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Coble trial update: Relative disrupts proceedings
Emotions ran high this morning during the punishment retrial of Billie Wayne Coble when a witness glared at Coble and called him “evil” in an outburst before taking the stand.
Defense attorney Alex Calhoun slammed his hand down on the counsel table and strenuously objected to the outburst, calling it prejudicial to his client and asking Judge Matt Johnson for a mistrial. Johnson denied the request.
Coble, 59, is being retried in 54th State District Court to determine whether he should return to death row for the murders of Robert and Zelda Vicha and their son, Waco police Sgt. Bobby Vicha, on Aug. 29, 1989. His death sentence was overturned by a federal appeals court and a new punishment trial was ordered.
The woman, a relative of Coble, apologized for her outburst. During testimony, she said she was 16 when Coble offered her a job at the Circle Drive-In that he was managing.
She said Coble would drive her to and from work, but about three weeks into the job, he took her to his house and raped her. Coble would have been about 30 at the time.
The woman said she never told anyone about the rape except her sister four years later. She did not testify at Coble’s previous murder trial.
Earlier today, jurors heard from a psychiatrist who evaluated Coble when he was 15.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: Courthouse, Headlines, Police & crime
Comments
By manalive
August 28, 2008 4:25 PM | Link to this
have they ever said why the death penalty was overturned on appeal? This guy does not appear to have any redeeming qualities…
By unknown
August 28, 2008 5:44 PM | Link to this
I was a teenager when Coble was married to a friend’s sister. All I remember is that he was evil then and I was thrilled when she was able to get away from that marriage! If a death sentence for a triple murder conviction can be disputed, what’s going to happen with the rest of the death row convictions? Will they all be retried? What a waste of time and money. The Vicha’s and other ex’s have to live with deaths he caused, along with living with the memories of the near deaths he tried to cause and is still capable of causing!
By Dragonslayer
August 28, 2008 6:03 PM | Link to this
Our court system has so many flaws in it, it’s almost a JOKE, why on earth would any judge in his right mind grant a convicted killer like this a retrial, we need to do away with the lethal injection we have and go back to offering the convicted killers the choice of the firing squad or hanging, and do it within 30 days of their conviction and sentence being set! This is the only way we are going to curb some of the senseless killings and empty the death row cells!
By Fred
August 28, 2008 10:43 PM | Link to this
I blame our sorry Criminal Justice System for putting the Vicha family through this Hell. May Coble suffer for his crimes.