Stockard said that he’d just glimpsed Luther Dunphy that morning, and had not spoken with him. Dunphy had hurried past him without seeming to see him standing on the sidewalk in front of the Center, just before the attack.
He had not, Stockard said, exactly seen the attack; he’d seen Luther Dunphy following behind the minivan that had turned into the driveway, and he’d heard the shotgun explosions a second later which were deafening, and with others he’d recoiled in panic and confusion, backing away—looking for places to take cover . . .
“You saw the fallen men? It was clear to you what had happened?”
“I—I think I saw the fallen men. It wasn’t clear—immediately—what had happened. We were all—we were terrified, frankly. The first thing you think in such a situation is that your life is in danger—your instinct is to run away . . .”
“Your instinct wasn’t to run to the fallen men, and see if they needed aid?”
“In these circumstances, I’m afraid—I did not . . .”
“And why was that?”
“I told you—I was in fear of my life . . .”
“Were you hiding?”
“Some of us were—we’d tried to hide . . . No one knew exactly what had happened. It was very confusing.”
“But you’d recognized Luther Dunphy, with the shotgun?”
“I don’t think I knew Luther’s name. I—I don’t think we had exchanged names. What had happened had happened so fast, I wasn’t able to think clearly . . . No one knew if there might be more than one person with a gun. Or if the person with the gun was going to shoot again.”
“Were there police officers at the scene?”
“Yes—two deputies. They were stationed at the Center. But they didn’t seem to know what to do either, at first . . . Then other law enforcement officers arrived, and an ambulance.”
“And where was Luther Dunphy all this while? Did he try to flee the scene?”
“No. He was kneeling in the driveway just waiting. He’d put the shotgun down on the ground . . . I think he did that. Or maybe I learned that later. But he did not try to flee. It looked like he was praying.”
“He was praying?”
“It looked like he was praying. That’s what other people have said also.”
“Did you see for yourself that Luther Dunphy was ‘praying,’ or was this something you’d heard from others?”
“I—don’t know. It’s very confused in my mind.”
“But you saw the fallen men?”
“I—I did see—the fallen men . . . But I didn’t recognize them, I didn’t know who they were.”
“Did you surmise that they were Dr. Voorhees and his driver?”
“I—might have. I did know Voorhees—we all knew Voorhees. And the driver, he was familiar to us. One of the volunteers at the Center . . . I didn’t know his name.”
“Major Timothy Barron. That is his name.”
“Yes. I know now.”
“Mr. Stockard, did you conspire with Luther Dunphy to assassinate Augustus Voorhees and Timothy Barron on the morning of November 2, 1999?”
“No. I did not.”
“Did you know beforehand of the defendant’s intention to assassinate Augustus Voorhees and Timothy Barron on the morning of November 2, 1999?”
“No. I did not.”
“You did not?”
“I—I did not.”
“Did you ever speak to Luther Dunphy about Dr. Voorhees? In any way?”
“I—might have. But just briefly.”
“Did you ever encourage him—in any way?”
“No . . .”
“Can you recall what you talked about?”
“Not clearly . . .”
Stockard was very uneasy now. At the defense table Luther Dunphy had ceased looking at him, and was staring at his clenched hands.
“You have been observed talking together, Mr. Stockard. Several witnesses have told us. But you can’t recall what you talked about?”
“I . . .I recall that Luther Dunphy happened to mention that he’d noticed that the abortion doctor and his escort sometimes arrived before the police guard, at about seven-thirty A.M., and that this was—surprising. He asked me if it was routine, that Voorhees arrived as much as twenty minutes before the police.”
“And what did you tell him, Mr. Stockard?”
“I told him—I think I told him—that I had not noticed . . .”
“Was it common for you to arrive so early, when the Center doesn’t open until eight A.M.?”
“It opens for the public at eight A.M. It opens for women seeking to abort their innocent babies. But the medical staff arrives earlier of course. And so, some of us arrive earlier.”
“Including Luther Dunphy?”
“I am not aware of Luther Dunphy’s schedule. It was my impression—though I didn’t think much about it, at the time—that most of the protesters arrived at varying times, and some days, some did not come at all. There were protesters more likely to come in the morning, and protesters more likely to come in the afternoon. Sometimes, they ceased coming altogether—they never returned. If someone was missing, I would not be likely to notice—I didn’t keep track in that way.”
“Did Luther Dunphy often miss a vigil?”