KOPP'S JAILHOUSE CONFESSION PUT TO THE TEST

An autopsy report could back James C. Kopp's claim that the bullet he fired at Dr. Barnett A. Slepian took a "crazy ricochet" that killed the Amherst abortion provider.

And firearms experts say that if Kopp's true purpose was only to wound Slepian, the high-powered Russian assault rifle he used was the wrong weapon, with the wrong ammunition.

Was Kopp telling the truth last week, when he sat down with two reporters from The Buffalo News and insisted that he never meant to kill Slepian?

Local defense attorneys, firearms experts and law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the case were interviewed in an effort to fact-check some of the statements made by Kopp during a four-hour interview in the Erie County Holding Center.

Kopp's claim that his gunshot struck Slepian in the left rear shoulder, struck a bone and ricocheted through his upper body is verified by the findings of an autopsy done after the October 1998 slaying, according to law enforcement officials and other sources.

Those sources noted, however, that Kopp and his attorneys have known about the autopsy for months, which might lead skeptics to believe that Kopp tailored his comments in the interview to fit the autopsy results.

The report done by the Erie County medical examiner's office shows the bullet entered Slepian's body at the back of his left shoulder, veered toward his spine and exited through his right armpit. Slepian, 52, bled to death.

"The autopsy report does show that the bullet struck behind the left shoulder, glanced off a bone and ricocheted through the body," said one source who is familiar with the report.

But the source added that the shoulder is "the wrong place" to shoot someone if the only intent is to injure.

"All the major arteries leading from the heart are in the vicinity of the shoulders," the source said. "If you only wanted to prevent someone from doing operations, you would shoot them in the hand."

Dr. Anthony J. Billittier IV, Erie County Health Department commissioner, concurred.

"I can see why a layman might think that shooting someone in the shoulder would not be fatal, but major arteries run under the armpits, along the neck and under the collarbone," Billittier said. "All those arteries are near the shoulders.

"There actually is no "safe' part of the body to shoot someone in, because you never know what path the bullet will take once it enters the body. It could always hit a bone and go into an artery."

Weapon and motive conflict

According to firearms experts, if Kopp wanted only to wound the doctor, he should have chosen a less lethal weapon than the Soviet-made SKS military rifle he used.

"If he truly intended to wound him, he could have tried a low-powered cartridge, such as a .22-caliber," said Marshall J. Brown of East Aurora, a National Rifle Association firearms instructor and longtime gun expert.

Similar comments came from Mike Haas, a California ammunition expert who runs an educational Web site on firearms and ammunition called AmmoGuide.com. And one local investigator compared Kopp's use of the Russian rifle to "using an elephant gun to kill a mouse."

The 7.62x39mm bullet used in Kopp's gun is considered high-powered ammunition, which travels about 2,300 feet per second, said Brown, a former firearms trainer for the Erie County Sheriff's Department. In comparison, a .22-caliber bullet travels at about 1,300 feet per second.

"In other words, the bigger bullet weighs about three times as much and travels nearly twice as fast," Brown said.

In the interview, Kopp said he considered himself a sharpshooter and an expert on the SKS weapon.

"I had worked with that gun quite a bit before, and I was very, very accurate," Kopp said.

Kopp maintained that "any idiot" examining the facts of the Slepian shooting could figure out that the attack was not meant to be fatal.

Kopp also maintained that no one in the pro-life community - either locally or elsewhere - suggested Slepian to him as a potential target. Kopp said he began making plans in 1997 to come to Western New York and shoot at an abortion doctor.

He said he simply picked the names of Slepian and other abortion providers "out of the Yellow Pages," and had no idea that Slepian's office and home had been picketed for years by people who oppose abortion. Kopp said he also was unaware that Slepian had been a controversial figure whose battles with demonstrators had made numerous news reports over the years.

Kopp said he decided to target Slepian after scouting the homes of Slepian and about six other local doctors. He said he chose Slepian because his home was vulnerable, with a rear window facing a woods.

"For no particular reason," Kopp said. "I got his name from the Yellow Pages. Nobody in the pro-life community handed me a dossier on Dr. Slepian. That would have made my job easier."

Slepian isn't listed

But a check of the Yellow Pages in the region's two major telephone books for 1997-98 shows that Slepian was not listed by name among local abortion providers. A Main Street clinic where Slepian performed abortions had a small display ad, but Slepian's name was not mentioned.

In the phone books, Slepian is listed only under the heading of physicians who specialized in obstetrics and gynecology, and not at the Main Street address.

"I don't ever recall Bart Slepian having his name listed in the Yellow Pages as an abortion provider," said Glenn E. Murray, a pro-choice attorney who was a friend of Slepian's. "Very few doctors do have their names listed there. Why? Because they don't want to get shot by James Kopp wanna-bes."

Murray believes Kopp had help in planning and possibly in carrying out the shooting. He believes Kopp is now trying to put all the blame on himself, to prevent others from being prosecuted.

"I find it totally implausible that Kopp only got Bart's name from the Yellow Pages," Murray said. "I believe he got it from some of his confederates, his co-conspirators . . . the people who are cheerleaders for violence."

Kopp's attorney, Bruce A. Barket, said Kopp sincerely regrets killing the doctor, but also believes that the shooting saved the lives of some children who would have been aborted.

Kopp's claims attacked

In what is likely to be the central argument of his defense in an upcoming murder trial, Kopp insisted during the interview that he truly regrets killing Slepian. He said he believes the autopsy report on the death will buttress his claim.

"I never, ever intended for Dr. Slepian to die," Kopp said. "I aimed at his shoulder. The bullet took a crazy ricochet, and that's what killed him. One of my goals was to keep Dr. Slepian alive, and I failed at that goal."

"Kopp is a coldblooded killer," he said. "If you're trying to make sure you only wound someone, you don't fire into a house from that distance, at night. His claim that he was only trying to wound Bart is preposterous. It's patently unbelievable."

KOPP'S STATEMENT SPURS MOVE TO ADD NEW COUNT
The Buffalo News LINK
Michael Beebe, News Staff Reporter, News Staff Reporter
November 23, 2002
     Prosecutors say they will ask an Erie County grand jury to return a new set of indictments against James C. Kopp, following his confession this week that he shot and killed Dr. Barnett A. Slepian.
     Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark confirmed Friday that a grand jury will convene Dec. 4 and that he has subpoenaed reporters from The Buffalo News, which broke the story Wednesday, and a tape recording from WGRZ-TV, which later aired a brief telephone conversation with Kopp.
     "We're going to seek to supersede the existing indictment," Clark said. "We're going to ask the grand jury to consider a charge of depraved indifference murder."
     Kopp, 47, was earlier indicted on a second-degree murder charge, accusing him of intending to kill Slepian by waiting in the woods behind his Amherst home and shooting him with a high-powered Soviet assault rifle.
     But Kopp told The News he never intended to kill Slepian.
     Clark, his top aides and Deputy District Attorney Joseph J. Marusak, who will try Kopp, decided to add the new murder charge based on Kopp's confession.
     "The circumstances that changed are the pronouncements made by Mr. Kopp over the last several days when he said he had no intention to kill Dr. Slepian," Clark said. "The depraved indifference count takes away the intent."
     Clark said prosecutors still are confident they can convict Kopp of the earlier intentional murder charge.
     "It's not that we don't feel that's a valid theory," Clark said, "but based on his statements, he has provided an alternative theory." Clark said the new count of depraved indifference will be added to the earlier intentional murder charge.
     The new count is also a second-degree murder charge and carries the same 25-years-to-life prison term.
     Clark not only subpoenaed two Buffalo News reporters who conducted the interview, but also a tape recording aired late Wednesday night on WGRZ-TV.
     The television station explained on its 11 p.m. newscast that the tape was made that day by WNBC-TV in New York City and was conducted by phone with Kopp from the Erie County Holding Center.
     Clark said the tape recording was helpful, but he wanted particulars about the confession to The News because it was more comprehensive. His subpoena orders the two reporters to bring all notes and recordings with them.
     Margaret M. Sullivan, editor and vice president of The News, said earlier that the newspaper would resist any efforts to make its reporters an arm of law enforcement.

BROOKLYN COUPLE ACCUSED OF HELPING KOPP DENIED BAIL
The Buffalo News LINK
Phil Fairbanks, News Staff Reporter
November 23, 2002
     The Brooklyn couple who allegedly helped accused murderer James C. Kopp while he was on the run were denied bail Friday.
     A New York City judge ruled against Loretta Marra and Dennis Malvasi and ordered them returned to prison to await a trial or plea deal.
     Despite the ruling by U.S. Magistrate Roanne Mann, defense lawyers hope that a plea deal can be reached, maybe as early as next week. The deal could allow the two defendants to be released on bail or limit their overall sentence to 27 to 33 months.
     "There's been some discussion with the prosecution of a plea deal," said Thomas Eoannou, Malvasi's lawyer.
     Marra and Malvasi, who have been in jail for the past 18 months, are accused of helping Kopp elude federal investigators after the 1998 murder of Dr. Barnett A. Slepian, a local abortion provider. Kopp recently confessed to shooting Slepian, though he claims his intention was to wound him.
     Sources have said that Marra and Malvasi would be offered a plea deal that ensures they spend no more than 33 months in prison. The possibility of a deal came about after a federal judge in Buffalo reluctantly agreed last month to dismiss felony charges against the married couple.
     Malvasi, 52, served prison time for bombing abortion clinics in New York City in the 1980s. Marra, 38, is a pro-life activist who often protested with Kopp prior to Slepian's murder. The couple has two young children.
     By dismissing the charges, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara cleared the way for Marra and Malvasi to go to New York City and take a plea deal comparable to one he criticized and refused to approve.

But a check of the Yellow Pages in the region's two major telephone books for 1997-98 shows that Slepian was not listed by name among local abortion providers. A Main Street clinic where Slepian performed abortions had a small display ad, but Slepian's name was not mentioned.

Looks like Kopp is trying to pull a McVeigh and take all the blame/credit for himself. It looks pretty clear from this he had some help in targeting his victim. Hopefully those crazy bad people will be tracked down and receive the justice they deserve.

Kopp is a misled idealist, not a liar. He was known to others in the pro-life movement. The most likely scenario is that he heard about Dr. Slepian from others in the movement who were picketing his clinic. In fact it's hard to see how he could NOT have heard about him, since these kinds of activities are often mentioned in newsletters and other communications--letters, phone calls, chance meetings with friends.

What I doubt is that anyone else knew what he planned to do. Kopp is something extremely rare in the pro-life movement, a pro-life killer. In fact he's the only case I know of who wasn't clearly insane. Most likely he prefers not to mention talking with or hearing from other pro-lifers because he doesn't want to put them into jeopardy. The FBI is not famous for its discriminating tact, and they are likely to go after anyone who might have been innocently involved without knowing what Kopp intended to do. The clintonoids in the FBI had as their highest priority the task of proving that there was a RICO conspiracy among pro-lifers, in order to support lawsuits by NARAL, NOW, the ACLU, and others. Janet Reno ordered them to go out and find a conspiracy, but up to now they have failed--because the pro-life movement is not, in fact, a violent or criminal conspiracy.

Most pro-lifers genuinely thought that Kopp was innocent and had been framed, as I did myself. I seriously doubt that there was an organized plot. But this is speculation, naturally--my best guess as to what probably happened.

Kopp was lying when he said he got Slepian's address from the phone book. Dr Slepian made a point of being totally unlisted for years prior to the shooting. Only his trusted employees and friends had his home phone number and many of them still didn't have his address.

Kopp must have gotten his address from a local accomplice who had been stalking Slepian (and who had a pretty good notion of what Kopp would do with the information) ... but Kopp is lying to protect his accomplice.

If Kopp went to these lengths to get Slepian's address, he certainly had malice aforethought. By the way, his pretended defense, that he intended to use a deadly weapon to cause Slepian a near-death experience but didn't foresee that it would kill him, is so flimsy that it hardly merits a trial. Not only is it unbelievable on its face, but it conflicts with the very longstanding felony-murder rule.

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