Prosecution leads off in teen texting trial

Prosecutors presented their case last week in the trial of the Evergreen teenager charged with two counts of deliberate homicide after her car ran into oncoming traffic on U.S. 93 between Kalispell and Whitefish in March 2009.

Justine Winter, 17, is accused of intentionally crashing her southbound Pontiac Grand Am into a northbound Subaru near a construction zone at the intersection of Church Drive and U.S. 93 in an alleged suicide attempt. She faces from 100 years to life for each count if convicted.

The crash killed 35-year-old Columbia Falls resident Erin Thompson and her 13-year-old son, Caden Odell, who were in the Subaru. Thompson was four months pregnant at the time. She was well known in Whitefish and worked at Sage Spa & Salon.

Flathead County Deputy Attorney Lori Adams led off the prosecution’s case by reading selected text messages alleged sent from Winter’s cell phone to her then-boyfriend, Ryan Langford, in the hours prior to the crash. The messages included “It’s ending” and “I want to kill myself, good-bye Ryan.”

Montana Highway Patrol trooper Glen Barcus, the lead investigator in the accident, told the court on the second day of the trial that Winter’s vehicle crossed the centerline at about 85 mph and caused the collision. On cross-examination by defense attorney Maxwell Battle, Barcus said he didn’t know for sure if fog lines or a center line had been painted on the bridge.

Langford and Polson-based psychotherapist Treasa Glinnwater testified about the text messages on the third day. Langford said Winter’s suicide threats didn’t concern him, a point that Glinnwater backed up. Suicide threats had become a way for Winter and Langford to exercise control in their relationship, but it was always clear that the threat would not be followed through, Glinnwater said.

Richard Poeppel testified that he was driving behind Thompson at the time of the accident. He said they both had slowed to 45 mph as they approached the construction zone when a southbound vehicle cut across the centerline and collided with Thompson’s Subaru.

That same day, Highway Patrol Sgt. James Kitchin testified about information retrieved from the Pontiac’s Airbag Control Module — similar to a “black box” used in aircraft. According to the device, Winter’s vehicle reached 86 mph two seconds before impact and Winter never applied any brake pressure, he said.

Kitchin said, the “slap mark” left on the speedometer in Winter’s vehicle, when the needle impacted the face of the gauge, was consistent with the data from the Airbag Control Module. The device also indicated that Winter was not wearing her seat belt, a point some lawyers claim could help prove whether or not Winter intended to kill herself.

Two crash reconstruction experts testified on the fourth day. Highway Patrol Sgt. Dustin Lerette testified that some errors were made when he and another trooper surveyed the crash scene. Former Highway Patrol trooper Barb Watson, however, noted that the errors were insignificant, and both concluded that Winter was traveling over 80 mph in the wrong lane when the crash occurred.

More text messages between Winter and Langford were read aloud on the fifth day of the trial. The transcript ran from 7:51 p.m. to 8:21 p.m., after the two had argued and broken up their relationship. The crash occurred about 8:30 p.m. The messages were extracted from the cell phones with help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Prosecutors claimed Winter told Langford in one text message why she wanted him to get out of her car that night: “Because I wanted to kill myself. I wanted you out of my car so I could do what you told me I couldn’t.”

In a later text message, Langford urged Winter to stop, saying, “You’ll hurt yourself, I’ll know and I’ll do the same.” Winter responded by saying, “That’s why I am going to wreck my car.”

The defense took over that day, leading with an automotive mechanic who testified about the seat belt in Winter’s vehicle. Winter’s father, two teachers from Glacier High School and Langford’s mother testified about Winter’s character.

Winter’s trial is expected to last until the end of this week.