Judy Day simulated Repp scene - November 16, 2005

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)

2005-11-24

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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 16, 2005 Judy Day simulated Repp scene She set up a ‘suicide’ scene after shooting her husband in their Eagle Point home By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune Fascinated with last year’s trial of Gary Repp, Judy Day studied the murder of Repp’s wife, police said. When Day staged her own husband’s "suicide" in December, investigators saw a scene eerily similar to the slaying of Kerry Repp. Both victims were found dead in their own beds. Like Repp, Clifton Daniel Day was shot in the head, a pillow placed between the gun and its target. Repp refused to die, forcing her killer to shoot four times; Day sat up in bed, surprising his wife, who fired three shots. Judy Day, 61, pleaded guilty Tuesday to reduced charges for killing her 59-year-old husband on Dec. 12, 2004, in their Eagle Point home. Convicted in Jackson County Circuit Court of first-degree assault and manslaughter, Day was ordered to spend 20 years in prison, five years fewer than Oregon’s mandatory sentence for murder. Prosecutors negotiated Day’s sentence at the request of her husband’s family. After shooting her husband once in the face and twice in the left temple with her .22-caliber handgun, Day turned the weapon on herself. She purposely dodged a lethal wound, said David Hoppe, deputy district attorney for Jackson County. Advertisement Day waited to pull the trigger until a friend she had called arrived at the Days’ Teakwood Drive home. The bullet lodged in Day’s upper chest well away from her heart, said Detective Colin Fagan of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. "She made sure she had someone to take care of her," Fagan said. Day was hospitalized for about five days at Rogue Valley Medical Center before her arrest on the charge of murder. She has remained in the Jackson County Jail without bail. Given Judy Day’s interest in the Repp case, a co-worker at Driver and Motor Vehicle Services told Fagan she couldn’t help but wonder whether Clifton Day’s death was similar. Judy Day read up on the trial of Gary Repp — acquitted last year of his 29-year-old wife’s murder — and frequently talked about it, Fagan said. "She just showed a more-than-usual fascination with the case," Fagan said. Hoppe said the killing could have allowed Day to benefit from her husband’s pension and life insurance. Several months before the crime, Day had called her husband’s employer, the Bureau of Land Management, to inquire about insurance and pension coverage if he were to commit suicide, Fagan said. Judy Day owed about $30,000 to credit card companies, he added. However, Hoppe said he didn’t believe money was a motive. "So what if they had financial problems?" he said. A note Day had written after shooting her husband said she didn’t see any other way out, Hoppe said. But family members Tuesday said they were still baffled by the murder, a crime that seemed completely unprovoked. "I don’t have a clue what went wrong," his sister, Margaret Kilroy, told the court. "This isn’t the woman that my brother loved and married ... I don’t know who she is here." Judy Day was emotionally disturbed when she shot her husband, her attorney, Daniel Simcoe, told the court. Holding a tissue to her face during much of the hearing, Day apologized. Wanting to avoid a trial, Clifton Day’s family asked prosecutors to offer his widow the chance to plead guilty, said Kilroy, who works in Circuit Court as Judge Bill Purdy’s assistant. Kilroy said the family didn’t want to entrust a jury with the case and hoped for closure as quickly as possible. "We figured at her age ... it assured us the conviction," Kilroy said. Because of Kilroy’s position at the courthouse, Judge Rodger Isaacson of Klamath County Circuit Court took Day’s plea and imposed her sentence. She agreed that she would not appeal the conviction and is not eligible for early release. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail Judy Day simulated Repp scene ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home  | Local News  | Sports  | Business  | Obituaries  | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives  |  Site Map  | Community  | Classified   Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Salvia Divinorum Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Advertisement s