HOERIG TRIAL: Jurors dismissed, deliberations to begin Thursday morning

4:30 p.m.

WARREN

After his assistant prosecutor and a defense attorney gave closing arguments, Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins gave jurors the final closing arguments in the Claudia Hoerig aggravated murder trial.

When he was finished about 4:10 p.m., the judge dismissed the jurors for the day and told them to return at 9 a.m. Thursday to hear jury instructions and begin to deliberate.

Watkins relied heavily on forensic evidence provided during the trial for his conclusions that Claudia killed her husband, Karl, with prior calculation and design.

But he also stressed that Claudia's story of Karl encountering her near the top of the steps while she was holding a gun, struggling with her, then turning his back and walking down the stairs makes no sense.

"He is going to disarm her," Watkins said, explaining that is the reason he believed his killing was an "ambush."

Jurors will be given instructions that they can consider two lesser offenses than the aggravated murder charge in her indictment. One is murder and the other is voluntary manslaughter.

2:35 p.m.

WARREN

After a 50-minute cross examination of Claudia Hoerig by assistant Prosecutor Chris Becker this afternoon in her aggravated murder case, the defense has rested its case without calling any other witnesses.

Judge Andrew Logan, who is presiding over the trial, said the trial would resume a little after 2:45 p.m. and that closing arguments will be given today.

Claudia's questioning by Becker was contentious at times, when Claudia tried to give longer answers instead of "yes" and "no," and Becker demanded that she just give one-word answers.

Most of the questions in the cross examination were whether Claudia was upset about various things she brought up during her testimony yesterday at the time she killed Karl March 12, 2007, like the lost pregnancies and being required to walk around the house naked.

She answer no to most of the questions. It's not clear why all of those questions were asked.

Becker also asked whether Karl Hoerig, the husband she's accused of killing, is able to testify at this trial. Claudia said "Yes, he can."

She explained that she meant that she made recordings of everything that happened during the time she and Karl were together because she wore a recording device on her arm. She said the recordings are on a device at the Trumbull County jail.

No such recordings were introduced into evidence or played during the trial.

She said she recorded what happened on the day she killed Karl, but she erased the recording and it's in Brazil.

She said she started recording everything because of the bad things that happened during her earlier marriage in New York City.

Eventually, she agreed that Karl cannot testify and answer questions because he is deceased.

The trial got off to a late start today because Claudia was taken from the Trumbull County jail at around 8:15 a.m. today, apparently for heart problems. She displayed no indication of having any medical problems during her testimony this afternoon.

1 p.m.

WARREN

Claudia Hoerig has taken the witness stand for cross examination in her aggravated murder case. Her testimony was delayed by Claudia's hospitalization at around 8:15 a.m. today.

Chris Becker, assistant county prosecutor, is asking handling the questioning, asking her about the nearly 11 years she spent in Brazil after her husband's death and whether she was able to live her life and spend time with her family while there.

She said she barely saw her family in Brazil.

Major Dan Mason of the Trumbull County jail said the jail physician, Dr. Philip Malvasi sent her to the hospital to be checked out following indications of an issue with her "heartbeat."

Mason said, "It doesn't appear to be serious at this point. It's just a precaution."

An ambulance with lights and siren and two cruisers from the sheriff's office left the back entrance to the jail at about 8:15 a.m. heading east along East Market Street, in the direction of Warren's two hospitals.

Claudia was due to be cross examined at 9 a.m. after giving dramatic testimony Tuesday afternoon, explaining why she killed her husband, Karl, in 2007.

Claudia said Tuesday Karl was controlling, picking out the clothes she wore. For one party, he picked out a white, silk, see through outfit with high-heeled shoes.

"It was sleek, it was very sexy. I felt like a hooker but he gave me instructions," she said. "I did exactly what he told me to do," even though the outfit made her "extremely embarrassed" because she was a "conservative" person.

It was one of many references to her being obedient to Karl, despite hours of testimony about his requirements of her: At home at night, "I had to walk around in heels, no clothes, naked" and sit at his feet watching television even though she wanted to sleep.

She said he plotted to make her lose one or more pregnancies by depriving her of sleep, "mental torture," and stressing her. Their 21-month marriage was rocky, and she described them both as having mental health issues.

"He did not treat me like a human being," she said.

She would not engage in the type of sexual fantasies she says Karl wanted, like group sex, but "I wanted to make him happy," she said.

When Karl started to show signs of mental illness, including what could be described as post-traumatic stress disorder, she said she "had to be his therapist."

"I thought I ... could fix him or help him overcome his psychological issues and sexual issues," she said, noting she "had an aspiration of being a psychologist."

Instead of leaving Karl, she chose suicide, she said. On Feb. 7, 2007, less than a month before Karl's death, she took pills and passed out at the wheel of her car, crashing into a ditch." A detective confirmed that the incident occurred.

She testified that after that incident, Karl's family encouraged her to stand up to Karl and dress in ways that made her happy.

Throughout three hours of testimony Tuesday, many members of Karl's family were in attendance, including his adult son and daughter, Brent and Eva. When it ended, the two were collapsed into each other on the same bench with their mother, silent.

Eva denied Claudia's abuse allegations against Karl last March, saying it was "miserable to watch her justify [killing her father] with lies."

None of the Hoerigs have testified at the trial. Karl's first wife, Rhonda, declined to comment when asked by The Vindicator early in the trial whether defense attorney remarks about Karl in opening statements were accurate. Judge Andrew Logan imposed a gag order in the case nearly a year ago.

As for forensic testimony last week indicating Karl was shot twice at the bottom of the stairs, Claudia insisted Tuesday she shot Karl once near the top of the stairs. She said it killed him immediately. But she added, "In picking my brain, I saw myself going down the stairs and shooting again."

Karl's autopsy indicated he suffered a fatal gunshot wound of the back and one to the head. Forensic pathologist Dr. Joseph Felo testified Karl had three gunshot wounds. The killer fired both fatal shots from the bottom of the stairs, he testified.