LAWRENCE CO.—Here is your morning newsblast from the murder trial of Tyler McQueen in Lawrenceville, where it’s looking better for the state and grim for the defense as the day goes on; the state has rested, so we’ll get updates on the proceedings as soon as they happen.
Tyler McQueen being escorted by Lawrence County Deputy Trent Masterson
Disclosure NewsMagazine/DisclosureNewsOnline Thursday, May 2, 2013 afternoon news blast:
The prosecution in the has rested its case again 21 year old Tyler McQueen who faces three counts of First Degree Murder in the March 24, 2012 stabbing death of 78-year-old Bob Westall in Westall’s sister’s apartment in United Methodist Village in Lawrenceville.
Authorities say McQueen committed the murder at the behest of Westall’s niece Helen Marie Westall, who hired him as a hit man promising a payment of $10,000 cash and an Oldsmobile Cutlass.
Testimony resumed this morning in the form of a DVD which featured a confession from McQueen that he indeed stabbed Westall.
The DVD, began yesterday, shows a much slimmer McQuee,n who starts out telling authorities that he barely knew Helen Marie and knew for a fact that he not only didn’t kill Robert Westall but that he wasn’t even in Lawrence County.
As the interview continued into the wee hours of the morning the confident-appearing and -sounding McQueen told case agent Tim Brown that he suffered blackouts and couldn’t remember.
As agent Brown prompted McQueen and informed him that nobody was going to believe the blackout story, McQueen admitted that he not only knew Helen Marie but that he had stayed at her trailer in Bridgeport the night leading up to the murder.
The more case agent Brown pushed the more McQueen remembered.
The hurdle facing defense attorney Matt Vaughn is:
that McQueen went from saying he barely knew Helen Marie to admitting she asked him to kill Robert Westall and even stayed the night at her trailer the night before;
that he accompanied Helen Marie on a surveillance run of the apartment Westall was living in and that she told him to pull the phone wires so Westall couldn’t call for help, which McQueen said he did;
McQueen admitted on the DVD that Helen Marie told him about a damaged window lock and cut screen which he said he crawled through to gain entry to Westall’s apartment.
McQueen told how he had ended up in the living room of the apartment at about 5 a.m. that morning and that Westall had gotten up and was in the kitchen.
He said Westall saw him enter the bedroom and came after him and attacked him with a knife
During the struggle McQueen said he got the knife from Westall and “started slashing.”
Testimony was give that Westall suffered more than two dozen knife wounds including several deep cuts to his throat.
McQueen said he never intended to kill Westall and just wanted out of there. He also said Westall was alive with gurgling breath when he ran out the door.
McQueen said he was afraid of Helen Marie, who had told him he’d better “get this right or your ass is next.”
He said on the morning of the murder he didn’t remember Helen Marie being anywhere around the scene.
He said afterward he drove to the river between Westport, Illinois and Vincennes, Indiana, stopped, changed clothes and dropped the bloody clothes he was wearing into the water.
Police could not get McQueen to give them an exact location as to the whereabouts of the murder weapon. He did say he could have dropped it into the water with the bloody clothes but that he wasn’t sure.
What seemed to seal the confession was when Brown asked, “When did Helen Marie know you killed Bob?”
“I don’t know,” McQueen said. “She was gone when I got back [to her trailer] at about 5-6 a.m.”
“What did you tell her after you killed Bob?” Agent Brown asked.
“She wanted to know details and I told her it didn’t go as planned,” McQueen said.
“Who all knows you killed Bob?” Brown asked.
“Only the people in this [interview] room and those working the case,” McQueen said.
Shortly thereafter the tape was turned off.
The prosecution rested its case and after brief arguments, outside the presence of the jury, a motion by defense attorney Matt Vaughn for a directed verdict of Not Guilty was denied.
The defense is expected to begin its case this afternoon which is believed to include a 10-15 minute audio tape.
The defense could very well rest its case this afternoon with enough time for final arguments at which time the jury of 10 women and two men would be given instructions and sent to begin deliberations.