Roger Gillett

Name

Roger Gillett

Status

Sentenced to death on November 3, 2007; convictions and sentences were affirmed by the Mississippi Supreme Court in a decision dated July 01, 2010

People

• Roger Lee Gillett — defendant
• Linda Heintzelman — victim
• Vernon Hulett — victim
• Lisa Jo Chamberlin — codefendant and accomplice in the murders
• Debbie Milam — Roger Gillett's aunt; informed the Russell County, Kansas, Sheriff's Department
• Kathy Thacker — Milam's housemate; told Sergeant Kelly Schneider information about Gillett
• Agent Matthew Lyon — narcotics investigator with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI); interviewed Gillett and took part in the investigation
• Sergeant Kelly Schneider — Russell County Sheriff's Department; learned information from Milam and Thacker
• Kelly Ralston — Special Agent in Charge with the KBI; testified
• William Jones — DNA Section Chief at the Mississippi Crime Laboratory; testified regarding DNA results
• Dr. Peter D'Eustachio — Gillett's DNA expert; testified at the Daubert hearing
• Dr. Donald Pojman — pathologist who conducted autopsies of Linda Heintzelman and Vernon Hulett
• Vicki Hulett — Gillett's mother; provided pre-recorded testimony at the penalty phase
• Marsha Gillett — Gillett's aunt; testified at the penalty phase
• Caroline Hester — Hulett's mother; was quoted about wanting “everything taken away from him”
• Jon Mark Weathers — District Attorney; was quoted about family and objections
• Bob Helfrich — Forrest County Circuit Court Judge; set execution date
• Ben Saucier — Assistant District Attorney; made closing and other statements
• James Lappan — defense attorney; participated in penalty-phase proceedings and appellate proceedings
• Dick Allison — former pastor of University Baptist Church; testified on behalf of Gillett
• Michael Hester — Vernon Hulett's nephew; testified about seeing Gillett and observations in Hattiesburg
• Terrell Carson — detective sergeant with the Hattiesburg Police Department; testified about receiving calls from Kansas
• Agent Butler — KBI agent referenced in defense discussion regarding evidence handling
• Officer Byrd — referenced in defense discussion about a lost videotape
• Patty Hulett — Gillett's aunt; the residence at 606 North Ash Street was connected to her
• Nona Kay Adams — referenced in defense discussion of a search at 440 15th Street, Russell, Kansas
• Jimmy Ploutz — referenced in defense discussion of statements made to police

Victims and harm

• Linda Heintzelman — killed; autopsy found at least sixty-nine separate injuries prior to death, including injuries caused by blunt-force trauma, cutting, stabbing, and suffocation; her death was summarized by the pathologist as resulting from multiple injuries inflicted upon her, including sharp-force injuries predominantly to the torso, blunt-force injuries predominantly to the head, sharp-force injuries to the neck, and a component of asphyxiation or lack of oxygen getting into the airway.
• Vernon Hulett — killed; pathologist concluded death resulted from “blows that went to the left side of the head [,] fractured the skull and then damaged the brain.” Hulett was found in the freezer with arms severed at the shoulder joints and head severed at the neck.
• Bodies were found inside a freezer.
• The autopsies were performed on both victims.

Timeline

• March 19, 2004 — Hulett and Heintzelman were last seen alive.
• March 20, 2004 — Gillett told Michael Hester that the victims had gone to the Coast with a friend.
• March 21, 2004 — Michael Hester again visited and found only Gillett and Chamberlin at the house; he observed carpeting ripped up; Gillett said Hulett had asked him to rip it up.
• March 23, 2004 — Gillett and Chamberlin were seen in Hattiesburg.
• March 29, 2004 — Debbie Milam informed the Russell County, Kansas, Sheriff's Department; search warrants were sought and executed; Gillett was arrested following execution of the warrant at 606 North Ash Street and was interviewed after his arrest; the search of the Gillett farm at 5482 190th Street found the freezer bound shut.
• March 30, 2004 — a warrant for Gillett's arrest was obtained.
• October 15, 2004 — counsel was appointed for Gillett and he was arraigned in Forrest County Circuit Court.
• August 2006 — Lisa Jo Chamberlin received the same fate during her trial.
• October 30, 2007 — trial began and Gillett did not put on any evidence.
• November 2, 2007 — the jury found Gillett guilty of two counts of capital murder.
• November 3, 2007 — penalty phase was conducted; jury sentenced Gillett to death.
• January 25, 2008 — trial court denied Gillett's motion for a new trial, or in the alternative, a new sentencing hearing.
• July 01, 2010 — Mississippi Supreme Court decision in Gillett v. State (No. 2008–DP–00181–SCT) affirmed convictions and sentences.
• December 19 — execution date was set by Judge Bob Helfrich.

Background

Roger Lee Gillett was indicted on two counts of capital murder in the deaths of Vernon Hulett and Linda Heintzelman. During the commission of a robbery, Gillett was convicted and sentenced to die by lethal injection for the capital murders of Linda Heintzelman and Vernon Hulett.

Gillett’s former girlfriend and accomplice in the murders, Lisa Jo Chamberlin, was convicted of capital murder in August 2006.

The offence

Linda Heintzelman and Vernon Hulett were killed in March 2004. Their bodies were found inside a freezer at an abandoned farm in Russell County, Kansas.

The pathologist concluded that Linda Heintzelman died from multiple injuries inflicted upon her, including sharp-force injuries predominantly to the torso and blunt-force injuries predominantly to the head, plus sharp-force injuries to the neck and asphyxiation or lack of oxygen getting into the airway.

Vernon Hulett was found in the freezer with his arms severed at the shoulder joints and his head severed at the neck, and the pathologist concluded his death was the result of “blows that went to the left side of the head [,] fractured the skull and then damaged the brain.”

Investigation

The investigation into the deaths of Linda Heintzelman and Vernon Hulett began in Russell, Kansas.

On March 29, 2004, Debbie Milam informed the Russell County, Kansas, Sheriff's Department that on the previous day Gillett had manufactured illegal narcotics at his grandfather's farm and had stored at the farm a pickup truck he had stolen.

The Sheriff's Department contacted Agent Matthew Lyon, and based on information received from Milam and corroborating information, Lyon sought and obtained two search warrants:

• one to search the residence where Gillett was staying, located at 606 North Ash Street, Russell, Kansas
• one to search the Gillett farm, located at 5482 190th Street in rural Russell County, Kansas

A search of the residence at 606 North Ash Street located illegal narcotics and officers arrested Gillett and his codefendant, Lisa Chamberlin, at a local park. Gillett was transported to the Russell County Jail and interviewed by Agent Lyon after Lyon showed him a copy of the search warrant and read Miranda rights.

On March 29, 2004, the search warrant on the Gillett farm was executed. Officers located a white pickup truck registered to Linda Heintzelman and items consistent with the manufacture of methamphetamine. Officers also located a freezer bound shut with duct and electrical tape; when opened, officers saw a dead body or bodies inside. Officers temporarily stopped the search until a homicide search warrant was obtained, and then removed two bodies, one male and one female, prepared them for transportation to the pathologist’s facility.

Chamberlin gave officers a statement and led them to a local landfill where she said she and Gillett had disposed of trash bags containing property associated with the murder victims. Officers collected seven trash bags, which contained, among other things:

• Vernon Hulett's and Linda Heintzelman's wallets containing their drivers licenses
• Hulett's work shirt and work pants with his name printed on them
• a crocheted pillow appearing to have blood on it
• a Hattiesburg phone book
• a pair of New Balance tennis shoes with blood-like stains on them

Kansas authorities contacted Hattiesburg police and asked them to check the residence shared by Vernon Hulett and Linda Heintzelman, located at 908 South Gulfport Street, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Hattiesburg officers searched the residence and found carpeting removed from the floor and rolled up, multiple blood-like stains throughout the house, a pried-open safe, and a shoe print in a reddish stain.

The Mississippi Crime Laboratory determined that one of the New Balance shoes recovered from the Kansas landfill was the source of the shoe print found at 908 South Gulfport Street, and that the blood on the shoe was Linda Heintzelman's blood.

Arrest

Officers entered the residence at 606 North Ash Street, located narcotics, and then attempted to locate and arrest Gillett. Gillett was located at a public park in Russell and arrested there based on probable cause. Sergeant Kelly Schneider informed Gillett that he was being arrested for “narcotics violations.” After arrest, Gillett was shown a copy of the search warrant for 606 North Ash Street listing crimes he was suspected of having committed, including manufacture of methamphetamine and possession of pseudoephedrine.

The next day, March 30, 2004, a warrant for Gillett's arrest was obtained listing the above charges.

Custodial interview

Agent Lyon interviewed Gillett at the Russell County Jail and taped the interview via video camera. Lyon showed Gillett a copy of the search warrant for 606 North Ash Street, read Miranda rights, and had Gillett initial next to each enumerated right on the “Miranda Card.”

When asked if, having his rights in mind, he was willing to answer questions, Gillett marked an “X” on the Miranda Card between the “YES” and “NO” boxes and responded “Maybe” after clarifying questions.

Soon after Lyon told Gillett that a white pickup truck with Mississippi tags had been reported stolen, Gillett said: “I need to speak with an attorney.” Lyon then stated:

“Ok. Well, that's fine. I'll go ahead and take you back to the jail. What this is all about is you're under arrest right now for the manufacture of methamphetamine, conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, possession of pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture, possession of drug manufacturing paraphernalia. That's what you're being charged with now on account of last night, and um, there might be some more charges that come out of it.”

The exchange then occurred as follows:

Lyon: Like?
Gillett: Like?
Lyon: Well we're going to have to see. You asked for an attorney. So I can't really discuss it anymore, unless you want to change your mind. I'd like to discuss it with you and get it cleared up but I don't know if I, you know—If I got the wrong guy, I got the wrong guy.
Gillett: But you're already charging me with these things—
Lyon: Well, I haven't gotten the affidavit for arrest warrant yet. That's the way it looks for preliminarily now, but I wanted to get your side of it, but since you asked for an attorney. You want to talk some more?
Gillett: What other charges are you trying to throw at me?
Lyon: Well I'm not trying to throw anything at you, but I want to completely come clean with you, but I can't. You asked for an attorney. I can't say anything right now.
Gillett: All right. Hold up on that for a minute.
Lyon: Ok, you don't want an attorney?
Gillett: Not this instant.
Lyon: Ok, so you're withdrawing—
Gillett: (indecipherable)
Lyon: Well I got to ask because ․ Gillett: Yes, I'm withdrawing my request for an attorney.
Lyon: Outstanding.

The interview continued for between ten and fifteen minutes until Gillett again invoked his right to counsel, and Lyon ended the interview promptly.

Trial

Gillett was appointed counsel in Forrest County Circuit Court on October 15, 2004 and arraigned. He filed four pretrial motions to suppress:

• motion to suppress his arrest
• motion to suppress his statement
• motion to suppress the search of 606 North Ash Street, Kansas
• motion to suppress the search of the Gillett farm

On January 22, 2007, the trial court heard and denied all four suppression motions.

After a four-day trial from October 30, 2007, to November 2, 2007, the jury found Gillett guilty of two counts of capital murder.

At trial, Gillett did not put on any evidence.

Sentencing

The penalty phase was conducted on November 3, 2007.

Gillett called four witnesses (two religious leaders who provided religious guidance while he was incarcerated, one of his fellow inmates, and one of his aunts) and also played videotape testimony of four additional witnesses (a former employer, a former friend, the woman who had been Gillett’s grandfather’s live-in companion before he died, and Gillett’s mother).

The jury unanimously found beyond a reasonable doubt that four aggravating circumstances existed with respect to each victim and found Gillett should suffer death in both counts.

The jury sentenced Gillett to death for two counts of capital murder after more than 2 hours of deliberation.

Forrest County Circuit Court Judge Bob Helfrich set Gillett's execution for Dec. 19 at the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Appeals

Gillett timely appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court.

The Mississippi Supreme Court decision in Gillett v. State (No. 2008–DP–00181–SCT) was issued July 01, 2010, and the court affirmed his convictions and sentences, finding no reversible error.

The Mississippi Supreme Court’s discussion included issues about suppression motions, DNA expert admissibility under Daubert standards, jury instructions, venue, hearsay rulings, venue sufficiency, prosecutorial misconduct waiver, and autopsy photographs admission.

One error was identified by the Mississippi Supreme Court regarding the “previous violent felony” aggravator, but the court found inclusion of the invalid “previous violent felony” aggravator to be harmless error.

A separate opinion and dissents also addressed issues including DNA evidence admissibility, jury instructions, and aggravating circumstances.

Outcome

The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed Gillett’s convictions and sentences for the capital murders of Vernon Hulett and Linda Heintzelman.

The convictions and sentences were affirmed, and Gillett remained sentenced to death by lethal injection as imposed on November 3, 2007.

Other details

• Gillett was convicted in Forrest County on two counts of capital murder for his role in the 2004 slayings of Vernon Hulett and Linda Heintzelman and the transporting of their bodies to Kansas in a freezer.
• Lisa Jo Chamberlin was convicted in August 2006 of capital murder and received the same fate during her trial.
• Gillett told law enforcement during the custodial interview that he recently had hitchhiked back to Kansas from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he had been staying with his relative, Vernon Hulett, for one or two months.
• In the custodial investigation narrative, Gillett stated that he had not been up to the Gillett farm in months.
• The pathologist recorded that Linda Heintzelman died from multiple injuries inflicted upon her, including sharp-force injuries predominantly to the torso, blunt-force injuries predominantly to the head, sharp-force injuries to the neck, and asphyxiation or lack of oxygen getting into the airway.
• During sentencing, family members shared hugs with Jon Mark Weathers for helping to bring justice.
• In closing arguments at sentencing, Assistant District Attorney Ben Saucier asked jurors not to be swayed by baby pictures and testimony about Gillett’s childhood, saying:

• Caroline Hester, Hulett's mother, was quoted as saying:

• Jon Mark Weathers was quoted about the family:

• The jury verdict for aggravating circumstances listed:
  1. “the capital offense was committed while the defendant was engaged or was an accomplice in the commission of or an attempt or flight after committing or attempt to commit a robbery;”
  2. “the capital offense was heinous, atrocious, or cruel;”
  3. “the capital offense was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest;” and
  4. “the defendant was previously convicted of a felony involving the use of or threat of violence to the person.”
• The Mississippi Supreme Court described capital murder in Mississippi as including the underlying felony, including robbery, and referenced the “one continuous transaction” rationale in capital cases.
• The autopsy photographs issue was addressed on appeal, and the court discussed standards for admitting photographs, including probative value and Rule 403 balancing.
• During the trial, Gillett did not testify; he told Circuit Judge Bob Helfrich that he did not want to testify.
• A quote attributed to Dick Allison included:

• In pre-recorded testimony at the penalty phase, Vicki Hulett stated:

• Marsha Gillett stated:

“I think about him all the time. I loved him very much.”

“Roger wanted very much to be baptized,” and “Roger's faith is absolutely genuine. I believe fully that his life, even in prison, can be a benefit to many people.”

“The hardest part was knowing what the family was going through”
“I'm going to sleep well tonight.”

“I don't really want him dead. I want everything taken away from him”

“Lots of people have hard times”
“Does that separate you from anyone else?”
“All I saw (today) was people who knew him. I think everyone in this courtroom can get a group of people together to say 'Can you spare his life?'”

“When Roger was a small child, my brother was an alcoholic,” and “He was more like my son than my nephew. It's very hard for my family to have to live through this.”