PROVO — Contention marked the second day of prosecution in Tom Green's bigamy trial.
Green, 52, who is expected to take the stand Thursday in his own defense, is charged with one count of criminal nonsupport of his children and four counts of bigamy. If convicted in Provo's 4th District Court, he faces up to 25 years in prison and $25,000 in fines.
Wednesday, Green's attorney, John Bucher, requested that a nearly 4-foot-wide photo of Green, his wives and 25 children be turned to face the jury for the duration of the day's proceedings, an apparent attempt to portray the Greens as a loving family.
The request was met by a strong objection by Juab County Attorney David O. Leavitt, who wanted the photograph turned away from the jury.
Judge Guy Burningham allowed the photo to be in front of the jury when Bucher was speaking but turned away from them while Leavitt was speaking. To prove Green is guilty of bigamy, Leavitt had to show that Green, who the state has ruled is legally married to Kunz under the state's common law rules, also formed marital-like relationships and cohabited with other women.
When prosecutors called Shirley Beagley, one of the women who claims Green as a "spiritual husband," she arrived in the courtroom with her disabled child, Melanie, cradled in her arms.
Beagley's appearance with her daughter prompted Leavitt to accuse Bucher — again — of playing to the jury's sympathies.
Beagley said 4-year-old Melanie Green was born with a rare brain disorder, leaving her completely dependent on her mother. Beagley was hesitant to spend more than 20 minutes away from the girl.
"I think it's a cheap trick," Leavitt said as soon as the jury was excused. Leavitt called it a "sympathy act."
Bucher said the incident was an honest mistake. He said he forgot to tell Shirley Beagley that she had to leave the girl with someone else. "I know (Leavitt) believes that I'm bringing in this child for theatrics."
Throughout the day, Leavitt and Bucher muttered remarks about witness questions, prompting the judge to chastise them. "Both of you editorialize too much," he said.
Leavitt questioned state investigators and Beagley to show that through the period of May 1, 1999, to Dec. 31, 1999, Green's family received $6,000 a month in state assistance.
Four of Green's wives — Linda Kunz, Shirley Beagley, LeeAnn Beagley, Cari Bjorkman and Hannah Bjorkman — signed a document for welfare, stating that they understood the father of their children to be an "absent parent" and that they would assist the state in getting child support from Green.
Leavitt said Green has five judgments for child support totaling $54,420. He also has two prior judgments for child support from 1991 that bring Green's total child support owed to the state to $78,868.
Leavitt also questioned Green's ex-wife, June Johnson, who also lives with the rest of the family in a remote desert area in Juab County. Johnson testified that she received state assistance for the four children she had with Green.
Leavitt pointed out that state child support services workers have tried to find Green to make him pay his back child support for several years, but with no success.
Child support worker Jerry Christiansen testified that on all applications by Green's wives for welfare, each gave a different out of state address for Green. Some put addresses in New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada and Nebraska.
"We had little or no help from the mothers" in locating Green, Christiansen said. On that point, Leavitt rested the state's case, only to be met by a motion from Bucher to dismiss the charges — his second since the start of the trial Monday.
Bucher argued that the state had provided very little evidence to persuade the jury that Green would be guilty of bigamy and criminal nonsupport and said that Utah's common marriage law and bigamy law were being misused in this case.
Burningham denied Bucher's motion, saying it is now up to a jury to decide if Green was eligible to marry other women under Utah law while remaining in a cohabitation relationship with his first wife, Linda Kunz.
"Green has to convince the jury that he reasonably believed he was free to remarry. That's a defense," Burningham said.
In a separate case, Green is charged with child rape because he married his first wife, Linda Kunz, in a religious ceremony when she was 13. A trial date has not been set.
E-MAIL: gfattah@desnews.com