Daniel W. Dull, co-defendant of the man prosecutors say tied Bryan R. Smith to a tree in South Manheim Township and let him die, wept as he testified Monday in Schuylkill County Court that Smith seemed to look at him for help before being abandoned in the woods.
"He looked at me like he wanted me to do something," Dull said in taking the stand on the first day of the trial of Keith A. Reber, 49, of Schuylkill Haven. "What was I supposed to do?"
Dull did nothing, and Smith, 26, of Orwigsburg, died between 5 and 11 p.m. May 28, 2012, near a wooded campsite behind Reber's 294 Meadow Drive home.
Prosecutors have charged Reber with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, kidnapping, conspiracy, prohibited possession of firearm, possessing firearm with altered number, unlawful restraint, recklessly endangering another person, tampering with evidence and two counts of simple assault.
Reber's trial before Judge Charles M. Miller and a jury of eight women and four men is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. today with Assistant District Attorneys Michael A. O'Pake and Rebecca A. Elo continuing to present their case. The trial is expected to last through Friday.
Reber will testify in his own defense, his lawyer, Robert J. Kirwan II, Reading, said in his opening statement.
State police at Schuylkill Haven allege that because he suspected Smith of stealing from his girlfriend, Lisa Keller, Reber, with Dull's help, led the Orwigsburg man to the woods about 3 a.m. May 28, 2012, brandished a gun, used military-style flex-ties to bind him to the tree and left him there.
"Keith Reber admitted to what he had done," O'Pake said in his opening statement, which, like Kirwan's, was made in front of a courtroom filled with about 50 people, including friends and relatives of Smith and the defendant.
However, Kirwan said Smith died of an overdose of methamphetamine and that Reber committed no crimes.
"The evidence will clearly show my client was stupid," Kirwan said. "This is not a murder case."
When police took him to the scene, Reber hoped against hope that Smith was not there, according to state police Cpl. Steven Schmit.
"'I really hope he's not there. I hope he got up and ran away,' " was what Reber said, Schmit testified.
When they arrived there, however, they saw Smith's body face down in the dirt, Schmit said.
"His legs almost gave out and he went limp," Schmit said of Reber. "He started to cry, 'Oh God, oh no!' "
Dull, who testified he has a plea agreement with prosecutors under which he will serve three to six years in a state correctional institution plus four years on probation, said he thought Reber was taking Smith home until he turned toward his own house.
"He started driving pretty fast," Dull said of Reber, who conferred frequently with Kirwan during the day.
When they arrived at the house, Reber went in and came out with a gun, flex-ties and a flashlight, Dull said. Then, he said, they went up a steep, rocky path, Reber leading, he and Smith stumbling behind.
"Were you scared?" O'Pake asked Dull.
"Yes," Dull said.
In a few minutes, they arrived at the place where Smith would die.
"Reber told Brian to stand up against a tree, put his hand behind his back. He did what Reber told him to do," Dull said.
"How did Brian look?" O'Pake asked.
"Horrible."
"Did he look scared?"
"Yes."
"Was Brian able to talk?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because he was gagged."
Kirwan challenged Dull, getting him to say that Smith appeared to know where he was and never questioned where Reber was taking him or why he was doing it. He also demanded to know exactly what Reber was doing with the gun and how Dull knew it, since it was dark.
Under cross-examination, Dull also said Reber never hit Smith and that the gun was the only force or threat he saw.
Schmit and now-retired Schuylkill Haven police Sgt. Robert W. Phillips each testified Reber voluntarily told what he had done, cooperated with them and said he never intended to hurt Smith.
"He was highly concerned. He was scared," Phillips said of Reber.
Schmit also identified two DVDs containing statements made by Reber, and Elo played them for jurors.
"We tied him to a tree. He went willingly, no questions asked," Reber said of Smith.
"What was the point of the gag?" Schmit asked
"So he couldn't scream," Reber answered.
"You didn't want anybody to know he was there?"
"No."
The only other witness, Sheena L. Smith, Orwigsburg, Bryan Smith's sister, testified she thought her brother was "a little messed up." She also said he had been suspected of stealing things in the past at Keller's house.