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41 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, March 16, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend February 21, 2004 Defense calls Kerry Repp’s neighbors as trial witnesses By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune Several suspicious people were in the vicinity of Kerry Repp’s home on the day of her murder, trial witnesses said Friday. Defense attorneys for Repp’s husband, Gary Marvin Repp Jr., called several residents of the Hazel Street area in Central Point who said they saw bicyclists, figures wearing black clothing and a man and woman arguing near the Repp home on May 4, 2002. Most witnesses, however, could not link the sightings to a specific time. Prosecutors and defense attorneys have said that Kerry Repp was shot to death as she was calling 911 at 8:23 a.m. Two young men dressed in shorts and baseball caps rode bicycles through an alley behind the Repp home sometime between 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., Cherry Street resident Deborah LeRoy told jurors. About 20 or 30 minutes after the bicyclists disappeared, LeRoy said she heard several popping sounds while working in her yard. The men reappeared between 15 and 20 minutes later, said something about leaving and rode off in separate directions, she said. LeRoy did not tell police about the two bicyclists until two weeks ago, she said. When she heard Repp was arrested, she put the scene out of her mind. Upon hearing about his trial, however, she felt that she should come forward. Looking back on an event that happened nearly two years ago, LeRoy said she believed that she saw the two men on the same day that Kerry Repp was murdered because it was close to her daughter’s birthday. Under cross examination, LeRoy said she hadn’t heard any motorcycles running that morning. Repp has testified that he warmed up some dirt bikes in preparation for a camping trip that day. Other neighbors testified that they heard the clamor around 8 a.m. Advertisement The motorcycles woke Richard Boucher, who lived across the alley directly behind the Repp home. Boucher, who had been drinking the night before, said he heard no gunshots but did hear screams around 11 a.m. An hour or 30 minutes after the screaming stopped, Boucher said he saw two people — one a man dressed in dark clothes — in the Repps’ backyard. Kerry Repp’s parents testified that they arrived at the house to check on their daughter at about 1 p.m. Central Point police — who wear dark-colored uniforms — showed up just minutes later. Kerry Repp’s parents fit the description of two people seen arguing on the front stoop of the Repp home. Marty Austin told the court that she briefly saw two people in front of the Repp home as she was driving past the house between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. She described the man as older, either balding or with short hair. He had his hand on the door frame, apparently trying to keep the woman — described as short with short, black hair — from coming inside, Austin said. Kerry Repp’s father, Ron Johnson, earlier told the court that he ran outside after finding his daughter dead in her bedroom to get the home’s address for 911 dispatchers. Johnson’s wife, JoeAnn, did not go inside the house when she arrived. Austin said that police had blocked off Hazel Street when she returned to her house from Medford. Under cross-examination, Austin told prosecutor Rachel Bridges that she had been in an accident several months after the murder and had lost parts of her memory because of head injuries. The trial will continue Monday in Jackson County Circuit Court. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times