Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Our View: Cheers to jobs, fish; jeers to canceled insurance ... From the council: Medford-Alba sister city bond is a special one ... Emergency Services ... Our View: Cheers to jobs, fish; jeers to canceled insurance ... From the council: Medford-Alba sister city bond is a special one ... Emergency Services ... DOUBLE MURDER TRIAL Monica claims she never acted on murderous thoughts But claims she never acted on them Comment By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 17, 2015 at 1:14 PM Updated Apr 17, 2015 at 7:06 PM By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 17, 2015 at 1:14 PM Updated Apr 17, 2015 at 7:06 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Monica on the stand: 'I generally shoot my animals more than once'... • Serial killer Susan Monica found guilty on all charges, gets 50 years... • Monica signed card, 'from sweetest murderer' • Monica takes rare opportunity to cross-examine a witness in her double-murder trial... • Argument over stolen guns led to first shooting, Monica says • Monica told police she shot victims, let pigs feed on them • Susan Monica's confession tapes reveal gory details, show changing stories... » Social News Accused serial killer Susan Monica admitted to investigators that she would feel "homicidal" at times when she felt anxious but that didn't lead her to murder two men found dead from gunshot wounds more than a year apart and each eaten by her pigs at her Wimer farm. Monica told investigators in a Jan. 10, 2014, videotaped interview that she thought of murdering what she considered to be a meddling neighbor and that she would "do something" if someone stood in her way. But she claimed she never acted on those impulses. "As long as I'm by myself, I'm perfectly fine," Monica said on the videotape played Friday during her double-murder trial in Jackson County Circuit Court. "It's not that I really want to kill anybody," she said. In the interview, Jackson County sheriff's Detective Eric Fox said it was hard to chalk up two people's deaths as really bad luck in light of Monica's repeated threats to kill people and feed them to her pigs — including to sheriff's Detective Eric Henderson four days earlier when the case began as a missing person search for the first known victim, Robert Haney. "What you're saying is you won the reverse lottery?" Fox asked Monica in the video. "Yes," she replied. "Five-hundred million dollars backwards. For this to happen twice is impossible, but it did happen." The interview was taped when Monica still continued to claim 59-year-old Stephen Frank Delicino shot himself five times in the head as a suicide so he wouldn't go back to prison for stealing guns from Monica in summer 2012. However, she told investigators three days later that she shot Delicino, who weighed almost 100 pounds less than Monica, seven times in the head in self-defense during a struggle over a rifle, testimony shows. She also maintained at that time that 56-year-old Haney inexplicably showed up in her pig pen one morning in fall 2013 gored and near death from her pigs but moaning and still alive, so she shot him in the head as a mercy killing. She altered her story the next day to say Haney could have been dead when she shot him. But in 18 hours of videotaped interviews, she never wavered on her claim that she has no idea how Haney got into her pen after the handyman and tenant had been gone a month. Monica said both victims' bodies were partially eaten by her pigs. Investigators found some of Delicino's remains buried on the West Evans Creek Road property and some of Haney's remains in plastic bags stashed in Monica's barn. Haney's leg bone kicked off the homicide investigation when it was found near Monica's home Jan. 10 during a search launched for evidence of identity theft. Monica is being tried on two counts each of murder and abuse of a corpse, as well as identity theft for using Haney's Oregon Trail card in December, three months after prosecutors allege his murder occurred. During the interview, Fox accused Monica of telling stories in a way that deflected responsibility for the victims' deaths, even though she detailed how she disposed of the bodies. "If you believe 90 percent of this story, why can't you believe the other 10 percent?" Monica replied. Fox later told the jury that, in this case, "there seems to be a general lack of taking responsibility." Fox also testified Friday morning that investigators recovered two projectiles that appeared to be .22-caliber bullets from Haney's skull and one flattened projectile from Delicino's skull. Neither were in good enough shape to be matched to whatever gun fired them, Fox said on the stand. Fox said the bagged remains of Haney contained a partial digit with identifying ridges in the skin, and investigators were able to match that print to Haney. DNA from Delicino's remains were matched with his biological brother to identify his body, Fox said. Defense attorney Garren Pedemonte has called Monica's "oddball" personality and the gruesome details involving the pigs as "distractions" and said he believes the evidence does not refute Monica's self-defense claim and there is no proof Haney was alive when she shot him. The defense team has yet to offer any witnesses. Friday morning's testimony began with a videotape of the Jan. 10 search shot by sheriff's Sgt. Nathan Sickler. He was taping the squalid conditions at Monica's barn and property when, near the pig pen, he came within one step of a decomposed human leg. The video showed about half a femur connected to the knee, the tibia and fibula, ankle and part of the foot. "I was kind of in disbelief, in shock, so to speak," Sickler, now a captain, told the jury after the tape played. The bones were later identified as belonging to Haney. Sickler was one of the two deputies dispatched to Monica's farm in August 2012, when a neighbor thought he saw Monica burying human remains on the property. When the deputies contacted Monica that evening, she walked them around the property and pointed out an impression where she said she had been burying various animal bones, including sheep bones. There were animal bones and a hide and what appeared to be wool around the filled-in hole, Sickler told the jury. Monica showed no signs of nervousness or deception, Sickler said. "She was very cool and collected." Monica even offered the deputies a shovel if they wanted to dig in that hole, Sickler said. They declined and left the property. Seventeen months later, detectives would find Delicino's remains. Sheriff's deputies also responded to Monica's property on Sept. 9, 2013, when Deputy Eric Johnson investigated a disorderly conduct report called in by a neighbor, Johnson testified Friday. It was the same neighbor Monica later said in the videotapes she considered murdering many times but never acted on those impulses. Johnson said he talked to Haney, who agreed to quiet down, and the incident was closed without a report written or an arrest made. The indictment against Monica alleges that Haney was murdered on or about that same day. Monica did not cross-examine any of the six deputies or investigators who took the stand Friday. In an unusual turn for defendants with attorneys representing them, Monica was allowed to cross-examine Henderson Thursday at the discretion of Jackson County Circuit Judge Tim Barnack, who is presiding over the trial. The trial is scheduled for two weeks. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman . By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 17, 2015 at 1:14 PM Updated Apr 17, 2015 at 7:06 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501