BEMIDJI, Minn. -- In opening statements Tuesday, attorneys for a Bemidji man charged with felony murder admitted his guilt while maintaining he never intended for the alleged victim to die.
Brian Keith Jourdain, 26, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder -- one with and one without intent -- in connection with the February 2015 death of Krista Marie Fisherman, 35, of Redby, Minn. Jourdain's trial began Monday.
Jourdain's attorney, public defender John Schmid, presented the court with a story of a fraught romantic relationship between his client and Fisherman. Schmid told the jury that just days before Fisherman's death, the result of blood loss caused by stab wounds, according to a criminal complaint, the couple got matching tattoos. The next day, Schmid said, the couple had an intense argument, during which Fisherman was removed from Jourdain's apartment, but the two were quickly back together.
"This kind of hot-one-minute, cold-the-next crazed relationship was the norm," Schmid said.
Schmid added that the fact that Fisherman had stab wounds on her legs and hands but not to her chest, abdomen, head or neck indicated that Jourdain did not intend to kill her.
"He was mad at her, he was irritated, but he never meant to kill her," Schmid said, adding, "Mr. Jourdain did not know that when he stabbed Ms. Fisherman's leg he would hit her femoral vein."
According to Schmid, Jourdain admitted to stabbing Fisherman during conversations with his mother and grandmother, but never told them he intended to kill her. Schmid also told jurors that after the incident Jourdain made multiple calls, including to a Bemidji hospital, in order to find out Fisherman's condition.
"Mr. Jourdain knows that what he did was wrong," Schmid said. "The evidence will show over and over again that he was not trying to kill her."
The prosecution's opening statement focused on law enforcement's efforts to identify and apprehend Jourdain. Chief Assistant Beltrami County Attorney David Frank told jurors law enforcement used security footage from Target and Herberger's stores, as well as a report of non-payment of cab fare, to place Jourdain with Fisherman directly before her death and to identify him as a suspect.
Police used Jourdain's cell phone and information he gave his mother during a phone conversation overheard by police to find Jourdain at a local McDonald's, where he was arrested.
Frank also described the circumstances of Fisherman's death, calling it the result of "a senseless act of rage and violence," and saying that Jourdain "left her to die on the cold pavement."
Frank asked the jury to find Jourdain guilty of both counts of second-degree murder. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
Civilians and police officers who discovered Fisherman after the incident described a bloody scene when called as witnesses by the prosecution. Ron Batchelder, a civilian and the first person to find Fisherman lying on the ground near the scene of the alleged stabbing, said she told him repeatedly, "I don't want to die." Batchelder is one of the people who called 911 to report finding Fisherman.
The second person to find Fisherman, Shannon Hagen, told the court she could smell Fisherman's blood from 50 feet away. Hagen testified that she stayed with Fisherman and held her hand until police arrived.
Bemidji police officer Zachary Ruport, the first officer on the scene, described applying a tourniquet to Fisherman's leg. Ruport said he tried to ask her what happened, but Fisherman "only screamed." Ruport also showed the jury a black bag full of children's clothes, perfume and alcohol, as well as a bloodstained white purse found near Fisherman.
The trial is expected to last two weeks and resumes today.
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By Grace Pastoor
