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7. The Defence that should have been
At the trial, the Reverend Oermann testified that he had left his wife, alive and unharmed around 5.40pm to 5.45pm, and that he returned home to find her dead at 9.50pm. At 10.15 to 10.20pm the police were called to the scene.
It is therefore a reasonable defence if Grover Reed can account for his whereabouts from 5.40 to 9.50 p.m.
On 24th July the public defender (not
Richard Nichols) filed a ‘Notice of Intention to Claim Alibi using a State
Witness, Mark Rainey, as the principle witness. This was based upon the
public defender’s June 13th 1986 deposition of Rainey where the latter
said Mr. Reed was at Ware’s Trailer (Caravan) Park from around 5 p.m. in
his own trailer. Rainey claimed it was around 5pm
because ‘it was getting dark’ and that
he, someone called Patrick, Lee and Chris Niznik were all together and
could see Grover reed in his trailer. Rainey claimed he stayed there till
around 8.30 or 9 p.m.
Chris Niznik, whilst not knowing exact times recalled Grover Reed returning to the trailer park after ‘it had just gotten dark’. She could not quote a time and said ‘Some people say it was 6.30, I don’t know’. When challenged by Assistant District Attorney George Bateh that it may have been 7.30 she said ‘I guess, I don’t know. Whatever time it got dark.’ In an earlier statement to another prosecutor she had said of the time ‘I don’t know. All I know, it was getting dark’.
The recorded sunset was 6.24 p.m. on 27th February 1986. It is a likely 20 minutes or more jog between the Trailer Park and the murder scene.
Now these timings do not put Grover reed ‘in the clear, but cast serious doubts on the likelihood, but Richard Nichols never sought to investigate any of the above.
The state argued the motive for Grover Reed being the murderer as to ‘get even’ with the Oermann’s for kicking him out of the house for drug abuse. Lisa Smith testified at the trial much to this effect.
Chris Niznik, who was Grover’s girlfriend and father of his child maintained they were not asked to leave because of drug abuse and that when they moved out of the Oermann’s while they were away for Christmas. They stayed with Mary Boles, who was a member of the Reverend Oermann’s church, and by the time the Oermann’s returned they were moving to the Trailer Park.
When Chris Niznik was aware Grover had been arrested, she moved to Tennessee, but before doing so called Mr. Nichols office to advise her mother’s address and telephone number. She was later advised by Nichols she would not be called for testimony. Had she done so she would have testified that no such conversation took place between Lisa Smith and Grover Reed about ‘getting even’.
The Reverend Oermann himself confirmed that the Oermann’s only asked Grover Reed to leave because of an extended Christmas vacation in a deposition.
... Read Part 8
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