A federal jury concluded Thursday that a former Federal Express pilot did attempt to hijack a company cargo plane and that he did attack three crew members with a hammer and spear-gun.
The verdict came in less than a hour after the prosecution concluded its case and Auburn Callo-way's attorneys had opted not to present evidence in his defense.After the jury left the courtroom, two of the victims - Capt. David Sanders and Andy Peterson - were embraced by family members and co-workers. They did not comment upon leaving the court.
The trial continues Monday with a second phase designed to determine Calloway's sanity. Calloway could face 20 years to life if the jury finds he was sane at the time of the April 7, 1994, attack. If he is found to have been insane, Calloway will be committed to a federal mental facility. He would not be released until he is able to prove at a future court hearing that he is not dangerous.
The prosecution capped three days of often gripping testimony with the introduction of what they described as a suicide note left in the plane by Calloway.
"I resolved quite some time ago that the next time my security and future is threatened or seriously jeopardized, it's time . . . my time to go," Calloway wrote to his ex-wife, Patricia.
Defense attorney A.C. Wharton argued that the prosecution's proof left a reasonable doubt about whether his client was attempting to take command of the airplane. Wharton said the note actually suggested that Calloway may not have planned to crash the airplane since the note would have burned on impact.
"Why would he leave a suicide note?" Wharton asked. "Where does that fit in . . . does it make any sense?"
The trial has left unanswered the question of where Calloway wanted to take the airplane after seizing control. The flight was scheduled for San Jose, Calif.
The plan "was not to immediately crash the plane. . . . If it was to turn it back to Memphis, I don't know. If it was to go on to San Jose, I don't know," said Assistant U.S. Attorney John Fowlkes in closing statements. Calloway planned to make the crash appear to be an accident so his family could receive more than $1 million in life insurance, he said.
Calloway, Fowlkes noted, tried to cut off power to the in-flight voice recorder by flipping a circuit breaker so there would be no record of what happened on board.
Fowlkes reminded jurors that Calloway was to face a hearing the day after the attack to determine whether he had falsified his work application. Calloway received the notice of the hearing on April 1, and "that started the road toward April 7," Fowlkes said.