Murder trial gets under way

By WAYNE QUESENBERRY/Staff

A Wythe County Circuit Court jury is expected to begin deliberations today to determine the guilt or innocence of Samuel Robert Conrad III, charged with murdering his sister-in-law Iris Spencer Gregory in her remote Barren Springs home.
The one-man, 11-women panel of jurors was selected Monday morning after an hour and a half of questioning by Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Lee Harrell and defense attorney Dawn Cox. Forty-six potential jurors were called for possible duty. The number was then reduced to 20, with 12 being chosen.
Most of Monday’s trial centered on the discovery of Gregory’s badly decomposed body in the hallway of her mobile home on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. A forensics specialist testified that dental records were used to identify the 55-year-old victim.
Dr. Christina Roberts, assistant chief medical examiner for the state, described her Monday, Sept. 8, 2008, autopsy of the body. She noted that Spencer died from blunt force trauma to the right side of the head and ruled the death a homicide.
Roberts said a significant amount of force was used to cause the many fractures to the victim’s skull. However, the medical examiner said she could not determine the time of death.
According to testimony, Gregory was last seen alive Aug. 18, 2008. Her nearest neighbor, Janet Payne, said she had taken some groceries to the woman that day.
The week before that, she said she was sitting on her kitchen porch steps when she heard Gregory screaming at three or four men in her yard. About 15 minutes later, Payne told the court, a vehicle operated by Jimbo Dalton left Gregory’s property.
“Iris was very private,” Payne said in response to Cox’s question of whether Gregory ever mentioned the argument to her.
Other witnesses described Gregory as reclusive. Since she did not drive, Gregory walked to the store and carried water from neighbors’ homes after her well went dry, witnesses said.
Gregory’s second cousin Tony Spencer, who actually discovered the body, told the court Gregory was “a nervous type person” and “in her right mind.” He said she could take care of herself but did not socialize much.
In his testimony, Spencer said a neighbor called him on a Saturday evening to tell him he hadn’t seen any lights on at Gregory’s home and that he had noticed buzzards flying around the area. Spencer testified that he called his brother to go with him to their cousin’s residence but couldn’t reach him until the next morning.
“I was afraid I’d scare her if I went up there at night,” noted Spencer, a longtime member of the Lead Mines Volunteer Rescue Squad.
It was late into Monday’s hearing before any testimony linked Conrad to the crime. That came from Valerie Alderman of Barren Springs, a former girlfriend of Linwood Lester Webster, who also is charged in Gregory’s death.
Alderman testified that she took both men to the driveway on Gregory’s property just before dark on an evening “sometime before school started.” She said she left in her vehicle and picked up Conrad and Webster about 10 minutes later.
In response to Harrell’s question of her being convicted of crimes in 2009, Alderman admitted to three counts of shoplifting and a charge in 2008 of driving while under the influence. She said the driving charge was reduced to reckless driving and the third-time shoplifting offense was reduced to a misdemeanor in August 2009.
Also during Harrell’s questioning, Alderman testified that she did not receive any deals for giving information to investigators about the case. She stuck by her statements under cross-examination by Cox.
During her testimony, Alderman admitted to having a drug problem in the summer of 2008. She also said she had been treated for crack cocaine and oxycodone addictions.
Wayne Quesenberry can be reached at 228-6611 or wquesenberry@wythenews.com.