Opinion ID: 1711609
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: residual hearsay statements

Text: The State called a number of witnesses who testified that Oster had told them of threats that McBride had made against her in the last several months of her life. Nancy Ann Ziegelbauer-Snider testified, first out of the presence of the jury, that in June 1994, she had talked to Oster, who told her that she was afraid McBride was going to kill her. Oster told Ziegelbauer-Snider that one day while she was walking to her job, McBride rode up to her on his motorcycle, pointed an imaginary gun at her, and pretended to shoot her with it. McBride objected to the testimony as hearsay, but the trial court, having already been briefed on this issue, admitted the evidence under the residual hearsay rule. Ziegelbauer-Snider testified before the jury that in June 1994, Oster told her of the threat described earlier. Ziegelbauer-Snider stated that Oster left her job in Hastings because McBride knew where she worked and she was afraid. Rita Rodgers also testified that she had talked with Oster about McBride's threat in November 1994. Oster told her that after this happened, she left her job and stayed a week in Superior, Nebraska, until she was calm enough to return to Hastings. Susan Pettit also talked to Oster about McBride's threats around Thanksgiving of 1994. Pettit described the same sort of simulated-gun threat that the other witnesses described. Sharla Oster, the victim's daughter, testified that her mother told her about the threat that McBride had made against her. Tammy Jo Parkhurst, Oster's former boss, testified that Oster simply stopped reporting for work in June 1994 and never called or came back. Leslie Dana, Oster's direct supervisor, testified that around February 1994, Oster expressed fear that McBride would come into her place of employment and cause a problem. Tammy Booth, Oster's supervisor at her previous job, testified that Oster frequently requested to change shifts because she was afraid an ex-boyfriend would know her routine. Robert Brophy, who had known McBride and Oster for many years, testified that he encountered McBride a few months before Oster's death. At that time, McBride told Brophy that he was on foot because he had sold his motorcycle for legal fees. Brophy stated that McBride appeared depressed about selling his motorcycle. During their conversation, McBride also mentioned that he had been kicked out of the High Plains Drifters Motorcycle Club and that he had bought a knife. McBride further told Brophy that someday he was going to get even with Oster, or words to that effect.