Closing starts in Nickels trial

EPHRATA - Prosecutors and defense attorneys presented different takes on the evidence against David Nickels.

Closing arguments in Nickels' first-degree murder trial started Tuesday after more than a month of testimony. Nickels, 31, Helena, Mont., is accused of shooting Sage Munro outside of his Ephrata home on Dec. 29, 2009.

Deputy Prosecutor Tyson Hill called Nickels an obsessed and spurned ex-boyfriend, who was jealous of Sage Munro because he was dating Nickels' ex-girlfriend Marita Messick.

Defense attorney Jackie Walsh said Nickels was a victim of police tunnel vision, pointing out officers seemed to ignore another viable suspect, Ian Libby.

Hill started his argument by saying Nickels was the only one person waiting outside of Munro's house on the morning of the murder.

"One and only one person had the motive, the means and the opportunity to kill Sage Munro," he said.

Hill argued all the evidence points clearly at Nickels, saying the story starts with Messick, who met Nickels at a party when she was 15. When she turned 16, they began dating. From the start of the relationship, Nickels called her all the time, and became upset when she didn't return her phone calls.

"He would even call her mother, who testified she never, even one time, during the two years they were initially together, ever had a conversation with Mr. Nickels face to face," Hill said. "He would call and beg Marita Messick's mother to find out where she was, and why she wasn't responding."

Messick attempted to end the relationship after two years. Hill pointed to Messick's earlier testimony, saying Nickels came to her work and continued to call and send her text messages to get her to resume the relationship. Eventually, she relented and they continued to talk, text and have a sexual relationship.

Hill pointed to Messick's relationship with Zeb Barber as the turning point in Messick's and Nickels' relationship. When Nickels learned about the relationship he called Barber to tell Barber he was in a relationship with Messick.

"That didn't deter Mr. Barber, so what did the defendant do? He somehow found out where Zeb Barber lived, three hours away, got a picture of the house on his phone, and showed it to Marita, and said, 'If you don't keep seeing me, I will burn his house down with him and his parents inside,'" Hill said.

The threat led Messick to end the relationship with Barber, Hill said. She continued to have a relationship with Nickels, until she moved to Ephrata and started dating Munro. Once the relationship with Munro began, she ended sexual relationship with Nickels.

The deputy prosecutor detailed Nickels learning about Messick's relationship with Munro, saying he came to Messick's brother's house while she was on the phone with Munro, took the phone out of her hand and saw the picture of Munro. Nickels went outside got into his car, and called Munro back. Nickels spoke to Munro before throwing Messick's phone out his car window.

Hill told the jury about another call Messick received, where she attempted to lie about being at Munro's house, and Nickels told her she was lying before telling her about the details of her evening with Munro.

"You heard testimony about how it was easy to see into his house, especially at night, because he didn't have any blinds only sheer curtains, which he usually left open," Hill said. "The evidence shows that the defendant knew where Sage lived and was watching him."

Nickels continued to pursue a relationship with Messick, Hill said. He showed the jury a series of text messages Messick sent Nickels mentioning Munro.

"He was constantly paranoid and obsessive and upset that she was spending her time with Sage Munro," he said. "You heard the defense ask Marita Messick on the stand, 'Well you never really called it off with the defendant, did you? You never really ended the relationship?' You remember her response on multiple occassions? I tried, and the defendant knew she was trying."

The situation began to escalate in November and December 2009, he said. Nickels visited Rex Lain, who had recently been released from prison after serving 17 years for manslaughter. On the visit, Nickels asked Lain if he would kill someone for him.

"Mr. Lain testified after being in the system for essentially his entire life, he wanted nothing to do with this type of talk," he said. "He told you on the stand, the reason why he initially didn't mention this part to police is he didn't want to be involved. He wanted nothing to do with this trial or this case."

Hill turned to Nickels' unannounced trip to Spokane when he made one more attempt to restart his relationship with Marita Messick.

"Marita Messick's response was these kind of meetings have to stop," Hill said. "So the defendant lied, he made her essentially a promise, 'If you come and see me this one last time. I will leave you alone.'"

Messick went to Spokane, met with Nickels where he bought her about $1,000 worth of presents before taking her back to a hotel room. When they arrived, he showed her a stack of $100 bills and made a proposition.

"(He said,) 'Be with me. We can go to Las Vegas or anywhere you want to go. Think of all the money,'" Hill said. "Her response after that ... was to tell him, 'I don't want your money. I'd rather be with Sage with nothing than have all your money.'"

The situation became worse less than two weeks before the murder after Messick visited Montana. She met with Nickels a couple of times, but still refused his advances. When she left without saying good bye to him, he posted an advertisement on Craigslist looking for a gun within five days of the murder. He used his email account for the advertisement and used his phone number in it.

"Within five days of when he leaves Helena for Washington, he is looking for a gun," Hill said. "The defense will try to point out that he's looking for a .22 (caliber) pistol, and that Mr. Munro was shot with a .45 (caliber bullet.) Ladies and gentlemen, we have no idea. We do not have the murder weapon. We don't know how he ended up getting his gun, but what we know without a doubt is he was looking for one."

The day before the murder Nickels leaves Helena. A short time after he leaves, a friend contacts Nickels and asks where he is, and he replied he was heading to Great Falls, Mont., and asked if she wanted to come. Hill pointed out it sounded like a possible alibi.

"Why would he ask Samantha Costigan to come if he's going to go murder Sage Munro? Well because he knew she worked, every night," he said. "There was no way she could go to Great Falls with him."

Hill pointed out Nickels didn't go to Great Falls, showing the path of his cell phone connecting with various towers as he made his way to Spokane. He told Costigan a second time he was in Great Falls when he argued between the time Nickels received his last call and when he received a call from Messick at 8:51 a.m. on Dec. 29, Nickels drove to Ephrata and shot Munro.

When Messick called Nickels and asked him where he was, Nickels responded a third time he was in Great Falls.

Hill turned to the detectives' initial interview with Nickels, when the defendant detailed the weeks prior to the murder, but didn't include a stop in Moses Lake after he met Messick in Spokane.

"No mention that two weeks before the murder he was within a few miles of Sage Munro," Hill said.

Nickels initially told police he visited Lain in Wyoming. When Nickels called Lain, with officers in the car, Lain said he wasn't in Wyoming and had left before Christmas. Nickels changed his story, saying he was in Great Falls.

"When officers ask him for any kind of specifics, 'Who did you see? Where did you go? What did you do? Where did you stay? Who did you stay with?' He's got nothing," Hill said.

Hill continued with the alleged confession to Erick Alsager, which occurred before police contacted him. Nickels reportedly told Alsager he was being investigated for murder because he shot a man in the chest in Washington because the man was dating Messick.

"Ask yourself, 'What Erick Alsager's motivation is for testifying in this trial?' Look at the details ... how would someone know that Sage was shot in the chest? Maybe he read it somewhere," Hill said. "What about that second one, 'He didn't see it coming.' How could he, or would he say something like that unless he knew because he was the one who pulled the trigger."

Hill pointed out the handcuffs found on Munro's lawn. When the DNA on the handcuffs was tested, Nickels' DNA was included. None of the other people involved in the case could be included.

"When they look at DNA, they look at 13 distinctive points on the DNA strand, in order. Each one of those points has a number, much greater than zero to nine," Hill said, referring to a hypothetical example using various telephone numbers. "At each point, there would be a mixture of three numbers one for each contributor ... When they took the defendant's DNA and compared it, in order, every single one of his numbers matched."

Hill argued Nickels' DNA was on the handcuffs.

"The defendant, David Nickels, murdered Sage," Hill said.

The deputy prosecutor turned to the defense's possible suspect, Ian Libby, calling it a great story, but no evidence exists to corroborate it.

Hill pointed to the several changes in Crystal Tycksen's story, first saying Tycksen changed her testimony about text messages she received from Libby telling her he had an emergency. She changed her testimony to say the messages started in the morning.

"The murder happened at 6:30 (a.m.) If these text messages from Ian Libby are talking about an emergency at one or two or three or five or six, then they had nothing to do with Sage Munro's death," he said. "The second (problem is) Ian Libby's actions the morning of the homicide were completely inconsistent with text messages saying he was paranoid and freaked. out."

Hill pointed to the testimony of an Ephrata police officer, who described Libby at the murder scene at 7:30 a.m., saying he was curious about what happened.

He turned to Libby's alleged confessions to Tycksen, saying she changed her story to make a more compelling tale. First telling police she drove to the Lenore Caves in her own car, and the threat he was going to kill her "like he killed that guy," happened at the caves. Then testifying it happened when she was in the truck.

Read today's print edition of the Columbia Basin Herald for Walsh's arguments.