The man accused of killing his psychiatrist returned to the courtroom Wednesday, after a day of watching his trial from a holding cell.
LORI PILGER AND CORY MATTESON / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, January 7, 2009 12:00 am
The man accused of killing his psychiatrist returned to the courtroom Wednesday, after a day of watching his trial from a holding cell.
Eric F. Lewis made a commitment to listen to the witnesses.
“But when it’s my turn I have made a commitment to speak,” he said.
Lewis is charged with second-degree murder for the death of Dr. Louis Martin, who died 10 days after Lewis struck him twice in the face in a second-floor secured unit at the Lincoln Regional Center in 2007.
Deputy County Attorney Andy Jacobsen gave details of the attack in his opening statement Tuesday. On Wednesday, jurors heard from regional center security staff who saw it for themselves.
Jeff Polage said he saw Lewis walk toward a water fountain near the door leading from the second floor as Martin came in on July 23, 2007. Lewis had been sitting at a table near the door. Polage watched Lewis, thinking he might try to escape.
Polage stood up to show how Lewis lunged to his right before he hit Martin in the middle of his face twice.
“It came out of nowhere.”
Martin seemed stunned by the first punch, he said. After the second, he fell back against the wall and slumped to the floor, unconscious and bleeding.
When Polage went to Martin to try to help, the doctor was choking on blood, so he rolled him on his side.
After another worker took over with Martin, Polage helped to take Lewis to a seclusion room to put him in full-bed restraints. As Lewis walked to the room, Polage said he heard him say, “I told him I was going to get him, and I did.”
Ten days later, Martin died as a result of blunt force trauma that caused bruising on his brain and a fractured skull.
Polage said Martin hadn’t used a buzzer that day meant to let staff know he was coming up the stairs. It was supposed to happen, but didn’t always. Doctors do now.
Lewis’ attorney, Stuart Mills, asked Polage if part of his job is to provide security for staff as well as patients. It is, Polage said.
His co-worker, Kristin Gannon, said when Lewis got up to approach the door she didn’t make any verbal commands to get him to sit back down.
“He didn’t present any immediate danger or harm,” she said.
On Tuesday, Mills said during opening statements that Lewis had no way of knowing Martin was the person opening the door, and told jurors his client should not be facing second-degree murder charges.
Lonnie Higgins, a security staff member, said he heard another staff member sitting in the office near the second-floor door say that Martin was coming upstairs minutes before the door opened. It could be heard from where Higgins was sitting, monitoring the patients’ bathroom, he said, and from where Lewis was sitting, at a table nearest the door.
But Rhonda Chubbuck, who was the only security staff member working in the office, testified later Wednesday that she was unaware Martin was coming.
Mills asked Chubbuck if it would be wrong to say she’d said he was coming upstairs prior to his arrival.
“Yes,” Chubbuck said. “That would be untrue.”
Reach Lori Pilger at 473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com. Reach Cory Matteson at 473-7438 or cmatteson@journalstar.com.