POSTED: November 27, 2009
By KEN BLACK, TIMES-REPUBLICAN DAKOTA CITY - A jury has convicted a West Des Moines man of killing his estranged wife and her boyfriend along Highway 14 north of Marshalltown. The jury on Monday found Kyle Deemer guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. The jury rejected claims he shot his wife, Jessica Deemer, and Bryce Mercer in a fog of drugs on Oct. 17, 2008. During the first day of testimony last week, one witness after another described seeing Deemer hunt down his estranged wife and Mercer. One eyewitness said he wasn’t even sure Deemer noticed he was there, as Deemer’s wife ran to the witness’ vehicle seeking help. Other friends and family of Kyle Deemer suggested he was having a difficult time dealing with the fact that his marriage may have been on the verge of ending. They also said he was consumed with whether or not Jessica Deemer had another boyfriend. In closing arguments Monday, Marshall County Attorney Jennifer Miller, one of the prosecuting attorneys, said Deemer signaled his desire to kill the two “months before, weeks before, days before, hours before, minutes before, even seconds before’’ he shot them. Minutes before killing her, prosecutors said Deemer sent his wife text messages as he followed her down the highway. “She didn’t confront Kyle Deemer. She didn’t even turn around. She didn’t even want to face him. She just crouched down” and waited to be shot, Miller said. In his closing arguments, defense attorney Aaron Hawbaker told the jury Deemer may be guilty of a crime, but not first-degree murder. Deemer’s trial was moved from Marshall County to Humboldt County because of pretrial publicity. Earlier Monday, psychologist John Fabian testified that Deemer was addicted to meth, cocaine, marijuana and alcohol at the time of the killing. Fabian also testified Deemer might suffer from a personality disorder. “There’s not a single person who wouldn’t describe what happened that day as horrible,” Hawbaker said. “No one will argue with that. I won’t argue with that. But you’re not here to decide whether what happened was bad. The question is, what level of offense is he guilty of?” Sentencing was scheduled for a later date, though the penalty upon conviction of a Class A felony is life in prison. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Ken Black at 641-753-6611 or kblack@timesrepublican.com
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