Weaver's attorney argues wife's death was accidental

There's no doubt that Gordon Weaver caused the death of his wife, Jean Weaver, on Oct. 16, 1999, in the basement laundry room of their home in White Bear Lake.

But on Monday, the first day of Weaver's second trial in Ramsey County District Court, defense attorney Joe Friedberg said that though Weaver is guilty of arson, the evidence does not support the charges brought by the state of second-degree unintentional felony murder.

Friedberg asked District Judge Salvador Rosas to find Weaver guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter or to find him not guilty because Jean Weaver's death was simply an accident.

Weaver was convicted by a jury in 2005 of unintentional second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison. The Minnesota Court of Appeals in 2007 granted Weaver a new trial, finding that the prosecution committed a procedural error.

Weaver, now 52, waived his right to a jury trial. The verdict and an aggravating factor that could help determine sentencing if he is convicted will be decided solely by Rosas.

Prosecutor Steve Pfaffe began his case Monday by telling the judge about notes Gordon Weaver had written to his wife. One letter in particular, dated Sept. 17, 1999, implied that Weaver had threatened to kill her:

"I made the mistake of vocalizing my thoughts," he wrote. "...You know I have good morals and wouldn't ever carry these out. ... Haven't you ever thought of killing someone? ... I even think if you died tomorrow, my pain would be less."

While he was free on $300,000 bail, he fled. More than four years later, he was arrested while living under a false name in a small town in Oregon.

At his first trial, Dr. Susan Roe, who performed the autopsy, testified that Jean Weaver was alive when the fire was set and died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Friedberg said expert medical witnesses will testify that nobody could know for certain whether it was the serious brain injuries she suffered when she fell or the carbon monoxide that killed Weaver.

In order to prove the first murder charge with its underlying felony of arson, prosecutors would have to prove that Weaver knew his wife was alive when he set the fire. That would show intent. But the jury rejected intent to kill in the first trial so prosecutors can't attempt to prove it in the second.

In order to prove the second murder charge with its underlying felony of third-degree assault, the prosecutors would have to prove that when Weaver pushed his wife, he intended to harm her, Friedberg said.