Opinion ID: 1855479
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: statements made by kula after april 15

Text: The day after Carlson was murdered, Kula brought up the subject of Carlson's death to Rose and said that he was upset with Carlson about some of the teasing that Carlson did at work. Rose also testified that Kula said something about having a blackout the night that Carlson was murdered. Rose had never heard of Kula having blackouts. Rose never asked Kula if he took any guns with him when he left the house in the minivan. Rose also stated that Kula said that it was a coincidence that he was going to go with the intent to do bodily harm to Carlson and that Carlson was killed. Rose stated that both she and Kula had known Carlson for years. Kula had worked with Carlson at Watts Electric in Osceola for approximately 6 or 7 weeks, a job Kula had quit before Carlson was murdered. As of April 15, Kula had been employed with Grosch Irrigation for approximately 1 month. Rose also stated that her husband had said that Carlson was okay, but that he had also indicated that he did not care for Carlson because Carlson liked to tease people. She said that it was possible that he had said this within 1 month of the date of Carlson's murder. Kula was interviewed by Investigator William J. Mach of the Nebraska State Patrol on November 16, 1994. Kula admitted that he and Travis saw Carlson and Cuba walking the night that Carlson was murdered and that he grabbed the steering wheel and swerved toward them as a joke. Kula told Mach that after Travis drove him home, he went into the house to check for more beer and then went back to town and bought a couple of sodas. He drove around for approximately 15 minutes, then went home to find the family gone. He stated that the youngest boy had recurring health problems, so he thought perhaps they had taken him to the doctor. He waited a bit, then called two of his wife's sisters and her mother to try and find Rose, but was unable to, so he went to sleep. The next morning, he went and picked up his last paycheck from Watts Electric and learned of Carlson's murder. Kula also admitted that he was tearing around some with the minivan and that that was not unusual after he had been drinking. He stated that he did not have any guns with him that night and that all the guns he had were in the house and not in the garage. Kula admitted to having alcohol-induced blackouts. He did not remember why he went into his garage that night. The jury also heard that Kula stated during the interview that he did not think he had anything to do with Carlson's death, but there's a part of a percent where I know I blacked out and, you know, just kinda worried about that. Unbeknownst to the jury, this statement was made in the context of refusing repeated requests to take a polygraph examination.