Shantel Witt manslaughter, DUII trial begins

(Update: Trial begins; opening statements, initial witnesses)

The closely watched trial of a Bend woman accused of manslaughter and DUII for striking and killing a bicyclist east of Bend in late 2017 began Tuesday, with prosecutors painting a picture of a woman with nearly a dozen drugs in her system and whose words and actions afterward showed her “only concern was for herself.”

Defense lawyers tried to paint a different picture of Shantel Lynn Witt — of a woman in shock and grief-stricken about what had happened, urging the judge to find the “reckless” crash warranted a charge of second-degree, not first-degree manslaughter.

Authorities said blood tests showed Witt had nearly a dozen different drugs in her system — including a sedative, Xanax, prescribed to her dog, Lola — when her pickup crossed the center line of Dodds Road on Dec. 30, 2017, and struck Bend dentist Marika Stone, one of three cyclists on a ride that day.

The case is being heard by Deschutes County Circuit Judge Michael Adler after Witt waived her right to a jury trial during a motions hearing Monday.

Deputy District Attorney Kari Hathorn noted in her opening statement that Witt had one previous DUII, involving alcohol, before the deadly crash and had recalled a victim impact panel she went through earlier in talking with authorities after the fatal crash.

Hathorn said Stone, a mother of two with her own dental practice, was riding with Bruce Rogers and Carrie Carney that day, single-file on Dodds Road, on a trip from Prineville.

She said Witt never slowed or stopped, continuing some 300 feet off the road before returning to the road. The prosecutor said Witt told the first civilian witness to arrive on the scene (and, testimony showed, others as well) that “****ing cyclists are always in the road.”

Using a slide presentation, Hathorn listed the various drugs the blood and urine tests found, and noted five drugs were found in the pickup, two of which had no prescription.

She noted that manslaughter is defined as showing “extreme indifference to the value of human life,” and that her various statements — in the patrol car, when she said, she had done nothing wrong and asked if her truck was going home with her — as well as her lack of remorse showed she only had concern for herself.

Carney, the first witness called by prosecutors, described in stark detail the gruesome aftermath of the crash. She also said Witt never asked if she was OK and recalled how Witt seemed unbalanced and couldn’t stand up right.

Rogers, like Carney, said the three of them were riding single-file and that Witt’s pickup never slowed down before or after the crash.

Defense lawyer Shawn Kollie, however, called it “a tragic, tragic accident” and claimed there was no evidence previously that day of Witt’s poor driving. Kollie said Witt traveled straight at a curve on the road, and afterward got out, tried to render aid and tried to put a blanket on Stone. She called a friend in shock, her eyes red and crying.

“Oh my God, I’m a murderer,” he quoted Witt as telling the friend, “in a complete state of shock.”

Kollie said it was a case of recklessness, which would mean a charge of second-degree manslaughter, not first-degree.

Adler on Monday rejected a defense motion to delay Tuesday’s start of the trial, expected to take eight days.

Last month, Adler refused to exclude the results of Witt’s blood draws from the trial.

The defense had requested the new delay in part due to new evidence: that a third drug bottle found in Witt’s car contained alprazolam, a sedative sold under various names, including Xanax, that is used to treat anxiety and panic disorder, and was prescribed to Witt’s dog by a veterinarian.

While preparing for the trial, defense lawyers said they submitted veterinary records detailing prescriptions for the dog, Lola.

When prosecutors received the evidence, they realized there was a third pill bottle in the vehicle. Over the weekend, prosecutors executed a search warrant and found the bottle in Witt’s truck, taking it into evidence.

Prosecutors said there were nine pills in the bottle, out of a prescription of 20. The judge asked if excluding the evidence would mean the defense would say they are ready to go to trial, and the attorneys said no.

Adler referred to a statute related to evidence and ruled the vet’s prescription for Witt’s dog can’t be submitted as evidence.