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09-20-2007, 09:41 PM
Convicted of 1st-degree murder, Geedy gets life without parole
By Heather Stauffer, Sentinel Reporter (hstauffer@cumberlink.com), September 14, 2007
Last updated: Friday, September 14, 2007 9:43 AM EDT
Some in the crowded courtroom shouted “Yeah!” when the jury announced its decision on Shane Geedy after deliberating for just 90 minutes Thursday afternoon.
Some clapped.
Some cried.
The verdict: Guilty of first degree murder.
Cumberland County Judge Edgar Bayley quelled the outburst immediately, calling it “outrageous.”
Geedy, on trial for killing ex-girlfriend Toni Myers last July, remained calm throughout the proceedings, but his aunt, Connie Gehr, burst into tears and later had to be assisted as she left the courthouse. Geedy faces life in prison without parole.
Afterward, Myers' family expressed relief at the verdict but said it doesn't change the reality of her death.
“There's still a life lost,” said Shelly Morrow, Myers' sister. While glad for the conviction, Morrow said she doesn't feel that even life in prison is enough punishment for Geedy.
Chief Public Defender Taylor Andrews, who sought to convince the jury that a lesser charge of third-degree murder was more appropriate, said he was disappointed in the verdict. He developed “a good respect” for the former fire department volunteer duringthe case, he said, and noted that Geedy had no prior record of crime.
Asked if he anticipated an appeal, Andrews said he has never been involved in a similar case where there was not an appeal.
The final day started with testimony from forensic psychiatry expert Dr. John O'Brien. He was called by prosecutor Michelle Sibert, Cumberland County's chief deputy district attorney, in rebuttal of testimony offered Wednesday by forensic psychiatry expert Dr. John Hume.
At issue was whether Geedy was capable of forming specific intent to kill at the time of the incident. As the jury was informed multiple times during the trial, the presence of that intent is the only difference between first-degree murder and third-degree murder.
It has also been termed “premeditation,” and Bayley noted that it does not necessarily mean that the person planned it ahead of time - merely that the person developed a fully formed intent to kill and was conscious of that intent.
O'Brien disagreed with Hume's opinion that major depression and alcohol dependence combined to leave Geedy incapable of forming such intent. His review of the evidence led him to conclude that, although Geedy was emotionally upset and had consumed alcohol, he did not display enough signs at the time to be diagnosed with major depression, O'Brien said.
The people who had contact with Geedy immediately after the incident observed that he was capable of functioning, O'Brien said, noting various things that he did - talking on the phone, driving to an assigned meeting place, giving accurate details of what happened.
During their meeting, O'Brien said, Geedy told him that he had initially placed the gun under his own chin, and that Myers pushed the gun away. It was then, Geedy said, that he saw the black outline around Myers and his eyes were spinning “like a slot machine.” Afterward, he said, “I awoke out of the trance I was in and shook her.”
Despite that, O'Brien said, “In my opinion he wasn't suicidal, because he didn't kill himself.”
‘End of his rope'
Following his testimony, both sides gave their closing arguments.
“On Saturday, July 15, 2006, Shane Geedy was just about at the end of his rope,” Andrews said. Describing a man facing discouraging, life-changing circumstances on all sides, Andrews said that he asked Myers to come over as part of a last desperate attempt to get back together. When that didn't work, he said, a “very excited” Geedy who had been drinking all day got the gun to kill himself.
Sibert, however, presented a different scenario.
“This was not about love: It was about control,” she said.
Sibert urged the jury to focus on information that could be corroborated. For example, she said, Geedy's accounts of how much he drank that day differed. Trash pickup happens Tuesdays, she said, and that, coupled with the fact that he bought the case of beer on July 13, make it impossible to prove how many of the 25 empty bottles found in the house he drank on July 15.
No suicide plans
Sibert also pointed out that Geedy didn't say he had been planning to shoot himself until several months after the incident, and that despite his ex-wife's detailed written statement to investigators shortly after the fact, she didn't mention the slurring and crying until months later.
And, Seibert said, there is evidence that when Geedy complained of depression in 2000, he sought medical help for it. Why, she asked, didn't he do that this time? Furthermore, she asked how a lack of cognitive ability that caused him to kill Myers did not also cause him to kill himself.
Officials said that Myers was found lying on the floor, and Sibert pointed out that burn marks on her neck indicate direct contact with the gun. “He had time to reflect, he had time to change his mind” when going upstairs to get the gun and getting down to put the gun to Myers' neck, Sibert said.
“To say that being depressed and consuming alcohol negates first-degree murder excuses the murder,” said Sibert, urging the jury to find Geedy guilty of first-degree murder. After they did, she said simply, “I am relieved for Toni's kids.”
By Heather Stauffer, Sentinel Reporter (hstauffer@cumberlink.com), September 14, 2007
Last updated: Friday, September 14, 2007 9:43 AM EDT
Some in the crowded courtroom shouted “Yeah!” when the jury announced its decision on Shane Geedy after deliberating for just 90 minutes Thursday afternoon.
Some clapped.
Some cried.
The verdict: Guilty of first degree murder.
Cumberland County Judge Edgar Bayley quelled the outburst immediately, calling it “outrageous.”
Geedy, on trial for killing ex-girlfriend Toni Myers last July, remained calm throughout the proceedings, but his aunt, Connie Gehr, burst into tears and later had to be assisted as she left the courthouse. Geedy faces life in prison without parole.
Afterward, Myers' family expressed relief at the verdict but said it doesn't change the reality of her death.
“There's still a life lost,” said Shelly Morrow, Myers' sister. While glad for the conviction, Morrow said she doesn't feel that even life in prison is enough punishment for Geedy.
Chief Public Defender Taylor Andrews, who sought to convince the jury that a lesser charge of third-degree murder was more appropriate, said he was disappointed in the verdict. He developed “a good respect” for the former fire department volunteer duringthe case, he said, and noted that Geedy had no prior record of crime.
Asked if he anticipated an appeal, Andrews said he has never been involved in a similar case where there was not an appeal.
The final day started with testimony from forensic psychiatry expert Dr. John O'Brien. He was called by prosecutor Michelle Sibert, Cumberland County's chief deputy district attorney, in rebuttal of testimony offered Wednesday by forensic psychiatry expert Dr. John Hume.
At issue was whether Geedy was capable of forming specific intent to kill at the time of the incident. As the jury was informed multiple times during the trial, the presence of that intent is the only difference between first-degree murder and third-degree murder.
It has also been termed “premeditation,” and Bayley noted that it does not necessarily mean that the person planned it ahead of time - merely that the person developed a fully formed intent to kill and was conscious of that intent.
O'Brien disagreed with Hume's opinion that major depression and alcohol dependence combined to leave Geedy incapable of forming such intent. His review of the evidence led him to conclude that, although Geedy was emotionally upset and had consumed alcohol, he did not display enough signs at the time to be diagnosed with major depression, O'Brien said.
The people who had contact with Geedy immediately after the incident observed that he was capable of functioning, O'Brien said, noting various things that he did - talking on the phone, driving to an assigned meeting place, giving accurate details of what happened.
During their meeting, O'Brien said, Geedy told him that he had initially placed the gun under his own chin, and that Myers pushed the gun away. It was then, Geedy said, that he saw the black outline around Myers and his eyes were spinning “like a slot machine.” Afterward, he said, “I awoke out of the trance I was in and shook her.”
Despite that, O'Brien said, “In my opinion he wasn't suicidal, because he didn't kill himself.”
‘End of his rope'
Following his testimony, both sides gave their closing arguments.
“On Saturday, July 15, 2006, Shane Geedy was just about at the end of his rope,” Andrews said. Describing a man facing discouraging, life-changing circumstances on all sides, Andrews said that he asked Myers to come over as part of a last desperate attempt to get back together. When that didn't work, he said, a “very excited” Geedy who had been drinking all day got the gun to kill himself.
Sibert, however, presented a different scenario.
“This was not about love: It was about control,” she said.
Sibert urged the jury to focus on information that could be corroborated. For example, she said, Geedy's accounts of how much he drank that day differed. Trash pickup happens Tuesdays, she said, and that, coupled with the fact that he bought the case of beer on July 13, make it impossible to prove how many of the 25 empty bottles found in the house he drank on July 15.
No suicide plans
Sibert also pointed out that Geedy didn't say he had been planning to shoot himself until several months after the incident, and that despite his ex-wife's detailed written statement to investigators shortly after the fact, she didn't mention the slurring and crying until months later.
And, Seibert said, there is evidence that when Geedy complained of depression in 2000, he sought medical help for it. Why, she asked, didn't he do that this time? Furthermore, she asked how a lack of cognitive ability that caused him to kill Myers did not also cause him to kill himself.
Officials said that Myers was found lying on the floor, and Sibert pointed out that burn marks on her neck indicate direct contact with the gun. “He had time to reflect, he had time to change his mind” when going upstairs to get the gun and getting down to put the gun to Myers' neck, Sibert said.
“To say that being depressed and consuming alcohol negates first-degree murder excuses the murder,” said Sibert, urging the jury to find Geedy guilty of first-degree murder. After they did, she said simply, “I am relieved for Toni's kids.”