Opinion ID: 2222135
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: cook's version

Text: Cook testified in his own defense. He testified that while they were at the bar, he drank two shots provided by Hornbacher. One was a shot of GHB, a substance sometimes called the date rape drug, which acts as a sedative, diminishing inhibitions and blotting out memory. Cook was drunk at the time Hornbacher gave him the GHB and did not take it intentionally. When he and Hornbacher left McCormack's, Cook saw Hornbacher get into a car with some other people. Cook decided to follow them in his truck because he had told Childs that Hornbacher could stay at Cook's apartment. The other people took Hornbacher to Hornbacher's apartment. Cook saw Hornbacher at his apartment door, fumbling for his keys. Cook pulled up and told Hornbacher he had left his keys in Cook's truck. Hornbacher got into Cook's truck, and the two decided to go to a bar in Fremont that featured female strippers. Cook thought the bar might still be open. While driving toward Fremont on Highway 275, Cook encountered Stahlecker and the disabled Ford Explorer. Cook decided to stop to help her, despite Hornbacher's protests. Cook tried to change the tire but decided he could not because the rim was bent. He could not call for help because his cellular telephone did not work, and he could not find Hornbacher's cellular telephone, which had fallen beneath the seat. Cook decided they should look for an open service station to get help. Stahlecker got into the front seat with Cook, and Hornbacher got into the back seat, where he passed out or fell asleep. Cook drove toward Omaha on West Maple Road. They found no open service station, and Stahlecker suggested they return to the Explorer. Neither Cook nor Stahlecker was certain where the Explorer was, and they had trouble finding it. Cook suggested that they just chill out, since they were both drunk, and he pulled into an off-road area on West Maple Road. He and Stahlecker laughed, talked, and listened to the radio while Hornbacher was passed out or sleeping in the back seat. Cook offered to give Stahlecker a back rub, and she agreed. Cook testified that they were soon engaged in sexual foreplay and began undressing. They then engaged in what Cook described as consensual sexual intercourse in the front passenger seat. As they were dressing, Cook told Stahlecker he would like to see her again and he gave her one of his business cards so she could give him her telephone number. She wrote Amie and a Fremont telephone number on the card and gave it back to him. At that time, Hornbacher spoke up from the back seat. Neither Cook nor Stahlecker had realized he was awake. Hornbacher forcefully demanded that Stahlecker perform oral sex on him. She refused, and Hornbacher began to argue with her. The argument escalated despite Cook's attempts to calm Hornbacher, and Hornbacher reached over the seat to grab Stahlecker's shoulder. She pulled away, opened the passenger-side door, and walked up to West Maple Road. Cook got out of the truck, intending to either give Stahlecker her keys or offer her a ride home. He then heard two gunshots and turned to see Hornbacher leaning out of the driver's side window with Cook's gun in his hand, shooting at Stahlecker. Cook began to run toward Stahlecker. Because it was dark, he did not see the median on West Maple Road, and he ran into the median and tripped, scraping his arms and hands. Cook heard the truck accelerating behind him and saw Hornbacher drive the truck up onto West Maple Road. When Hornbacher caught up to Stahlecker, he parked the truck, jumped out of it with the gun, and followed her. Cook saw Hornbacher shoot Stahlecker in the back of the head from a distance of about 10 feet. Stahlecker collapsed. Hornbacher approached her, and when he was within 5 feet, Hornbacher shot her twice in the face. Cook ran to Stahlecker and checked for a pulse. Finding no pulse, he realized she was dead. Cook asked Hornbacher why he had killed her. Hornbacher did not reply but instead told him to get her off the road. Because Hornbacher still had the gun and Cook feared for his own safety, he did as Hornbacher directed. Together they dragged Stahlecker's body across the road and shoved it off the bridge. Cook saw Hornbacher pick up Stahlecker's keys, which Cook had dropped. Cook and Hornbacher got into the truck to return to Omaha. They were driving east on Dodge Street back into Omaha, and when they approached a bridge over the Elkhorn River, Hornbacher told Cook to slow down. As they were driving over the bridge, Hornbacher threw Stahlecker's keys into the river. Cook speculated that Hornbacher might also have thrown Cook's gun into the river, because Cook did not know where it was. The two continued into Omaha and argued about what to do next. Cook testified that Hornbacher threatened that if he said anything about Stahlecker's death, Cook would go down, too. Cook dropped Hornbacher off at Hornbacher's apartment at about 3:30 a.m. and told him they should talk after they sobered up. Hornbacher took the gun's ammunition and clip with him. On his way home, Cook stopped at a carwash where he washed blood off the seats and vacuumed the interior of the truck. He arrived home about 4:30 a.m. He undressed and washed the scrapes on his hands and arms and applied antibiotic ointment before going to bed. Cook's wife, Jeanette, was awake, and he showed her his injuries. He told her he had been in a fight but that if anyone asked her, she should say he was injured falling off his bicycle. Cook slept until about 7 a.m., when he awoke and began routine Saturday morning chores. He washed a load of laundry, including the clothes he had worn the night before. Cook drove to Standing Bear Lake, where he rode his bicycle on the trails. Before long, he fell off the bicycle and landed on his arms and hands. Cook returned home around 10 a.m. Jeanette was sleeping but their daughter was awake, and he gave her breakfast. Jeanette awoke around 12:30 p.m. and was angry with Cook for going out the night before. She left to go study. After Jeanette left, Hornbacher called Cook. The two decided to meet at Hornbacher's apartment, and Cook picked him up at about 1:30 p.m. At trial, Cook attempted to give testimony regarding his version of their conversation in the truck. However, the court sustained the State's hearsay objections, and Cook made no offer of proof of the testimony he would have given regarding the conversation.