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Attorneys in Dooley murder trial present two very different theories of the crime in opening statements


By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor

The David Dooley retrial got underway in earnest Wednesday, in the courtroom of Circuit Judge James R. Schrand, with opening statements and testimony from the Commonwealth’s first witnesses.

In his opening statement Assistant Attorney General Jon Heck said David Dooley bludgeoned Michelle Mockbee to death, possibly to cover up falsifying time cards (pool photo).

Dooley is charged with murder in the death of Michelle Mockbee at the Fisher Thermo Scientific facility in Boone County in 2012.

Not surprisingly, the prosecution and the defense have two very different theories of the crime.

Assistant Attorney General Jon Heck, who represents the Commonwealth, puts the killing squarely on the shoulders of Dooley.

The Kentucky Office of the Attorney General appointed Heck to replace former Boone/Gallatin Commonwealth’s Attorney Linda Tally Smith in the retrial.

Heck said Dooley was “triple-dipping” on payroll and Mockbee found out about it, which may have been the motive for killing the Fort Mitchell mother of two small children.

“We think this very well could be the impetus for the assault,” Heck said.

Heck explained that Dooley and his wife, Janet Dooley, both worked for an outside contractor doing custodial work at Fisher Thermo Scientific.

Dooley was paid hourly and his wife received a salary. According to Heck, Dooley would clock his wife in and perform her work as well as his own duties and both would receive a paycheck.

Defense attorney Deanna Dennison said covering up the falsifying of time cards was not a motive for murder. but collecting nearly $1 million in life insurance and benefits certainly was (pool photo).

Mockbee arrived at work shortly before 6 a.m. on May 29, 2012 to process payroll. Less than 90 minutes later her body was discovered.

She had been savagely beaten to death. Her hands were bound behind her back with packaging tape, and a plastic bag, drenched in her blood, covered her head. A later examination determined her skull had been fractured in four places.

A trail of blood extended about 40 feet from outside Mockbee’s office, down a hallway to the spot where her body was found.

“She was laid to rest on a filthy warehouse floor, where the only thing she could do was die,” Heck said. “Whoever did this left. There are items used in Michelle’s murder, that to this day, have never been found at that warehouse.”

Heck said a tape gun, believed by the prosecution to be the murder weapon, was among those items.

Time cards, which Heck said Mockbee would have collected when she arrived that morning, were also missing. Mockbee’s wrists were cut and the prosecution theorizes it was done with a razor knife, which was never located.

“About 30 minutes after Michelle’s death, about 6:30 in the morning, guess who’s seen leaving – David Dooley,” Heck said.

A video shows Dooley’s truck leaving the facility, but in his initial interview, Dooley neglected to tell investigators that he returned home briefly that morning.

Major David Stallsworth of the Boone County Sheriff’s office provides details of his exterior search of the Thermo Fisher Scientific facility (photo by Mark Hansel).

Defense attorney Deanna Dennison acknowledged in her opening statement that Dooley probably did falsify time cards, but said that is hardly a motive for such a brutal killing.

Dennison said that there were others who had the opportunity to kill Mockbee and one of them had a much stronger motive than Dooley.

Dan Mockbee, Michelle’s husband, had several life insurance policies on his wife, that with other compensation totaled about $1 million, Dennison said.

“We’ve got life insurance, $774,000 in life insurance. We’ve got another life insurance policy – $30,000,” Dennison said, “We’ve got $76,000 in workers comp benefits that if you die at work, you get more.”

The Mockbees were in debt, a fact Heck acknowledged as well. Dennison estimated the amount at $65,000.

Dan Mockbee’s vehicle was searched, but he was eliminated as a suspect early on in the investigation because he had an alibi.

“Maybe he had somebody else (kill his wife),” Dennison said. “ But he was the only one — the only one — who knew exactly what time she was going to be coming in that morning.”

Michelle Mockbee, a Fort Mitchell mother of two, was killed at the Thermo Fisher Scientific plant where she worked in May, 2012 (provided photo).

Dennison said defense investigators determined that at 8:09 a.m. on May 29, the exact time Mockbee got a call informing him that his wife was killed, he scrubbed his computer of all deleted files.

In the years since his wife’s death, Dennison said Mockbee has withdrawn hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash that could not be accounted for.

Heck showed evidence that the door to Mockbee’s office had gouges that indicated someone was trying to pry it open. He suggested Dooley may have done that in an attempt to get at his time cards.

Dennison, however, said copies were made of the time cards and forwarded to a payroll service, so stealing them would have been pointless.

Following opening statements, jurors listened to the 911 call placed by Ed Yuska, an employee at Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Yuska tells the operator an employee at the facility has been killed and that it was he and Dooley who located the body. The call continues for some time as Yuska provides details to the 911 operator until the first law enforcement officers arrive on the scene.

The Commonwealth then called its first witnesses.

David Dooley, right, is charged with murder in the killing of Michelle Mockbee at the Thermo Fisher Scientific Facility in May, 2012 (pool photo).

Boone County Sheriff’s deputy Anthony Lusty and his partner were the first law enforcement officers to arrive at the facility.

Lusty testified that he and his partner were directed upstairs to the spot where Mockbee’s body was located.

He explained that they did a cursory search of the area to verify that it was safe for the other employees and that there were no other victims.

Maj. David Stallsworth testified that when he arrived on the scene, he attempted to secure the building.

Stallsworth said he noticed a few of the building’s dock doors were open and he locked them down. He said another door could not be locked, so he posted an officer to ensure security there.

Other members of the Sheriff’s office began to arrive, including Sheriff Michael Helmig and detectives Bruce McVay and Everett Stahl, who would lead the investigation into the homicide.

At that point Stallsworth said he searched the building’s outside perimeter, including a cursory exterior search of cars in the employee parking lot.

Assistant Attorney General Jon Heck (standing) questions Boone County Sheriff’s set. Brian Cochran about evidence collection at the scene of the May, 2012 killing of Michelle Mockbee. The glowing image on the monitor is from a chemical that illuminates blood evidence. Photo by Mark Hansel (click to enlarge).

He said he also searched a trash container and found noting evidentiary, but did not examine cars parked in a lot used by employees of another company that occupied a corner of the facility.

The last witness of the day was Boone County Sheriff’s Det. Brian Cochran, whose roles include crime scene investigation and evidence processing.

Cochran testified about his role and produced dozens of photos from the crime scene, including some extremely graphic photos of Mockbee’s body.

He explained what types of evidence testing was done and why.

He acknowledged that a piece of the plastic bag covering Mockbee’s head was discarded because it was too saturated with blood and would not have provided any useful evidence from a suspect.

He said that was “a mistake.”

Testimony is scheduled to resume today at 9 a.m. with Cochran still on the stand being questioned by attorneys for the Commonwealth.

For links to the NKyTribune’s extensive coverage of the Dooley case, go to www.nkytribune.com and, using the search tool, enter the word “Dooley.”

Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com


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