Linderman becomes focus of Meister retrial

David J. Meister is charged with murdering Tonya Hart. But throughout the first three days of retrial testimony, the name Jesse Linderman keeps coming up.

And for good reason - at least from the prosecution's perspective.

Meister, 28, is accused of killing Hart in a murder-for-hire conspiracy with Linderman. According to court records, Linderman allegedly agreed to pay Meister $1,100 to kill Hart.

Linderman and Hart were a couple at the time of her death and lived in a trailer house one mile north of here. Hart died of gunshot wounds to her head and heart on Dec. 11, 2001. Meister allegedly pulled the trigger, according to the prosecution.

But defense attorneys contend another man, Lane Thomas, admitted he killed Hart. And that assertion is expected to be at the crux of Meister's case once the prosecution rests.

Both Meister and Linderman were initially charged after Meister confessed several months after the shooting. But when Meister recanted his confession, claiming he was coerced, charges were dropped against Linderman for lack of evidence.

Meister was eventually found guilty in 2003 of murder and conspiracy, only to have his convictions overturned by the Idaho Supreme Court.

Latah County Deputy Prosecutor Michelle Evans confirmed that Linderman, who still lives and works in the Moscow area, has been subpoenaed to testify in the retrial.

But she also told jurors during opening statements that they won't hear from him.

That's because Linderman, who's represented by Charles Kovis of Moscow, is likely to invoke his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

And if he actually appears to answer the subpoena, it probably won't be in front of the jury of nine men and five women.

On Thursday, defense attorneys Tom Whitney of Moscow and Scott Chapman of Lewiston objected to anticipated testimony from former Latah County Sheriff's detective Kurtis Hall. The attorneys contended Hall's remembrance of what Linderman said after learning of Hart's death was hearsay and irrelevant.

But District Judge John B. Kerrick of Lewiston allowed the testimony, ruling the statement would have a legitimate bearing on the prosecution's murder-for-hire theory because the words may reflect a nonchalant attitude worthy of jury consideration.

Under direct examination by Evans, Hall recited the exchange he claims to have had with Linderman at the murder scene. "I walked up to him and said, I'm sorry. Mr. Linderman kind of smiled at me and said, 'Shit happens.' "

Cross examination of Hall is expected later today after the trial resumes at 9 a.m.

Linderman aside, the bulk of Thursday's testimony revolved around the introduction of physical evidence taken at the crime scene. Jessica Smith, special prosecutor assigned to the case from the Idaho Attorney General's Office, steered witnesses through the process. Items, among other things, included photographs of Hart's body, pieces of her shattered eye glasses, a piece of paneling from her trailer home where a bullet was found to be lodged, and a picture of a spent shell casing on the back steps to the trailer.

Vernon Grotjohn of the Idaho State Police investigated the shooting and testified that, based on physical evidence at the scene, Hart was standing when she was shot through the right eye. A pathologist earlier testified Hart would have died instantly from the head wound, or the second shot she suffered to the heart.

The prosecution is expected to continue building its case through the next several days before Meister's attorneys are expected to mount the alternate-perpetrator defense. Whitney introduced the strategy in opening statements Tuesday.

He said Thomas admitted to killing Hart.

Thomas, according to authorities, remains in the Idaho state prison system on convictions unrelated to Hart's death. He has been subpoenaed and is named on a potential witness list.

David Johnson may be contacted at djohnson@lmtribune.com or (208) 883-0564.