Survivor says she caught STD
By Roxana Hegeman - The Associated Press - 10/18/2002
WICHITA -- A woman who survived a rape and shooting surprised prosecutors Thursday by telling them she had contracted the same sexually transmitted disease a detective just testified one of the suspects had.
The woman alerted prosecutors after she watched live televised coverage of a police detective telling jurors that Reginald Carr had a sexually transmitted disease. The woman said that about two months after the attacks her doctor told her she had the same condition, District Attorney Nola Foulston said.
Outside the jury's presence, Foulston told District Judge Paul Clark the woman hadn't disclosed that information to prosecutors earlier -- and the victim didn't know one of the men arrested for the killings and rapes had the disease. Foulston said she informed defense attorneys of the surprise disclosure immediately after talking to the victim.
Reginald Carr and his brother Jonathan Carr face 113 charges, most of which stem from the events of Dec. 14 to 15, 2000, when five friends were abducted from a Wichita home, forced to engage in sexual acts and to withdraw money from ATMs before they all were shot. The two women were raped. Aaron Sander, 29; Brad Heyka, 27; Jason Befort, 26; and Heather Muller, 25, died. Befort's girlfriend, then a 25-year-old teacher, survived and ran naked for a mile to find help.
The brothers also are being tried in the Dec. 11, 2000, attempted robbery and shooting of Ann Walenta, 55, who later died, and a robbery four days earlier in which Andrew Schreiber was abducted and forced to withdraw cash from ATMs.
The issue of the sexually transmitted disease first came up in court Thursday when defense attorney John Val Wachtel was cross-examining police detective James Hosty. Hosty was guarding Reginald Carr at the hospital where medical staff took samples of his blood and hair as evidence. Hosty said he observed the disease at that time.
Heather Hull, a nurse who collected evidence samples from both brothers, later testified she observed one of the brothers had a sexually transmitted disease. Under cross-examination, Hull acknowledged she couldn't recall which had the disease.
Prosecutors brought back to the stand the woman who survived the attack. She testified that months after the rapes, she developed symptoms of the disease.
With the jury gone to lunch, Val Wachtel told the judge he was surprised by the disclosure and should have objected to that testimony because the information hadn't been disclosed earlier. Val Wachtel moved for a mistrial.
Clark ruled that while the information should have been part of the evidence discovery process, its discovery now could be handled with jury instructions rather than a mistrial.
"I'll find there is no fault as the district attorney didn't know it, nobody in law enforcement knew it until cross examination of detective Hosty was done this morning (and) then the witness made known her medical condition," Clark said.
Reginald Carr wasn't in the courtroom Thursday morning, and his absence wasn't explained to jurors.
But during court proceedings without the jury present, Clark heard a report from a security officer that Reginald Carr had made threats to officers at the correctional center.
Security officers wanted the judge to allow them to bring Reginald Carr into the courtroom in shackles. Val Wachtel told the judge if his client appears in the courtroom in shackles it will give the jury the impression he is a dangerous person and influence their ability to presume him innocent.
Clark ruled Reginald Carr could be restrained during the court proceedings, but that he be brought in before the jury was seated and any restraints used not be visible to jurors. Reginald Carr returned to court in the afternoon, with his shackles discretely hidden.
A neighbor living in the triplex unit to the west of where the five friends were attacked also took the stand Thursday, telling jurors she was coming home around 11 p.m. in her new BMW when a car appeared to follow her home. Jean Beck testified she waited until the unfamiliar car passed before getting out of her car to get her mail and pull into her garage.
Her garage is immediately adjacent to the garage of the triplex unit where the attacks occurred.
Also testifying Thursday was Stephanie Donley, Reginald Carr's girlfriend, in whose apartment stolen property was found when Reginald Carr was arrested. Donley said he stayed with her whenever he was in town and she wasn't working nights.
Donley told jurors she lent Reginald Carr her car the night of the quadruple murders, and didn't see him again until he showed up at 4:30 a.m. the next morning with a lot of property. She had been waiting for him to come home all night.
"I was awake because I was pretty mad," Donley said.
Donley also identified in court the red shorts Reginald Carr was wearing under his jeans just before taking a shower in the apartment. Those are the shorts Foulston contended in her opening arguments were later found to contain traces of Heather Muller's blood.
Donley testified she had a sexual relationship with Reginald Carr, and although she was using birth control pills she asked him to wear condoms. She said he appeared to have a sexually transmitted disease.
The Carr brothers are filthy, diseased animals. They should be put out of their misery, like any mad beast. No mercy!
This is one of the most vicious crimes I've ever heard of. It's almost too painful for me to read about. I am furious that the mainstream media is protecting these vile creatures by remaining silent on this story. The whole situation just makes me so angry. All because the monsters are black.
Why do the people in Kansas refuse to pass a "shall issue" ccw law?, which woluld make these types of crimes less likely?
Around here they call that "opening the door" . . . as in, "Whoopsie, Mr. Defense Counsel, we know the court granted a motion in limine regarding the prior criminal record of your client, but when you asked him about that prior arrest, you opened the door." Also known as, "Never ask a question you don't know the answer to." Defense counsel sometimes get a little overenthusiastic on cross, and as you say, "Serves them right."
"I wouldn't mind seeing all three of these scumbags on death row...(the two animals and their lawyer)"
I think you mean 4. Each of the brothers has an attorney, so 2 brothers and 2 attorneys.
Other than that, I agree.
