GREENFIELD – During her opening statement Thursday in the state vs. Dustin James Seley, Adair County Attorney Melissa Larson told jurors a story of two brothers who left Creston in a pickup truck to dispose of shingles in the dark, the early hours of June 20.
“Dustin James Seley and his brother, Timothy Charles Fechter, traveled together to a field at the end of a dirt road in rural Adair County,” Larson said. “What Timothy Fechter did not know that night as he left Creston with his brother was that Dustin Seley had a loaded gun.”
Larson said, after arriving to the dark field something happened that led Seley to shoot Fechter in the back of the head, killing him.
“The evidence will show that then Dustin Seley drove away leaving his brother’s body behind,” she said.
The state, represented by Assistant Attorney General Andrew Prosser, assisted by Larson, has the burden of proving the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt to convict Seley of murder in the first degree:
• On or about June 20, 2021, Seley shot Fechter.
• Fechter died as a result of being shot
• Seley acted with “malice aforethought”
• Seley acted “willfully, deliberately, premeditatedly, and with a specific intent to kill Fechter.
• The shooting was not justified
Prosecutors laid out their evidence
Larson told jurors Seley and Fechter have a turbulent past that fills Seley with anger, resentment and hatred toward his brother. She continued by saying Seley took a loaded firearm is, by itself, sufficient evidence jurors can conclude Fechter’s murder “was malicious, premeditated, deliberate and committed with specific intent to kill.”
“Other evidence in this case will also support that,” she said.
On the night Seley killed Fechter, Larson said Seley was not supposed to be the person to accompany Fechter to dispose of the shingles.
“He told the person that was supposed to go that he wanted some alone time with his brother,” she said.
Seley’s attorney, Jill Eimermann, filed a justification defense. A justification defense is when a defendant claims the positives of the act outweigh the negatives. But Larson argued that after Seley killed his brother, he did not act like a person who had just recently used a weapon to defend himself from imminent harm.
“He didn’t call police. He didn’t call an ambulance. He took his brother’s truck. He took his brother’s cell phone. He took and disposed of the weapon he used to kill his brother,” Larson told the jury. “He removed and discarded the clothing he’d been wearing that night. He fled the county and law enforcement for nine days following the shooting. He disposed of his own cell phone and purchased a burner phone. He returned to the same area where his brother’s body was located days before the body was found.”
Larson said when Seley was interviewed by law enforcement, he said nothing about shooting his brother in self defense.
“In fact, he didn’t say anything at all about the shooting,” Larson said.
Instead Seley told investigators he was angry at Fechter and left him on the side of a road to make his way back to town in the rain. She said Seley also told investigators he unsuccessfully looked far and wide for his brother.
“The investigating officers did track down witnesses to whom Dustin Seley admitted to killing his brother. Those witnesses never said anything to investigators about Mr. Seley telling them about killing Timothy Fechter in self-defense,” Larson said.
Larson said at the conclusion of this case, the evidence will show Seley “maliciously, willfully, deliberately, and premeditatedly” shot and killed his brother without justification.
The defense responds
In her opening statement, Jill Eimermann, Seley’s attorney, said while it is true Seley had a gun, fired it, and a single bullet struck Fechter in the back of the head, it is also true he left Fechter laying on the ground and drove away from the scene.
“When he got in the truck and he started to drive away, he just started to drive. And as he drove, he called people. He called friends, he called family, people he loved,” said Eimermann. “He told them that something happened to Tim. To some of them, he even said, through tears, through tears, he said, ‘I killed him. Tim is gone and I killed him.’”
Eimermann said, shocked and scared, Seley, known to his friends and family as “DJ,” looked for somewhere to go and made the “split second” decision to drive off leaving Fechter behind.
“It’s true he ditched his own phone. It’s true he ditched Tim’s phone. It’s true that he went to look for a burner phone. It’s true, ladies and gentlemen, that he spent nine days just out,” she said. “It’s true he did not tell police that Tim is dead nor did he tell police that Tim is dead because of him.”
Despite the admission of her clients’ role in Fechter’s death, she said, “This isn’t a ‘Whodunit.’ What it is, is a ‘What happened?’ What happened and why did it happen? That’s what this case is about.”
“In this case, in order to find Dustin Seley guilty of first degree murder, they must prove each and every element of crime beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Eimermann.
Eimermann’s list of ‘logical possibilties’
Eimermann told jurors the state “must rule out all other logical possibilities” that could explain what happened and why before making a decision if Seley is guilty of first degree murder or not. Those possibilities include:
• Seley shot Fechter by accident.
• Seley didn’t intend to kill Fechter.
• Seley killed Fechter in self defense.
• Seley was intoxicated, therefore couldn’t form the necessary specific intent required to be convicted of first degree murder.
• Seley purposefully fired the gun, but didn’t intentionally mean to shoot Fechter.
• Seley shot Fechter to protect himself. Eimermann said is similar to logical possibility three
“I am not required to prove to you that any one of these logical possibilities is, in fact, what happened,” said Eimermann as she described the roles of state prosecutors, the defense and the jurors. “That is not my burden. That burden falls solely on the state.”
Eimermann told jurors at the conclusion of the case they will find the state has not met that burden.
Witnesses
A list of witnesses who took the stand Thursday include:
• Andy Konkler: A Creston resident who has known Seley and Fechter for approximately 30 years. He described his relationship with Fechter as “best friends.” Shared a story to show support that Seley possessed a gun.
• Keagan Trembly: A Creston resident who is the boyfriend of Fechter’s daughter, Faith. He considered Fechter a close friend as Fechter gave him a place to stay and construction jobs from March to June. His testimony provides a timeline for jurors of when Fechter was reported missing and paints a picture of how evidence was found in Fechter’s camper in truck. The evidence highlighted by investigators that were found within Fechter’s camper was bleach not previously there and Seley’s clothing Trembly claimed Seley wore the day he left with Fechter.
• Seley’s daughters – Heaven Caballero-Lara and Sydney Seley – testified. They both described Seley as a father who was not very present in their life. Seley called both of his daughters June 21 and told them Fechter was dead and he killed him.
• Special agents from the state’s Department of Criminal Investigation who testified include Adam De Camp, Chris Spencer, Holly Witt, Tara Scott and Mark Ludwick.
Witt showed how cell phone tracking worked and how records were used to follow Seley and Fechter’s phones. According to Witt, Seley returned to the scene of the crime, which Witt was also able to identify an approximate location. The phones she tracked were Seley’s old phone that he eventually disposed of, Fechter’s phone (disposed of by Seley), and a burner phone Seley purchased in Greenfield.
• Associate medical examiner Michele Catallier testified that Fechter died of a single gun shot to the back of the head. Three other radiating fractures shown in photographs are described as injuries Fechter sustained at the time of his death. Eimermann challenged Catallier’s trajectory claims, showing how a turn of the head or body position can provide a possible way for the bullet to enter the skull in that way. Either way, Catallier maintained Fechter was killed at the hands of another person with a gun pressed to his head.
Editor’s note: A more detailed account of witness testimony and evidence presented will be described in the CNA Monday.
Testimony ended Thursday with Ludwick on the stand. During his testimony, a more than 40 minute recording of his initial interview with Seley was played. In that interview Seley maintained that he and Fechter got into an argument, and he left Fechter on the side of a road. He claimed he went back later to look for Fechter but could not find him.
Ludwick is expected to expand on his interview with Seley today when court resumes at 9:30 a.m. in the Adair County Courthouse.
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