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In the balance Jury will resume talks Monday as trial in 20-year-old Medford murder concludes By DANI DODGE After six hours of weighing the evidence and the veracity of the defendant, 12 jurors trying to decide whether William Henry Allen Jr. murdered 17-year-old Evelyn Marie Smith back in 1981 went home for the weekend. While the prosecutor alleges Allen is lying to cover up the murder, the defense attorney said being a liar doesn't make Allen a murderer. "Billy Allen is a liar - that's all their argument," defense attorney David Orf said. "You don't have any other framework that would support a finding of guilt." Allen's murder trial began Tuesday in Jackson County Circuit Court. Allen, 37, of Oakley, Calif., is charged with three counts of murder in Smith's April 25, 1981, death. Two of the counts allege Allen raped Smith. Smith's nude body was found about 3:15 p.m. Sunday, April 26, 1981, in the tunnel leading to the locker rooms of Medford Mid High School, which is now South Medford High School. Over the years when Allen was interviewed by police, he denied having sex with Smith, but last year new technology allowed scientists to match Allen's DNA to sperm found in Smith's body. During the trial, Allen testified that he originally lied about having sex with Smith because he didn't want to get in trouble for having sex. In her closing arguments Friday, Deputy District Attorney Beth Heckert pointed out many instances where Allen lied. At first when Allen was interviewed after the murder, he said he and Smith had been kissing on second base. He changed his story at the trial and said he'd had sex with Smith in the baseball dugout - but the baseball dugouts at the time were fenced and locked. a coach said. "He has lied and lied and lied about this case" Heckert said. "So why would he lie to you all these years about the dugout? Because he can't tell you the truth. He can't tell you he raped and murdered Evelyn Smith." She pointed out Allen never even told friends about his date. "It was a date that went really well for a 16-year-old boy," Heckert noted. "Is he going to at least tell (friend Tom Sanders) that the girl was hot last night? "The only reason he wouldn't mention it to Tom Sanders is because he knew that Evelyn Smith was dead and he wanted to distance himself." Heckert said many of his lies were trying to cover up for evidence police might find, such as fingerprints. "He doesn't know what police have and he's trying to spin a story for it already," she said. And while Orf said the injuries on Smith's body showed only that she had been dragged on a rough surface, Heckert said they showed she'd been in a fight. "There's only one way Evelyn Smith can talk to us now and it's through those injuries," Heckert said. "Her body tells us she was in a struggle." Heckert then mapped out the way Smith may have died: she and Allen were in the football stadium kissing when Allen decided he wanted more. "Evelyn Smith knew she was in for a struggle," Heckert said. "It was 44 degrees and rainy. That she would have stripped voluntarily makes no sense. Did he have a weapon ... or did he simply overpower her? We don't know." Smith screamed and was overheard by a man going on a beer run at about 11:30 p.m. The scream was interrupted when Allen pressed Smith's neck against a railing or a bench and strangled her, Heckert said. Then he dropped her from the bleachers onto the opening of the tunnel to the locker rooms. A spot of blood showed where her head hit the ground, Heckert said. He then dragged her the 20 feet or so into the tunnel where she was found the next day, Heckert said. But Orf said Heckert's theory was mere speculation. "When all is said and done, you may think Billy Allen is a liar, but that's not enough," Orf said. "The only thing they can show now that they couldn't show (21 years ago) was he had intercourse." And Orf said forensic evidence showed that the intercourse did not appear to be violent. Orf said that some evidence contradicted the prosecution's theory. He noted that the contents of Smith's stomach included carrots, but no meat. The woman who cooked Smith a meal at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday said they'd eaten meat and potatoes. Orf said Smith must have had another meal before she died. He also noted that the deputy medical examiner who took Smith's body temperature at 4 p.m. found it be 86 degrees. Following typical formulas for how quickly a dead body loses body heat, that could mean she died at 9 a.m. April 26, long after Allen was at home. "The forensic evidence is important because that's the framework you can hang a homicide investigation on," Orf said. "We don't have that framework. Of the 45 items of evidence collected at the scene, not one of those 45 pieces of evidence was linked to Bill Allen." Orf suggested the evidence shows that someone else killed her. "We know she had a meal," Orf said. "How'd she get there and who did she have it with? What happened to the clothing? "It may well suggest an automobile is involved." Allen didn't have a car. But Heckert scoffed at Orf's scenario. "Mr. Orf wants you to believe this bushy-haired stranger fed her a meal. Brought her back to the same exact spot. Stripped her of her clothes ... and left no evidence of sexual assault and left her there." Heckert said. Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.