Jul 10, 2007 - 04:04:57 CDT
Bismarck Tribune
By JENNYMICHAEL
MINOT - Defense attorneys for Moe Maurice Gibbs say his DNA ended up under the fingernails of a slain Valley City State University student because they likely touched the same doorknob in the apartment building where they both lived. Prosecutors say Gibbs' DNA was a message from Mindy Morgenstern, revealing the identity of her killer.
Gibbs, 34, is standing trial for the murder of Morgenstern, 22. Morgenstern, a Valley City State University student from New Salem, was found dead in her off-campus apartment on Sept. 13, 2006.
Jurors listened to five hours of closing arguments Monday at the Ward County Courthouse before being instructed by Southeast District Judge John Paulson to begin deliberations.
The jurors went home at 5 p.m. and will return this morning.
Assistant Attorney General Jon Byers said during a rebuttal of defense closing arguments Monday that Morgenstern scratched Gibbs during a struggle in her apartment, resulting in Gibbs' DNA being found under the young woman's fingernails.
"Mindy has given you the only thing that she ever will give," Byers told the jury. "She couldn't write a note as to why this happened."
Gibbs' defense attorney, Jeff Bredahl, delivered a three-hour closing argument, in which he went over testimony from many of the state's 28 witnesses and veered off into several stories, including one about his time running track at Minot High School.
While going over witness testimonies, he explained to the jurors why the defense had called no witnesses of their own.
"We presented our case at the same time the state presented theirs," he said.
Bredahl said the amount of DNA found on Morgenstern's left fingernails and on her shirt was a small enough amount that it could have been "touch DNA," left behind while Gibbs went in and out the door during a move to his in-laws' home.
Byers contended that the defense story was not likely to be true.
"You either believe the defense crap about how the DNA got under the fingernails or you don't," he said.
Barnes County Assistant State's Attorney Brad Cruff began Monday with a 40-minute closing argument, in which he focused on Gibbs' opportunity to commit the crime, his ability to commit the crime, a jailhouse confession and DNA found on Morgenstern's body.
Cruff said the state believes Morgenstern was killed between 12:45 p.m. and 1:40 p.m.
"That is the window that the murder occurred," he said.
He said Gibbs had been actively text messaging people from 10:30 to 11:30 that morning, then went to lunch with his wife before dropping her off at work.
"And at 12:30, he drops off the map," he said, noting that it was shortly after that time that Morgenstern began missing phone calls.
Cruff said an autopsy on Morgenstern's body revealed few defensive injuries, and her apartment was largely undisturbed, which he said pointed to a strong assailant.
"The defendant is very muscular," he said.
Cruff said he could not vouch for the credibility of Jeremy Leopold, an inmate at the Cass County Correctional Center who said he heard Gibbs confess to murdering Morgenstern. However, he said Leopold had asked for nothing in exchange for his testimony.
Cruff said the defense has not denied that Gibbs' DNA was found under Morgenstern's fingernails or on her shirt.
"I never heard any innocent explanation as to how that DNA came to be under Mindy's fingernails and on her shirt," he said.
Bredahl went over a number of witness testimonies, pointing out inconsistencies that could be considered reasonable doubt that Gibbs murdered Morgenstern, including testimony that the murder would have been easier for a right-handed person to commit. Gibbs is left-handed, Bredahl said.
He also said the state crime lab had not tested all pieces of evidence in connection with the case and said law enforcement officers had not followed up on all leads. He said North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations agents Mark Sayler, Arnie Rummel and Dale Maixner could not answer questions about several leads when they took the stand.
"Sailer, Rummel, Maixner “ they haven't chased down every ground ball," he said.
Bredahl called Hope Olson, the director of the state crime lab, an "advocate for the state," saying she was not totally objective in her testing of evidence or in her testimony.
"She pretends she is a neutral witness," he said.
Bredahl said Leopold's testimony came out of the man's desperation and desire to get a good word from law enforcement when he comes up for parole.
"Is this the kind of guy you want to play poker with over the phone?" he asked.
The state never proved a motive Gibbs could have had for the murder, Bredahl said. He offered money, greed, drugs and alcohol, sex and a relationship gone wrong as possible motives that had not been proved.
He said the person who committed the murder seemed to be motivated by anger and rage.
"This was a brutal and senseless killing," he said.
"But it wasn't Moe."
Byers later pointed out during his nearly one-hour rebuttal that the state does not have to prove a motive.
During his argument, Bredahl repeated a quote from President John Adams, which says, "Facts are stubborn things" Byers said facts also can be manipulated.
"They're also slippery things when they're in the hands of an attorney," he said.
Byers accused Bredahl of baiting law enforcement officers with questions he knew they couldn't answer and of getting facts wrong during his argument.
Trace evidence would have been hard to find on Gibbs' clothing and shoes a week after Morgenstern's death, when Gibbs was arrested, Byers said.
"One week has passed, giving him ample time to get rid of his clothes, his shoes, or anything else," he said.
Gibbs was the only full DNA profile obtained from any piece of evidence, Byers said. He pointed out that other people also lived in the apartment building besides Gibbs and Morgenstern.
"Where's their DNA if it came from a doorknob?" he asked.
Paulson excused two women from the 14-person panel before turning the case over to the jury at 3:46 p.m.
Remaining on the jury are seven women and five men.
Paulson said the two women, who were alternate jurors, could be called back to the jury if there are problems.
Paulsen said he would not sequester the jury at night during their deliberations because he had been impressed with the way they had paid attention during the trial. They will be sequestered during their noon meal, he said.
The jury was released at 5 p.m. and will continue their deliberations at 8:15 this morning.
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