Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 2, 1993 TAG: 9309020116
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
"I didn't kill him for money," she said. "I didn't kill him intentionally."
Whitt, 45, stuck by her claim that her boyfriend, Roy W. Thompson, committed suicide by diving in front of the truck on a remote Bedford County road.
She did not waver, even as Bedford County Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Updike established that Whitt has given several different versions of events leading to the July 13, 1991, incident.
Whitt said Thompson's death was so traumatic that she has forgotten some details.
"I can remember certain facts, but beyond that, everything is confusion because I tried to block it out," she said.
Whitt, however, conceded that in the past she has lied - sometimes while under oath - about details of Thompson's death or her knowledge of his insurance policy.
"Can't you tell someone the truth?" Updike asked.
Updike also questioned Whitt's claim that she made some false statements because she had blocked out painful memories.
In a sarcastic tone, Updike asked how a woman so overcome with grief could drive to the Department of Motor Vehicles two days after Thompson's death to transfer the title of his truck and motorcycle into her name.
"Roy hadn't even been buried yet," he said.
The case is expected to go to the Bedford County Circuit Court jury today.
Defense attorneys spent Wednesday morning trying to undo any damage caused Tuesday by Witt's mother, Verna Horn.
Horn, who lives in New Castle, testified that Whitt told her nearly a year before Thompson's death that she intended to kill him for the insurance money. Horn also claimed that Whitt called her an hour or two after his death and said, "I murdered him. . . . I'm going to be rich."
Whitt's attorneys called several witnesses who described Horn as an unstable woman who did not get along with her daughter.
Whitt's brother, Jerry E. Horn, testified that his mother started "jumping to conclusions" when she read about Thompson's death in the newspaper.
"I knew that she was going to cause Sue problems," Jerry Horn said.
Other defense witnesses sought to counter the prosecution's portrayal of Whitt as a clear-eyed killer who couldn't wait to get her hands on the insurance money.
One of Whitt's daughters, JoAnn Whitt, said her mother was such an emotional wreck that she tried to crawl into Thompson's casket at the funeral .
"She . . . said if he was going to go, she was going, too," JoAnn Whitt said.
Nellie Sue Whitt, who fled the courtroom in tears Friday when a witness described efforts to revive Thompson at the scene, maintained her composure during four hours on the witness stand Wednesday afternoon.
Her most emotional display came when she denied talking to her mother about a murder plot or calling her after the accident.
"It's hard to say your mother lied, but she lied," Whitt said.
Updike, who is known for fierce cross-examinations of murder defendants, began his questioning of Whitt with a plodding recap of the eight statements she has given about the accident. The testimony was so tedious that Whitt's 12-year-old daughter, Becky, stretched across a relative's lap and fell asleep.
Updike sought to convince the jury that Whitt has changed the details of her story so often that she couldn't be trusted with the truth.
"That's lying under oath, ma'am," Updike said, referring to a false statement she gave in a deposition.
"Yes, sir," Whitt replied.
"Are you doing the same thing here today?"
"No, sir, I am not."
Under cross-examination, Whitt admitted lying to a state police investigator when she told him Thompson did not have any life insurance.
Testimony has shown that Whitt - only weeks before Thompson's death - signed Thompson's name on a form making her the beneficiary of the $100,000 policy.
Whitt explained that she had authority to sign for Thompson because he had given her power of attorney to handle his finances.
Updike also sought to establish that Whitt changed her story after Thompson's death, claiming it was an accident, not suicide, because then the insurance company would not pay. Whitt still has not been paid.
"Does that $100,000 affect your memory?" Updike asked.
"No, sir," she replied.
by CNB