OSKALOOSA —
The Department of Criminal Investigation agent who interviewed Brad Arterburn in his hospital room after the attack on Robert Henry “Hank” Horovitz in June 2011 took the witness stand Thursday afternoon.
DCI agent Adam De Camp testified in the third day of Arterburn’s first-degree murder trial in Mahaska County District Court.
Arterburn, 27, of Oskaloosa, has been charged with the first-degree murder of his mother’s boyfriend, Horovitz, 58, of Davenport, on June 19, 2011. Arterburn entered a plea of not guilty in Mahaska County Court July 12, 2011.
De Camp stated that he interviewed Arterburn in the intensive care unit of Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. After attacking Horovitz, Arterburn stabbed himself in the chest with a knife. Arterburn was airlifted from Oskaloosa to Des Moines for treatment.
The interview began at 12:29 a.m. June 20 and lasted until 1:58 a.m.
De Camp said that Arterburn had admitted to attacking Horovitz. Arterburn said he did it in order to hurt his mother, Linda Arterburn, he added.
“He espoused some anger toward his mother,” De Camp said.
De Camp testified that Arterburn also talked about David Myers, his step father who sexually molested him when he was young.
De Camp said that Arterburn never confused the two people.
“He never said he was attacking David Myers,” De Camp said.
Under cross examination by defense attorney Ken Duker, De Camp said that Arterburn had an IV attached to him during the interview but he did not know if the IV bag had medication in it. Duker also asked when Arterburn talked about sexual abuse that he was coherent. De Camp said Arterburn was coherent.
Duker asked De Camp if he understood Arterburn when he said: “Everything came flooding back and I just snapped.”
De Camp said that he thought Arterburn was speaking of his mother and that she was not a very good mom.
Duker also pointed out in the interview transcript that when De Camp asked Arterburn if the fact that his mother and Horovitz were going to live together if it “piss you off?” and Arterburn said “No.”
Under more direct questioning from prosecutors, De Camp said the Arterburn interview was not out of the ordinary. He said answers such as “I don’t remember.” are common.
Before De Camp testified, Deputy State Medical Examiner Dennis Klein spoke of the autopsy he performed on Horovitz. He performed the autopsy on June 20, 2011.
Klein determined the cause of death to be “multiple sharp-force injuries.” He said that Horovitz had suffered multiple cuts and that he had bled out.
Klein determined the manner of Horovitz’s death to be a homicide from the results of his autopsy and information provided by investigators.
Under cross examination by defense counsel, Klein said that Horovitz was wearing khaki shorts and that the toxicology report stated that Horovitz’s blood alcohol content was .211.
During the morning session of the trial, family members and law enforcement officials testified.
Arterburn’s uncle Ervin Edel, of Oskaloosa, said about two weeks before the events of June 19, 2011, he had spoken to Arterburn and his sister, Brianna Porter, about whether they could keep the home at 1106 N. Fourth St. in the family. They were concerned about their mother, Linda Arterburn’s, financial and emotional well-being with regards to a new boyfriend, Horovitz. Edel also said he spoke to Brad and his mother about a prenuptual agreement to protect the family financially.
Later in the morning, Porter took the stand.
Porter testified that Arterburn came to visit her at her home in Monroe on June 18, 2011. They went out that night to Des Moines and she said Arterburn was in a good mood. He also was in a good mood when he left her place about 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 19, 2011. She had offered for Arterburn to stay with her that night, but he had to get back to attend classes at Indian Hills Community College the next day.
Porter said that she received a call from Arterburn about 4 or 5 p.m. and he told her that he learned that Horovitz was going to move in with his mother soon and they would be getting married.
Porter said she was upset over the news, but Arterburn was in a neutral mood and tried to calm her down.
Horovitz was killed around 8:38 p.m. that night.
Oskaloosa Police Lt. Russ Van Renterghem also testified as the shift supervisor that night and what went on at the crime scene. Also, two members of the Department of Criminal Investigation’s crime lab team at the scene testified about evidence gathered and DNA taken from the scene.
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