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Accused grandfather tearfully takes stand to tell his side of story
By Matt Bean
(Court TV) -- A Kansas grandfather accused of gunning down his son-in-law after losing a divisive custody battle told a jury Thursday that he was in a daze the day of the shooting. "Bob do you remember shooting Aaron Ruboyianes?" asked defense attorney Amber St. Clair. "No ma'am," sobbed Bobby Bruce White, 50. "Bob, do you want to remember?" "No ma'am." White, who admits to shooting 23-year-old Aaron Ruboyianes in the electronics section of the Augusta, Kansas, Wal-Mart on March 27, 2003, explained that his last memory before the shooting that morning was getting up around 7 to head to work. His next memory was standing in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart with a gun in his hand. Two days earlier, a Kansas judge had terminated the guardianship that White and his wife, Mary, had over their grandson, Blaine, then 4. White's daughter, Belinda, wanted to raise the child with Ruboyianes, whom she married in 1999. White's purported blackout could be a bid to dodge the first-degree murder rap he is facing, which requires a clear showing of premeditation. If convicted of first-degree murder, White could spend the rest of his life in prison. The jury of five men and seven women will begin deliberations on Tuesday of next week. While the former aerospace employee could not explain the details of the shooting, he readily explained his distaste for the victim, whom he saw as unfit to care for Blaine. White testified that he was particularly disturbed when he discovered what he believed to be pornographic images of his grandson on the Ruboyianes' digital camera. In November 2001, White said he came to Ruboyianes' mobile home to help him install software for his digital camera. "I saw some pictures on a camera that he had that I take exception to," said White, his voice cracking. "The one that really upset me was... Aaron was standing beside Blaine. He had an erection, and he looked like he was putting it in Blaine's face and he had his little face crunched over to the side." If the jury chooses to believe White's pornographic picture claim, it may have to be on his word alone. No other witness in the trial, including a social services officer, representatives from the police department, and White's wife, Mary, nor his oldest daughter, Wendy -- who both testified Thursday on his behalf -- have corroborated the story. Copies of the images have never materialized. Why did he never alert the authorities? White told the jury he had "a hundred reasons why" -- and seemed to attempt to list each and every one. "I didn't have any proof. I didn't have any hard evidence. I didn't want to be resented," he offered, stammering. "I didn't want to see Aaron go to jail. I didn't want Blaine to have to ... I didn't want this to happen. He's going to know about this now. I should have kept my mouth shut. Nobody would have believed me. They don't believe me now. If I would have reported it, they would have just said it's sour grapes." Before White's testimony, his wife of 33 years, Mary, offered an extended critique of Belinda and Aaron Ruboyianes' parenting skills during her testimony on the stand. First there were the animals: Blaine's allergies, White testified timidly, were exacerbated by two cats, two ferrets, and a dog owned by the Ruboyianes. The dog, she said, was allowed to defecate in the kitchen on newspapers. Then there were the wedgies. Ruboyianes, White testified, would give his step-son wedgies capable of ripping his underwear in half. And then there was Ruboyianes' tendency to follow the 4-year-old child into the bathroom. Neither Mary nor the Whites' other daughter, Wendy, could say what went on in the bathroom, but both agreed it was suspicious that the victim should do so habitually. Wendy White voiced many of the same parenting concerns as her mother, and fleshed out the combative relationship between Belinda and the defendant. "Belinda is just kind of spoiled," she testified. "If she doesn't get her way, she'll throw a tantrum. And dad likes things his way." White's defense lasted less than a day. The state concluded its 16-witness, four-day case Thursday morning with the doctor who conducted Ruboyianes' autopsy report.
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