Opinion ID: 654644
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Evidence Against Carl and Chris Veltmann

Text: 18 The evidence against the defendants is entirely circumstantial. The government argued that the arson and murder were motivated by greed 12 , and that defendants had the opportunity and knowledge to commit the crime. 19 On the date of the fire, the two Veltmann couples returned from the honeymoon cruise. Elizabeth had a migraine early in the morning hours of January 7th, and received a shot of Demoral from the ship's doctor before disembarking. She was also suffering from dysentery. Chris and his wife were dropped off at their nearby home, and Carl and Elizabeth returned to the Veltmann residence at about 3:30 p.m. A witness saw Chris' car parked in their driveway at around 6:00 p.m. There is little agreement about what happened next. 20 Chris did not testify at trial, but he made a statement to investigators that was audiotaped and played for the jury. According to Chris, he stopped by his parent's home around 6:30-7:00 p.m. after going by the post office. He intended to check on his mother, knowing she was not well. When he got there, Carl was preparing to leave for a hunting trip in Montana and Elizabeth was resting in bed. Chris visited with his parents and returned to his home at around 8:00 or 8:30 p.m. According to Chris, Carl showed up at his house sometime later, visited for a hour or so and then left. 21 The remainder of the case against Chris rests on his knowledge of the alarm system, his role in making insurance claims, his receipt of some insurance proceeds, and conflicting testimony about his emotional reaction to news of his mother's death. It was Chris who found Elizabeth's missing purse and keys in the trunk of a car in the garage. Additionally, David Meehan, Chris' cellmate, testified to admissions allegedly made by Chris while in custody. According to Meehan, Chris said the fire was started in two places; Chris started the kitchen fire and turned on the range, and Carl started the fire in the foyer with paper and lighter fluid after taking the tops off the smoke detector batteries. 13 Chris allegedly said he and Carl watched the wallpaper in the hallway catch fire before leaving through the garage, and that Carl visited his home for only a few minutes before driving to the Tampa airport and flying out to go hunting. 22 Carl made statements to fire, police, and insurance investigators, and testified at trial. He said he left the residence at about 9:00 p.m. with Chris, leaving Elizabeth resting in bed. He followed Chris to his house and visited until approximately 10:30 p.m. He then left to go hunting and attempt to raise money in Montana, intending to get the car serviced and meet with his bankruptcy attorney en route. He decided to make this trip on the spur of the moment, testifying at trial for the first time that he did not simply spend the night in his house because Elizabeth was ragging on him about their finances. He spent the night in a motel. He did not have appointments with the lawyer or car dealership, but the lawyer testified that he did expect Carl in his office on the afternoon of the January 8th. In Montana, Carl planned to visit an acquaintance. This man testified that he had not heard from Carl since 1971, no longer owned the property on which Carl had hunted, and would not have loaned him money. 23 Carl called Chris on the morning of January 8th only to learn of Elizabeth's death. He returned home and met with the police. His statement was somewhat vague regarding his actions prior to leaving the house, but was quite specific about his trip after leaving Chris'. Carl also testified that when he found the suicide note in October 1991, he dated it January 7, 1990, because that was the date of Elizabeth's death. 24 Terry Price, Carl's cellmate, testified that Carl told him the fire was set with lighter fluid, but that he left for Montana the day before the fire and was hunting when the fire started. Carl allegedly told Price he went to Montana to hunt and raise money, and that the alarm and smoke detectors were not working. Price also overheard Carl talking on the phone to someone about Chris, saying I told him to keep his mouth shut. Price testified that Carl said he dated the suicide note January 7, 1990 because the insurance companies would not pay off otherwise; presumably Carl believed that the note should be dated, and that the date of death was most likely to promote payment by the insurers. 25 A business associate of the Veltmanns testified that Carl once suggested to him that he simply burn down a problem piece of property, and that Carl explained to him how to set the fire, while cautioning him to establish a good alibi. The jury also heard about previous fires on property owned by defendants. In the early 1970's, a vacant house owned by Elizabeth and Carl was destroyed in a fire. In 1985, the cottage owned by the Veltmanns on property adjacent to the residence that is the subject of this case was also destroyed by fire. 14 The cottage was rented to a former housekeeper of the Veltmanns who claimed that the Veltmanns caused the fire. Neither of these fires resulted in charges being filed against any of the Veltmanns. 26 Carl denied having anything to do with the arson to his residence and with the death of his wife. Both defendants were convicted on all counts and sentenced to life in prison.