Opinion ID: 1233834
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: McNeill's Testimony.

Text: McNeill testified that sometime in the late hours of August 24 or early hours of August 25, 2002, he went over to Stark's house. He and Stark drank beer, smoked marijuana, and played pool. The two men then left the house in Stark's vehicle to get more beer and stopped at Fortune's house. McNeill stated that once they arrived at Fortune's house, he and Stark drove around the block and down an alley. Stark parked the vehicle and went to the door to knock. When nobody answered the door, Stark went around to the steps at the side of the house. Stark climbed the steps, while McNeill stood below. Stark and McNeill returned to the vehicle and drove to a gas station around the corner where Stark used the telephone to call Fortune's house. The two men drove back around to Fortune's house; McNeill got out and stood by the vehicle, while Stark went up to the house to look in a window. When Stark returned, the two men got in the vehicle and drove away. McNeill testified that he and Stark returned to Stark's house for another game of pool, more beer, and more marijuana. McNeill went upstairs and shot a bag [of heroin] up. When McNeill came back downstairs, Stark indicated that Fortune had called and was coming over to the house. Fortune arrived, and the three of them drank beer and smoked marijuana outside on the patio. The group then moved inside to the basement, where they played pool and continued drinking and smoking marijuana. McNeill testified that he and Stark ended up in the laundry room, where Stark said that he wanted to kill Fortune, and picked up a hammer from a toolbox sitting behind him and handed it to McNeill. McNeill placed the hammer in the back of his pants, and the two men left the laundry room. McNeill testified that Stark nodded toward Fortune, at which point McNeill pulled out the hammer and hit Fortune in the head. McNeill testified that the hammer left his hands but could not recall if he threw the hammer or dropped it. Fortune was on her hands and knees, gripping her head, when Stark came over and hit her with the hammer in the same spot. Fortune fell to the floor, and Stark hit her two more times. McNeill testified that Fortune began making noises, took a deep breath, and stopped moving. McNeill explained that Stark wrapped the hammer in a T-shirt and retrieved two pairs of gloves from the laundry room. McNeill picked up Fortune and carried her to the garage; Stark tied a bag over her head to contain the blood. The men placed the body on a tarpaulin in the back of Stark's vehicle. Stark gave McNeill the keys to Fortune's car and instructed McNeill to meet him at a carwash. The men left Fortune's car parked at the carwash and drove for approximately 30 minutes before dumping Fortune's body on the side of the road. McNeill and Stark returned to Stark's house, stopping on the way at a carwash to wash the exterior and part of the interior of the vehicle. Back at Stark's home, McNeill and Stark used buckets of Oxi-Clean to clean up the blood in the basement and placed the rags used to clean, and other bloodstained items, in a trash bag along with their clothing and the bath towels they used after showering. The men took the trash bag outside to Stark's backyard and buried it, covered it with cement, and placed Stark's doghouse on top of it. After cleaning up the basement, McNeill and Stark smoked marijuana. Stark then received a call from his wife in Harlan, Iowa, asking him to bring something to her. Stark left for Harlan, and McNeill went home.