FARMINGTON — The jury is expected to come to a verdict this afternoon after witnesses testified Wednesday in the trial of the final defendant facing charges in the 1996 shooting death of a Motel 6 night clerk in Woods Cross.
Elliot Rashad Harper, 25, is charged with first-degree felony murder in the death of Matthew John Whicker, a University of Utah student who was working at the motel to pay for school and support his wife and two children. Prosecutors say Harper and two friends were short on cash and that an attempt to rob the motel ended in Whicker's death.
But Harper denies having had anything to do with Whicker's death. David Valken-Leduc, who was convicted of first-degree murder earlier this year as Whicker's actual shooter and who is now in prison, also continues to deny involvement.
The prosecution's major witness is Todd Rettenberger, who testified Tuesday and finished his testimony Wednesday. Rettenberger spent more than five years in the Davis County Jail until he pleaded guilty to manslaughter, a second-degree felony. He was released immediately in return for cooperating with law enforcement officials and testifying against Harper and Valken-Leduc.
Rettenberger said he was the driver of the getaway car and that he finally came forward with the truth because the guilt was too much for him. But defense attorney Richard M. Gallegos said Rettenberger's story has changed too many times and that his real motive for implicating Harper and Valken-Leduc was to get out of jail.
The defense called four witnesses after Rettenberger's testimony ended Wednesday. One witness was Charles Koehler, a former prison parolee who said he had briefly lived with Kenneth Edwards, Valken-Leduc's cousin who was another witness for the prosecution. Valken-Leduc and Harper lived with Edwards at the time of Whicker's death.
Koehler said Edwards was openly gay and that he made Koehler uncomfortable by making passes at him. He said he never had a sexual relationship with Edwards but that he saw Edwards and Rettenberger sitting close together, Edwards' hand on Rettenberger's knee.
Prosecutor William McGuire directly questioned Koehler's claims that he had never had sex with Edwards, though it was unclear how Edwards' homosexuality will play into the defense's case. It did not figure into Valken-Leduc's trial, though Edwards and Rettenberger both testified in that trial. Gallegos did not represent Valken-Leduc.
Closing arguments are expected first thing this morning, and the jury will begin deliberations about noon.
E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com