Trial finally opens for duo in beating of veterinarian

More than three years after they were indicted in the beating a Clark County veterinarian, a District Court trial has begun for the two defendants, who now contend they have alibis.

Opening statements and the first witnesses were expected today in the trial of veterinarian Alan Ruegamer and his associate, Jacqueline Demaria, in District Judge Michael Douglas's courtroom.

Ruegamer and Demaria are charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the beating of veterinarian James Reilly. The victim was said to be the key witness against Ruegamer, 55, in a disciplinary hearing alleging he practiced medicine on a suspended license.

The indictment charges that Reilly, Ruegamer's former partner in a veterinary business, was lured to a house in the northwest area by a call from a person who claimed to have a sick or injured cat.

When Reilly arrived there, he was beaten brutally and left for dead.

The disciplinary hearing had to be postponed because of the beating that affected Reilly's memory and speech.

The lingering problems also caused delays in the criminal case, but Reilly finally testified before a grand jury in October 1994 that Ruegamer was the man he remembers swinging the bat.

At a 1995 hearing, Deputy District Attorney Lynn Robinson said that Reilly's brain is like a computer that was turned off and then back on and has to re-establish its links before it can function completely.

"He was beaten to within an inch of his life," Robinson told District Judge Nancy Becker.

Becker acknowledged that the memories of persons with head injuries can be restored as the brain heals.

Reilly also had identified Demaria, who also is known as Jacqueline Wills, as being involved in the incident.

Although Reilly had been left for dead after the beating, he regained consciousness and began driving for help when he was found by investigators with the Board for Veterinary Medical Examiners, who had gotten a call from his wife that he hadn't returned from a house call.

Although the case has been dragging on for years, the defendants didn't claim to have alibi witnesses until a few weeks ago.

Deputy District Attorney Steve Owens said the three alibi witnesses for Ruegamer were names police and his office had never heard of before defense attorneys revealed them.

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