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SUNNY Temp: 74 °F Wind: WNW at 9 mph Thursday, September 5, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Cyberchef E The People Golf Job Network Headbone Zone Wellness Connection Movie Times Newspaper in Education Oregon CarZone Outdoor Journal Personals Prime Times Real Estate Tempo A & E TV Times W3 Magazine CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Destinations Automotive Communities Employment Entertainment Publications Real Estate Recreation Shopping Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Jobs @ Mail Tribune Email Story to a Friend August 18, 2002 Acremant could face death penalty in California By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune The man sentenced to death for the 1995 murders of Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill heads to trial on unrelated California murder charges this week. Robert James Acremant is charged with murder while committing robbery and murder while lying in wait under special circumstance of prior murder convictions, said Sharon Henry, supervising district attorney in Tulare County, Calif. If convicted, Acremant faces either life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. Tulare County prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, Henry said. Acremant was the first person in Jackson County to be condemned to death since Oregonians voted to restore capital punishment in 1984. He was sentenced in October 1997. He confessed to killing Ellis and Abdill, a Medford lesbian couple, in December 1995. Acremant said he wanted the money from the couple’s rental business to help him win the heart of a Las Vegas stripper. Knowing that Ellis and Abdill were lesbians made killing them easier, he said. While Medford police were investigating the murders, Acremant told them where they would find the body of Scott George, a Visalia, Calif., resident who was last seen partying with Acremant on Oct. 3, 1995, said Medford police Lt. Tim George. Acremant admitted to shooting Scott George in the head and heart. Lt. George will travel to Visalia on Monday with Medford Sgt. Roy Skinner and detectives Tim Doney and Terry Newell to testify in Acremant’s trial. "It’s been a long haul for everybody involved here, so we’d like to get it done," Lt. George said. Originally scheduled for September last year, Acremant’s California trial was postponed when he threatened to kill his court-appointed attorney, Jim Kordell, and the attorney’s family, said Carol Turner, Tulare County assistant district attorney. Kordell asked to be relieved of his duties representing Acremant, Turner said. Visalia attorney Marcus Olmos now represents Acremant, Henry said. The trial is expected to run between three and four weeks with evidence presented on Monday, Henry said. Medford investigators are scheduled to testify Tuesday or Wednesday, Lt. George said. Jury selection for the trial took approximately two weeks to complete, Henry said. Acremant is imprisoned in Tulare County. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S