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Weaver's fate is in judge's hands

Granted a new trial, which begins today, man convicted of killing his wife and setting their house on fire won't face a jury this time.

January 25, 2010 at 6:33AM
Gordon Weaver
Gordon Weaver (Elliott Polk (Clickability Client Services) — Police Handout/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

It's been more than 10 years since Jean Weaver's burned and bloodied body was found in the basement of the home she shared with her husband in White Bear Lake.

Six years after her death, Gordon Weaver was convicted by a jury in Ramsey County District Court of murdering his 40-year-old wife and setting their house on fire. But the Minnesota Court of Appeals in 2007 granted Weaver a new trial, based on a procedural error by the prosecution. That trial will begin Monday.

This time, Weaver, 52, is charged with two counts of second-degree felony murder without intent. The underlying felonies are arson and assault.

What's different this time is that the verdict won't be decided by a jury of 12. Defense attorneys Joe Friedberg and Paul Engh filed paperwork last week seeing a bench trial -- meaning Weaver's fate will sit solely in the hands of District Judge Salvador Rosas.

It's fairly uncommon for a defendant to ask for a trial by judge in a murder case. Friedberg did not return phone calls seeking comment, but criminal defense attorney J. Anthony Torres speculated that because the case has received so much publicity, Friedberg may believe it would be difficult to find 12 citizens who haven't heard about the Weavers.

"I know Mr. Friedberg and he is extremely thorough and extremely knowledgeable. I wouldn't second-guess him," Torres said.

Assistant County attorneys Eric Leonard and Steven Pfaffe will present the state's case. "They're top-notch lawyers," said County Attorney Susan Gaertner. "They'll do an excellent job."

So why did it take so long to convict Weaver in the first place?

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On Oct. 16, 1999, police and firefighters were sent to a fire at the Weavers' house and discovered Jean Weaver's body. The state fire marshal ruled that the fire had been intentionally set on shelving near the laundry room and on Jean Weaver's body.

Gordon Weaver was charged on Nov. 2, 1999, with second-degree intentional murder and first-degree arson, and soon after he was indicted on charges of first-degree murder.

He jumped $300,000 bail and wasn't seen or heard from for more than four years. With the help of the TV show "America's Most Wanted," he was captured May 19, 2004, living under a false name in a small town in Oregon.

At his first trial, Gordon Weaver testified that he had pushed his wife and she had fallen against a concrete laundry tub, striking her head. He believed she was dead and set the fire to destroy the house and her body.

But Dr. Susan Roe, who performed the autopsy, testified that she found soot extending past the victim's trachea, meaning Jean Weaver was alive and breathing when the fire started. Roe said the victim died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

The jury convicted Gordon Weaver of second-degree murder without intent. Weaver was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The Appeals Court, however, reversed his conviction and ordered a new trial, ruling that admission of the carbon-monoxide test results through Roe violated Weaver's right to confrontation.

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Jean Weaver would have turned 50 last summer. Her family has attended every one of the myriad hearings in the case, both before Gordon Weaver's first conviction and after. So have his parents, Dee and Larry Weaver of Fridley.

Still, Kathy Rysgaard, Jean Weaver's older sister, said she never thinks about Gordon Weaver. "I had to put Gordon Weaver away," she said. "I never think about Jean in the context of being murdered. I only think of Jean as the beautiful woman she was, and I was privileged to have her as a sister.

"That is the truth. The Weavers are just not a part of my life in any way, shape or form. They do not have the power to dictate how I feel."

So why attend all of Gordon Weaver's hearings?

"Because we don't forget our sister. That's all I can say. We don't forget our sister. We're seeing it through."

Pat Pheifer • 612-741-4992

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