tuesday, November 18, 2003
the university daily kansan 3A
news
Martin trial nears end after testimony, death threats
By Katie Nelson
knelson@kansan.com
Kansan senior staff writer
Fifteen witnesses have testified and there may be two more to go The trial of the three people accused of killing University of Kansas student Shannon Martin two years ago is coming to a close
Outside the Golffite, Costa Rica, judicial building, there are guards with assault rifles standing watch. Inside are more of the same. Friday there were death threats against those who might speak out, and people are on edge.
euge.
"If Rosibel testifies, we'll kill her," a woman told the prosecutor's secretary on the phone, referring to one of the witnesses.
referring to Shannon's mother, Jeanette Stauffer, said she wasn't afraid. Yet she's also asking police for an escort to the courthouse and back. Down mint-green painted hallways is the room where the trial is taking place. Three judges sit behind a heavy wood desk.
The 40 or so chairs in the audience fill with lawyers, family,
neighbors and friends. Curious
townpeople come just to see
what's going on. Even more people
wait outside.
The suspects sit with their defense attorneys on oneside, Shannon's family and the prosecutors on the other. There are nods and smiles between most all of them, except suspect Kattia Cruz, who glares.
suspect Rachel Crook in the market "She thinks she's getting off," said translator Peter Majerle of Cruz. "She always looks away with an icy, cold stare."
Suspects Luis Carillo and Rafael Zumbado are awaiting their fate, too.
Carillo, 33, has grown a thin mustache. He wears sunglasses over slicked-back hair. The 52-year-old Zumbado says he has an ulcer and goes to the hospital to vomit each day.
When the trial resumes tomorrow, two taxi drivers are expected to tell their tale. Judges will also watch a videotape of Martin's autopsy.
"It's intense," said Jeff Douglas. Stauffer's translator. He said he was getting headaches and stomachs from worrying about
the trial. "You find yourself hanging on the witnesses' every word."
“It's exhausting,” said Brad Stauffer, Shannon's stepfather. “You are always trying to concentrate on the interpreter, watch the gestures and body language, and you miss so many words.”
"It's infuriating," said Lila Elman, 22, a family friend who flew from New York City for the trial. "You're experiencing incredible ups and downs, and it's overwhelming. All these questions remain unanswered."
While their emotions run the gamut, everyone agrees the end will be a relief.
Closing statements are scheduled for Monday with a verdict coming sometime soon after.
Shirley Grandados, a Golffito local, also waits.
"Of course we want an ending, but we also want the truth to come out."
Information collected from Peter Majerle, Jesse Ybarra, jeanette Staffler and jeff Douglas.
Edited by Ehren Medit
Jesse Ybarra, a Topeka translator who is helping prosecutors investigate Shannon Martin's death, discussed evidence with Juan Carlos Arce, a Costa Rican attorney, during court proceedings last week in Golfito, Costa Rica. The trial resumes tomorrow.
Meteor shower to reach peak tonight
By Kevin Kampwirth
kkampwirth@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Accounts of the Leonid meteor shower dating back as early as the 10th century report "stars falling from the sky like rain."
from the sky.
The shower, which appears every year around this time, is expected to be at its peak tonight from about midnight to 2 a.m.
Leonid meteors are caused by the comet Tempel-Tuttle, which swings around the sun into the inner solar system, near Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, every 33 years.
years As the comet approaches and passes the sun, small chunks of
ice and debris break off and hurtle through space creating meteors.
As the Earth rotates, it passes through the clouds of debris near Nov. 18 every year. During this time, people can see just a few or up to hundreds of meteors per hour, depending on the size of the debris field.
Bruce Twarog, professor of physics and astronomy, said it was hard to predict the exact number of meteors per hour that will be visible.
"It really depends from year to year," he said. "Unfortunately, the brightness of the moon right now may hinder viewing a bit."
The Leonids, which get their name because the meteors appear
to radiate from a spot in the constellation Leo, produced huge showers between 1988 and 2002 because the Earth passed through fresh debris given off by TempelTuttle in the past 200 years. These are known as "direct hits."
In 2001, Earth encountered a direct hit in which more than 1,000 meteors per hour were visible.
Tonight, Earth will brush past two old trails left by the comet in 1533.
But, according to a report from Peter Jenniskens of NASAs Ames Research Center, 10 to 20 meteors should still be visible in any 15 minute span.
On Nov. 13, Earth passed through a trail left by the comet in
1499 which produced modest showers. Scientists' numbers differ slightly on the number of meteors that will be visible per hour in this area tonight, but they do agree that it can be up to 80.
Facing east and watching for the meteors from a dark environment away from city lights will give stargazers the best chance to see a good number of Leonids, Twarog said.
Cinton Lake has been a popular destination for stargazers in the past, but if this isn't an option, experts recommend viewing the showers from a high altitude or standing in the shade of a tall building or hillside.
Edited by Katie Bean
The Associated Press
Sniper suspect guilty
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — In a verdict that could cost him his life, a stone-faced John Allen Muhammad was convicted yesterday of using a high-powered rifle, a beat-up car and a teenage sidekick to murder people at random and terrorize the Washington area during last year's sniper attacks.
The jury immediately began hearing evidence on whether the 42-year-old Army veteran should get the death penalty or life in prison.
The penalty phase is expected to last several days.
Muhammad stood impas-
sively as the verdict was read, looking straight ahead. Two jurors held hands, and two others wept.
Family members of victims held hands and wiped away tears.
The jury deliberated for 61/2 hours over two days before convicting Muhammad of two counts of capital murder.
One accused him of taking part in multiple murders, the other, the result of a post.Sept.11 terrorism law, alleged the killings were designed to terrorize the population.
He was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and use of a firearm in a felony.
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