Families of murder victims have jurors in tears

Convicted murderer Sikia Smith sported a new hairstyle during his penalty hearing Wednesday, but he still exhibited the same detached demeanor he maintained during his trial as he listened to the parents of four young men killed execution-style tell of the devastating aftermath.

Tears streamed down the faces of many jurors whose responsibility now is to determine whether the 19-year-old defendant should be given the death sentence for his role in the quadruple murder or be sent to prison for life.

Some family members sobbed openly during the emotional testimony in District Judge Joseph Pavlikowski's courtroom.

Smith, who has shown little emotion and no remorse for the slayings, was scheduled to give a statement to the jury today asking for leniency and expressing remorse.

Closing arguments from defense and prosecution attorneys were to follow. Then it will be up to the jurors to decide the price Smith will pay for his role in the slayings of Jeffrey Biddle, 19, Tracey Gorringe, 20, Matthew Mowen, 19, and Peter Talamantez, 17, who were bound with duct tape during a robbery and killed with bullets in the backs of their heads.

The four were described by their parents as successful, mainstream young men whose lives were just beginning to blossom, despite occasional mistakes expected of men that age.

The mistakes involved documented drug use that put the victims in contact with Smith, and Donte Johnson and Terrell Cochise Young, who are also charged in their murder, for what was believed to be $6,000 in cash and a quantity of drugs in their home. Only about $200 and a few pills were found.

The bodies of the four victims were found the day after the Aug. 14 slayings at 4825 Terra Linda Ave., near Tropicana Avenue and Nellis Boulevard.

Cynthia Mowen, mother of Matthew Mowen, fought back tears as she told how she starts her day by visiting her son's grave to tell him how much she misses him.

She explained the guilt she feels because her son cut short a tour of the country to return to Las Vegas and care for her after cancer surgery. She said that had she not told him of her impending surgery, he would have stayed away and would be alive today.

"This is so tough," Cynthia Mowen said. "There is nothing worse than losing a child and then planning the funeral."

The victim's father, David Mowen, told how his son had been stricken with a heart problem and missed much of his senior year in high school but made up the work through accelerated classes and correspondence schools and managed to graduate on time to the amazement of everyone around him.

David Mowen said his 16-year-old daughter is so devastated by the death that she was unable to attend any of the court hearings for Smith, who is the first of three defendants arrested in the quadruple murder to stand trial.

"He was probably her best friend. He was always there for her," the father lamented. "Now he's not.

"It's a challenge going on with life. It's on my mind 24 hours a day."

Albert Talamantez smiled as he remembered his teenage son, Peter, but told the jury the loss "is something you can't fathom."

Marie Biddle said the murder of her son, Jeffrey, has so devastated the young man's father that she still finds him "lying on the bathroom floor crying his heart out."

The woman said her son is buried in Idaho, which he liked better than Las Vegas and where his childhood friends can visit the grave site daily.

Sandy Viau said she lost her son, Tracey Gorringe, in the murder but was fortunate that another son, Nick, who was the fourth roommate in the home, was out of town at the time of the murders.

She noted, however, that while Nick Gorringe escaped the carnage, he was devastated by losing his brother and two best friends.

Absent from the witness stand Wednesday was Smith's mother, who made a brief appearance during the trial to tell how she had been a prostitute and crack cocaine user who abandoned her son for years.

Defense attorneys had wanted her to again take the witness stand and plead for the life of her son, but she declined.

The defense case focused on psychological testimony reinforcing the contention that Smith has a low intelligence level and was only a follower in the bloody rampage.

Las Vegas psychologist Dr. David Schmidt described Smith as having the intelligence of a 7- or 8-year-old but still knew right from wrong and was responsible for his actions, although he often made bad decisions.

During opening statements attorney Tony Sgro reminded the jury that there was no testimony Smith ever had a weapon.

As part of the prosecution's bid for the death penalty, testimony was presented that Smith participated in a shooting at a Boulder Highway motel with the two other defendants in the quadruple murder case.

The jury listened to a tape recorded statement Smith gave to police detailing how he, Johnson and Young went to the Super 8 Motel on Aug. 11 in search of a man who owed Young money.

Smith stated that when the man was found in a hallway, Young asked the man "Why did you do that to me," and then opened fire with a .38-caliber pistol.

Smith admitted that he knew the intent of the trip was to kill the man, who escaped without injury.

Metro Homicide Detective James Buczek said no charges were pursued in the shooting because the victim refused to press charges.

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