Murderer 'at peace' with execution

CARSON CITY -- Roderick Abeyta, scheduled to be executed Oct. 5 for the murder of his girlfriend in Las Vegas, believes it is God's will that he is to die for his crime.

Abeyta, 46, has declined to pursue any further court appeals to stay the execution. Michael Pescetta, an assistant U.S. public defender who handles death-case appeals, said Thursday that he had no comment on whether a new round of legal action would be undertaken to save Abeyta.

"We're leaving our options open," Pescetta said.

Abeyta was sentenced to death for the shooting of his ex-girlfriend, Donna Martin, in the head as he was trying to steal drugs from her apartment in October 1989.

In the last month, Abeyta has undergone two mental examinations to determine whether he understands the consequences of not pursuing an appeal and whether he was competent to be put to death.

Dr. David Schmidt, a specialist in clinical neuropsychology, said his examination showed that "Mr. Abeyta believes it is God's will that he be put to death for the murder he has committed." And Abeyta doesn't suffer from any mental disorder, Schmidt concluded.

"This religious conviction is not a function of mental disorder but rather a function of faith, and therefore cannot be seen as aberrant given the Judeo-Christian society on which our culture and laws are based," Schmidt said.

Dr. Thomas Bittker, a psychiatrist, found that Abeyta "was at peace with the state's decision to execute him" and that he believed the law of the Bible demanded retribution for his crime.

Abeyta told Bittker, "Understand, I don't look forward to being executed, but I believe that I have been saved by Jesus and that I will abide with God after the resurrection."

When questioned by Bittker about the similarities between his own situation and that of St. Paul, Abeyta said, "We're both sinners and saved by God."

Abeyta has admitted "faking" mental illness in the past. Schmidt and Bittker believe he is sincere this time in his willingness to die.

Schmidt, in his Sept. 3 report, said Abeyta in the past manipulated mental-health practitioners "to allow him to avoid going to trial on the original charge in this case." He was judged incompetent to stand trial for several years. And he was later found to be faking.

Schmidt asked him whether he was still manipulating the system, and Abeyta's answer was no. The neuropsychologist said, "I believe him when he states that he is sincere in his desire but more importantly, my assessment indicates that he is currently not suffering from mental disease or deficit that would impact on his judgment."

Abeyta told the two mental-health officials about an abusive childhood by his father in the San Francisco Bay area. "He (Abeyta) recalls specifically multiple episodes of corporal punishment wherein his father would strap his wrists with a tie, hang him by his wrists from a door hanger and whip him with a looped electric cord. In addition, the father would molest Mr. Abeyta by insisting on oral copulation," Bittker wrote in his Aug. 24 report.

Abeyta ran away from home as a teenager. He was then convicted of burglary and spent four years in the Vacaville Juvenile Detention Facility in California. He later developed a drug and alcohol problem.

Abeyta had been married for five years to his wife, Barbara, but they split. Abeyta started living with Donna Martin, the victim. He then reconciled with his wife, but they had a fight. On the day of the murder, Abeyta and his half-brother, Casey Korsmo, started drinking. Abeyta said he wanted some drugs, so he went to the Martin home.

The two broke a window in the back of the house and Abeyta told Korsmo that Martin would be sleeping heavily because she had been awake for three or four days on methamphetamines. They searched the house, but Abeyta was angry because he could not find any drugs.

Martin was asleep and Abeyta sat on her back, grabbed her hair and then shot her twice in the head. He told Korsmo outside the house, "I killed the bitch, and if you tell anybody, I'll kill you, too."

Korsmo pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for his role in the crime and received a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

The most recent execution in Nevada was in 1996 of Richard Moran for the killing of two people in Clark County.

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