Taped killing confession goes to court

A murdered Jackson man's relatives stared with tearful eyes at one of his suspected killers as a videotaped confession played in a New Madrid County courtroom.

"We tied him up, his hands." The defendant's muffled voice came from the television speakers. "Taped his legs, taped his feet together."

Mark A. Gill, 32, of Cape Girardeau, held his head in his one unshackled hand during parts of the videotape presentation.

"Taped over his eyes, taped his mouth."

Gill was in Circuit Judge Fred Copeland's courtroom Thursday. Copeland watched the tape that the suspect's attorneys don't want a jury to see.

Gill is charged with the July 8, 2002, kidnapping and murder of Ralph L. Lape Jr., 54. Prior to the slaying, Gill stayed in Lape's camper, parked in a garage on the property. The case moved to New Madrid County on a change of venue. Cape Girardeau Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle is seeking the death penalty for Gill and a second suspect, Justin M. Brown, 23.

Investigators said the men robbed Lape of his debit and credit cards, drove him to a cornfield near Portageville, Mo., put him in a shallow grave and shot him in the head. Weeks later, investigators questioned Brown about Lape's disappearance, and he led detectives to the body. By that time, Gill had left town, but New Mexico police arrested him July 30, 2002, on an outstanding warrant for using Lape's stolen credit cards.

Gill's tale

It's still undecided whether a jury will hear Gill's grisly account of days spent smoking pot, drinking beer and using Lape's money on strippers and hotels. The tape was recorded Aug. 2, 2002, at the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department office. Public defenders Sharon Turlington and David Kenyon asked the judge to temporarily withhold his ruling. Kenyon said the defense team just learned of a scuffle between Gill and county jail staff that sent him to a hospital before the taped interview. Kenyon wants to ascertain what injuries Gill had or medications he received, if any, before giving his confession.

Copeland granted the defense an additional 15 days to do this. He will rule in a few days on other defense motions concerning witness lists, victim impact statements and aggravating circumstances.

After the hearing, Sgt. Eric Friedrich of the sheriff's department, an investigator in the case, said the jail altercation was minor.

"That happened after we brought him back from New Mexico, during that first night in our jail," Friedrich said. "He was causing problems over the fact that he didn't want to be in the county jail, he wanted to be in Cape city jail. The jailers were trying to deal with him and he was being combative and abusive."

Friedrich said Gill was not injured but still was examined by medical staff from St. Francis Medical Center. He doesn't see the delay as a problem for the case.

"The motion to suppress and the extra 15 days, that's a good thing for us because that eliminates an appeal down the road," he said.

In asking for a later trial date, Kenyon and Turlington said they could not adequately prepare before the planned Sept. 15 trial since they had only been assigned the case two months ago and they already have full schedules with other trials. They said recent budget cutbacks at the State Public Defender's Office have reduced the number of capital defense lawyers available.

Swingle offered no argument to the continuance, saying he wanted the defense lawyers to be as prepared as necessary. Copeland scheduled the two-week trial to begin March 1.

Toward the end of the tape, Gill expressed regret.

"Nobody was supposed to get hurt -- nobody was supposed to get hurt," he said. "I don't even want to waste no money on a trial for this."

Family attendedSeven members of Lape's family attended the hearing. His sister, Diane Miller of Cape Girardeau, and her husband, Mitch, sat in the front bench alone. Gill's taped words feeling sorry for the crime rang hollow for her, she said afterward.

"He kept mentioning his daughter, but did he ever stop to think that my brother had a daughter, too?" she said.

Waiting until January for Brown's trial and now March for Gill's will be hard for the family, who think about their loss every day, she said. There may be more hearings in the meantime.

"It's absolutely important," she said of attending each court hearing. "I'd have to be really sick to miss it. He can't be here, and we have to do that for him. We were going to be here whether it was for five minutes or hours."

Gill's wife, Katina Gill, hastily left the courtroom without comment when the hearing was over.

mwells@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160