Very unusual circumstances. Sex offender meets woman, they begin a relationship, then, the woman's husband kills the woman and the sex offender. i.e., sexual circumstances.9-17-2008 Pennsylvania:
Butler County jury hears man's account of killing his wife and her new lover
She told him she had found a new love and that their 24-year marriage was over.
She warned him that his medical insurance through her job as a convenience store manager would end when the diabetic ulcer on his foot healed.
She said she wanted to sell the family farm, a decision that would mean a new career for lifelong farmer James Raymond Borchert.
But the final thing out of Esther Borchert's mouth -- the thing that seemed to push her estranged husband over the edge -- was the laugh she shared with her boyfriend.
Mrs. Borchert, 42, and Lonnie Schwab Sr., 49, of Meadville, still were laughing when Mr. Borchert, now 51, grabbed his bolt-action rifle and fired two shots into Mr. Schwab as he stood in the kitchen of the Borcherts' Cherry Valley home. Then, as Mrs. Borchert fled out a door and onto a porch, he fired again. Twice.
"They were dead within seconds,'' said Mr. Borchert in an eerily matter-of-fact statement to police. "Honestly, I don't regret it."
That recorded statement, more than two hours in duration, was played yesterday in the Butler County courtroom of Judge William Shaffer on the second day of what is likely to be a three-day trial. Court conflicts called for a break in testimony today, with the trial set to resume tomorrow.
Mr. Borchert is represented by Butler attorney Alexander Lindsay. The case is being prosecuted by District Attorney Richard A. Goldinger and Assistant District Attorney Patricia J. McLean.
Mr. Borchert is charged with two counts of homicide. Though Mr. Goldinger will argue for a first-degree murder conviction, he changed course from his predecessor and announced several weeks ago that he will not seek the death penalty for the killings, which occurred Aug. 14, 2007.
On the first day of the trial, a jury of seven men and five women listened to a two-minute 911 tape of Mr. Borchert reporting that he had killed his wife and her boyfriend because he lost his temper. The recorded statement Mr. Borchert gave to police was played in court yesterday as the defendant sat beside his attorney, his hands folded, his demeanor calm.
"He was the closest to me. ... He tried to escape. I don't think he got a half a step. ... She made it out the door. She was at the top of the [porch] steps and [the shot] knocked her clear down." Afterward, he set the rifle atop a chest freezer on his porch, called 911, then fed his livestock while he waited for police.
Mr. Lindsay highlighted repeated statements from his client that he had not planned or premeditated the killings. The fact will play heavily in determining whether he is convicted of first-degree murder, which would mean a life sentence behind bars, or a lesser degree of homicide.
Mr. Schwab had been convicted in 1998 in Crawford County of indecent assault and was required to register as a sex offender. ..News Source.. by Karen Kane, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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