the jury.

I was in the final jury pool for a murder case. It's not that short a process.
They don't drag it out but it could take a few days to a week.

 

[skollie]

I'd be surprised if they complete voir dire in a day. Although unpopular, the death penalty is still on the books and the decision for it is the responsibility of the jury.

I was in the final jury pool for a murder case. It's not that short a process.
They don't drag it out but it could take a few days to a week.

It looks like the jury has been selected.

Opening statements in the trial are scheduled to begin Wednesday morning. Jury selection was completed Tuesday.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/26955319/detail.html

 

[degraded being]

In the headlights.

This is the story from Denver News (linked by Skollie).

I thought I would open it up here in the interests of ensuring that more SPs read more inches of entheta being circulated by the media about the cult of scientology as it relates or doesn't to Scientology cult member OT Rex Fowler.
Just an aside: I expect the DA on Rex will have to be about how he falsely attested to all his levels etc etc?

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/26955319/detail.html

"Software Firm Founder Faces Murder Trial
Judge Rules Defendant's Scientology Ties Irrelevant In Ex-Partner Slaying
Alan Gathright, 7NEWS Content Producer

POSTED: 12:42 pm MST February 22, 2011
UPDATED: 6:57 pm MST February 22, 2011

BRIGHTON, Colo. -- The murder trial starts Wednesday morning for an Adams County software firm founder accused in the 2009 execution-style shooting of his former business partner.

William Rex Fowler is charged with first-degree murder. He's accused of shooting Thomas Ciancio, 42, three times in the head with a 9mm Glock handgun when the former chief operating officer came to collect a $9,000 severance payment at Fowler Software Design in Adams County on Dec. 30, 2009.


Fowler, 58, has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces life in prison.


Revelations that Fowler, who goes by Rex, was a devoted minister in the Church of Scientology, a controversial faith, popular among some Hollywood film stars, soon went viral on the Internet as church critics began chronicling the murder case online. A Google search for “Rex Fowler” and “Scientology” produces 294,000 Internet references to the murder case.

However, the presiding judge ruled last week that Fowler's views on Scientology won't be on trial.

"Someone's religion has never been an issue in my courtroom, and it won't be in this case," Adams County District Judge Francis Wasserman said during a pretrial hearing, according to the Denver Post.

Witnesses have said Ciancio was upset that Fowler had funneled up to $250,000 from the company to the Church of Scientology. Fowler apologized in writing to company employees for the money diversion, according to an arrest affidavit.

Opening statements in the trial are scheduled to begin Wednesday morning. Jury selection was completed Tuesday.

During the Feb. 16 pretrial hearing, prosecutors asked Wasserman if he was going to question prospective jurors about their knowledge of the Church of Scientology.

Wasserman said he would not, noting Fowler's conduct, which may have led to Ciancio's death, is the key issue of the case, not Scientology, the Post reported.

"Why he gave the money to the church is no concern," Wasserman said. "Whether he gave because he likes their buildings or whether he likes Tom Cruise, is not the issue," the judge added, referring to the movie star and well-known Scientologist.


Previous Stories:
May 20, 2010: Software Firm Founder Pleads Not Guilty In Slaying Of Ex-Partner
February 1, 2010: DNA Test Ordered For Software Exec Accused Of Killing Ex-Partner
January 28, 2010: Man's Scientology Faith Ripples Through AdCo Murder Probe
January 25, 2010: Charge Filed In Former Business Partner's Slaying
January 12, 2010: Adams County DA Will Weigh Charges In Mystery Slaying
January 4, 2010: Murder Victim Remembered
January 1, 2010: AdCo Shocker: Dead 'Suspect' Now Called Murder 'Victim'..."

 

[Jachs]

2009 execution-style shooting of his former business partner.

three times in the head with a 9mm Glock handgun when he came to collect a $9,000 severance payment at Fowler Software Design in Adams County on Dec. 30, 2009.

However, the presiding judge ruled last week that Fowler's views on Scientology won't be on trial.

Witnesses have said Ciancio was upset that Fowler had funneled up to $250,000 from the company to the Church of Scientology.

"Why he gave the money to the church is no concern," Wasserman said.
Why he was coerced to hand over 250k to the church and have none left is of no concern?

Nothing to do with the church? am i missing something here, like a payment to the judge, did i say payment , i meant blackmail for him dressing up in diapers with a lady ga ga lookalike and being photographed by moxon.

 

[degraded being]

Nothing to do with the church? am i missing something here, like a payment to the judge, did i say payment , i meant blackmail for him dressing up in diapers with a lady ga ga lookalike and being photographed by moxon.

Who
What
When
Where

WHY

IMO it doesn't matter too much which ones of the above are focused upon in the legal proceedings, or the sequence in which they come up, given that there is so little room to get out of the moider verdict. The legal procedures have to follow form as pointed out. Scientology may or may not be mentioned at some stage (I don't know enough about all that legal stuff to say much about it.)
I do have a spectators theory/opinion though. It is that even if scientology were not allowed to be mentioned at any stage, the involvment of Rex and others in the case in Scientology is central to many spectators, including media, as demonstrated by reports like the Denver News article. If it was "just another murder" people would only give a quick glance or not bother at all. So the fallout for COS will be devastating, especially following on recent PR Tsunamis.

The people inside the courtroom will do what they have to do.
Outside the courtroom, everybody, (and many inside) will be dealing with it as a situation involving a "high level" Scientology Minister. That's what it is and will be to all of them, regardless of the restrictions imposed for legal procedures inside the courtroom. I do not think the entheta for the cult will be much less.

 

[Royal Prince Xenu]

Who
What
When
Where

WHY

IMO it doesn't matter too much which ones of the above are focused upon in the legal proceedings, or the sequence in which they come up, given that there is so little room to get out of the moider verdict. The legal procedures have to follow form as pointed out. Scientology may or may not be mentioned at some stage (I don't know enough about all that legal stuff to say much about it.)
I do have a spectators theory/opinion though. It is that even if scientology were not allowed to be mentioned at any stage, the involvment of Rex and others in the case in Scientology is central to many spectators, including media, as demonstrated by reports like the Denver News article. If it was "just another murder" people would only give a quick glance or not bother at all. So the fallout for COS will be devastating, especially following on recent PR Tsunamis.

The people inside the courtroom will do what they have to do.
Outside the courtroom, everybody, (and many inside) will be dealing with it as a situation involving a "high level" Scientology Minister. That's what it is and will be to all of them, regardless of the restrictions imposed for legal procedures inside the courtroom. I do not think the entheta for the cult will be much less.

Thanks to Skollie and DB for some real info. I agree with the Judge's "impartial" approach to the subject of Scientology, but the fallout over inappropriate payments is definitely going to come out in the evidence, and I think after the publicity that has occurred, one would be hard-pressed to find a juror who had a positive opinion about SCN.

 

[ARC]

As far as I see from the news reports, the death penalty is not being sought in this case - just life in prison. Is this correct?

Being a hate crime committed by a Scientologist against a suppressive is one of the factors which could have made this a capital crime, but there are others too, like how the victim was lured, how it was for financial gain and how others were put at risk.

Is my understanding correct?

 

[namaste]

I wonder who the Church of Scientology registrar was who pushed Rex to this point and if he will be summoned to appear.

 

[Smurf]

Live Blog: Software Firm Founder Had Planned To Kill Himself
Rex Fowler On Trial For Killing Thomas Ciancio
abc 7 News Denver KMGH

BRIGHTON, Colo. -- The trial of a software company founder is underway in Brighton. Rex Fowler is accused of shooting and killing business partner Thomas Ciancio in December 2009.

TheDenverChannel's Alan Gathright is in the courtroom and will be blogging throughout the trial. This is his blog on Day 1.

9:38 a.m. -- Fowler enters court. Fowler, a tall man with a cropped gray hair and short beard, entered court wearing thick, black-rimmed glasses, a blue sweater and dark slacks. He smiled briefly at his attorney, whom he towered over.

10:43 a.m. -- Defense's Opening Statements
10:55 a.m. -- Prosecution's Opening Statements
11:20 a.m. -- Fowler Prepared For Day
11:30 a.m. -- Cianco's Wife Testifies
12:00 p.m. -- Witnesses To Shooting Talk
12:26 p.m. -- Firm Employee Said She Heard Pause In Shooting

...All the details in article link....

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/26967613/detail.html

 

[Lurker5]

Thank you, Smurf

Thank you, Smurf.

 

[freethinker]

If his only intention was to kill himself then why did he arrange the meeting with Ciancio?

And if ciancio did come early, he could have written a bad check, sent ciancio on his way and then shot himself.

I think the defense has a weak argument.

 

[skollie]

That's a great link - thanks Smurf.

11:30 a.m. -- Cianco's Wife Testifies

Ciancio's wife, Laura Ciancio, was the first witness. She recounted how she and Tom were high school sweethearts who had been married for 17 ½ years.

The wife then described conflict at Fowler Software.

She said there were classes that company employees were strongly encouraged to attend, and "that was always a bone of contention for Tom. And he avoided them like the plague."

Laura Ciancio did not specify if the classes were Scientology training courses. The church does provide business training courses.

Laura Ciancio did say that a dispute arose after Fowler gave company funds "to the church."

She stressed that Tom Ciancio did not take a gun to the office that day because she found all of his firearms in a gun safe at home days after the killing.

This suggested that Fowler was the only person armed with a gun during the confrontation.

 

[Smurf]

The blog has been updated:

2:16 p.m. -- Detective Talks About Initial Confusion

Adams County sheriff's crime-scene Detective Robert Houchins said that initially investigators believed Ciancio was the suspect in the shooting. But then Houchins examined the crime scene, noting that the handgun was "lying on the table directly in front of where the victim would be standing or sitting." Ciancio was lying on the floor near the table, he said.

Seeing that, the detective said, "I assumed that Mr. Ciancio was in fact the victim and not the suspect." After learning this, the detectives' supervisor requested a search warrant.

Houchins is now walking the jury through video of the crime scene and outside the building.

He described a blood trail exiting the building, where Fowler staggered after shooting himself in the head..

 

[Mark A. Baker]

... Being a hate crime committed by a Scientologist against a suppressive is one of the factors which could have made this a capital crime, ...
Is my understanding correct?

Not as to the 'hate crime', 'hate crimes' are not simply crimes committed against people you hate. It is rare that violent crimes are committed against another in a spirit of love & compassion. The hatred must itself be the motivation for the crime and it must conform to local laws regarding expressions of prejudice based on differences in social groups.

Here the likely motivation is money. That blows the 'hate crime' argument out of meaningful consideration. Besides which, there is nothing to show that Fowler hated Ciancio because of his religious or other social group membership, hence no evidence to support the charge of a 'hate crime'.

IANAL, but based on Colorado's list of aggravating factors Fowler may well be looking at a capital sentence.

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/aggravating-factors-capital-punishment-state

Personally I hope not as I am opposed to government ordered execution for a variety of reasons, among them prospects for judicial murder and irreparability in cases of mistaken conviction. Frankly, killing someone never brought anyone else back to life. Vengeance is not a rational basis for anything, much less killing. And the only 'reasonable arguments' in favor of capital punishment which I have ever seen have to do with the economic costs to the state of execution versus incarceration. Such analyses seek to legitimize & legalize arguments concerning 'costs associated with life', a philosophic can of worms which should be kept far away from the dubious effects of legislation. Not every subject of contention requires state interference in the form of legislation.

... I think the defense has a weak argument.

No doubt the defense thinks so too. Still, they are required to make the best case possible for their client.

[note: Cynically speaking, they aren't required to believe in it themselves. Full faith in one's clients is a luxury few advocates can afford, especially given the insight into human nature which public advocacy affords. Still, it's much easier as an advocate to make an argument if you can at least see the possibility of it being true.]


Mark A. Baker

 

[anondelmundial]

As far as I see from the news reports, the death penalty is not being sought in this case - just life in prison. Is this correct?
....
Is my understanding correct?

In Colorado, as in many states, a trial consists of two phases: the first is adjudication of guilt or innocence of the charge, first degree murder in this case.

If convicted of the crime, there is a second trial on the issue of punishment. It is at this second trial that the issue of capital punishment is resolved. He can be convicted of capital murder, and then sentenced to death or life imprisonment. The death penalty is usually reserved for murder with extenuating circumstances, like killing hostages, children, etc.

OTOH, Colorado essentially has no death penalty since the state has not executed anyone since 1997. Four people are on death row, and deserve death for very heinous murders.

The state will not execute, because the citizens largely repudiate the death penalty, and no politician wants to expose his/her self to the public wrath. The legislature will not repudiate the death penalty to satisfy their constituencies that favor it.

It is win/win for the criminals.

 

[Royal Prince Xenu]

I wonder who the Church of Scientology registrar was who pushed Rex to this point and if he will be summoned to appear.

Isn't that a little like sitting on an Ant-hill and trying to fathom which one bit you?

 

[Smurf]

In Colorado, as in many states, a trial consists of two phases: the first is adjudication of guilt or innocence of the charge, first degree murder in this case.

If convicted of the crime, there is a second trial on the issue of punishment. It is at this second trial that the issue of capital punishment is resolved. He can be convicted of capital murder, and then sentenced to death or life imprisonment.

Correct.

http://www.philcherner.com/publications/Colorado-Felony-Sentencing-Today-February-2006.pdf