The fate of a man charged in a murder-for-hire plot will come down to who jurors believe: a federal agent posing as the hit man or the defendant himself.
Clark County jurors received the case of Donald R. Babcock late Wednesday afternoon, but were sent home at 6 p.m. after being unable to reach a verdict. They will return this morning to continue deliberations.
They must decide whether Babcock, 54, of Klickitat County is guilty of conspiracy and solicitation to commit first-degree murder and felony harassment relating to allegations he hired a hit man — who was actually a federal agent — in early 2009.
A prosecutor says Babcock was clear to the “hit man” that he wanted the father of his child molestation victim, Harley Turner, dead. And he would pay him in drugs for the dirty work.
A defense attorney contends the whole thing is a complete misunderstanding, noting all the men’s conversations at the Klickitat County Jail were in coded language and never outright talks of a murder plot. Babcock thought the man merely wanted to help him out with his criminal case.
Paper trail
In closing arguments Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General John Hillman said the circumstances surrounding the meetings left no doubt as to Babcock’s intent.
Since the men communicated in the jail visiting room by holding written notes up to the glass window, there was a paper trail, Hillman said. In one note, Special Agent Eric Floyd of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives wrote: “You want him done?” and Babcock wrote back “10-4.” In another note, Floyd wrote: “When I leave here, we have a deal: Harley’s dead.”
But defense attorney Michael Fitzsimons said that Babcock thought they were talking about the agent helping him track down Turner to ensure he would testify in the child molestation trial. Babcock had won an appeal and was awaiting a new trial and wanted his attorney to cross-examine the father.
Babcock thought “done” meant he would find Turner, and he was confused when Floyd mentioned a killing, Fitzsimons said.
At that argument, Hillman scoffed. “I think we all know from our common sense and the facts of this trial that he was asking, ‘Do you want me to kill Harley Turner?’”
And about Babcock’s story that he wanted Turner to testify in his trial, Hillman said: “We know that’s not true because it makes no sense.” Turner was not on his side in the molestation case, he said, but instead would have testified against him.
In picking apart the case, the defense also raised questions about the agent’s inability to record the jail conversations. Since Floyd’s audio and video equipment failed during two of the jail visits, the conversations weren’t captured. The agent did, however, capture video of one of the interviews, which showed Babcock holding notes up to the window to communicate with Floyd. The writing can’t be deciphered and Babcock’s notes have been destroyed, so Fitzsimons contends there’s no way to know what Babcock said.
“Nowhere in the video is there an overt threat by Mr. Babcock to kill anyone or have anyone killed,” Fitzsimons said. “It’s not clear what this deal is.”
But Hillman said to think anything else is ridiculous.
“There is no misunderstanding what the defendant wants him to do, and that is to kill Harley Turner,” he said. “Do you believe someone would pay two pounds of meth to someone just to have them bring a witness to trial? Or is it more sinister? The answer is yes.”
Babcock’s three-day trial in Clark County Superior Court Judge John Nichols’ courtroom was moved here after the only judge in Klickitat County recused himself because Babcock had allegedly threatened him.
Laura McVicker: 360-735-4516 or laura.mcvicker@columbian.com.
