Judge closes deposition for witness in quadruple murder case

Robert Macy

Thursday, March 2, 2000 | 12:52 p.m.

A former outcall service dancer has provided prosecutors with details of a terrifying 90-minute assault by a man accused of killing four people in a supermarket rampage.

Tracie Carter, 21, testified in a two-hour deposition Wednesday, providing a chilling account of a June 3 pre-dawn ordeal at the home of Zane Floyd.

Floyd, 24, is charged with killing four people and wounding a fifth at an Albertson's supermarket, shortly after brutally raping Carter at his home a few blocks from the store.

Carter's deposition was closed to the media and the public at the request of defense attorneys. District Judge Jeffrey Sobel ordered the deposition sealed.

Prosecutors had sought Carter's deposition in the event she was unavailable to testify at Floyd's trial, scheduled to begin July 10.

Carter was taken into custody on a material witness warrant in January after she failed to maintain contact with prosecutors.

Carter was released from custody following Wednesday's deposition. She is eight months pregnant, according to Clark County Deputy District Attorney Bill Koot. She has said her boyfriend is the father of the baby.

Koot said there were "no surprises" in Carter's testimony.

"She gave as full an account as her memory allowed," Koot said Thursday.

"She was never a willing witness," Koot said. "She was always reluctant to recount the story. It's extremely difficult for her to relate the trauma that she experienced that day."

Carter was working for the Love Bound escort service when she was sent to Floyd's home June 3. Escort services provide dancers who perform for customers, normally in hotel rooms.

Carter told police that Floyd sexually assaulted her, then told her he had a shotgun and 19 shells, and intended to kill the next 19 people he saw.

"It was more than the sex," Koot said. "It was the terrifying situation she was in for about an hour and a half, not knowing whether she was going to live or die."

Koot said Carter's testimony was vital to the prosecution in proving Floyd's state of mind prior to the shooting rampage.

He said he expected the defense to present psychiatrists who would argue that Floyd was incapable of premeditation.

Koot said Carter would "be able to relate his (Floyd's) actions, his conduct, for an hour and a half preceding the killing."