On August 25, the police obtained a search warrant to search a package that was being sent to Webber. The officers also asked whether he had been in Winona recently, to which he responded that he had been fishing in Wisconsin and may have crossed over to Minnesota. Subsequent investigation uncovered the fact that Webber actually had lost a Colt. 45 pistol, but maintained that he had lost the gun when it fell out of his pocket in a bar. Webber admitted that he had owned a Llama. the same day, Officers Hafner and Fitzgerald spoke with the defendant at his work site. on August 24, 1977, pursuant to a search warrant, police officers searched Webber's home in Illinois for a Llama. Witnesses' descriptions of Howard's reactions to his wife's murder were that he was rational and not in shock. Maloney, the neighbor, returned with Howard to his home and called the police after viewing the body. He then returned upstairs and took the girls to a neighbor's house. The two girls looked in the upstairs part of the house for their mother while Howard went into the basement, where he found Shirleen's body. Howard and his daughters arrived home between 9:15 and 9:20.
They shopped for an anniversary present for his wife, made several visits at neighbors' houses, and stopped at an ice cream stand where they bought a malted milk for Shirleen. That same day, Donald Howard left his home at around 6:30 p. in a *8 bar approximately one-half hour from Winona. He was last seen that evening at around 8 p. the defendant and his male companion were accompanied by a woman. Webber allegedly told people that he was in the area to do some fishing. He essentially spent the day going from one bar to another with his friend.
Testimony in the case provides details of Webber's activities on August 13. Webber met with Donald Howard in a bar a block from the Coast to Coast Store on the afternoon of Friday, August 12. The beds in the room reserved by the defendant were slept in on the night of August 12 but not on the 13th. Webber and his companion checked into the Sterling Motel in Winona, where they reserved a room for both the 12th and the 13th. Smith, Webber asked to stay with her because he was trying to save hotel expenses while on his way to Winona to "do a job." The defendant had several relatives in Winona with whom he had stayed on previous visits, but he did not contact them while he was there on August 12 and 13, 1977. He then left his home with a male companion and arrived at Sara Smith's house in Rockford, Illinois, between 10 and 12 p. Webber called Howard on Thursday, August 11, 1977, from Illinois. 45 automatic pistol believed to be the murder weapon. Gun records from the Winona Coast to Coast Store operated by Howard indicated that five guns from its stock were transferred to Webber, including a Llama. Webber and Howard met regularly during the winter before Shirleen Howard's death and telephone records showed frequent conversations between Webber's home in Illinois and Winona. The defendant, Bruce Webber, was convicted of committing this murder and conspiring with the victim's husband, Donald Howard, to commit the murder. Nothing in the home was disturbed or missing. and the cause of death as two gunshot wounds in the head. The time of her death was established at sometime between 9 and 9:20 p. Shirleen Howard's body was found in the basement of her home in Winona, Minnesota, on Saturday, August 13, 1977. Webber, 262 N.W.2d 157 (Minn.1977), this court refused to reverse the district court's suppression order.
#BRUCE WEBBER TRIAL#
Following the omnibus hearing, the state appealed to this court on the grounds that the trial court erred in suppressing testimony on the identification of the defendant and of a statement made by his alleged co-conspirator. The original venue was in Winona County, but the trial was held in the district court of Mower County after a motion by the defendant for change of venue was granted. This is an appeal from a conviction of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree. Heard before PETERSON, TODD, and SCOTT, JJ., and considered and decided by the court en banc. Paul, Julius Gernes, County Atty., Winona, for respondent. Public Defender, Minneapolis, for appellant. Paul Jones, Public Defender, and Ronald L.
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