Emotions flare as Naches man found not guilty of murder

YAKIMA -- A Naches man charged with murdering his longtime girlfriend two years ago was found not guilty by a Yakima Superior Court jury on Friday, causing both sides of the case to erupt with emotion.

Supporters of 26-year-old Michael R. Spencer jumped from their seats, shouting with joy and clapping triumphantly while the victim's family and friends rushed out of the courtroom in a fury. The verdict was read at 3 p.m. after nearly a day's deliberation, with heavy security in place.

"It came out just like it should have," Spencer's mother, Beverly, said outside the courtroom in tears.

State prosecutors had charged Spencer with premeditated murder for the death of Rebecca S. Tatum on Nov. 5, 2006. Spencer insisted throughout the trial that he had fired only one shot in a tragic accident, but prosecutors argued she was shot multiple times in cold blood. Tatum was 23 and five weeks pregnant when she died.

Animosity and tensions have been simmering between the two families since the night of the shooting, culminating at the end of a weeklong trial.

Ike and Beverly Spencer, who have had custody of the couple's two children -- Payton, 6, and Summer, 4 -- will now return the kids to their father.

"They haven't seen their daddy in so long," said Beverly Spencer. "They were praying last night to see him."

Spencer will be dismissed with prejudice, so charges can't be filed again.

Outside the courtroom, Ike Spencer, the defendant's father, spoke triumphantly to reporters.

"It was an accident, it was an accident all the time," he said. "My son never would have done it on purpose. We loved Becca like a daughter, but we know Michael never would have done something like that on purpose."

But the Tatums said they were devastated by the jury's decision.

"He just got away with murdering my daughter, man!" shouted James Peddicord, Tatum's father, as he exited the courtroom.

Diana Tatum, the victim's mother, fainted in the courthouse lobby and was taken to a hospital in an ambulance.

Roxann Kintner, the victim's sister, declined to speak to reporters, her face red with tears. She testified during the trial that Rebecca Tatum was going to leave Spencer the night of the shooting. State prosecutors said Spencer was controlling and paranoid and that he shot Tatum to keep her from leaving.

"I'm just totally shocked," Bernie Charron said after the verdict was read. She employed Tatum for more than a year before the shooting and regarded her as a member of the family.

"I don't understand why they came to that conclusion. I can't even grasp it," Charron said.

The jury of nine women and three men was escorted from the courthouse through a private exit.

John Crowley, Spencer's attorney, said the prosecution was unduly confident during the trial. He said the couple had a normal relationship with ups and downs like everybody else. Witnesses who were close to Tatum were justified in their feeling of loss and anger, Crowley said, but those feelings affected the accuracy of their testimony.

During closing arguments on Thursday, attorneys from both sides of the case emphasized the findings of two forensic experts, who reached contradictory conclusions about the number of gunshots that killed Tatum.

Dr. Daniel Selove, a forensic pathologist who testified for state prosecutors, said he recovered a bullet from Tatum's chest during his autopsy that didn't line up with other wounds. He concluded that two or more bullets killed her.

But Kay Sweeney, a forensic scientist who testified for the defense, said his microscopic and fiber analyses of Tatum's clothing led him to conclude only a single bullet could have caused all seven wounds, especially because there was no hole in the shirt indicating a second bullet had entered.

State prosecutors responded by showing the jury the shirt Tatum was wearing, emphasizing its v-neck shape. They said there was no hole in the shirt corresponding with the chest wound because the shirt didn't cover that part of her body.

But the defense told jurors that the state was intentionally trying to deceive them. Crowley brought the shirt out again. This time, the shirt was assembled to cover the neck.

"Rebecca would have wanted the jury to know how she really wore her shirt that night," he said.

He said the shirt had been cut open for removal from Tatum's body, and that the shirt was not a v-neck when arranged properly.

Jeff Goldstein, a lawyer for the defense, said he believes the jury lost faith in the state's reliability when their argument about the shirt didn't seem to hold up.

"We don't see this as a victory," Crowley said. "We see it as vindication. We feel horrible that the Tatums lost a daughter and that a young woman lost her life. But we're grateful that Spencer's reputation was vindicated."

* Information from Herald-Republic reporter Chris Bristol was used in this report.