Trial delayed in killing of woman

Kim Smith

Monday, April 8, 2002 | 9:24 a.m.

Almost a year ago Robert Carter signed a statement conceding that he shot his former girlfriend to death in October 1998. He claimed he would prove during his trial it was a case of self-defense.

On Friday Carter told District Judge Donald Mosley he isn't conceding anything. As a result, his trial, which was to begin today, has been postponed until June 3.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Ed Kane told Mosley he couldn't move forward with the case because the forensic pathologist who conducted Brenda James' autopsy won't be available until June.

Had Carter not changed his mind, the pathologist wouldn't have needed to testify.

Police say Carter fired his way through a plate glass window at James' home on Mount Royal Court, near Buffalo and Alta drives on Oct. 18, 1998.

Once inside the home, police say, he continued firing throughout the house until he reached the master bedroom, where James, her friend Sandra Kirk and 10 children under 10 years old had taken refuge.

As James struggled to load a gun and Kirk tried to usher the children into an adjoining bathroom, prosecutors allege, Carter opened fire on James, striking her in the wrist, chest and head.

Carter turned himself in to authorities at the Clark County Detention Center later that day.

Kane plans to show evidence that Carter shot James, 29, in a jealous rage over her latest boyfriend.

If Carter is convicted of first-degree murder, he could get the death penalty.