Page 7 - Kill Mark Stover News Today

But were only as strong as our community. who inspires and pushes us to go further than we could ever go alone. sofi. get there sooner. miss opdycke, raise your right hand. keith morrison: for months and months, since the murder of mark stover, his ex-wife linda opdycke had maintained for months and months, since the murder of mark stover, his ex-wife linda opdycke had maintained absolute public silence. in the face of questions from

Said the defense, many with a similar theme. mark seemed strangely obsessed with getting his wedding photos back from linda. just one of many transcripts of these calls the attorney read from. >> "send those dang pictures of the wedding. i know youre into the wedding. you dont give a damn about me. i dont want anything showing that we were married or anything else." >> reporter: the defense told the jury that lindas attorney told mark to stop contacting her directly, only go through his office. ...

>> shes calling him on the cell phone. shes following her. shes pleading with him to stop it and quit following her. >> reporter: that time, said the defense, linda called the cops. and he responded, according to her, by sending her a form canceling her health insurance which was still in his name. controlling, threatening, suggested oakes lawyer. >> mark stover has scrawled across the front, "next time, do not call the cops on the guy that controls your health care." >> reporter: and then the d...

Its a wonderful place. >> reporter: kiket island is what its called. an 84-acre teardrop of primeval forest and meadows and beaches plunked a few feet offshore, a 90-minute commute north of seattle. >> the dogs could go swimming in the water there. theres plenty of trail walks. and it was just really, really outdoorsy and beautiful. >> reporter: outdoorsy and beautiful are words which also happen to describe the human love of marks life, linda opdycke. the willowy blonde daughter of wally opdyck...

>> they were a huge part of starting this whole process. >> reporter: just a few hours after the employees at marks house watched his car drive away -- >> i pulled forward and theres two vehicles behind the chain. >> reporter: tami gilden and her mother, sharon larson, called the sheriffs department to complain that someone was trespassing in the locked parking lot of a grange hall just a half mile from marks house. in fact, they said, they saw two cars. one i.d.d by the license number was marks...

Named john. >> he told me that there was a potential job coming up that he was interested in taking. about a woman and an ex-spouse that was harassing her. the father of the woman was initiating the job. >> reporter: a father with a daughter named linda, and it seems there was a plan in store for lindas ex-husband. >> that they would basically use linda as sort of bait to lure the, um, ex-spouse toward her, and then they would -- they were to show signs of hurting her, killing her, then they wou...

Police and prosecutors she invoked her fifth amendment right. so this at the end of michiel oakes murder trial was quite a surprise. linda opdycke, defense witness. >> i felt this was an important part of the story that i could tell about a dangerous stalking situation, and if theres any information that i could offer up, i wanted to do so. >> reporter: as she began, it was clear she was here to join the defenses campaign against victim mark stovers character. >> would you agree that mark stover...

Who until midtrial had refused to say one word in public. the woman at the center of it all, linda opdycke -- >> would you raise your right hand. >> reporter: whose long silence was about to end. and end it would, with a bang. with stories of who she said was the real mark stover. >> he had a pistol in his hand and laid it on the pillow next to my head. copd makes it hard to breathe.

Keith morrison: mark stover was a bit like one of his well trained dogs. he was a creature of habit. mark stover was a bit like one of his well-trained dogs. he was a creature of habit. always on time. never missed an appointment. in bed early. up with the sun. and every wednesday mark hit the road for the hour-and-a-half drive south to seattle for sessions with his loyal clients, a schedule which employees amber -- >> we used to always joke that he was up, he beat the rooster out of bed. >> r...

Concerned women, now witnesses. >> there was a guy standing between the vehicles, and he had a big huge wad of plastic. a big roll of plastic. >> reporter: that someone, michiel oakes, as identified by his license plate. and that wad of plastic? the suggestion was, of course, that it shrouded mark stovers body. and remember, there was a chain behind the grange that appeared to have been cut that morning. and here were receipts, found in oakes car, showing he bought and later returned a bolt cutt...