Rage at issue in killing at Kaena
On the night of Oct. 7, 2005, Spc. Felicia LaDuke was at her friend's house getting ready to go to a nightclub when she received a call from Spc. Jeffery White.
White, who was romantically involved with LaDuke, told her they needed to talk about some personal issues. Both headed up to Kaena Point in LaDuke's rental car.
"On that ride, she never returned," Capt. David Clark, an attorney representing the U.S. government, said during opening statements at White's first day of court martial proceedings for allegedly killing LaDuke.
Presiding Judge Col. Deborah Boudreau and a seven-member jury at Wheeler Army Airfield heard testimony from both sides yesterday. The court-martial is expected to take two weeks before a verdict is reached. White faces either life in prison or life with an eligibility of parole in 20 years if found guilty.
On Nov. 5, 2005, White was charged under Article 118 for premeditated murder involving LaDuke, a motor transport operator with the 25th Transportation Company, 524th Combat Support Battalion.
Prosecutors allege that White, a truck driver with the 325th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade, had planned to kill LaDuke. Her defense attorneys said her death was a result of a "fit of rage."
LaDuke and White were involved in a custody battle over their son, Elijah, who was 20 months old at the time LaDuke was murdered. White is married and has another child with his wife, Angela.
LaDuke's father, Steve, stepmother, Donna LaDuke, and stepsister, Amanda Glass, were seated in the courtroom yesterday as Clark told jury members that White killed her because he was fed up with her.
"He decided he was going to do it, and followed through, and that's what he confessed," he said.
On the night of Oct. 7, Clark said White was playing pool with a friend and frustrated over the court battle with LaDuke over custody of Elijah. "It was then he decided to follow through," he said.
At about 10 p.m., White called LaDuke and both headed to Kaena Point. At one point, Clark said he asked her to stop the car to go to the bathroom. When she pulled over, White allegedly jumped on her and strangled her. Then LaDuke was taken out of the vehicle, with White driving over her body more than once.
Police officer Russell Pereira of the Wahiawa Substation testified he found her body covered with tall grass and shrubbery following a telephone tip about the case.
Paperwork was found scattered near the crime scene, including LaDuke's car insurance slip, registration card and safety inspection receipt. Also found were documents on parenting, a baby shower card addressed to LaDuke and paperwork involving court proceedings.
Officer Pereira said one of White's friends had told police that he had gone to Kaena Point with White during the early morning hours of Oct. 8, and that White had showed him where he dumped LaDuke's body.
White's attorney, Maj. John Hyatt, said there is no DNA evidence linking White to LaDuke's death, and that there were problems during the investigation, noting that police had found more evidence at the crime scene after the initial investigation was completed. Hyatt said White acted in a fit of rage, not premeditation.
"He was confronted with stressful and an unbalanced set of circumstances," Hyatt said.
White is being held at the Navy brig on Ford Island.