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Case goes to jury Deliberations over fate of Rodriguez set to begin By DAVE KOLPACK Associated Press Writer FARGO, N.D. - Dru Sjodin fought for her life and left "unmistakable" evidence pointing to Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. as the man responsible for her death, U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley told jurors deciding Rodriguez's fate. Rodriguez's attorney said the government failed to prove its kidnapping case.
Rodriguez, 53, a convicted sex offender from Crookston, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of kidnapping resulting in the death of the University of North Dakota student. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if he's convicted.
The federal court jury of seven women and five men got the case shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday and adjourned about an hour later without reaching a verdict. U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson told them to choose a leader and set their own schedule for deliberations. They were to resume at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Sjodin, 22, of Pequot Lakes, was abducted from the parking lot of a Grand Forks shopping mall on Nov. 22, 2003. Her body was found the following April in a ravine near Crookston.
Rodriguez's attorney, Robert Hoy, said a medical examiner called by prosecutors as a witness could not say for certain where Sjodin died, when she died, or the cause of her death.
"They don't know," Hoy told jurors. "The only guy they put on the stand who talked about it does not know."
In his closing arguments Tuesday, Wrigley told jurors that blood found in Rodriguez's car matched Sjodin's DNA, and it was found in a mist pattern, indicating Sjodin fought her attacker and was beaten.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Dru Sjodin battled him every step of the way, and she left us unmistakable messages," Wrigley said.
"She's right here," he said, pointing to Sjodin's clothing introduced as evidence in court. "She's right here with all of us today. You can feel her strength."
Hoy said Wrigley's comments played to jurors' emotions and belonged "in some evangelical tent some place." A couple of jurors fought back tears after Wrigley's speech.
Wrigley said fibers from Rodriguez's blanket found on Sjodin's clothing and fibers from her clothing in his car were compelling evidence. He also said Rodriguez lied about his whereabouts on the day Sjodin disappeared.
"His stories sprung leak after leak after leak," Wrigley said.
Defense attorneys claim the case should not have been brought in federal court. Hoy closed by telling jurors that it's possible to file charges in state court.
The case is the first capital punishment case in North Dakota in more than 100 years. The state does not have the death penalty, but it's allowed in federal court.
Rodriguez did not take the stand in his own defense and his attorneys called only one witness: George Sensabaugh Jr., a forensic science professor from California who said tests for sexual assault were not reliable.
Under questioning from Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Reisenauer, Sensabaugh said he knew few details about the case and based his testimony on information from the autopsy and lab work.
Hoy asked Erickson to acquit Rodriguez, saying prosecutors did not prove Sjodin was alive when she was taken from the Grand Forks parking lot. Erickson denied the motion.
The judge said the condition in which Sjodin's car was found - with the driver's door locked, a shopping bag in the back seat, the passenger door unlocked and her wallet in the front seat indicate the possibility that "the victim was transported against her will within the lot itself."
Prosecutors called 52 witnesses in the case.
Hoy suggested Sjodin suffocated after the bag was placed over her head, and that the bag was used to try to prevent her from identifying her attacker and not to kill her. He also said it did not make sense that her pants and shoes were found away from her body.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Norm Anderson said the defense theory was unrealistic.
"Where's the evidence to support Mr. Hoy's possible scenarios? There is none," he said.
Hoy said that if Sjodin were forced into the car for the purpose of sexual assault it could not be considered kidnapping. Anderson said Hoy distorted the meeting of the law.
Erickson denied a motion by defense attorney Richard Ney to declare a mistrial over one of Anderson's comments after a series of defense objections. Ney complained that Anderson erred by telling jurors Sjodin could not have been raped in the parking lot.
"This is not an accidental statement by the prosecution," Ney said.
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