Kenneth Arrasmith has admitted shooting a couple he's charged with killing but says he doesn't recall pulling the triggers on either of the two guns he was carrying during the confrontation.
Arrasmith is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the May 17 slayings of Ronald and Luella Bingham and could face the death penalty if convicted.The defense rested its case Monday after Arrasmith's second day of testimony. Closing arguments were to begin Tuesday, the 10th day of the 2nd District Court trial.
Under questioning from defense attorneys Monday, Arrasmith said he didn't intend to kill the Binghams when he armed himself, strapped a tape recorder on his body and drove to the couple's Lewiston auto repair shop. He said he hoped to get the Binghams to confess to sexually abusing his teenage daughter.
Arrasmith said he was scared and in a daze when he arrived at the shop.
He said he found Ronald Bingham working beneath a truck and told him he wanted to talk about the situation involving his daughter. Bingham then made a quick motion, Arrasmith said.
"I thought he was reaching for a gun," he said. "Then I heard shots. I was wondering, `Why don't those bullets hurt, why don't they sting?'
"I realized I had shot. I don't remember pulling the trigger."
Arrasmith said he began to return to his truck but then decided to try and get a confession from Luella Bingham, whom he found crouching by a wall.
He likewise said he did not recall pulling the trigger when he confronted her.
"She stood up and turned to me. I saw a gun. . . . I heard shots and she fell."
Authorities found no guns on the property.
Shortly after the shootings, Arra-smith surrendered to authorities in Clarkston, Wash., just across the Snake River from Lewis-ton.
Prosecutors say Ronald Bingham was shot more than 20 times with a Tec-9 mini-machine gun. Another gun, a 9mm Ruger with a laser sight, was used to kill Luella Bingham. She was shot six times in the back as she tried to run away, authorities said.
In cross-examination, prosecutors asked Arrasmith why he didn't turn on his tape recorder during the confrontation if he intended to get the Binghams to confess.
"It was a stupid idea," he said. "It didn't happen the way I wanted."
They also asked him if it was the Binghams' fault they were killed.
"It was Ron and Luella's fault that I shot them, because they raped children," he responded.
The 44-year-old former Sunnyside, Wash., truck driver contends the Binghams drugged and sexually abused his daughter.