Anti Gov’t Wingnut bank bomb suspects go to court - Statesman Journal
Cop Killer Bombing suspects on trial, .
Bruce and Joshua Turnidge, the father and son accused in a 2008 bombing that killed two police officers at a West Coast Bank in Woodburn, were in court Wednesday for the first day of a two-day pretrial motions hearing.
Their trial is scheduled to start next month.
Prosecutors revealed a possible trial strategy that would paint the Turnidges as people with a history of anti-government and anti-police attitudes that may have fueled their alleged acts in December 2008.
Witnesses would testify that Bruce Turnidge pumped his fist in support of the 1995 bombing at a federal courthouse in Oklahoma City, saying it was a “good thing,” prosecutor Katie Suver said.
The defense disputed some of the alleged statements and objected to their use in certain parts of the trial, specifically the opening statements. The two defense teams did not outline in detail their own strategies Wednesday.
Marion County Circuit Judge Thomas Hart is expected to rule today on a motion regarding 151 “gruesome” photographs of the bombing scene and how and when they can be presented to a jury.