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(Continued from page 1)emergency-room floor. The findings were that both were .25-caliber bullets fired at approximately the same time.The coroner’s death certificate on Starkeywas also read. Lee County Coroner Robert Preston certified that Starkey died of massive hemorrhage of the heart from the gunshot wound.During the Tuesday afternoon session, the state presented testimony of several eyewitnesses and also of other police officers involved in the investigation of the incident.David Moore, 42, 311 Park St., testified he was in The Royal Palms the night of March 16. When he entered, shortly after 9:30 p.m., Moore said he sat down next to Long, on the left-hand side of the bar. Fischer was seated to the right of the jukebox, watching a basketball tournament on television, Moore related.In testifying about the conversation he had with Long, Moore said, “He asked me if I had heard about his house being shot up. I said no, so he told me about it.” Moore said Long told him the bullet had entered a front window, passed over a davenport, through a wall, into the kitchen and lodged in a cabinet. Another shot had allegedly been fired near the garage, but a neighbor, who had seen the car, was unable to get its license number, Moore added.Moore said Long told him that if whoever did it was any kind of a man he would “settle things out in the open” and not “terrorize a man’s family. He also used several obscenities during the course of the conversation, which Jack Fischer claimed in his earlier testimony to have heard, according to Moore.Fischer had no visible reaction at this time to the conversation, said Moore. When Fischer left, after the basketball game was over, Long allegedly leaned over to Moore and said “There goes one of the S.O.B.’s now.”The rest of the conversation between the two involved household affairs and plans for St. Patrick’s Day dinners the following night, according to Moore.Moore also testified that he had seen the bullet holes in Long’s house.Next on the witness stand in the afternoon was Richard Wegner, 29, a friend of Ed Long. Wegner testified that he noticed Long when he entered the tavern, because he (Long) was very loud. Long had his wife Marsha by the arm and said, in a loud voice, “Look, everybody, my wife’s still pregnant and nobody’s shot her yet,” said Wegner.Wegner testified that when Long came up to him, he told Long he did not think it was very funny to make fun of one’s wife in front of a whole tavern.When defense attorney Nelson asked him to characterize Long, Wegner replied that Long was usually mild, but that on this night he seemed “cocky.”Wegner reported that he left the tavern before Fischer and Starkey entered.The testimony of Charles Werner, 31, who was in Doc’s Lounge on the night of the incident and claimed to know Fischer, Starkey and Long rather well, was at odds with the signed statement he made to police officer Larry Hagen the day following the incident.“I guess I screwed up my own statement,” Werner admitted sheepishly when Nelson called the discrepancy to his attention.In his signed statement, Werner claimed to never have left Doc’s Lounge during the incident, but his testimony in court said he went to the rear of the tavern to use the restroom, and when he saw everyone outside, he went out too, and saw Starkey and Long having an argument. He then went in, and a few minutes later heard shots, and came out again, he testified. Later in his testimony, Werner claimed he only stood in the doorway of the tavern and watched from there.When pressed about the difference between his statements, Werner replied angrily, “I had a hangover that day.” Nelson askedif he hadn’t been half-drunk the night of the incident, and Werner finally admitted that^ne could have been a little drunk. He then stated in regard to the statement he made to Officer Hagen: “The secretary who took it was nuts,if you ask me.”Werner said he saw only the second set ofshots, allegedly aimed at Jack Fischer. Nelson took issue again with Werner’s testimony when he stated he thought the gun was pointed at Fischer, and asked him if he knew the gun was aimed indeed at Fischer. “Well ... I assumed .. .,” Werner answered.“Assumed! Hm!” Nelson replied brusquely. He then dismissed the witness.The state’s next witness was Mrs. Larona Hazelwood, bartender at Doc’s Lounge, who testified she saw Long and his wife enter the tavern late in the night of the incident. She said she later saw Starkey and Long engaged in conversation, but di/d not hear anything until Starkey allegedly said “You S.O.B.! Let’s go outside and settle this.” Mrs. Hazelwood also stated she heard him say “Long’s dead,” as he went out.Mrs. Hazelwood said she went and stood in the back doorway of the tavern where she saw Long push his wife aside and watched as he and Starkey began to move across the parking lot. She stated Starkey was “backing Ed up” and that Fischer went out to try to calm the incensed Starkey. Fischer was finally pushed away and Mrs. Hazelwood stated she heard two “pops” and saw flame shooting from Ed Long’s right hand. She then stated she saw Long’s hand pointed at Fisher and heard two more “pops” and saw the flames.Fischer then ran back into the tavern, Mrs. Hazelwood said. Long ran off down theparking lot toward River Street, she said.According to Mrs. Hazelwood, Starkey was still “coming at” Long after the first set of shots, and before the second.Testimony was then read by Judge Hornsby from witnesses who were unable to appear, a routine procedure to save time and inconvenience. Frank McCaffrey and Clifford M. Henly would have both testified that they drove the emergency vehicle which carried Starkey’s body to KSB Hospital. Dr. Mohammed Irshad would have testified that he pronounced Starkey dead when he arrived at the hospital. Hospital attendant Loyd East would have testified he kept Starkey’s body until the autopsy was performed.Mrs. Edith Bond would have testified that she was the nurse on duty when Starkey’s body was brought in and that she was present when his clothes were removed in the receiving room. She claimed she found a bullet on the floor of the receiving room after they removed Starkey’s body and called to report it to Dixon Police. Dr. Gergory Klimock, who performed the autopsy, would have testified he found two bullet holes in Starkey’s body, one midway between the upper breast and shoulder, which hit the heart and left lung, traveled through the right lung, went out through the armpit and into the arm. The other bullet hole was in Starkey’s right buttock.Larry Hagen, Dixon police officer, was next on the witness stand. He presented exhibits including two bullets, one of which Sheriff Raymond Nehring identified as one he watched the doctor remove from Starkey’s body.The other exhibits were sales slips, two firearm application forms, shell cases from two .25-caliber shells found in the parking lot following the shooting, a black vinyl pistol case, a title transfer license application formand a firearm owner’s identification card.Sheriff Nehring, who testified after Hagen, said he observed the autopsy and later examined the clothing and personal effects of Star-key. He found no weapons, Nehring told the court.
Newspaper Details
Dixon Evening Telegraph
Dixon, Illinois, US
Wed, Jun 20, 1973
Page 12
Full Page
Clipped by
Palatine P.
IL, USA 05 Jun 2021
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