{"id":381360,"date":"2022-12-12T06:06:35","date_gmt":"2022-12-11T20:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=381360"},"modified":"2022-12-12T06:06:35","modified_gmt":"2022-12-11T20:06:35","slug":"verdict-awaited-in-yap-murder-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/verdict-awaited-in-yap-murder-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Verdict awaited in Yap murder case"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published by Pacific Island Times: https:\/\/www.pacificislandtimes.com\/post\/verdict-awaited-in-yap-s-murder-case<\/em><\/p>\n

Anthony Tun, one of the two suspects in the murder of Yap\u2019s acting attorney general Rachelle Bergeron only meant to \u201cscare\u201d the American prosecutor into leaving the island to stall pending criminal cases against his cousin, according to defense attorney Marstella Jack.<\/p>\n

Jack said there was no conspiracy, but the government\u2019s attorney, Jeffrey S. Tilfas, maintained that Tun and his co-defendant, Francis Chaoy Buchun, \u201cacted in concert\u201d to plan and execute \u201cthe violent act.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless of Tun\u2019s claim that the purpose of the shooting was to scare Bergeron, Tilfas pointed out that the acting attorney general \u201cwas not shot once or twice, but three times from a deadly weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a monthlong bench trial, the Yap State Court is preparing its decision on the murder case that drew international attention in 2019.<\/p>\n

The trial was delayed due to COVID-related border closures that hampered travel logistics and disrupted court proceedings.<\/p>\n

The prosecution and defense filed their closing arguments on Nov. 14 and 18 for Tun\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

Buchun\u2019s trial has also been completed. The closing arguments will take place in open court on Dec. 29.<\/p>\n

In her closing arguments, Jack claimed Tun shot at Bergeron\u2019s surroundings so she would leave the island because she was \u201cgoing out of her way\u201d to prosecute his cousin Buchun for \u201cseveral individual offenses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Rachelle Bergeron<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bergeron had just returned home from jogging when she was shot dead.<\/p>\n

Tun was charged on Nov. 20, 2019, with conspiracy to commit murder, murder, manslaughter, assault with a dangerous weapon, threats and coercion, among others.<\/p>\n

The defense stated that there was no proof of a conspiracy to commit murder, and that pointing the weapon, a 12-gauge shotgun, and discharging the three bullets was not \u201creckless\u201d in a way that demonstrated \u201cextreme indifference to the value of human life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tun never had any issue with Bergeron, Jack said. She cited the testimony given by FSM Police Capt. Kasner Aldens, who said that the presumption that Tun was trying to protect his cousin from being charged with criminal offenses was \u201ca dead end.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the prosecution\u2019s side, Tilfas\u2019 filing appended 38 exhibits including a recorded interview with Bergeron\u2019s husband, Simon H\u00e4mmerling, who was at home when the shooting occurred; footage from home security cameras showing Bergeron calling for help; photos of the shotshells and their location; recordings of Buchun and Tun giving voluntary statements; and a recording of the two defendants conversing about disposing of the firearm.<\/p>\n

Citing \u201ca crime of ghastly proportions,\u201d the prosecution stated that Bergeron was a few feet away from her husband and their adopted daughter when several witnesses heard three \u201cloud bangs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tilfas said Tun\u2019s confession and Buchun\u2019s interview indicated that they planned to shoot Bergeron and scouted the location prior to the crime.<\/p>\n

According to the document, Tun loaded all three bullets into the weapon provided by Buchun, waited 30 minutes at the ridgeline across from Bergeron\u2019s residence, and \u201cpulled the trigger until all three ammunitions loaded were fired and ejected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tun left the spent shells at the scene where they were later collected by the police. He later revealed that the gun was hidden in tall grass at the shoreline of Taneyboch in Chamorro Bay.<\/p>\n

Even if the court finds that there was no intention to kill Bergeron, the prosecution said, Tun\u2019s confession and Buchun\u2019s interview proved \u201cmore than a reasonable doubt\u201d that there was an attempt to harm Bergeron.<\/p>\n

The prosecution noted that Tun had firearm training while serving as an MP officer in the past.<\/p>\n

Evidence also showed that Bergeron tried to escape after the first shot, but fell on the ground. She was then shot two more times, resulting in multiple wounds including one to her heart, the prosecution added.<\/p>\n

As for the terrorizing charges, the prosecution noted that H\u00e4mmerling and their adopted daughter were indeed terrorized.<\/p>\n

The prosecution said the evidence showed that Tun \u201cdid the heinous act\u201d to stop Bergeron from prosecuting Buchun, who was charged with human trafficking.<\/p>\n

Defense witness Nathaniel Linglemog testified that Buchun\u2019s uncle, Francis Tamag, went to his house and warned him that \u201cif Rachelle put her nose where it does not belong, something might happen to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the prosecution, Linglemog\u2019s testimony indicated Tun\u2019s participation in an attempt to interfere with justice.<\/p>\n

The FSM Supreme Court has scheduled the hearings for the national charges of weapon and ammunition possession for February 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally published by Pacific Island Times: https:\/\/www.pacificislandtimes.com\/post\/verdict-awaited-in-yap-s-murder-case Anthony Tun, one of the two suspects in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":381361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[16023],"class_list":["post-381360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-pacific-island-times"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}