EVANSVILLE — During the state’s closing argument on Wednesday, prosecutors told jurors the evidence against Larry Richmond Sr. in the 2019 killing of Evansville firefighter Robert F. Doerr was unequivocal and damning.
Richmond Sr.’s defense team told the same jurors – eight men and four women – the evidence prosecutors spoke of simply did not exist: there was “no evidence” tying Richmond Sr. to the crime, attorney Denise Turner argued.
After the two sides finished their presentations Vanderburgh County Circuit Court Magistrate Celia Pauli read jurors their final instructions before they retired to deliberate Richmond Sr.’s fate.
Richmond Sr., 47, stands accused of ambushing Doerr outside the veteran firefighter’s Oakley Street home on the night of Feb. 26, 2019, after Doerr returned from an extra shift at an Evansville firehouse.
According to prosecutors, Richmond Sr. conspired with Doerr’s wife of five months, Elizabeth “Becky” Fox-Doerr, to carry out the killing.
The two were having an affair, Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Diana Moers said Wednesday, telling jurors Richmond Sr. and Fox-Doerr were likely compelled to act by a mix of lust and financial motives — namely Doerr’s fireman’s pension.
Prosecutors and Richmond Sr. entered the trial with the knowledge that one jury had already found the evidence gathered by Evansville Police Department investigators convincing enough to convict Fox-Doerr, 53, of murder and conspiracy in 2024.
Vanderburgh County Superior Court Judge Robert J. Pigman sentenced Fox-Doerr to serve 90 years in prison. Earlier this year, an appeals court upheld her conviction.
Richmond Sr.’s defense attorneys had planned to call Fox-Doerr as a witness, going so far as to subpoena her to testify. Through her own attorneys Fox-Doerr filed a motion to “quash” the subpoena, but Pauli ruled Dec. 12 that Fox-Doerr must appear to answer questions if called.
But when Turner and attorney Andrew Foster presented Richmond Sr.’s defense Wednesday morning, Fox-Doerr never took the stand.
If jurors find Richmond Sr. guilty of murder, Moers will argue he deserves to be put behind bars for the rest of his natural life without the possibility of parole.
In arguing for the most severe punishment permitted under Indiana law besides death prosecutors point to Richmond Sr.’s prior conviction for the 1996 killing of James Montgomery. According to police, Richmond Sr. shot and killed Doerr on Feb. 26, 2019, not long after he was released on parole in the Montgomery case.
Similar to death penalty cases, it will be jurors rather than a judge who decides whether Richmond Sr. should be sentenced to life.
As of 2 p.m., deliberations were ongoing.
This article will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Jury weighs fate of Larry Richmond Sr. in firefighter Doerr killing
Reporting by Houston Harwood, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
