Jury returns guilty verdict in Seley murder case

GREENFIELD – A jury has found a man guilty of killing his brother and leaving his body behind on an Adair County Road.

After nearly four hours of deliberation Monday in the Adair County Courthouse, the jury delivered a guilty verdict of murder in the first degree for Dustin James Seley, 43, in the death of Timothy Charles Fechter, 58, of Creston.

Fechter, the biological brother of Seley, was reported missing to Creston Police June 21. His body was discovered July 1 in a farm field adjacent to 320th Avenue in Adair County. Seley pleaded not guilty to the charge brought against him, according to arraignment documents filed Sept. 3 with the Iowa Courts.

Following the verdict, 5th Judicial Court District Judge Thomas Murphy polled the jury at the request of the defense. In open court, each juror declared his or her agreement with the verdict the jury foreman returned.

Seley has 45 days to file post-trial motions, such as a motion in arrest of judgement or a motion for a new trial.

Murphy said the court has no discretion as the crime Seley’s been convicted of is a forcible felony.

“It is what it is. I will tell you that you have been a gentleman throughout these proceedings in my presence and I appreciate that,” said Murphy.

Seley was transported to the Adair County Jail where he will be held without bond until his sentencing hearing, slated for 10 a.m. Feb. 18. Murder in the first degree is a Class A felony in Iowa, punishable by life in prison.

Closing arguments

In closing statements, Assistant Attorney General Andrew Prosser told the jury their job is not to weigh whether or not those before them is not a good or bad person, but to evaluate what has come to the the courtroom in the form of witness accounts and exhibits in the case.

“One of the remarkable things that sometimes happens here in the courtroom when we have people sitting in front of the jurors like you and they are testifying, occasionally the truth comes out. It’s exactly what happen.” Prosser said. “Your main job in doing that is to decide whether the evidence has proved the elements of the crime charged by the state.”

Prosser made a list of elements, which he told the jury proves the state met its burden of proof:

• On or about June 20, Seley shot Fechter.

Prosser paraphrased a part of Seley’s testimony when he talked about the moment he fired his gun: “When Tim said he was my daughter’s father, I was so enraged that I took out my gun and shot him.”

“Any old way you slice it, there’s no question that Timothy Fechter was shot by the defendant,” said Prosser.

• Fechter died as a result of being shot.

Prosser reminded the jury of Associate Medical Examiner Michele Catallier’s testimony where she said Fechter died of a single gun shot wound to the back of the head.

• Seley acted with “malice aforethought”

Prosser pointed out malice aforethought is a state of mind which leads a person to do a wrongful act out of actual hatred, or with an evil or unlawful purpose.

“In our system of criminal justice we don’t just convict people of crimes for things they do, we also look at why they do it,” said Prosser.

Prosser said jurors are allowed to use the fact Seley used a dangerous weapon in deciding weather he was acting with malice.

In addition to arriving to the scene of the incident with a loaded firearm, Prosser reminded the jury Seley had a lifetime of reasons for not liking Fechter. He said, from hearing about Seley and Fechter’s history, it’s natural to have sympathy toward Seley, but pointed out the instructions are not to base their verdict on sympathy, but rather to impartially examine the evidence presented in court.

“We have the most immediate fact about why the defendant was upset with his brother, which was ... he quit his roofing job for Tim, Tim didn’t have any work, he said that’s why he wanted to go talk to him alone and Mr. Trembly can’t come along ... me, Tim and the gun are gonna go out and that’s the sensible reason he wanted to, he went along on this shingle dumping expedition on the night of this homicide,” said Prosser. “The most critical thing was when Tim supposedly told him, according to the defendant, just before he was killed by the defendant, that Tim was the father of [Seley’s child].”

Prosser also reminded jurors of the moment Seley said, “I finally stood up to [Tim], which demonstrates the relationship between the brothers, followed by pointing out Seley’s description of how he felt at the time of the homicide – “enraged” which showed what was on Seley’s mind at the time.

• Seley acted “willfully, deliberately, premeditatedly, and with a specific intent to kill Fechter.

“Again you’re allowed to infer from the defendant’s use of a pistol, a dangerous weapon, that he did specifically intend to kill his brother,” said Prosser. “Willful means intentional and not accidental. To deliberate means to weigh in one’s mind and to reflect, consider and contemplate ... and premeditate means to think or ponder ... ,” said Prosser.

Prosser pointed out there is not specific amount of time for premeditation to be considered so.

“First-degree murder is not limited to people who, weeks before, sit down with a pad and paper and say, ‘This is how I’m going to kill this person,’” he said.

With a snap of the finger, Prosser said a decision can be made “like that.”

Of the gun Prosser said Seley carried loaded with him to the bars, on drugs, and on a trip he excluded someone else from going on, there’s at least a possibility intent. He said, if Seley was going to sell the gun as he claimed, as a felon, he would not be carrying it loaded at two or three o’clock in the morning.

Prosser pointed out the range of fire was important, restating Dr. Catallier’s testimony where she told jurors the gun was either a contact shot or a close range shot.

“She showed you the sooting on the inside of the skull,” said Prosser.

Prosser said that testimony was important because it contradicts Seley’s story about falling down and accidentally firing the arm. He then revisited Dakota Brown’s testimony, in which Brown claimed Seley told him he put the Fechter on his knees and shot him in the head and stomped him.

Prosser said the sooting paired with three skull fractures Fechter sustained at the time of his death corroborates Brown’s testimony.

• The shooting was not justified

Had this been a situation where Seley had no choice but to shoot Fechter because he had fear of imminent death or serious harm a lesser charge could have been pursued, but Prosser said Seley’s actions after Fechter was no longer a threat don’t support his justification. He didn’t call police, of call for an ambulance. Prosser told the jury instead, Seley left the scene, disposed of the gun and his phone, and hid from law enforcement for nine days, which shows his state of mind.

Prosser said because Seley had enough sense to attempt to cover up his actions showed he was in a frame of mind that dismisses an intoxication defense, as well.

No evidence was presented to show Fechter had a deadly weapon on him during the incident and Prosser said no showed any good reason to use deadly force.

Defense attorney Jill Eimermann reminded jurors the burden of proof lies with the prosecution and asked them to consider the reasonable doubts, or logical possibilities

“Every one of these logical possibilities I’ve given you is just that, a logical possibility,” said Eimermann. “In fact, now, having heard all the evidence in this case, I would say all of these are still a logical possibility, still a logical possibility the state has not excluded.”

In her opening statement, Eimermann listed logical possibilities the jury should consider include that Seley shot Fechter by accident, he didn’t intend to kill Fechter, Fechter was killed in self-defense, Seley was intoxicated and couldn’t form the necessary specific intent to kill, Seley purposefully fired the gun but did not intentionally mean to shoot Fechter, and that he shot Fechter to protect himself, which she said is similar to the self-defense possibility.

Eimermann added a seventh possibility – that Seley shot Fechter by reason of a sudden, violent, irresistible passion resulting in serious provocation. This means Seley may have committed the act because the set of events leading up to the shooting may have caused a reasonable person to lose self-control.