7 hours Ago By Wendy Reuer
FARGO — The jury in the trial of a West Fargo man accused of killing his wife in August 2023 heard expert testimony and watched videos presented by the defense on the fourth day of the trial, Monday, Oct. 21. As the prosecution and defense wrap up their cases and prepare for closing arguments, the case could be put in the hands of the jurors by Tuesday.
Spencer Moen, 32, was charged in Cass County District Court with murder, a Class AA felony charge that alleges he intentionally or knowingly caused the death of his wife, 30-year-old Sonja Moen, or willfully caused her death under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life. On Monday, prosecutors called their last witness, Ellie Neuberger, the manager at Icewind Brewery in Mapleton. Neuberger stopped serving Spencer Moen the afternoon before his wife's death.
"He was quite intoxicated," Neuberger said. Neuberger said Spencer Moen was slurring his speech, unable to stand up straight and was a "nuisance at the bar," flirting with the bartenders and trying to charge his drinks on someone else's tab. Following Neuberg's testimony, the jury was dismissed.
Defense Attorney Richard Varriano moved to dismiss the murder charge against his client, claiming prosecutors failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. Judge Nicholas Chase denied the motion. "I find a reasonable juror could find him guilty based on many of the things that have been stated," Chase said.
The defense called its first witness, Frank Sepe, a critical care doctor who cares for patients who are often near death. Sepe was shown the video Spencer Moen took with his cellphone the night of Sonja Moen's death. The roughly 10- to 15-second video showed Sonja Moen in the bathtub.
Her face could not be seen but a breath was audible. Spencer Moen called her name once before the video ended. Sepe believes the sound Sonja Moen made was not agonal breathing or Cheyne-Stokes breathing as the medical examiner, Kevin Whaley, testified Friday, Oct.
18. He described the sound as sonorous respiration, which is "a little different than snoring," and often a noise one makes if a person has phlegm or secretions in the bronchial area. "It (agonal breathing) also indicates that death is imminent," Sepe said.
"When they say imminent, that's a variable term that can vary from minutes to hours." Sepe described Cheynes-Stokes as sounding like a crescendo followed by apnea, or not breathing. Sepe demonstrated Cheynes-Stokes breathing for the jury by sucking in his breath then holding it.
Sepe noted that in cases of agonal breathing, while it is heard near death, it is not a precise indicator. "You sometimes are fooled, you sometimes think a patient is going to pass quickly and hours later you are still there with the family," he said. Varriano does not deny that Spencer Moen assaulted Sonja Moen, but he has alluded to a fall causing her death and the noise she is heard making in the video as possibly choking on vomit.
Sepe confirmed a person with a brain injury could vomit. "As pressure inside the brain increases, one of the hallmark signs of that is vomiting," Sepe said. "It wouldn't be unusual, no.
" On cross-examination, prosecutor Renata Olafson Selzer confirmed that Sepe does not perform autopsies and did not dispute anything in the autopsy report performed by Whaley. He agreed the fatal injury to Sonja Moen was a head injury, described in the autopsy as a "major midline shift of her brain as a consequence of subdermal hemorrhage." The defense has contended that on the night of her death, Sonja Moen fell and hit her head.
"I'm here to say a subdermal hematoma could have been caused by a number of things," Sepe said. Images from Sonja Moen's autopsy report were again put on the screen for the jury and courtroom to see. Sonja Moen's family members wiped tears away, some avoided looking at the pictures while others, such as her mother glanced between the photos and the side of the room where Spencer Moen and the jury sat.
Spencer Moen, who donned a light-colored collared shirt in court Monday, looked on without expression. Sepe confirmed that Sonja Moen would have been in need of medical attention at the time of the video taken by Spencer Moen. "Anybody who is unconscious with that constellation of findings would obviously be considered in medical distress," Sepe said.
Defense Attorney Richard Varriano entered videos of interviews with the two Moen children who were at the home where their mother died. The videos were recorded the following day, Aug. 10, 2023.
In the first interview recording, the child said they saw their parents fighting and he saw blood on Sonja Moen's face. The child wriggled around in the chair and played with Play-Doh that was provided in the room, often avoiding answering questions by changing the topic or answering with a question to the interviewer. The female interviewer often asked the child to tell her more about "Dad beating up Mom.
" The child said they saw what happened and when asked where in the house it took place, the child said it was in a number of rooms. The child heard Sonja Moen scream. "Because she wanted Dad to stop," the child said of why Sonja Moen screamed.
Spencer Moen told the child to get upstairs. "He got so mad at me, he wanted me to get upstairs." the child said.
The child also reported Sonja Moen had earrings on during the fight but "my Dad got them off of her." "I'm scared to tell what happened," the child said near the end of the taped interview. "I don't want to get in trouble.
" In the second recording, the child said their father had asked them not to talk about something but would not elaborate on what that something was. The second child said Sonja Moen was breathing in the bathtub and went to sleep. The child added that Sonja Moen had broken a tooth "when she got hurt.
" Spencer Moen wiped his eyes with a tissue as he watched the second child's interview. The jury was dismissed for the day on Monday and will return to the courtroom Tuesday morning. Before the jury returns Tuesday, the judge will make a ruling on if the Moens' third child will be required to testify and if so, if it will be done in the courtroom or in another room and transmitted back to the courtroom.
Two of the Moens' children testified from an adjacent room via Zoom into the courtroom on the first day of trial, Wednesday, Oct. 16. The court granted the electronic testimony after therapists said testimony in the courtroom in front of their father could be detrimental to their mental health.
On Thursday, Oct. 17, Chase noted Varriano was witnessed speaking to a juror during lunch break. Jurors and members of the court are not allowed to communicate with one another during a trial in any way.
A mistrial or the discharge of the juror could result from communication about the trial between a juror and an attorney. Varriano said it was only a quick exchange about a personal manner. The judge and prosecution have said they certainly believe the exchange was no more than Varriano described.
Chase said Monday that the juror will be called into the courtroom Tuesday to discuss the conversation and to corroborate the story. Chase said it is unlikely the juror would have to be dismissed. The 14-person jury consists of three women and 11 men.
Of the 14 jurors, two are alternates and will be dismissed before deliberations. Spencer Moen was also charged with a misdemeanor for contributing to the deprivation or delinquency of two minors, to which he pleaded guilty on Oct. 9.
If convicted of the Class AA felony murder charge, Spencer Moen faces a mandatory sentence of 30 years in prison..
