Nov 17, 2007 - 04:04:44 CST
Bismarck Tribune
By JENNYMICBy JENNYMICHAEL
Moe Gibbs' eyes closed momentarily as Barnes County Clerk Wanda Auka announced seven men and five women had found him guilty of the murder of Mindy Morgenstern.
A shriek echoed through the small Burleigh County Courthouse after the verdict was read at 4:37 p.m.
Gibbs, 35, was convicted Friday afternoon of the murder of Morgenstern, a Valley City State University student from New Salem. At a trial held in Minot over the summer, a jury in the case deliberated almost 23 hours before announcing they were deadlocked. The Burleigh County jury deliberated about 27 hours before reaching a unanimous decision.
As jurors filed into the courtroom, all 12 looked at the floor. They looked straight ahead, expressionless, as they exited the courthouse later.
Morgenstern's parents, Larry and Eunice, cried and held hands, and looked down as the verdict was announced, as if in silent prayer.
Jordan Ranum, Morgenstern's boyfriend, cried and gripped the bench in front of him. His mother, Bonnie, put her face in her hands, and his older sister, Amy Martineck, threw her fist in the air.
Liz Kleinke, a friend of Morgenstern's, shook as she cried with her face in her hands.
Valley City Police Chief Dean Ross hugged everyone around him. Friday was Ross's birthday, and he said earlier a guilty verdict in the case would be the best present he could receive.
Defense attorneys Jeff Bredahl and Dennis Fisher showed no reaction to the verdict. Barnes County State's Attorney Brad Cruff and Assistant Attorney General Jon Byers also showed little reaction to the announcement. Barnes County Assistant State's Attorney Lee Grossman, who also participated in the prosecution, was not present.
The attorneys could not comment on the verdict, as Southeast District Judge John Paulson has issued a gag order in the case.
As Larry and Eunice Morgenstern left the courtroom, they clung to each other, crying.
"We're just glad it's over," Eunice Morgenstern said."It's hard either way; it's really difficult."
She said she felt sympathy for Gibbs' family.
"It's hard either way, because there are two losses, two lives lost," she said. "Our hearts go out to his family."
Eunice Morgenstern was in the courtroom every day of the trial, which lasted 14 days including deliberations.
"It wasn't easy - that's for sure," she said of waiting for the verdict. "The Lord helps us. He's our strength."
Larry Morgenstern said his first order of business was calling his other daughter, Rebecca Young, who couldn't bear to hear the decision today in person.
"She just couldn't come," he said. "She couldn't handle it. I'm going to call her and tell her how much I love her."
Young arrived shortly after that with her family at the courthouse.
Larry Morgenstern said the verdict was welcome, but didn't necessarily make anything better.
"She's not here," he said. "It doesn't bring her back."
"There'll never be another Mindy," his wife said.
Bonnie Ranum travelled from Valley City every day to be at the trial, along with members of her family. After the courtroom cleared, she said she didn't even know what to say. She compared the situation to the biblical story of David praying for his son.
"The time for fasting and praying is now over," she said. "God has spoken and it is finished."
Kleinke came from Bozeman, Mont., to watch parts of the trial and wait for the verdict. She was one of many friends of Morgenstern to pass through the courthouse doors during the duration of the trial.
"She was my best friend. I couldn't miss it," Kleinke said. "I'm happy. I'm sad. We don't have her back, but justice was served."
The tension in the courthouse, where family and friends of Morgenstern as well as Gibbs' fiance have spent the last three days, seemed higher Friday than the two previous days. During several closed conferences between attorneys in the courtroom, crowds formed outside, waiting for any sign of what was going on inside.
Barbara Bauer, a relative of the Morgensterns who spent the last few days with Eunice Morgenstern at the courthouse, said Friday was the worst day of waiting.
"You keep hoping it's the end," she said, fighting tears. "No one should have to go through this."
Bredahl told Amy Gibbs, Gibbs' fiance and only supporter in the courtroom on Friday, not to comment.
"You don't say a thing to anybody," he said before the courtroom was cleared.
Paulson ordered a presentence investigation be conducted before Gibbs is sentenced. He set sentencing at 1:15 p.m. Dec. 17 and said it will be held in Cass County or Barnes County.
(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)
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