 Death Penalty TrialIn Grand Rapids, a federal prosecutor and suspected murderer Marvin Charles Gabrion II engaged in a series of tempestuous courtroom exchanges Friday. Given a rare opportunity to directly question in court a man he has accused of a major crime, U.S. Assistant Attorney Donald Davis tore into Gabrion's claim that he had nothing to do with the 1997 killing of a young, single mother who had filed a rape charge against him. In one exchange, Gabrion repeatedly called Davis a liar. During another, Davis, clearly frustrated by Gabrion's frequent interruptions and rambling, often contradictory statements, told the defendant to be quiet. "Make me!" Gabrion angrily replied. U.S. Chief Judge Robert Holmes Bell periodically instructed Gabrion to answer the prosecution's questions as directly as possible. Gabrion, 48, formerly of Altona in Mecosta County, is accused of killing Rachel Timmerman, 19, who lived in the Cedar Springs area. Her body was found in a small, shallow lake in Newaygo County about a month after she and her 11-month-old daughter disappeared in June 1997. Timmerman's body was discovered bound with chains attached to 2 cement blocks. Her eyes and mouth had been covered by duct tape. Her daughter, Shannon VerHage, has never been found. Gabrion was charged in federal court because the portion of Oxford Lake where the woman's body turned up lies on federal property in the Manistee National Forest. The U.S. attorney's office is seeking the death penalty. Capital cases are unusual in Michigan, which in 1846 became the 1st state to abolish the death penalty as a possible punishment in murder cases. Before a packed courtroom Friday, Gabrion took the witness stand in his own defense at the start of the fifth day of his trial. He was allowed to make an opening statement before being questioned, at which time he accused two men who are now missing of killing Timmerman. Police agencies have linked Gabrion to the men's disappearances, and federal prosecutors say in court documents that he is responsible for Shannon's disappearance. He has not been charged with any crimes in those cases. Gabrion said Shannon had not been killed. Instead, he and the two men he accused of killing her mother took the baby to Philadelphia, where she was put up for adoption, he said. Gabrion said he wanted to testify on his own behalf to explain "what really happened." Davis produced copies of several letters that he said Gabrion had written over the years to various people, including relatives of the victims and authorities investigating Timmerman's death. The letters were filled with contradictory statements about who was responsible for the killing and for the baby's disappearance. At one point during Davis' questioning, Gabrion said he believed Davis and Tim Timmerman, the victim's father, stood on the shore of Oxford Lake and bound Rachel Timmerman's body with the chains and cement blocks. Gabrion also said Velda Timmerman, the victim's mother, once told him before her daughter's death that she planned to kill Rachel. "Mr. Gabrion, have you no decency," Davis said. Gabrion also said he had once been a CIA operative who helped the U.S. government in the case involving the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. PHOTO NEXT HOME If you have any information, Contact: Michigan State Police at: (231)652-1662 The FBI at: (616)456-5489 The Silent Observer at: (616)774-2345 Thank you for caring! |